In Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight, Alfred Pennyworth, in reference to the joker, says “Some men just want to watch the world burn.” I believe there are people like this in the world. Maybe not as sick and twisted as the joker, but there are people who just do thing to do things. No logical meaning or moral behind it. Anonymous provides a gateway for people like this were they can do what they want safely behind the mask. It’s Anon’s greatest flaw. If everyone behind the mask had the same goals, and the same morals, Anonymous would be unstoppable. But then what kind of world would that be? Perhaps these people that pull Anonymous down are actually doing some good. They keep Anonymous under the radar and overlooked. If Anonymous got their stuff together they could potentially have too much power and become what they are fighting against.

To Batman: “Don’t talk like one of them. You’re not! Even if you’d like to be. To them, you’re just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don’t, they’ll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it’s a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They’re only as good as the world allows them to be. I’ll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they’ll eat each other. See, I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve.” -Joker

I feel like this quote depicts the internet in a way. The government and other organizations try to control things on the internet, and Anonymous say “nope, you can’t do that” and puts the power of that control in the hands of the people. Maybe the joker wasn’t all that crazy after all.

“Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!” -Joker

Check out my Aaron Swartz on The Dark Knight post and see a little more about how this Joker Philosophy is incorporated with Anonymous.