

Anonymous and the global correction - rms
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/201121321487750509.html

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JoachimSchipper
Unlike the other commenters here, who seem to believe Al Jazeera "just got
trolled", I think the rise of 4chan - and reddit - as politically-aware
entities is genuinely fascinating.

Of course, there's lots of trolling, grandstanding and silliness going on, but
there's also a real, mostly well-intentioned attempt to change the world:
redditors have given quite a lot of money and organized a political rally;
4chan has been fighting against Scientology and has (apparently?) been
involved in Tunesia; etc. Wrong or right, it seems hard to explain this
exclusively in terms of "lulz".

I will admit that my opinion of either group isn't/wasn't very high, and that
I'm genuinely surprised by this behavior.

~~~
samatman
the kids are all right man; the kids are all right.

~~~
JoachimSchipper
I'm terribly sorry, but I don't really understand what you mean. Care to
expand your comment a little?

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samatman
reddit and 4chan, I am guessing, came onto the internet after you did; they
have a reputation for being a younger crowd generally. Certainly this is true
of Anonymous.

There's a very human tendency to look at youth and see their culture and its
expression as unserious and flippant, because, well, it is. But they (and it
wasn't that long ago that 'they' were 'we' for me) also tend to be deeply
passionate about changing the world.

"The kids are all right" is kind of an idiomatic American was of referencing
all of this. Sorry it didn't come across.

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thomasz
The whole article is very self-centered. The Tunisian revolution didn't start
because Wiki-Leaks informed them that they live under a kleptocratic and
oppressive regime. They already knew that. I also doubt that Anonymous
assistance was essential to the adoption of organizational forms that are
literally hundreds of years old and spontaneously emerge in nearly every
revolution (neighborhood commitees etc).

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sudonim
Al Jazeera has really come into its own. With their coverage of Egypt, and
giving an un-punditized view of Anonymous, they're being true journalists.

I'm not sure if my overwhelmingly positive feelings towards AJ stem from it
being unexpected from a news org based in the middle east, but bravo Al
Jazeera.

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corin_
I love the author name on this article.

    
    
      Anonymous Last Modified: 16 Feb 2011 16:59 GMT

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fleitz
When I saw heading "For great justice" all I could think was All Your Base. I
think Al Jazeera just got trolled.

~~~
sp332
Even the caption on the photo, _No corporate or government-owned cyberspace is
immune from attack by the vast nebula of Anonymous..._ sounds like it should
be read through a Guy Fawkes mask :-)

~~~
hucker
Since the author of the article "identifies as part of Anonymous", that is
probably true :)

