Anonymous vs. Westboro

Dorian Gray

Hypocrisy Detector
Dorian Gray
Joined
Nov 15, 2002
Messages
20,366
http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=449


AN OPEN LETTER FROM ANONYMOUS
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February 16, 2011

TO THE CONGREGANTS OF WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH:

We, the collective super-consciousness known as ANONYMOUS - the Voice of Free Speech & the Advocate of the People - have long heard you issue your venomous statements of hatred, and we have witnessed your flagrant and absurd displays of inimitable bigotry and intolerant fanaticism. We have always regarded you and your ilk as an assembly of graceless sociopaths and maniacal chauvinists & religious zealots, however benign, who act out for the sake of attention & in the name of religion.
Being such aggressive proponents for the Freedom of Speech & Freedom of Information as we are, we have hitherto allowed you to continue preaching your benighted gospel of hatred and your theatrical exhibitions of, not only your fascist views, but your utter lack of Christ-like attributes. You have condemned the men and women who serve, fight, and perish in the armed forces of your nation; you have prayed for and celebrated the deaths of young children, who are without fault; you have stood outside the United States National Holocaust Museum, condemning the men, women, and children who, despite their innocence, were annihilated by a tyrannical embodiment of fascism and unsubstantiated repugnance. Rather than allowing the deceased some degree of peace and respect, you instead choose to torment, harass, and assault those who grieve.
Your demonstrations and your unrelenting cascade of disparaging slurs, unfounded judgments, and prejudicial innuendos, which apparently apply to every individual numbered amongst the race of Man - except for yourselves - has frequently crossed the line which separates Freedom of Speech from deliberately utilizing the same tactics and methods of intimidation and mental & emotional abuse that have been previously exploited and employed by tyrants and dictators, fascists and terrorist organizations throughout history.

ANONYMOUS cannot abide this behavior any longer. The time for us to be idle spectators in your inhumane treatment of fellow Man has reached its apex, and we shall now be moved to action. Thus, we give you a warning: Cease & desist your protest campaign in the year 2011, return to your homes in Kansas, & close your public Web sites.
Should you ignore this warning, you will meet with the vicious retaliatory arm of ANONYMOUS: We will target your public Websites, and the propaganda & detestable doctrine that you promote will be eradicated; the damage incurred will be irreversible, and neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover. It is in your best interest to comply now, while the option to do so is still being offered, because we will not relent until you cease the conduction & promotion of all your bigoted operations & doctrines.

The warning has been given. What happens from here shall be determined by you.



WE ARE ANONYMOUS.
WE ARE LEGION.
WE DO NOT FORGIVE.
WE DO NOT FORGET.
EXPECT US.

All content on this website is automatically licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. You are free to redistribute and/or remix it, but you have to credit the author, or, if the author is unknown ("Anonymous"), place a backlink to the corresponding page on AnonNews and attribute it to "Anonymous".
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Not really. It's a hoax, apparently. Possibly even done by Westboro itself. Those guys are dicks.
 
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Aw come on. It's fun. Hack the world,.... the Nintendo Generation,.... 28k modem!
 
Someone named "The Jester" actually did do denial of service attacks on 4-5 Westboro sites, though. Shirley blamed Anonymous, and Anonymous said it was The Jester. However, during the roughly 10 minute interview with Shirley and Anonymous, Anonymous did post a message on one of the websites. Not like I'm posting this message, I mean changed a page at its source to read what they wanted it to read.
 
I have to say I can't support Anonymous, they are nothing more than cyber vigilantes who think that they should be the ones that determine what should be legal and what shouldn't on the net.

They say that they are "the Voice of Free Speech" and yet at the same time they are directly threatening the free speech of other people, this seems rather ironic.

Basically they have taken on the role of judge, jury, and executioner without being given any mandate to do so by anyone, and this is very, very thin ice that they walk on. In my opinion they have already gone to far, and if they don't reverse their direction, then they will become the very thing they claim to be fighting, a tyrannical force that ignores the rights of people and breaks the law to do whatever it wants against anyone they take a disliking to.
 
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On the other hand this is Westboro scum we are talking about. Anything bad that happens to them I'm in favor of.
 
You know, regardless of whether this is a hoax/legit or "right"/"wrong" I am fascinated by the idea.
 
Dorian Gray said:
Someone named "The Jester" actually did do denial of service attacks on 4-5 Westboro sites, though. Shirley blamed Anonymous, and Anonymous said it was The Jester. However, during the roughly 10 minute interview with Shirley and Anonymous, Anonymous did post a message on one of the websites. Not like I'm posting this message, I mean changed a page at its source to read what they wanted it to read.
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In that vid, the WBC's message was essentially that they can't be shut up. But they can be ignored or mocked.

I think the best thing to do to the WBC is completely ignore them. Seems to me that they believe the phrase "Any publicity is good publicity".
 
