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kodalaiSo, I don't know how much if anything you have heard already about “Project Chanology,” the coordinated assault of a number of internet users (self-styled Anonymous) against the cult of Scientology. They claim that their cause is championing the free availability of information on the internet, although personally I think most of them are doing it for the lulz. I was most amused by someone’s rather rhetorical comment on Scientology’s dilemma: “How do you, ideologically, argue against a crowd of people who are enthusiastically chanting that you ‘Do a barrel roll! Do a barrel roll!’ How do you fight that?”
It went from an amusing "odd news" story into a surprising and amusing 15-minute headline when a real-life march today called some 7,500 people out onto the streets of major cities worldwide. In keeping with the “anonymous” theme most of them covered their faces, wearing anything from scarves to gas masks to Guy Fawkes (V for Vendetta) masks.
Let me start off by saying that even with the transition from internet to real-world events, I don’t think Project Chanology is in and of itself terribly significant. Sooner or later the media will stop paying attention to them, Anonymous will get bored and find something else to do, and Scientology will go on bilking and exploiting people as it always has done. So I don’t think Project Chanology is all that significant. But I do think that the potential this represents is significant, and that even if it never involves the same people twice, this won’t be the last we see of “Anonymous.”
FOX News describes Anonymous as “the terrorists of the internet.” This is not particularly surprising, as FOX News would call the ice cream man a terrorist if he gave his last fudge cone to the other news network. But there do seem to be some interesting parallels in the structure, if not the means or ends, between Project Chanology and classic terrorist cells. The anonymity is a first and obvious one. The vigilante, outside-the-system actions in the name of a principled cause.
It’s always interesting to pull historical perspective on the concept of terrorism, both backwards and forwards. One time when I was ruminating on the popularity of pirates and ninjas as Halloween costumes, I remarked that in a few hundred years from now, little kids will dress up as Arab suicide bombers to go trick-or-treating. I was also reminded of someone, I don’t believe who said it to me first, remarking that terrorism as we think of it today is almost entirely a 20th century phenomenon. Certainly it has its antecedents in the past – there’s no new idea for human organization or activity under the sun – but as a large-scale, widespread and dangerous phenomenon as we understand it now, it doesn’t really go back beyond the last 100 years or so.
I think that the changes that occurred to human systems at the turn of the century that sparked the rise of terrorist actions were, in particular, an increase in nationalistic centralization. Advances in science and technology allowed governments and military powers to centralize and consolidate in such a way that they were able to extend their dominion more unilaterally than before, effectively shutting out smaller individuals and groups as military players. Thus the conversion of these special-interest groups to terrorism.
But at the same time as the changes were allowing greater centralization and consolidation of the major powers, they were also by their very nature opening up new tools and weapons for smaller groups to be effective in other ways. New and efficient weapons aren’t just available to the powerful, after all.
And a parallel effect, I think, occurs in the cultural and communications field of the internet. There’s a wide and diverse range of people who use the internet; some are centralized and powerful, particularly the commercial firms with money invested in communications, supported by a chaotic and scattered population of individuals. But whatever else it does the internet offers greater potential for mobilization of disparate individuals as never before. Some development in the area of organizing these individuals has already been seen in any number of internet innovations over the years, of which MoveOn.org is the only example off the top of my head that I can think of. Think of Anonymous, then, as the underside of such “official” grassroots movement. Grassroots vigilantism. What a concept.
So no, Anonymous is not “terrorist,” as anyone with a working brain past the third grade level should know. But it is the child of the communications technology revolution of the 21st century in the same way that terrorism was the child of the weapons industrialization revolution of the 20th century. So get used to it, it’s here to stay.
To sum up: PROJECT CHANOLOGY, LOL.
It went from an amusing "odd news" story into a surprising and amusing 15-minute headline when a real-life march today called some 7,500 people out onto the streets of major cities worldwide. In keeping with the “anonymous” theme most of them covered their faces, wearing anything from scarves to gas masks to Guy Fawkes (V for Vendetta) masks.
