The fact is, there are real people involved in a specific set of events that contributed to the tragedy today. Those people are members of our government. Holding government officials accountable to the people for their actions is a fundamental tenet of the United States' constitution.

The academic publishing racket was but a catalyst. That a possibly-effective protest against the status quo will get you persecuted into oblivion is the meta issue. The system is set up to deflect and even feed upon endless amounts of verbal criticism. But step out of line and do something beyond mere talk, and you'll see how quick the cryptofascism shows itself from the government and even many of your "peers".

(RIP Aaron - All progress depends on the unreasonable man.)

Some heads rolling could set things into motion. No doubt this Carmen Ortiz will find a cushy job in the private sector from the ones lobbying her to do this, if she's fired.

Lack of accountability misaligns government officials' incentives. This is arguably a more important problem than copyright.

Arguably it makes the system less effective by adding a disincentive to enforcing the law in that specific fashion. There's also the risk that, to paraphrase kurt vonnegut, the moral will be to not go after people with friends.

Don't unnecessarily abstract someone's actions in order to reduce their culpability. This is not an impressionable child. "Society" is not to blame.

JSTOR and friends ensured harsh charges are brought against him and then pretended they are not interested in prosecution.

What is the root of the problem? And more importantly, who do I trust to tell me what the root of the problem is.