This weekend, the activists of Anonymous took their campaign against the Church of Scientology from the Internet to the streets of major cities. NPR's Andy Carvin, who was on assignment for the video blog Rocketboom, shot this footage in Washington, D.C.'s Dupont Circle:
Bryant Park Project
It's good that people are finally standing up against Co$ and its oppressive regime.
Long live anonymous.
CAN ANYONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME A LOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE AND INVEST THEIR TIME AND MONEY IN SCIENTOLOGY?
Who was that woman?
I am not a fan of Scientology but then I am also not a fan of fake engagement.
All these calls to come out and have a nice chat are so bogus. I am also not a fan of anonymity - the underpinning of incivility on the web and elsewhere. If you don't like something, then have the courage to stand up and be counted. If you don't like something - be clear about why. Taking a stand means being clear about what you think is wrong not just emoting about your dislike.
So to be clear - I don't like this type of event because it's just a self indulgent rant that on the surface asks for dialogue which is a lie - the event was designed as theatre not to have a dialogue. So all it does is widen the gulf and prevent the very thing that they purported to be about.
So when every aspect of what you do is a lie - why take you seriously?
What was your POV in covering this event?
The woman on the cake was Lisa MacPherson, a Scientologist who died in 1995. Critics of Scientology claim that she died due to negligence on the part of the church. They have a memorial page set up for her. I am unaware if any of the information they post has been independently verified.
Hi Rob,
It was a very strange event. The people participating in it were very, very angry at Scientology, yet they were very nonchalant in some of the ways they protested, like the way they rapped the Fresh Prince from Bel Aire theme song. I was also pretty shocked when they pulled out the cake with Lisa MacPherson's corpse on it. I would not be surprised if many people watch the video and get offended by how they sprinkled the cake with plastic cockroaches - they said that the coroner's report including cockroach bites on her body - and then told jokes about how "delicious" the cake would be. I wonder how MacPherson's family would react to the video. My guess is that they'd be horrified that this was the way the protesters showed solidarity with her.
Would you mind independently verifying the information you referenced regarding the untimely death of Lisa MacPherson and the Church of Scientology?? or any of its doctrines? I think it would make a great story.
Fake engagement? I think you may misunderstand the reasons for the Anonymity. The Church of Scientology's "fair game" policy means that anyone who is seen as a critic can be lied to, tricked, sued, or destroyed by any Scientologist to silence them. These people used their Anonymity to protect themselves from illegal harassment and intimidation tactics by the Church of Scientology. We would love a dialogue with Church members. We wanted to provide an open mic for anyone who wished to speak. However, even members of the press, like Mr. Sweeney of the BBC, are harassed, threatened and intimidated when asking questions of the CoS.
As for the cake, it was supposed to be shocking. How else to show the horror of the abuses of the Church of Scientology than the face of one of its victims? It was never meant as an insult to her family, but to shed light on the abuses of the CoS. Our hearts go out to all who have been harmed by the CoS, and their families and loved ones.
Anonymous blends seriousness with a sense of humor (like the Fresh Prince theme) to share their message. It is our indomitable humor and good-will that keeps us motivated and draws people to the message. The order of the clips may have made our message a little disjointed, but a good summary video of the global event can be found here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4dcig_road-to-february-10-2008-final-vers_politics
Thank you for joining us, Mr. Carvin. We really appreciated you coming to the event and we would like to invite you to our next protest on March 15th, 11am at the Founding Church of Scientology. After the success of 2/10, the Ides of March should be an even larger global event. For more information, please visit the forums of enturbulation.org
We are Anonymous
We are Legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
We have awakened
We stand as one
what a wank. ANON are just a bunch of cybergeeks feeding their own egos and like their trolling presence online, they prefer to also remian anonymous in real life
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