In “Plagiarism of the Mind”, Isserman talks about a president that has resigned because of his plagiarism for nine years straight. He did not make it clear if the college felt betrayed in some way by Eugene Tobin, of if students lost trust in Tobin. Without a doubt, plagiarism is always followed by consequences. Plagiarism is looked down upon. Isserman read “Plagiarism is a form of fraud. You plagiarize if you present other writers’ words or ideas as your own”. I agree that it is ‘intellectual theft’. Where is the inner creativity and originality? Deep down, people want to plagiarize and get away with it. However, it is, in a way, a committed crime. The past could hunt the future of the plagiarist. Their reputation may never change as a plagiarist.
In “The Plagiarist’s Tale”, Widdicombe talks about an author by the pseudonym Q.R.Markham, who copies lines from other novels and incorporates them into his spy novels. He has become an addict to plagiarism. Once he started, he kept going because no one saw it as a big deal, and Markham found it convenient. Widdicombe said “Other commentors compared Rowan to music samplers such as Girl Talk”. Last week, I familiarized myself with Girl Talk, viewing “A Remix Manifesto”. Q.R. Markham is not a role model for aspiring authors. He is a plagiarist, he continues to plagiarize, and he will not stop until someone finally calls him out on all his fraud. It is amazing how long he has gotten away it.
It is pretty amazing that some people can get away with these types of crimes. All it takes is one person to report the plagiarist but some of us refused to do so. Everyone has great ideas and the potential to create them. However, some take the lazy way out and make an existing idea their own. I’ll admit that I had unknowingly plagiarized but now I ensure that I give credit and cite the works of their original creators. I do agree that plagiarism can be a form of an addiction. One time can turn into many times.