Anonymous Vs YouTube! There Can Be Only One

"My /b/rothers. I come to you on this eve of what may be a fate changing day tomorrow. When long ago, this great site was founded by moot, only time would tell what would happen. Now, almost 6 and a half years later, I can honestly say that what has come to pass was never expected by anyone. We - a simple image board - achieved a level of infamy that has made headlines in nationally recognized news stations, and has become the sworn enemy of a certified religion. All of this done without ever labeling ourselves as a specific group, or even stating a specific goal for our actions. I'd say that's pretty damn epic. All of you, the losers, the sociopaths, the outcasts, those from broken homes, and those who just needed a friend, you should all feel so proud of yourselves for what you have become a part of. I know that long after this sites time has passed, I will continue to fondly remember the things I have witnessed here over the years.

True, tomorrow may be our last stand, a battle that may leave us without a home to return to, but when have we ever shown mercy to something other than a cat? I come to you to give encouragement, hope, even. Those of you who are planning to fight, I salute you to the fullest. What will come to pass, only time will tell, but never fear. For although tomorrow we may lose the very thing we fight for, we cannot die. As long as at least one of us has a computer with an internet connection, we cannot die. As long as someone has the will and the means to troll unsuspecting people, we cannot die. As long as there is a person who needs a home where they will not be judged on their looks or personality, we cannot die. So I come to you with hope in my heart and glory in my thoughts, telling you that 4chan cannot, and will not, ever die. Join with me, /b/retheren, for we shall ride to battle at dawn. Long live /b/!!! long live the internet!!! Long live Anonymous!!!"

So reads the manifesto that the Internet group known as "Anonymous" have released regarding a raid of "epic proportions".

Is the raid something new with a new target? No, actually it's an anniversary raid but it comes with a twist.

What is the target of the raid, why it's none other then YouTube as today is YouTube Porn day, according to "Anonymous"...

Everyone knows that flooding YouTube with porn is nothing new but Anonymous is promising a twist to this raid. What is the twist, well, even if I knew I wouldn't say as my sources asked me not give out too much information.

Is the manifesto a little melodramatic? Yeah, it kind of is as it is very unlikely that this latest stunt is going to end with the closure of a certain Internet image board and the birthplace of Anonymous.

Anonymous aka /b/ have reached a level of fame that was unexpected. From fooling Oprah Winfrey and getting her to say the meme "over 9000 penis'" to closing the pool at Habo Hotel.

A faction of /b/, or Anonymous if you prefer, has even taken on an over 9000 pound gorilla which pretends to be a religion. The organization I speak of is The Church Of Scientology. With all their money and public relations people and celebrity members; Scientology has been unable to deal with the monthly protests that the faction of Anonymous known as Chanology has held worldwide, every month of the year for almost two years now.

What is Anonymous?

Anonymous doesn't fit into any single category, in fact they most resemble the group of people in the movie "Fight Club"...

They come from all walks of life, they are young, they are intelligent and they are extremely protective of freedom of speech. In fact, freedom of speech was one of the initial reasons why Anonymous/Chanology fixed their cross-hairs on the Church of Scientology.

What do these people have in common? Well, what they have in common is their anonymity, their internet websites by default list each member on the message board as Anonymous. A person who wants to participate in all the craziness that Anonymous thrives in, will not be judged by his or her looks, ethnicity, religious views or sexual preference. Instead, each person is judged on the ideas they present to the group and the contributions they make to the various discussion threads. The interesting thing is that though each person is judged on their ideas, the very fact that you are an anonymous entity providing your ideas to the group. You have no way of "holding onto the glory of being well received". How can you, you have no identity so you are always proving yourself every time you decide to join in.

A word of caution, if you have a problem with very foul language and a wide assortment of slurs, then you should not seek this group out. The slurs are not meant in any negative way, it's just a way to take the power out of certain words as well as shocking the uninitiated.

So what do they gain from participating in this group? Well, they get the opportunity through the virtue of their anonymity to blow off steam. To intentionally say offensive things that "polite society" would find offensive. To basically release all the stress that accumulated over the work day, at school, or even because of personal reasons.

So what is there in Anonymous that makes it such a force and why are young people drawn to it?

The answer to this question is simple; Anonymous has something for almost everyone to sink their teeth into. It's a type of semi controlled chaos, it's profane and it's profound. Anonymous are activists and anti-activists, they are cyber-bullies and they are caring individuals. Whatever label you can think of, Anonymous likely covers it. Therein lies the beauty of Anonymous, since there is no individual identity in the group it frees everyone from all politically correct restraints and causes the collective to almost become an entity onto itself. Complete freedom of speech and thought without any consequences for speaking ones mind.

So why the raid on YouTube?

Why not? Would be the response.

Is it a malicious act?

That depends on your point of view and since all those nameless and faceless people have different morals and ideas of what malice is it's impossible to say for certain if this act is malicious. I suppose it's all of the following, it's a prank, it's in good fun, it's an attempt to get revenge, it's malicious, it's funny, it's serious and ridiculous.

There is no one single answer as the reasons are as different as the people who make up Anonymous.

I would say this though, it isn't wise to lable this group as a bunch of vandals and hoodlums, as much as they prank and destroy is proportionate to all that they create and all the good that they do.

Just ask any of the recent refugees that are fleeing from the Church of Scientology what they think of Anonymous.

You'll soon realize that this group is a product of new technology, they are a force the likes of which have never been seen before. After all, how many groups have there been that could organize and carry out worldwide events and yet they have no leaders. No one "Anon" is more important than any other and planning is done extremely fast with group consensus. In a way, Anonymous is Democracy to an extreme.

I think that YouTube will survive just fine though they may have a little bit more work deleting all the porn from their servers. It will probably insult a few people but remember that insulting people is part of the fun for Anonymous. So if you are insulted, then you've just lost the game.

For all that they do, both good and bad, they have earned their place in the history books as being "the first". They are truly that revolutionary and a completely new type of movement unlike any that has ever come before.

In short, Anonymous is the ultimate in freedom of speech with absolutely no tangible consequences and that is a truly beautiful thing even if it ruffles some feathers.

The funny thing is that I will probably be raided by /b/ after they read this article, but everyone has to take their lumps, which I will take with as much humor as I can muster.