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Comment by tlogan | Hacker News Reader

The government is not some imaginary person in the sky: it is me and you. You can influence it - but you cannot influence Apple.

Of course, being involved in government / politic is hard and takes time. You cannot change things by posting on internet forums. I'm trying to be involved in politic on local, state and federal level. And here are some hints if you are in interested:

- Call a member of congress. Try to get someone on the phone, rather than leaving a voicemail (which, like an email, can be ignored). Ask to speak to the member of Congress.

- Find (or make) a group for key your issue

- Show up on town hall meetings (with your friends, group)

- Volunteer

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You certainly can influnce a company - it is called being or not being a customer. There is no such opt out option for government as much as sovereign citizens may believe otherwise.

> You certainly can influnce a company - it is called being or not being a customer.

Let's be optimistic and assume 10% of the population is informed and passionate enough about a company's wrongdoings to boycott it. That company is still going to thrive just fine on the business from the other 90%. Holdouts alone won't stop it from accumulating power and reach.

But how is that your problem if you cut Apple away from your life?

How much good will that do when the government doesn’t represent the people, by design? If you live in California or Texas, you have the same number of Senators as someone who lives in Rhode Island.

Any power given to the government is worse than the power of a corporation. No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, you should be way more concerned about the power of the government. Have you seen what the government can do with its power?

How effective was the consent decree in the MS case two decades ago?

Apple can keep me from side loading apps. The government can literally reach into my bank account and take my money without any kind of trial through civil forfeiture and imminent domain. They can take away my liberty. They can actually compel me to do something.

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