Anonymous at South By Southwest

South by Southwest is a convention about internet culture and stuff similar to that. I'd been paying attention to SXSW, and through that found this article which I found incredibly interesting.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/13/tech/web/anonymous-sxsw/index.html

For a long time groups like Anonymous and the splinter group Lulzsec flat-out just made me mad. Wasting their abilities being complete dickwads to people who did nothing to provoke any sort of reaction? That's the work of abusive adults wearing flannel shirts and eating Cheetos. And the fact that Anonymous is well-known for silencing those that speak out against it seems blatantly hypocritical and narcissistic also just makes me turn away from those that revere them with disgust. *spits*

But after reading this article, its at least a comfort to know that not all of Anonymous is like that. The overall "goal" of what Anonymous was created for (though that isn't followed a lot of the time.) speaks true to me, and although I disagree with the method I think the idea is admirable.

Although by no means have I radically changed my opinion on Anonymous. I mean, the whole idea of it just seems so...nerdy? A group with no leader or system is something that 1) Has been used in a movie, a hero type movie. 2) Was a pretty good concept for a movie, not for something that's supposed to be a worldwide movement. People have made differences in this world through a variety of means, but one thing that they all have in common is that they were willing to make a sacrifice. That sacrifice differs case to case, but before that these people were willing to stand up and be recognized for what they were doing. Anonymous is missing that component. There isn't anything to rally around, and none of the people involved is willing to stand up and take the consequences and show that they truly believe in their cause. Right now, the only thing that Anonymous is telling me is that they don't really feel strongly about censorship, but they have the skills and extra time to pretend to care. If Anonymous truly cared about making a difference collectively, they'd speak up, show up, and make a difference. Sitting at home on a computer doesn't count as activism.

Misguided nobility is not nobility. The faster people realize that, the faster you're voice will be heard.

someday...