Right now, somewhere in the
Northeastern part of Spain, where they speak Catalan
not Spanish, there is a room full of ecstatic dorks.
They work for
PUNTCAT, the organization that's been pushing
hard for the establishment of the .CAT top-level domain. They just got their wish.
ICANN has granted them what they regard as necessary to the proper manifestation of their
digital identity -- as a people, as a group.
During the same
meeting of the ICANN Council, the status of
.XXX top-level domain was "deferred" -- which means simply "No decision today, ladies and gentlemen."
In Pornland, USA, there is also "joy" of a sort right now.
Unlike the Catalans, who want to have something
separately their own, most folks who work hard to make a buck in porn in the US of A, hope the .XXX TLD never sees the light of day. So, "deferred" is cause for happiness,
today.
I find that an interesting contrast held within the same moment, in the same event. US pornographers would feel censored, oppressed, violated -- while the Catalans feel they've been set free. Weird, eh.
I take a look back at the history of this country, of America -- partly because it's such a treasure trove of "material" for the historian of
Civil Rights, with both triumphs and reversals, both Titans of Enlightenment and Monsters of Bigotry -- and partly because, it's really the only history I know.
To venture a guess from just what's happened in my own backyard, some of it seen with mine own two eyes, the closest I can come to wisdom is "
It's all relative".
In some cases, a defining "tag" is just the ticket, just the thing to move a people on. In other cases, to be fingered-out is death -- literally. It's all relative.
The law, and pretty much the
Whole System of Things we've Built to Make IT ALL Run Smooth, require lines. How else to keep things straight? We need cold, hard, clear lines in technology: "If this, then that." not "If
likely this, then
maybe that." Likewise, it's important to know where the lines are that separate felonies from misdemeanors, just plain sex from statutory rape, etc. etc. If you've ever been a party to decision that preserved a line but seemed to take a shit all over justice, you understand that many lines we guard and sanctify -- are just made-up.
Arbitrary. Coulda drawn it here. Coulda drawn it there. It's all relative.
Sometimes we wish a thing a were
unclear, just so we'd have some room to figure it out for ourselves, maybe just a little more time. At such moments, we feel ourselves larger, more capable, fully up to the tasks:
Discernment, Analysis, Decision.
But, alas, we are often weak and small and confused inside our heads. The presence of lines reassures, creates an impression of... continuity.
[Lightbulb!]
That's it! The scariest thing, whatever side of the line you're on, is
Change.
Sometimes lines increase our fear. Sometimes they diminish it. Blah, blah relative.
2HP
El Consell d’Administració d’ICANN ha
aprovat, de forma definitiva, el domini .cat.
TRANSLATION: "Yay!"
20/7/2005 - Joel Blazquez i Sargatal (Barcelona)La Internet ha de ser un lloc on les cultures puguin florir d'una forma molt diferent a les tradicionals que coneixem. Es una gran oportunitat sobretot per a comunitats petites i sense estat propi. Un TLD propi donara una petita empenta a fer que la nostra cultura i la nostra identitat sigui coneguda i, ben segurament, apreciada arreu.
ALTAVISTA.com HAS NO CATALAN!
catalanicannpuntcat.orgpuntcatdomains2houseplagueTLD
sociology
netizen
catalunya
SPANIEN
ESPAGNE
Spain
España
-- 2 cents.
