I'm sorry to touch on any raw nerves but I've never set out to court popularity with
this group.Frauds and cheats have emerged from all over the world in this Sunrise
fiasco.
But the fact remains that ICANN and the Internet industry is American-led,
and most of the major players in this Afilias/ICANN/registrars disgrace are American.
So
I pose this question, appealling to American pride at a time when Americans SHOULD
be proud:
Do Americans accept honesty or dishonesty? Courage or cowardice? Integrity
or cheats? Openness or deception?
The behavior of ICANN, the behavior of Afilias,
and of the American-led registrar industry in this .info affair, has brought shame
on the GOOD and DECENT people of America
It's part of a culture that values profit
above people; that condones cheating because its smart and normal business practice
These
are values that betray the good and the brave and the noble of America
Do you know
what really amazes me? These people haven't even bothered to say sorry!
They seem
to inhabit a "spin" universe of their own creation, cut off from true American values,
cut off from honest customers and their fair and reasonable complaints
Roland laPlante,
to me, is a laughable figure - because he seems so tied up with the "spin"-imperatives
of his corporate existence that he seems to believe the inane absurdities of his
own utterances
-that the Sunrise is a "success"!
How can it be when so many of
his honest customers are so justifiably aggrieved?
But does he come on this forum
or any other forum to respond and listen and explain? Will he come on this forum
now and respond to this post? OF COURSE NOT!
Because these people just HIDE and
ignore and marginalise their customers and wish them to go away
Do decent Americans
accept the standards of these organisations involved with the .info Sunrise disgrace?
Isn't
this a time when people rally round what's right and decent and KIND!!!???
Kindness!!!
What
an inexplicable term to a business that thinks of customers in terms of money and
sees some people as expendible in pursuit of their financial goals...
And yet...
and yet... I deeply believe that at the heart of American society is homeliness and
kindness and family and honesty and respect for others
It's a dream of a true America
that I've long held
In a dark and troublesome world, there is a light that shines
somewhere in the heart of America -
A light that shows up the darkness for what
it is, the sordid for what it is, the dishonest for what it is, the cowardly for
what it is
In the words of one faith, at least: "The light shines on in the darkness,
and the darkness has never put it out."
So I repeat: Does ICANN make you feel proud?
Does Afilias make you feel proud? Does Spy Productions make you feel proud? Does
Domainbank make you feel proud? Do cheating Board Members make you feel proud? Does
laPlante make you feel proud? Does Lubsen make you feel proud? Does Vint Cerf make
you feel proud? Does Stuart Lynn make you feel proud?
This is a moment in history
for Americans to rally around what is decent and brave and good - a moment in history
for British too, and all peoples, to say wrong is wrong
As I say, I'm not looking
for popularity. I have minimal cause for claiming any highground in my own life at
all - like many people, I've messed up, I've been selfish, I've got things wrong
But
this .info shame STINKS
And that's a shame for America
Of course there's more
important things to worry about
But at a time when the best show the rest of us
what decency is by their own sacrifice and example - how worthless some of these
people seem to me
I can honestly say that the corrupt defrauding of many many ordinary
decent people has SHOCKED me, and undermined my confidence in the American ideal
What
SHOCKS me most is that people in power have done NOTHING, have watched and allowed
and done NOTHING - when obvious proposals to do RIGHT were available...
...and
in doing nothing, they have compounded an original fraud, by making it almost impossible
to undo to the just reparation of honest decent customers
That really SHOCKS me
- that seems so ignominious and "beneath" the kind of good ideals so many of us all
round the world have been awakened to
The cowardly or corrupt or disinterested
who do nothing
We all know, in these past weeks, that there is another way. Other
people have shown us that.
I am not worthy of them. I can't speak for you. I can't
speak for America either.
But I believe in America.
And I believe this .info
disgrace has no part in it
Shoddy! Pathetic! Yuk! Cowards who could put what's
right before their own self-interest, but choose not to! You disgust me
Rachel