My gf and I have had discussions about teaching morals to kids. In that vein, I asked myself, would I teach piracy to my kids? Yes, it’s technically illegal and carries inherent risks. But so does teenage sex carry the risks of teenage pregnancy, and so we have an obligation to children to teach them how to practice safe sex. So, is it necessary to teach them how to stay safe in the sea? How to install adblockers, how to detect fake download sites that give you computer aids? Show them how to use a VPN and choosing the right one (a true pirate must always choose a VPN with port forwarding capabilities, so you can still seed) I feel like this is all valuable info we all learned as pirates the hard way, and valuable information to pass on to our kids.
I definitely want my kids to know about libgen. Want a book you want to read about? Wanna learn about dinosaurs from a college level textbook for whatever reason? Just go to libgen, son!
And I attribute most of my computer literacy and education to piracy, trying to install cracks to various games, trying to make games work, and modding the fuck out of skyrim as a young teenager. That, and also jailbreaking android phones. All the interesting things i’ve ever done with computers was probably against some BS terms of service.
So, is piracy something you would actively teach your kids? Sit them down and teach them how to install a Fallout 3 FitGirl repack? Or is this something you’d want them to figure out themselves?
Sure. To prepare someone to become a responsible adult, they need information. Learn things good and bad. Understand especially WHY people do things and consequences of actions.
I mean if you exclude half the truth, your kids will not learn how to judge things and make decisions.
And things not being etically 100% correct is not a reason to hide them altogether. I mean my mom also reads murder mystery stories and murder is not okay… I think beginning with a certain age it is important to learn also about ambiguous stuff. It’s part of life.
That doesn’t mean I’d have to teach them myself. But I’d talk to them and make sure they learned the right things.
She read murder mystery stories, but not a guide about how to get away with murder
I read a few and saw a few movies that tell me otherwise… Discussing an hypothetical “perfect murder”… Detailing how they were murdered with a frozen icicle so there won’t be any weapon or fingerprints left…
I mean those examples are a bit exaggerated. But there are pretty realistic stories. And I’d say the lines between story and guide aren’t always that clear. That’s part of the thrill. The good ones are kinda detailed enough to be both.
Same goes for historical records.
And I think if you grow up completely sheltered from evil and true life, you’re bound to miss out, not to know aboud bad things. You won’t have any understanding or defense against it and will get exploited. And you’re missing half of the fun and intelligence that would otherwise be your potential. Also you can’t keep kids from having to make their own decisions forever. At some point they need the tools and knowledge to decide for themselves.
I can recommend the sci-fi dystopia “The Giver” about that. (The sheltering part, not the murder mysteries.) But read the book, the movie isn’t good at all. And read it while you’re young, it’s probably more suited for adolescents than for adults.