Anonymous

Anonymous and Scientology Unless you've been living under a rock, you have probably heard of the ongoing conflict between the "Church" of Scientology and a large group of "tech-savvy" people known collectively as Anonymous. Some are sick of hearing about it and even more have no idea why this is happening. Anonymous - What It Is and Isn't Anonymous is a word that refers to the collective of a specific, unidentifiable group of internet users. There is no hierarchy; authority figures in one of their websites has no power elsewhere. The word "Anonymous" is derived both from the nature of the websites they frequent and the lack of distinguishing traits shared by its members. The girl who serves you lunch, the cashier who always double bags your groceries, your favorite high school teacher, and even the leader of your church's choir could all be part of Anonymous. According to popular belief (see also: yellow journalism), Anonymous is a group of computer hackers. This is far from true. If I had to put a number to it, I would estimate that only 5 to 10 percent of Anons (short, plural form of referring to individual Anonymous members) have knowledge and experience in computer hacking. You might be asking yourself, "So how would you explain the DDOSing of Scientology's network?" When Anonymous says things like, "We are legion," they aren't just spreading propaganda. All Anonymous needs is one hacker to post the steps to deal the intended damage before those steps are copied and pasted across the internet. To anger Anonymous is like shouting obscenities at an endless mob after they all read the Anarchist's Cookbook (for lack of a better analogy). The Cult of Scientology I need not go into depth about this. The "Church" of Scientology is a cult based on the beliefs of science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard. (Can you say tax shelter?) They are dangerously harmful to society; they extort large sums of money from their followers (read: slaves) and placate them with promises of "enlightenment" when you can find Scientology beliefs on the internet for free. The Conflict Despite the fact that Scientology beliefs come from a batshit insane science fiction writer, Anonymous does not intend in changing anyone's beliefs. The war is with the cult; not the ideology. The conflict only exists due to the harassment, extortion, and outright lies committed by the Cult of Scientology. Part of the reason Scientology extorts so much money from its believers is to pay lawyers to harass, threaten, sue, and silence everyone who speaks out against their corruption and hypocrisy. Scientologists need not fear Anonymous, but the "Church" of Scientology should begin preparing for their downfall. If you are interested in learning more about this conflict or want to help participate, go to the Project Chanology page.