Pirate some videogame consoles – spend a decade in jail

I hope anyone who read the post title, realizing it's not a joke, are literally going "What the hell!?" right now. 'Cause that's my reaction, and I do think it's the appropriate way to respond to this ridiculous story.

LOS ANGELES—A Southern California college student has been arrested on federal charges that he illegally modified video game consoles to enable the machines to play pirated video games.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 27-year-old Matthew Crippen was released Monday night after posting $5,000 bond.

The California State University, Fullerton student who lives in Anaheim is accused of modifying Xbox, PlayStation and Wii consoles in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents got a tip from the Entertainment Software Association and searched Crippen's home in May.

He was indicted on two counts by a federal grand jury. Crippen faces 10 years in prison if convicted and is scheduled for arraignment on Aug. 10.

Any legal or judicial system that is in favor of throwing a young man into a prison cell for an whole fucking decade just for pirating a few games or gaming consoles – GAMES – is not a system I have any intention to follow, and much less to respect. If pirating is, amongst other things, a sign of rebellion against corrupt and horribly unjust criminal systems like this – then it's my moral obligation to rip off as many games – and anything else I want or need – as I possibly can. It's that simple.

In the spirit of things: get started.