Editor, Daily Nexus,

This is in regards to Adam Wenger’s last column (“RIAA Deaf to Benefits of P2P,” Daily Nexus, Oct. 8). Leaving aside your wildly out of proportion 1984 reference – a technique right up there with comparing your opponent to Hitler in terms of histrionic ineffectiveness – your column is self-righteous nonsense. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t illegally downloaded music at some point, but most of us don’t fool ourselves by thinking we are taking part in a social revolution rather than just being cheap. Radiohead’s decision to make their album available for free is great, but it is also possible because of the fame and money already earned through more traditional methods of distribution. Some lesser-known artists without this wealth may also support file sharing, and good for them, but the truth is that no artist should be forced to give away their art for free.

The RIAA’s tactics are strong-armed and shortsighted, but bad enforcement doesn’t change the nature of the crime. Go ahead and download if you want: I’m not going to be throwing any stones around this glass house of mine. But your justification of it says less about your belief in a cause than about your extreme sense of entitlement. Namely, it is the idea that just because you enjoy an artist’s work, you should be able to have it whenever you want, and on only your terms.