Imagine my surprise upon receiving an e-mail today from John Perry Barlow. In it, he asks why I referred to him as an “idiot” over in a lengthy MeFi thread about Barlow’s arrest while attempting to carry illegal drugs onto an airplane. So, given that he took the time to ask me (politely) why I called him an idiot, I replied…

Of course, it’s always very easy to call someone in a name in a semi-anonymous online forum, as I did. It’s quite another to interact directly with the subject of the discussion. To that end, I did apologize for calling him an idiot, acknowledging that I should have provided a reason for doing so. Here is my e-mail response to Mr. Barlow:

Mr. Barlow: I appreciate the e-mail; it isn’t often that the subject of a MeFi thread gets personally involved.

First of all, I should probably state up front that I take a rather dim view of anyone who “does” illegal drugs, or who uses drugs for anything except medically-indicated reasons. I know that it’s considered cool to take the libertarian stance on drugs, and I often do take such an approach on many issues (politically, culturally, etc), but drugs and alcohol just blow right by my libertarian/Objectivist tendencies and straight into the “stupid things to do” sensibility.

Second, I’m not necessarily arguing that your 4th Amendment rights were NOT violated. I don’t know enough of the details of the case — only some of what you have posted on your site, and none of the government’s version of events — and certainly don’t have the legal knowledge to determine right/wrong. I’m inclined to agree that it WAS an illegal search, but I wouldn’t bet too much money that the government will interpret it that way.

Third, regardless of the civil rights involved, when you get right down to it, attempting to carry illegal drugs onto an airplane — particularly in the post-9/11 world, steeped in security and anti-terrorist measures at airports — has got to be one of the most stupid things that a person could do.

Fourth, given your semi-celebrity status and your history, it seems almost reasonable that authorities might - MIGHT - single you out for additional scrutiny. Possibly. I’m not arguing that it’s right, only that it is possible.

Bottom line is that you likely were the subject of an illegal search, and I’d give you 50/50 odds that the government will see it that way…but you never would have been in this situation if you had not attempted to smuggle illegal drugs through airport security.

I’m not arguing against your civil rights — my primary motivation for using the word “idiot” was based on your attempt to do something illegal, when you almost certainly knew what would happen if you got caught.

So, I offer my apologies for any perceived insult; I know that you’re not an idiot, and in fact you’re probably one of the smarter guys I’ve ever received an e-mail from; but your actions that led up to the arrest were - to put it politely - not the smartest.

I hope this makes sense, and that you bear no particular ill will towards me.
Cheers,
David

A few hours later, I received a reply from Mr. Barlow:

Thank you very much for your thoughtful response. It’s appreciated and understood.

Personally, I believe that the War on Drugs is part of the culture war. The social harm done by smoking marijuana does not justify, in my opinion, the intensely punitive way in which their use is proscribed in this country. The problem with pot is that it is the drug of choice of the minority culture. The dominant culture prefers booze, the source of vastly greater social pathology, and are imposing their personal preferences as a matter of law.

That said, I will confess it was dumb to carry drugs onto that plane…I got nailed.

Still, I am sincere in my belief that these searches are routinely over-broad, and that my own stupidity, and the non-terror-related illegalities being pursued in them, are irrelevant. The Constitution makes no exemption for the stupid. Indeed, one could say that it’s there to protect us in particular.

Surely, as a libertarian, you must not favor the establishment of general warrants. And surely you can at least smell the possibility that this is what we’re edging towards here.

I contested this case not because I was trying to avoid responsibility for my idiocy. The penalty for guilt in this matter is trivial. California has Prop 39 for first time offenders. Jail is not a possibility. Besides, I have a legitimate prescription for medical marijuana.

I did it because I felt someone had to draw the line against this pernicious mission creep, in which I suspect you share an interest, whatever you may think of me.

I suggest you post your e-mail or something like it to the list. It will end all speculation that you’re a troll.

Respectfully,

John Perry Barlow

And there it is. What he did was, by his own admission, pretty dumb. But, as he also points out, if the search was indeed illegal, then he shouldn’t be prosecuted. I don’t know if the search will be deemed illegal or not, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

By the way, here is Barlow’s site. Turns out he’s from Wyoming, which automatically gives him a few extra Cool Points, and he now has a standing invitation anytime he’s in Great Falls to let me buy him dinner.

civics