We the free peoples of the world stand before the crossroads of humanity's future. To continue down the same path would mean our certain annihilation. The only other paths seem as though they simply have yet to be blazed, and that's where we come in. The knowledge that things are fundamentally wrong in our society is prevalent in almost every rational mind. What's lacking is a clear directive for a replacement to our very flawed system. This lack of direction, or perceived lack of direction, has been our greatest hinderance. The media has skewed the public perception of what The Occupy Movement represents.
I see this movement as the global adhesive by which all other groups of disgruntled citizens come together. We are the all inclusive. We are the 99%.
We have made great progress networking nationally and indeed globally. This progress must continue. We must be willing to overlook the internal strife as well as each other's small transgressions and understand that the job we have set out to do is of far greater importance than any of of us.
We are here to save the world, and only a fool would think that a quick or easy job.
If there are only seven degrees of separation between us, then all we have to do is networking and outreaching, and we will reach the entire world. Right now, people everywhere are turning off the news and are seeking alternatives for their information for this reason: when you can't trust everyone you know, you must put your faith in strangers.
Be that alternative source. When you hear someone griping about our social ills, get in on the conversation. You will find that you get a lot of positive feedback. You will also get a lot of new contacts. Our support base is everywhere; it's in the faces you see everyday. As I stated, there are but a few who don't realize shit has to change. We must be the ones who get everyone involved, and by involved, I mean start simple. All a preson really needs to back you is their John Hancock. That is the foot in the door. Once they see the light, they will at that point want to get physically involved, planning, working, networking.
Keep them busy. If someone has left this movement it's because they felt they were no longer useful.
Build community projects. Once your group has proprietary sense over physical space and projects, the momentum will grow exponentially.
Lastly, but of most importance, we must at this point give birth to the new global citizens party. Now is the time. We have the network. The people are ready.
"The only way to deal with an unfree world, is to become absolutely free, that your very existence is an act of rebellion." - Albert Camus
"When the power of Love will overcome the love of Power, the world will know Peace" - Jimi Hendrix
I do not claim to understand the inner workings of the hactivist hive Anonymous, but over the past few months, I my gratitude toward and respect for Anons has grown as the spirit of the Occupy Wall Street Movement has spread across the globe. This is not to say that I once did not respect or love this group. I am writing to both express this gratitude and to respond to some opinions voiced by members of mainstream media regarding the relationship between the DDoS attacks of 01/19/2012, the Occupy Movement and Anonymous.
Josh Harkinson from Mother Jones wrote an interesting piece today "How and Why Anonymous Took Down the FBI's Website" that attempts to explain #OpMegaUpload, the distributed denial of service attack that temporarily took down the homepages of the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, Universal Music, the US Copyright Service, the US Department of Justice, and last, but not least, the FBI.
In addition to sharing conversations from AnonOps chat rooms, Harkinson quotes Biella Coleman of McGill University who is "... a leading academic expert on Anonymous."
However, Harkinson's article is mis-titled as it fails to explain the "why" as he admits
"... I had a hard time getting a clear picture of why they felt MegaUpload.com was worth defending." Harkinson hedges his bets, ending his article with a punchline and quoting one Anon who allegedly posted in a chat "Mom FUCK MOM, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO RUIN MY LIFE."
Instead of providing an in-depth analysis of the role Anonymous has played supporting the Occupy Wall Street Movement, Harkinson shies away from elaborating upon his statement:
"At a time when Anonymous is increasingly defined by its role in the physical encampments of the Occupy Wall Street movement, #OpMegaUpload is a reminder that the anon army of geeks still cares just as much about what it can and can't do in front of a computer screen."
What Harkinson fails to acknowledge is that what someone can and cannot do in front of a computer screen is important because of its impact on what someone else can and cannot do in real life.
One needs only to observe a citizen journalist from the Occupy Movement to note the importance of those who use Twitter and other social networking tools to support the protesters and livestreamers and to protect them from police brutality, violence and the forces of nature. When an activist is in need, it matters greatly that someone is watching.
Recently, a group of peaceful protesters now known as "The Amarillo 13" benefited from the efforts of those watching the citizen footage they broadcasted live on Ustream.
I watched this from my apartment in a city with an Occupy group that is no longer allowed to camp. When I am not actively working with the Occupy community or working at my job (yes, I have a job - actually 2), I watch the livestreams of citizen journalists. I was following the activities of various Occupy groups (learning about them via Twitter) late on Saturday, January 14 when a group of 13 protesters using the Twitter handle @Road2Congress were detained aboard Greyhound and then kicked off the bus. These folks were kicked off a bus by Driver Don Ainsworth in Amarillo Texas for being part of Occupy Wall Street movement.
