The Anonymous Legion

I was sitting at my computer the other night, messing around and trying to kill time on the mother of procrastinators, YouTube. In my search for bizarre entertainment, I stumbled upon a video detailing a declaration of war against the religion of Scientology. Up to this point, I had not known such a war was present, or what parties were involved in this struggle. Appealing to my curiosity, I began to slug through a series of various news articles and strange internet messages. Eventually, I realized who this group of Internet Children was. They are the faceless hordes Internet children that lurk; they are the collective conscious of the Internet as we know it, they are Anonymous.

For those innocent souls reading who are unfamiliar to the epic win associated with this group, Anonymous "is the blind virgin that safeguards. Anonymous is legion. We cannot be stopped. We are a political force that should be counted in." Unlike most organizations found within society however, Anonymous is nowhere near the realm of official. They make available free speech, media, and software in society, and they take up causes against unjust figures or icons in society. All together, they make the life as a whole funny and interesting, while pissing off a helluva lot of authority figures along the way.

Anonymous has launched cyber-attacks against the networks and websites of the West Burrow Baptist Church, Wealthy Tea- Party supporters Koch Brothers, and the church of Scientology are only a few high-profile examples of their operations. They have been crucial in the maintenance of Peer-to-Peer file sharing websites, information dissemination websites like Wiki-Leaks, and unique image board forums like 4-Chan.

If you analyze Anonymous, there is something that can relate them to a grand social movement. They are an organization where membership is anonymous, so anyone can join and act within the collective mass actions this group of individuals organizes. Another aspect that can distinguish them as a sort of pseudo-social movement is the type of non-traditional modes of direct action that Anonymous takes. Instead of protests and civil disobedience in the real world (which have occurred), they choose to overload and crash websites and networks, which not only makes it difficult for an organization to function, but it also causes economic damages through loss of revenue, time, and effort. This capability, otherwise known as Hacktivsm, is another part that adds to their formidable strength.

Hackers in Anonymous can crash or modify any website or database, make any personal information or product public, and essentially access any information that exists on the internet. Think what you will about this ability but personally, I can't think of anyone else who can do something at that level, and get away with it on the vast majority of occasions.

It is important to remember, however, that these actions are performed not just for the sake of the cause, but also for the ultimate goal of Anonymous, which is the acquisition of "lol's". Lol's constitute the committing of any kind of action that can provide humor and entertainment to the perpetrator of said lol's. This can include the public humiliation of a private organization, the creating of politically offensive material that elicits overreaction, or the ridiculing of certain authority or ideology through parody. But there is a rather serious value commitment that exists within their movement, which is this: "Anonymous is a living idea that can be edited, updated, remanded, and changed on a whim...Anonymous is a consciousness focused on accounting for the free flow of information and accountability by our public institutions." Just in case you thought the internet wasn't serious business.

So there you go Cal Sate Monterey Bay, Anonymous has soiled the façade of innocence that's pervaded your innocent minds for so long. So go now, go beat the final boss of the Internet, Chairmen Meow Meow commands you so!