   Man Going broke Fighting Big Oil
  This man truly shows the courage of his convictions.I've seen people fight, speak, and protest in order to get a point across, but I've never seen someone do things the way this man has done them.  He has lost almost everything.  It takes a lot of strength to do that.  I wonder if he has an account open somewhere that donations can be sent to.   
  Quixotic? I'll say.The funniest part about freedom of speech in a market economy; only those with money have the means to speak freely.It's a joke.   ;Quote:Original post by Strider_HiryuHe has lost almost everything.  It takes a lot of strength to do that.  I wonder if he has an account open somewhere that donations can be sent to.He knew what he was getting into.  He sealed the nails of his own coffin.   While I can appreciate his attempts to do "the right thing", I can't help but think that this guy has some serious flaws in judgment.   I agree with Mithrandir's 'Quixotic' assertion...His cause was lost before it even started and now his family will suffer and his petty crusade to stop the oil monopolization will flutter to the ground as a stray leaf from a tree.   I think I will keep my money since he has no care of it.   ;Quote:Original post by MithrandirQuixotic? I'll say.The funniest part about freedom of speech in a market economy; only those with money have the means to speak freely.It's a joke.I'll disagree with you 100%.  The brokest man in America has the right to free speech.  People confuse free speech with the right to say whatever you want without consequences.  This guy spoke his mind, he paid the price.  I have the right to tell all of gamedev.net how retarded they are, they in turn have the right to ban me forever.I find it ironic that this guy was fighting big oil under the premise that their prices were too low.  And anyone in business knows you never piss off or make fun of your sponsors. What did he expect them to do, give him more money while he trashed their business? Smart move...A martyr isn't someone who is suicidal, it's someone who desires to live so he can fight another day, knowing he will be able to spread his message.  If this guy was truly courageous, he would stay in business so he could afford to spread his message in an efficient way.P.S.  You wanna talk price gouging.  What kind of insane markup are the gas stations charging for soda, milk, bread, crackers, candy bars, etc.  Oil companies make like 3% profit on sales, a convenience store probably makes around 100%.   ;Quote:Original post by ChurchSkizQuote:Original post by MithrandirQuixotic? I'll say.The funniest part about freedom of speech in a market economy; only those with money have the means to speak freely.It's a joke.I'll disagree with you 100%.  The brokest man in America has the right to free speech.  People confuse free speech with the right to say whatever you want without consequences.  This guy spoke his mind, he paid the price.  I have the right to tell all of gamedev.net how retarded they are, they in turn have the right to ban me forever.You missed my point.Those who have money, control the mechanisms by which we speak. Telephones, television, internet, etc.Those who have money can control exactly what is said and not said on such mechanisms. As such, their speech completely drowns out those who do not have money.This is exactly how we have 30% of the retards in this country still believing that we found WMD's in Iraq, despite the fact that we haven't. Those who have money have blasted the airwaves with these ridiculous claims, and have completely drowned out those who speak common sense.The internet dealt a great blow that those with money were not prepared for, and now they're trying to correct it, by completely destroying the internet (re: Net Neutrality). Pretty soon, Joe Sixpack with his previously loud Blog, will have his voice cut short by those with money; he won't be able to afford the extortionist rates applied to bandwidth; but MegaGlobalNewsIncorporated has no problem affording the high tier bandwidth costs. People will, naturally, flock to the service which is smooth, rather than sitting for 2 hours waiting for Joe's blog to load.Those who control the mechanisms of speech distribution are far more free than those who do not. That, is my point.   ;Quote:Original post by ChurchSkizQuote:Original post by MithrandirQuixotic? I'll say.The funniest part about freedom of speech in a market economy; only those with money have the means to speak freely.It's a joke.I'll disagree with you 100%.  The brokest man in America has the right to free speech.  People confuse free speech with the right to say whatever you want without consequences.  This guy spoke his mind, he paid the price.  I have the right to tell all of gamedev.net how retarded they are, they in turn have the right to ban me forever.I find it ironic that this guy was fighting big oil under the premise that their prices were too low.  And anyone in business knows you never piss off or make fun of your sponsors. What did he expect them to do, give him more money while he trashed their business? Smart move...A martyr isn't someone who is suicidal, it's someone who desires to live so he can fight another day, knowing he will be able to spread his message.  If this guy was truly courageous, he would stay in business so he could afford to spread his message in an efficient way.P.S.  You wanna talk price gouging.  What kind of insane markup are the gas stations charging for soda, milk, bread, crackers, candy bars, etc.  Oil companies make like 3% profit on sales, a convenience store probably makes around 100%.While I don't necessarily agree with Mithrandir, I heavily disagree with just about everything you stated.Free speech is set up to be able to state certain views without consequence.  Otherwise, everything becomes free speech, from the USA to a Stalin-esque style country.  You're free to state whatever you want about a horrible dictator, you just have to accept that your consequence will be termination of your life.Though, in the USA, free speech is to protect political speech.  You're not given complete freedom of speech to say whatever you feel like.  