Anonymous vs Google: the Origin and Culture of Anonymous

By Xah Lee. Date:

you know how today there's the Anonymous group? the group who hacked FBI sites and governments sites, MasterCard site, PayPal site, Scientology, etc. The supporter of #wikileaks, people's freedom, anti-censorship, anti big corporations. It's, like, a Vigilante group loved by people, especially us who live on the internet.

what is Anonymous? It's chaos, fuckup. It's like in war time, there is no order, everyone is fucked, and all things goes. That's really the cultural backdrop of Anonymous. The associated word for such chaos, fuckup, is: revolution.

for many of the American Left bleeding-hearts of wishful-thinking i-help-transsexuals PETA-animal i-am-Forrest-Gump types, Anonymous is like the people's hero, the modern Robin Hood. This Goody-two-shoes group, often support Anonymous in a implicit way. Like, following #anonymous on twitter, tweet their causes, stories, #occupy, anti-censorship, pro-wikileaks, etc, all over the net.

but on the other hand, if you show the roots of Anonymous to these people, they distance themselves from it with a ten-hundred-foot pole.

what is the roots of Anonymous? let me show you:

there, you see the nature of Anonymous. It isn't some justice group from academia. It isn't some political party wishing to change the world for the better. It is, mostly, a helpless, angry, chaotic, group of young males of modern society (in particular in USA), living on the net and fucking around.

(it's interesting to note, with respect to online culture of past decade, they can be compared to being the opposite of Google. Google is the body that cultivated a culture of positive internet, with the mantra of “Don't Be Evil”, by always using pleasing and positive words, building positive communities. While, the Anonymous, goes: “We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”. Ain't it LOL?)

best of times, worst of times, such interesting times, from A Tale of Two Internet Groups!

By the way, to verify facts yourself, you could check Wikipedia to begin with. Here's a convenient link: Anonymous (group).

fight club demolition
Demolition of modern society, final scene from Fight Club

originally posted to https://plus.google.com/112757647855302148298/posts/PJcdeDNSBUQ