State of Protest

Besides having a unique, but cool name, Cory Doctorow is an icon of mixing rational activism, technophilia, and fun. What more could you ask?

I was first “introduced” to Cory (no, he and I are not acquaintances, but calling him Mr. Doctorow would seem odd, considering we’re the same age) through Boing Boing. If you’re reading this, and you haven’t ever visited Boing Boing, it should be your very next stop on the Internet train, and it should also supplement your daily reading routine. Cory is a 30-something native Canadian technology advocate and author who blogs for Boing Boing, often discussing copyright, technology, and privacy issues. Criticizing government overreaching with regard to copyright and other law, and working with digital rights activist organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation,¹ Cory has consistently advocated for “a balanced approach to copyright that [doesn't] trammel the public’s fundamental rights to privacy, free speech, and due process.” ²

Cory is also a published author, having written a handful of excellent reads, among them:

Little Brother
Overclocked
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Eastern Standard Tribe
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Science Fiction

One set of contributions to Boing Boing that I particularly like is Cory’s criticism of the apparent war on photography taking place primarily in the U.S. and the U.K. Cory has brought to attention a number of instances of governmental and private attacks on photography in various public and private (but “common”) places. Being a photographer, I find such paranoia against photography to be insulting and a breach of responsibility on the part of the oppressors, especially considering that in most cases, the oppressors have an array of surveillance equipment constantly monitoring everyone in the area. I can’t even take a step outside my office on the street without being seen by multiple cameras, civilian and government.

Have a look at the CivLib tag on Boing Boing to see a lot of good (and scary) posts from Cory (and others) about the oft-irrational world in which we live.

Cory Doctorow certainly fits the mold of the active rationalist. Learn more about him!

Cory’s Website
Cory’s Wikipedia Entry
Books on Amazon by Cory
Cory Doctorow’s Boing Boing posts (via an awful Google search that I made)
Cory’s Profile on Boing Boing

[Cory Doctorow doesn't in any way endorse State of Protest, as far as I know, and all statements and opinions regarding Cory Doctorow represented on this website are from State of Protest's point of view.]

1. http://www.eff.org/ [<]
2. About Cory Doctorow. http://craphound.com/bio.php [<]

Tags: Activism, Amazon, bio, BoingBoing, brother, camera, Canadian, Cory, cory doctorow, Doctorow, electronic, foundation, free speech, fundamental, Government, irrational, Law, Little Brother, photo, photograph, photography, rational, rights, Science, technophilia, war

This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 10:35 am and is filed under Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.