"Anonymous" doesn't exist. It's an abstract. Anyone can claim to be a member or representative. It's just a way for some people to get attention for a specific cause.
 
Travis said:
On the other hand this is Westboro scum we are talking about. Anything bad that happens to them I'm in favor of.
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Failing to stand up for your enemy's rights will end up with them being removed from you.
 
Hackers warn Westboro Church: Stop now or else

A group of hacktivists acting under the banner, "Anonymous," has warned a church with a controversial history that unspoken retribution will follow it continues its practice of inflammatory protests.
(...)
Was "Anonymous" church threat a hoax?

Anonymous recently made headlines when it got into the computer system of a security firm and posted thousands of documents describing plans to attack WikiLeaks, the Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Update: During a live radio interview on The David Pakman Show on Feb. 24, a source claiming to be from Anonymous called in to confront church spokesperson Shirley Phelps-Roper from the Westboro Baptist Church, saying that the letter was not in fact real. The caller then proceeded to hack a Westboro Baptist Church-owned website during the interview (which you can hear at 8:24 in the accompanying video). See Video: Anonymous hacks Westboro Baptist Church website during on-air confrontation
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20033942-501465.html
 
Is it just me or does she seem to be a lot less scary than she use to. Maybe I'm just getting old and any blonde looks good lol
 
The worst that will happen is pizza-bombs (as in pizzas constantly delivered) and UPS boxes that will ship to their home non-stop.

Scary stuff.
 
PhantomWolf said:
Failing to stand up for your enemy's rights will end up with them being removed from you.
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A couple nights ago the wife and I got to go see the local premier of "Red State" which involves a cult/church loosely based on the WBC. The director, Kevin Smith (Silent Bob of Jay and Silent Bob fame) was there, and he had invited the WBC to come to both protest and to watch the movie, which they did. One of their representatives was supposed to review the movie for the audience afterward, but apparently they left 15 minutes into the movie saying it was too dirty, and instead the after-show discussion was mostly with a couple family members who had left the church, which was probably more interesting anyway.

But the tie-in to this thread and to your statement on freedom of speech is the part where Kevin Smith congratulated the Phelps family on their recent victory at the Supreme Court. He said something to the effect that even though he didn't like what the Phelps message was, that their victory to say what they say also protects his own freedom to do what he does, and everyone is better for it.

And he's right. When it comes to freedom of speech, the victories that count are the victories don't leave us feeling good about them. The speech that needs protecting is the unpopular speech. While it's tempting to make an exception for the Phelps, if we do then it's just a short step to broaden that exception to the Nazis, the Truthers, and then the communists, and then the Chomsky's, and so on.

Having said that, if Anon decides to pay some attention to the WBC, I won't be upset by it. ;)
 
PhantomWolf said:
Failing to stand up for your enemy's rights will end up with them being removed from you.
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(Fictional) Thomas More (From A Man For All Seasons):

More: Well . . . I believe, when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties . . . they lead their country by a short route to chaos.

Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!

More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!

More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
 
I like neither Anonymous nor Westboro. Can we put them both into a particle collider and let them mutually annihilate each other?
 
The caller then proceeded to hack a Westboro Baptist Church-owned website during the interview (which you can hear at 8:24 in the accompanying video). See Video: Anonymous hacks Westboro Baptist Church website during on-air confrontation
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That was awesome.
 
Also notice that the Supreme Court recently ruled in favour of WBC's right to free speech.

Thing is, Fred Phelps is a lawyer. If he weren't such a nutjob he'd be a fantastic ACLU lawyer. He knows exactly how far he can push it, and he goes right up to the line. But never over it. Never.

Anonymous, on the other hand, if this is even them, if 'them' even has a true meaning when dealing with an amorphous anarchic collective, are breaking the law. Furthermore, they are (as someone already pointed out) attempting to deny the WBC their right to free speech, which seems to be completely opposed to Anonymous' stated philosophy.

Anyway, it isn't them. It's The Jester, or whatever it is he calls himself. I hear that he and Anonymous aren't exactly friends.
 
I'm not entirely convinced by the "slippery slope" argument for allowing the WBC first amendment protection. It seems like there should be some way of carving out a special exemption for them based on their intentional harassment. But, Phelps is indeed adept at making sure he goes right up to the line without crossing it.

I prefer a more direct argument in favor of allowing bigots to speak. Sunlight tends to be the best disinfectant. I'd rather see views like this expressed openly than allowed to fester behind closed doors.

In Phelps' case, his over-the-top antics have forced people like Fox news to denounce him. He's actually giving gay-bashing a bad name. Silencing him makes him a martyr. Letting him speak continues to damage the cause he's championing.

Kev

"Even if you've eliminated all the rational explanations you can think of, the first irrational one you think of isn't necessarily true."
 
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