I have only been using Twitter seriously for a year, and it was not until recently that I even began livestreaming, so Twitter is still a learning experience for me. Since the Occupy movement began, I have come to view social networking services like Twitter and Facebook as activist/hactivist tools. On January 14 and 15, Twitter especially allowed caring individuals to offer comfort and resources to these thirteen protesters who were stranded. However, if it were not for what Harkinson refers to as Anonymous' main twitter account @YourAnonNews, I would not have been aware of the crisis my comrades faced in Amarillo.
I can only follow 2000 Twitter accounts at a time and had somewhere around 650 followers that weekend. As I write this, @YourAnonNews has 308,094 followers. That means that if I tweet something to @YourAnonNews, it will appear in the streams of 308,094 people. I was not following @Road2Congress, had never even heard of them, but I learned about their situation from @YourAnonNews.
View the story "Tweets to the Amarillo 13 - for Anonymous with Love" on Storify is a timeline of some of the Twitter activity relating to the Amarillo 13 tweeting from @Road2Congress and the resources tweeted by @YourAnonNews. This conversation demonstrates the importance of having freedom to communicate while sitting in front of a computer screen.
The following tweets are from January 15 when the Amarillo 13 sent out an S.O.S. via Ustream and Twitter.
@Road2Congress tweeted
@ZAPatty we are having trouble in Amarillo right now! Bus driver threatening to kick us off! #road2congress#j17
Imagine what it would feel like if you or your child or mother or brother was stranded at a Greyhound bus station and you wanted to call the bus station!
Corporate Greyhound # in TX is 214-849-6831 | Greyhound station # is 806-374-5371 | General Customer Service # is 1-800-231-2222 | #OccupySD
When I livesteamed my own Occupy movement's MLK parade and was followed by police in unmarked cars and offered a ride, I secretly hoped that somewhere, Anons were watching.
I can't help but note the attitude of dismissal in Arik Hesseldahl's ethics statement "Anonymous Fails, Once Again, to Make Its Point" appearing on All Things Digital this evening. Hesseldahl writes:
"Yet now that the attacks have subsided, it’s time to see them for what they are — nothing more than a blunt instrument that accomplishes nothing constructive"
"Constructive" is an obviously relative term. What is or is not constructive behavior could be debated the same way what is or is not art is debated in regard to graffiti. As I write this, 107 Brazilian government and media websites as well as Justin Bieber's music website have been declared "TANGO DOWN" (WIN).
I can neither refute or confirm mainstream media's claims that Anonymous misled people into following a link which triggered a tool which launched a DDoS attack. Hesseldahl explains that these innocent users were
"...tricked into following the link [and were] given no context or information, and so may or may not have any idea that they’re participating in the execution of a crime."
Personally, I do not click on links that are provided without context or information, and I have not come across any. I have not participated in a DDoS attack knowingly or unknowingly because I don't click on random links. To call Thursday's DDoS attack a failure is a premature assumption based on one's understanding of the word "FAIL." If one goal of Anons is to inform the public of their existence and the existence of every citizen who cannot speak up for herself, they have certainly accomplished that (see video Anonymous on Protect IP Bill).
The irony is in the final paragraph of Hesseldahl's judgement of Thursday's DDoS attacks:
"At most, they inconvenience the people who visit and operate the targeted sites for a few hours, until the attention spans of the attackers shift elsewhere."
I not only imagine but expect that the attention spans of Anons will shift elsewhere. They have taught me to expect them when I used to expect no one, as in "A Message of Hope from Anonymous UK" and in their vigilant online presence when journalists, freedom fighters, the strong, the weak, the young, and the elderly wish to be heard.
Regarding SOPA and PIPA, Anonymous has done more than protest SOPA via DDoS attacks. The Tumblr site Your Anon News provides an Anti-SOPA Took Kit which includes links to the actual bill text of SOPA and PIPA and a Take Action Checklist which links to Fight for The Future's petition to Stop American Censorship petition. These primary documents - the actual bills are crucial when discussing or protesting The Senate's Protect IP Act (S. 968) or the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). I have noticed that in social networks, more and more people are referencing the actual text of the bills instead of the interpretation offered in an OpEd column, and regardless of whether or not the people I interact with got them from Your Anon News, it pleases me that these primary sources are circulating.
I am a person who uses Twitter and has a camera.
I am a citizen journalist. I am a citizen of Earth. I am employed yet I cannot afford my student loan payments and devote almost every free moment I have to supporting my own city's Occupy movement as well as the national movement. I am afraid of my own local police department. I may someday encounter violence or police brutality as I stand up for the basic rights of human beings. I hope someone will be watching.
For evidence of goodwill on the Internet, one need only follow the livestream of a citizen journalist while a peaceful protester's hands are zip-tied behind him by police who will not display badge numbers or when an Anon sends a shout-out that an activist needs water or shoes or an ambulance.
Occupy the Stage is a branch of Occupy NOLA that is dedicated to artists and artisans. We are committed to the belief that the arts and skilled trades are sacred. They belong to the people and are immune to censorship, gentrification, taxation or corporate consolidation. These are the basic necessities for civilization and are considered incorruptible.
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