[11466] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
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daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Barry Shein)
Sun Apr 3 16:18:10 1994
Date: Sun, 3 Apr 1994 15:27:56 -0400
From: bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein)
To: nowhere@bsu-cs.bsu.edu
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: Anonymous's message of Sat, 2 Apr 94 23:43:22 -0500 <9404030443.AA24162@bsu-cs.bsu.edu>
Hey I had a (dead now) uncle who basically invented the protection
rackets with Meyer Lansky when they were teen-agers in The Bronx.
It actually started fairly innocently, the bunch of kids would hang
out on street corners as kids will do in cities. One day a shopkeeper
came out and gave them a nickel or something to go hang out on another
corner, he thought it was bad for business. Pretty soon they were
selling this favor and the rest is history of a sort. Fortunately for
my uncle he got out before it became rough, as they say, too nervous
to steal, too honest for politics.
However, the lesson is clear: Any exchange in a capitalist system can
be portrayed as "protection" of some sort. I mean, don't pay for food
and yer gonna die! And we won't talk about taxes...
-Barry Shein
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