More on Occupy Wall Street and Anonymous

In Occupy Wall Street is sequel to Anonymous vs Scientology, I pointed out that I had 'seen this movie before' and recognized the signs of Anonymous's involvement, as well as how other activists were recognizing the protests' significance and were starting to jump on board. I'm not the only one to observe the hand of Anonymous. Next Media Animation did, too.

Where did Occupy Wall Street start? Up north! Canada's AdBusters made the initial call for protesters to converge on Wall Street and demand campaign finance reforms.

However, the movement failed to catch fire until the hacker group Anonymous took notice.

The protests gained momentum, attracting some unlikely bedfellows in the process.

In the past, liberal activists focused on clearly defined causes. Occupy Wall Street's muddled approach could compromise the movement's effectiveness.

The rallying cry for the movement is "We are the 99%". But compared to most of the world, the protesters are still very privileged.

Nevertheless, the Occupy Wall Street movement continues to gather steam. Will it become the Tea Party of the left?

The Tea Party of the Left? Brad Hicks has other historical comparisons in mind.

Anonymous are the new Wobblies, I think. I think that when a cop sees you in that Guy Fawkes mask, as far as he's concerned, you've shown up in an Official Terrorist Uniform. You might as well have handed him a signed, notarized release form giving him permission to gas you and beat the crap out of you.

Brad also stated that "Anonymous terrifies the DHS." I commented on both of those highlighted sentences.

I know you don't intend these statements that way, but I have a feeling that more than a few Anonymous would get off on them. I think you're intending them as statements of fact or implied warnings, but they'd take them as things to boast about.

Brad's response:

I actually mean them as both: as admiration, and as a warning. If you're willing to make your points, knowing this, by going out wearing that mask, I have great admiration for your courage. But I don't recommend you do so unless you mean to volunteer to accept the risk of being a martyr for the cause, because somebody, maybe multiple somebodies, wearing that mask are going end up jailed for life on trumped up charges if they're lucky, and beaten to death or gunned down in cold blood as likely as not.

As you can see, Brad has a very dark take on things. Speaking of which, I recommend reading the rest of his post. While he's generally pessimistic, he does allow glimmers of hope to shine through, and he does have some practical advice. In particular, he suggests that people in the satellite protests should start collecting money and supplies and sending them to the protesters on Wall Street (and I'd add Washington DC) to keep them going once winter sets in. There is an Occupy Detroit movement, and it's starting tomorrow. I think I'll join them and see if they're amenable to that idea.