By downloading or watching films online is not stopping people from getting jobs, there are only so many positions to fill in a work place.
Yeh you can just picture it now:
"joe we are firing you, because there has been a heavy download of movies last week, sorry we can't afford to keep you on"
Thats just bull-****, they need the staff to make the business, the staff do not suffer because of this!
The:
Share-holder suffers or the business owner.
If we where to talk about profits from a business like a movie, granted there will be a certain % of funds put towards other movies, but the actual truth of the matter is, the extra cash is more or less given to the people who created that venture anyway and not filtered out to create more jobs.
The block-buster scenario was just stupid, if the kid swapped the disc, no one would get fired, no jobs would be lost, what would happen is the share holders would probably get a very small % back on there return, such a small % in the shape of things, they wouldn't even miss it.
So blowing something out of proportion to make a point is all well and good, but please for the love of god, dont make a mountain out of a mole-hill, if for example you was a judge, every kid who did anything remotely none corporate america line-towering they would be locked up, or even worse have there hands chopped off.
Anyone debating such a topic started and continued in this fashion needs to check there sanity, the fact that extreme examples have been quoted for the most mundane shi* is rather laughable -
Get a fuc*ing grip -
Yes it is steal, but then the point can be shifted to everyone in some form or other has stolen, from someone else. Taking crisps from your mates packet without asking him, taking a sip of his pop e.t.c. Spending an extra buck when you go to the shop from your mamma's change and eating the sweet fast and telling her that milk went up slightly e.t.c.
Everyone has done it.
Also let's get something clear as well and this is why such cases like watching movies online or downloading music e.t.c is such a grey area.
The fact of the matter is, it's called 'temptation' you don't develop a system that allows people to get what they wan't for 'free' and expect a % of the people to not take that stuff for 'free', you'd have to be a complete social-bot to think people will toe the line of corporate america. Now music and films is a good subject because your actually copying, which means the original stays, which again adds to the 'temptation' to do it, because if anything your taking away from share-holders -
Granted if everyone did it, there would be no movies, but at the end of the day, the temptation is there - the system works where you can get access to it, so calling people a thief when the only thing they need to do is click a button at the comfort of there own home is stretching it a bit much - yes its stealing, but when you break into someones house the owner does not stand at the door, hands you the keys and tells you can take anything you wan't and nothing will probably happen to you, do they?
And no your not taking away 16000 jobs, what a silly absurd way to look at it - That sort of thinking is very dangerous and far more so then copying music from the internet. This is boarderline fascist talk, where it's one step short of having your hands cut off for nicking a loaf of bread on a windowsil, whilst you thought no one was watching.
Its this sort of thinking that is producing a lock down on the internet, because of people who can't associate commen sense with every day things in life and see things in a typical black and white fashion - You don't blame the thief if the owner give the guy the front door key and an open invitation do you? And this is why it is not in the strict term of the sense stealing - because the person who has done it, has had the goods shoved in his face everytime he turns on his PC - The problem then is the temptation in making people steal and if we wanted to get real dam silly we could actually start suing the company's for tempting us to steal there goods.
Take an alcholic for example, if you waved a bottle of gin in his face - told him not to touch it because it's yours and you own it - how long do you think it's going to take before he picks it up and takes a swig? How long of swinging that bottle in his face is he going to hold out for the sake of Corperate Profits? Even more so when he has a special power that lets him make an exact copy whilst leaving the original, do you think hes not going to at least try it?
If you think so your delusional, this is human nature, if you don't want people to steal your shi* you make steps to protect your shi*. There is a whole market out there for this sort of thing, hence again - More jobs created to stop people stealing your shi* - So steal shi* your creating jobs (in jest but has stupid has that sounds, no more stupid then the Block-Buster scenario)