SOPA Thoughts

My SOPA position: I've spent many years fighting on behalf of protecting intellectual property. Many of the people I see/hear criticizing SOPA seem to be people who stand to gain and not to lose should we just follow the trend of ignoring copyright laws/protection/respect. We don't expect to walk into a store and take what we want without paying, and I haven't heard many say that they would enjoy working for nothing because others might not want to pay for what it is they have decided to dedicate their time and talent to. I agree with President Obama on this issue. There are parts of the bill that are unacceptable but something must be done to protect intellectual property. I would be much more comfortable with this discussion if people were actually discussing ethics, morals, decency, and how to protect/respect the work of others. I'm disappointed that we arrived at this dangerous crossroads because people cared so little or so long - stealing music, writing, art, etc. And I resent the hell out of sites (like Gather) who refused to stand up for what was right because it required them to actually care about people before profit.