Anonymous: Bigger, More Contentious, More Chaotic… but Better?

Image by Rock Lou

Much has been made about conflicts that have arisen within the hacker community; the main stream media has made sure of that. Stories of rogue programmers sabotaging parts of networks, or supposed splinter groups pursuing alternative agendas have proliferated. Focus has been put on isolated cases, and rumors of questionable provenance, in order to present a negative opinion of Anonymous with the intent of eroding their overwhelming global support and participation.

Differences of opinion about how to achieve shared goals are the lifeblood of progress, even as they appear to be barriers. Any relationship without debate is stagnant. Any opinions discussed without dissension lack foundation. Any operation carried out without the vetting of competing strategies is poorly planned. Conflict and struggle are often necessary for progress, particularly with group dynamics, and the presence of any element of contention proves the growing strength of the Anonymous movement. The media has simply misrepresented positive group dynamics and presented them in a way that supports their anti-Anonymous narrative.

Conflict can be the harbinger of discovery when welcomed by, and dealt with as, a community of peers. The push-and-pull of passionate participants is often chaotic despite the beauty of the resolutions achieved. Democracy, in all its glory, can be a wonderfully messy and disorganized experience.

The influence of any negative elements, or destructive agendas, such as those present in any large community, can find fertile ground in a community that encourages equal participation within a decentralized and non-hierarchical structure. The process of dealing with these issues through inclusion, transparency, and informed debate may have the appearance of vulgarity but results in the sophisticated inclusion of all while identifying negative forces that will be expelled by the group as a whole. It’s quite democratic. Exclusion of dissension, or minority opinion, may have the appearance of efficient deliberation, but the consensus is false and the issues have been left unresolved and ignored. Sometimes you gotta get in and mix it up a little in order to solve a problem and make some progress. This is the nature of an inclusive and egalitarian community.

Anonymous has grown. It is growing exponentially. It is no longer a semi-closed, elite community of anti-Scientology activists or digital pranksters… well, not only (lulz:). The massive increase in the size of the community has brought development and maturity in the community’s sense of purpose and level of effectiveness. It is truly becoming a global community, as dynamic and multifaceted as any, but much more democratic, and far more threatening to the status quo, than others.

Thus, Anonymous is the target of main stream media assaults and the victim of repeated smear campaigns. It is the subject of disdain for politicians and CEOs, and the identified enemy of governments. It is the thorn in the side of corporations and predatory global capitalist. Anonymous unites heads of state from North America and Europe with dictators and tyrants around the world in a common goal of subversion, and censorship, against this entity that threatens their power and control.

The funny thing is, Anonymous is you. Anonymous is all of us. Anonymous is nothing more than a democratic movement of the people of the planet. Decentralized, and non-hierarchical, this movement represents the collective will of the people of this planet. However, as we are discovering, the will of the people is not the same as the will of the power-that-be. Polls of the people say one thing, but our governments always seem to vote with the corporations. People want to end the wars but our governments keep sending our young to be canon fodder for corporate expansion and resource acquisition. The divide between the people of this planet, and those that lord over them, is becoming increasingly apparent, and increasingly unacceptable.

The corporate controlled media will shine a light on those that disagree with, and seek to do harm to, Anonymous, or even those that try to undermine the credibility of Anonymous by assuming that mantle. Every large community has miscreants. The success and progress of Anonymous has not been effected by minor internal strife, quite the contrary, nor has the relentless media campaign achieved its goal. Anonymous has become a global force to be reckoned with, and this is making a lot of very powerful people very anxious.

Those that hold the power, and control the resources, do not want democracy, transparency, equality or emancipation for the people of this planet. This system is working very well for their interests. Anonymous, all of us, you and me, the people of this planet, informed, enlightened, and communicating, is their worst nightmare. We are Anonymous. We are those whom they are using all of their resources, technologies, law enforcement, and political institutions to stop, censor, and silence. We, the people of this planet, have become a serious threat to those that would own each and every one of us (as they do through imposed financial indebtedness to them) as well as our food, our water, and our planet itself.

So, before you buy into the media spin on the supposed problems within Anonymous, or conflict among hackers, take a look at the following videos. These videos are just a sampling of very current Anonymous and AnonOps operations and activities. Anonymous is now able to fight wars on multiple fronts. Anonymous is now able to directly confront some of the largest and most powerful governments and corporations on the planet. Anonymous is so big it can no longer be hidden like a digital light under a proverbial bushel, nor should it be.

http://youtu.be/XHuA30FcCIE

http://youtu.be/tFKBN0bHTIQ

http://youtu.be/6EqCfammf9E

#OpTakeTheWeb July 12, 2011

These video links may not last long. Such is the fate of many Anonymous and AnonOps communications. Additional links to other Anonymous and AnonOps videos, left in the comment section, will be included into this post as updates once reviewed. Links existing only in the comment section are not from News Junkie Post or this author. Links that are discontinued or sabotaged will be taken down and replaced with fresh links as soon as possible. Thanks for your participation.