Let me start off by saying that even with the transition from internet to real-world events, I don’t think Project Chanology is in and of itself terribly significant. Sooner or later the media will stop paying attention to them, Anonymous will get bored and find something else to do, and Scientology will go on bilking and exploiting people as it always has done. So I don’t think Project Chanology is all that significant. But I do think that the potential this represents is significant, and that even if it never involves the same people twice, this won’t be the last we see of “Anonymous.”
FOX News describes Anonymous as “the terrorists of the internet.” This is not particularly surprising, as FOX News would call the ice cream man a terrorist if he gave his last fudge cone to the other news network. But there do seem to be some interesting parallels in the structure, if not the means or ends, between Project Chanology and classic terrorist cells. The anonymity is a first and obvious one. The vigilante, outside-the-system actions in the name of a principled cause.
It’s always interesting to pull historical perspective on the concept of terrorism, both backwards and forwards. One time when I was ruminating on the popularity of pirates and ninjas as Halloween costumes, I remarked that in a few hundred years from now, little kids will dress up as Arab suicide bombers to go trick-or-treating. I was also reminded of someone, I don’t believe who said it to me first, remarking that terrorism as we think of it today is almost entirely a 20th century phenomenon. Certainly it has its antecedents in the past – there’s no new idea for human organization or activity under the sun – but as a large-scale, widespread and dangerous phenomenon as we understand it now, it doesn’t really go back beyond the last 100 years or so.
I think that the changes that occurred to human systems at the turn of the century that sparked the rise of terrorist actions were, in particular, an increase in nationalistic centralization. Advances in science and technology allowed governments and military powers to centralize and consolidate in such a way that they were able to extend their dominion more unilaterally than before, effectively shutting out smaller individuals and groups as military players. Thus the conversion of these special-interest groups to terrorism.
But at the same time as the changes were allowing greater centralization and consolidation of the major powers, they were also by their very nature opening up new tools and weapons for smaller groups to be effective in other ways. New and efficient weapons aren’t just available to the powerful, after all.
And a parallel effect, I think, occurs in the cultural and communications field of the internet. There’s a wide and diverse range of people who use the internet; some are centralized and powerful, particularly the commercial firms with money invested in communications, supported by a chaotic and scattered population of individuals. But whatever else it does the internet offers greater potential for mobilization of disparate individuals as never before. Some development in the area of organizing these individuals has already been seen in any number of internet innovations over the years, of which MoveOn.org is the only example off the top of my head that I can think of. Think of Anonymous, then, as the underside of such “official” grassroots movement. Grassroots vigilantism. What a concept.
So no, Anonymous is not “terrorist,” as anyone with a working brain past the third grade level should know. But it is the child of the communications technology revolution of the 21st century in the same way that terrorism was the child of the weapons industrialization revolution of the 20th century. So get used to it, it’s here to stay.
To sum up: PROJECT CHANOLOGY, LOL.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-14 07:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-14 05:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-14 07:43 pm (UTC)It just proves I'm on 4chan too much.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-14 11:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 12:47 am (UTC)but i have to say i love the following:
"FOX News describes Anonymous as “the terrorists of the internet.” This is not particularly surprising, as FOX News would call the ice cream man a terrorist if he gave his last fudge cone to the other news network. "
too true!! i know this also because i frequently have to cut clips from fnc, and they are as scary as evar.
also particularly like this comment:
"One time when I was ruminating on the popularity of pirates and ninjas as Halloween costumes, I remarked that in a few hundred years from now, little kids will dress up as Arab suicide bombers to go trick-or-treating. "
hehe
don't thank me. i'm just here for the salsa.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 08:59 pm (UTC)moviesholofilms about rougeish, yet dashing terrorist bombers!no subject
Date: 2008-02-16 02:27 pm (UTC)Some obscure Japanese Anime??
DK
no subject
Date: 2008-02-17 07:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-17 02:56 pm (UTC)DK
no subject
Date: 2008-02-19 05:41 am (UTC)