Free Information, Free Tibet

On Tuesday the Googleplex was protested by a Free Tibet student group. While we were warned that the protest was going to be of biblical proportion, only about 20 people turned out. In this picture you can barely see the group standing at the bottom of garbage hill. In their best choir voices they chanted "free information, free Tibet"...While I agree with them that the Chinese population should have access to uncensored information, I disagree with pointing the finger at Google. It is quit obvious to me that the real problem here is the Chinese government not a search engine that is doing its best to provide Chinese citizens with as much information as is mandated by an oppressive government.

Response written by B.DOW Firey 26 de julio:

yo, way to "soften" your response for any potentially-onlooking bosses.

You say Google is simply a search engine service trying to do its best, and thus should not be the target of protest. But, as you and I both know, Google is no longer just a search engine, but a way of life (globally).

It has changed the way we think abou the Internet, and thus fundamentally affected our world. With such an awesome privilege, however, comes an awesome responsibility. Google has admittedly acknowledged this truth in the past, which is why we would do well to judge them accordingly. In applying flimsy ideas of corporate responsibility, it is easy to arrive at a conclusion such as, "Google should not be the target of such protest." But Google, for its responsible actions in the past, should be set at a higher standard, should be modeled as an example for the wealth of corporations that heavily contribute to the growing inequity of the 21st century.

And when such a company decides to come up short on the human rights of a billion citizens for clear economic incentives, they should be the target of our protest.

Google did nothing wrong - this is true. What's disturbing is that this is sufficient for us in our monitoring of corporate behavior.

**for free prints of photos seen in this posting send your name and mailing address to ctmorris@gmail.com (courtesy of c-ron.blogspot.com foto service)**