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“Anonymous”, the loose-knit anti-Scientology collective, staged a demonstration yesterday outside New York’s Church of Scientology Headquarters near Times Square; it was part of an international day of protest against the church. Anonymous has been expanding rapidly since their Message to Scientology video was posted on YouTube in January; it's been watched over 2 million times in the past three weeks. Among other things, the video accuses Scientology of censorship for threatening to sue websites who hosted the now-infamous Tom Cruise Scientology video. (Gawker refused to remove the video; be the 10 billionth SP to watch it here.)
Yesterday’s protest outside the headquarters on 46th Street amounted to roughly 100 masked gadflies cracking wise and chanting anti-Scientology slogans like “Tax the Cult”. Besides objecting to Scientology’s tax-exempt status, the protesters also blame the church for the death of adherent Lisa McPherson in 1995, their alleged use of child labor, and their “fair game” policy of aggressively silencing critics. Yesterday would have been McPherson’s 49th birthday.
In response to the demonstrations, the Church of Scientology issued a statement calling the protesters “a group of cyber-terrorists who hide their identities behind masks and computer anonymity” and “perpetuate religious hate crimes.” Anonymous hackers claim to have disrupted many official Scientology websites last month. A trilogy of YouTube videos documenting the New York protest begins here, but we've got to tell you, they're not exactly winning us over with these lousy production values.
Yesterday's anti-CoS demonstrations were also covered in Seattle by Seattlest, in Austin by Austinist, in L.A. by LAist (which also has video), in London by Londonist, and in Toronto by Torontoist
Photo: Ralph Hockens
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Damn.
Wouldn't it be interesting if we had a scientologist for president?
Anonymous is not just Anti-Scientology. We are against anything that dares dictate what we and you do on Our Internet.
We pay for the Internet. We make it interesting. We make it rich. We make it fun. We make it powerful.
We run the show. We are the show.
We have approached this fight tentatively, as we are never as one mind. We still have fragments that deride these efforts. They are free to do so; they are also Anonymous.
But Scientology has decided to uphold their censorious and black-box methods of publicity, and we will continue to pour the spotlight onto the organization that harms its own, in its own backyard.
We are not omnipotent, but we are tireless, because we are not human. We are the Internet and the knowledge residing on It.
We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Knowledge is free.
Beware the Ides of March.
Expect us.
Anonymous is not just Anti-Scientology. We are against anything that dares dictate what we and you do on Our Internet.
We pay for the Internet. We make it interesting. We make it rich. We make it fun. We make it powerful.
We run the show. We are the show.
We have approached this fight tentatively, as we are never as one mind. We still have fragments that deride these efforts. They are free to do so; they are also Anonymous.
But Scientology has decided to uphold their censorious and black-box methods of publicity, and we will continue to pour the spotlight onto the organization that harms its own, in its own backyard.
We are not omnipotent, but we are tireless, because we are not human. We are the Internet and the knowledge residing on It.
We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Knowledge is free.
Beware the Ides of March.
Expect us.
looks from that double posting like, despite the fact that you "are the Internet", you are just as susceptible to "internal server errors" as the rest of us. you have no chance dudes.
lolz@SP, but still, go anonymous! fuck those fuckers!
Good thing every science fiction writer didn't start a religion. What a joke. Xenu! OOOOOOOO! Aliens and eternal life (yawn).
Do they have to wear those masks from V is for Vendetta? "I'm a pop-culture-aware protester ironically fighting against a moneyed, Hollywood-based, thought-control empire!" The irony is too much.
too bad anonymous is not anonymous on Gothamist thanks to gothamist Comment policy. Anonymous is Caidence. and that's sad. Anonymous should go after Gothamist and their censorious ways.
Atheism is awesome! Anyone up for starting a cult?
Aren't monotheistic religions like Christianity and Catholicism large corporations as well?
you know, caidence, to say that you "are legion" implies that you are allied with the devil. At least as I read the book of Mark.
Can Anonymous also save me if I get in a traffic accident?
@11: Actually, in the bible, 'Legion' is capitalized,as a proper noun, because it is actually a translation of a specific demons' name. In the case with the protesters above, I imagine they are using legion in the sense of 'we are many'. However, we all know the bible has been through so many redactions and translations, that basing an argument on semantic grounds and using the bible to back it up is like tap dancing in quick sand.
I find Anonymous much more interesting than Chelsea Clinton's hurt feelings.
The Los Angeles demonstrations were peace. My audio recordings of the event and photos are available online at:
http://www.doxaweb.com/blog/2008/02/anonymous-holds-successful-peaceful.htm
Xenu is my co-pilot.
How anyone could follow a 'religion' based on a science-FICTION writer's imagination is beyond me. It's difficult enough to deal with the religious zealots who use texts that are thousands of years old to base their destructive and antisocial behavior upon, but to have to put up with a ridiculous upstart like L. Ron is completely and utterly inane. I mean, if you're going to base your faith on a sci-fi writer's vision of the future, at least pick one who is actually good at what he does... maybe Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov.
I realize the jury is still out on the factuality, but I find it amusing that this "religion" may have been founded as the result of a bet. The gullible as pawns of a handful of sci-fi authors. Brilliant.
$cientologists are to be pitied. They have been lied to and abused for many years. They are pathetic in their blind devotion to the "church." There is one evil imp running the show, David Miscavige, who has dismantled what used to be the management of $cientology. Heber Jentsch and Guillaume LeSevre have been locked up at what is called Gold or Int (short for International) Base. $cientology is truly a dangerous cult. Yes, people should be free to believe whatever they want to believe, but the corporation of $cientology is evil and will keep making it's bid to take over -- don't think it's a good thing if they move into your neighborhood. Do your homework: look at what they did to Clearwater. It's a dying town.
lucyvanpelt wrote: "this 'religion' may have been founded as the result of a bet."
Not too likely, lucy. A Scientologist addresses the rumor here:
http://scientologymyths.info
And I took a stab at addressing it at another gothamist article here:
http://gothamist.com/2007/08/14/rev_john_carmic.php
(message #91, and #320)