Privacy is Bad

I read this recent story on slashdot, which explains that WikiLeaks is being irresponsible by not redacting names from documents they leak:

http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/08/09/2319222/Human-Rights-Groups-Join-Criticism-of-WikiLeaks

Releasing information does not put civilians in danger. Releasing information makes it easier for assholes to put civilians in danger. It also makes it easier for good people to reach and help endangered civilians.

Redacting anything is a giant waste of time and resources and reduces the collective knowledge and wisdom of the human species when considered as a whole.

That our culture and legal system are built around the need for privacy in an age where privacy is fast evaporating is a serious issue. It's not that we need privacy. It's that we need to adapt to not having it, to living like people used to live in small towns where nobody really had secrets. It takes getting used to, but we had better get used to it, because it is our future.

Mr. Assange is an international hero for having the bravery to do what he does, and my complaint with him is quite the opposite of Amnesty International's. That he redacts anything is a waste of his valuable time.

By the way, props to Jason Hall for his success in both the game and entertainment industries and for his discipline at the gym to carve the image of a real man, but if you want to see an actual real man in action, it's this frail looking dude with the grey hair:

http://www.ted.com/talks/julian_assange_why_the_world_needs_wikileaks.html