IE: You can't slander.  And Gamedev doesn't allow free speech.  That's why there are moderators.  If you read the agreement to posting, you see that your speech is limited to what is determined reasonable on a public forum.Also, according to my dictionary, a martyr is someone who suffers or sacrifices to further a belief.  So, yes, he would be a martyr.  A suicidal person might be a martyr.  Someone who wishes to live another day could also be a martyr with appropriate suffering.This guys doing what he feels is right.  I have to have some sympathy and respect for him.  Most people take the easy way out, and can't fight for their convictions.  That includes myself.  This doesn't mean I agree with him 100% and will help him out, but I do have some respect for this person if what was written is true.   ;Quote:Original post by NytegardFree speech is set up to be able to state certain views without consequence.  Otherwise, everything becomes free speech, from the USA to a Stalin-esque style country.  You're free to state whatever you want about a horrible dictator, you just have to accept that your consequence will be termination of your life.Though, in the USA, free speech is to protect political speech.  You're not given complete freedom of speech to say whatever you feel like.  IE: You can't slander.  And Gamedev doesn't allow free speech.  That's why there are moderators.  If you read the agreement to posting, you see that your speech is limited to what is determined reasonable on a public forum.Also, according to my dictionary, a martyr is someone who suffers or sacrifices to further a belief.  So, yes, he would be a martyr.  A suicidal person might be a martyr.  Someone who wishes to live another day could also be a martyr with appropriate suffering.This guys doing what he feels is right.  I have to have some sympathy and respect for him.  Most people take the easy way out, and can't fight for their convictions.  That includes myself.  This doesn't mean I agree with him 100% and will help him out, but I do have some respect for this person if what was written is true.You're right about Free Speech.  The point that I was trying to make is that people equate the 1st amendment Free Speech rights (which protects people from the government reprisal based on political beliefs) with the right to say anything to anybody without consequence.  Thankfully, there is no Free Speech in business, so if you say something along these lines, you can expect there to be consequences.  This case has nothing to do about 1st Amendment Free Speech and has everything to do with what not to say as a business owner.As for the martyr comment, you are correct as well.  The point I was trying to make, which came across poorly, is in the emphasis in definition.  Define a martyr as someone who suffers to further a cause.  A successful martyr will place the emphasis on furthering the cause. Given the choice of dying, or living  another day to continue the fight, the choice will always be live.  An unsuccessful martyr will look for as much suffering as possible, and then worry about the cause.Unless this guy is a total moron, he knew that the choices of his actions would result in him losing his entire business.  If he was a good steward for the cause, he would have kept himself afloat financially, so that he could continue to get the word out.  A good example are the generals that wanted Rumsfeld to retire.  Alot of them stayed in the Army even though they opposed it, because they knew their cause would best be served while they were still inside.  I respect courage and wisdom, I have a hard time respecting stupidity, which is what this guy represents to me.   ;Quote:Original post by MithrandirQuixotic? I'll say.Terry Gilliam missed the boat. [smile]Quote:Original post by MithrandirThe funniest part about freedom of speech in a market economy; only those with money have the means to speak freely.It's a joke.Who's laughing all the way to the bank? ;Quote:Original post by NytegardFree speech is set up to be able to state certain views without consequence.  Otherwise, everything becomes free speech, from the USA to a Stalin-esque style country.  You're free to state whatever you want about a horrible dictator, you just have to accept that your consequence will be termination of your life.Though, in the USA, free speech is to protect political speech.  You're not given complete freedom of speech to say whatever you feel like.  IE: You can't slander.  And Gamedev doesn't allow free speech.  That's why there are moderators.  If you read the agreement to posting, you see that your speech is limited to what is determined reasonable on a public forum.Also, according to my dictionary, a martyr is someone who suffers or sacrifices to further a belief.  So, yes, he would be a martyr.  A suicidal person might be a martyr.  Someone who wishes to live another day could also be a martyr with appropriate suffering.This guys doing what he feels is right.  I have to have some sympathy and respect for him.  Most people take the easy way out, and can't fight for their convictions.  That includes myself.  This doesn't mean I agree with him 100% and will help him out, but I do have some respect for this person if what was written is true.Looks like free speech could cost a person their livelihood. How many Americans feel free to exercise their speech rights without suffering economic hardship as a result of doing so? What are the risks if they do? ;  This story highlights one of the best features of capitalism:  that no matter how rich you are, you can still go broke if you're stupid enough.Quote:You're right about Free Speech. The point that I was trying to make is that people equate the 1st amendment Free Speech rights (which protects people from the government reprisal based on political beliefs) with the right to say anything to anybody without consequence.Free Speech means being able to say anything to anyone without *government* reprisal (unless you work for the government, and even then they can only fire you, not execute you).  Shell is not a government, so if they don't like what you say, they can take their ball and go home.   