«« :: 2011 Feb :: »»

The United States is ostensibly a democracy. In my high school civics class, we learned that one of the hallmarks of a democracy is that even the government is subject to the rule of law and can be held to account for violations. In order for the government to be accountable, it has to be possible for citizens to know what the government is doing. Much of what the government does is, shall we say, out of public view. Some of this secrecy is probably legitimate (tactical intelligence for ongoing military operations, etc), but much of it is intended to hide illegal activity from public scrutiny. For the government to be accountable, therefore, it has to be possible to make known what is hidden. Shining a light into dark places, is therefore an uncomfortable necessity for democracy to continue to function. WikiLeaks is not a perfect organization, but it has made it easier for the powerful to be thus held to account.

In the case of Courage to Resist, they are raising money for, among other things, the legal defense of Bradley Manning, who is alleged to have leaked a video of a US helicopter attack that killed at least eleven Iraqi civilians to the website Wikileaks (among the dead were two working Reuters reporters; two children were also severely wounded in the attack) Manning is without having had his day in court. I fully understand that Manning is a soldier and that military courts work differently from civilian courts. Yet, I still believe that, in this ostensible democracy, he is entitled to legal defense, and that Courage to Resist has to right to raise money to support that defense.

In my view, by freezing the accounts of WikiLeaks and Courage To Resist accounts, Paypal is standing with those in power who are acting against democracy and the rule of law in this country.

I fully understand that Paypal is a business and has the right to serve or not serve clients as it chooses. The other side of that coin is that I am a customer and I have the right to choose who I want to do business, or not do business with. That is why I am closing my Paypal account, at least until I hear that they change their policy. I urge you, dear reader, to do the same and close your Paypal account.

Update: Looks like I'm late to the party. Courage To Resist reported that Paypal backed down, whether in response to the backlash or for some other reason. They actually reported this before I wrote my posting, so that's egg on my face. Guess I'm keeping my account for now, but I'm exploring alternatives.