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Scientology: Why We Chose to Fight
So many people regularly ask Anonymous why we chose to protest Scientology. Some even dare to say, "Isn't there something better you could be doing?"
I would hope that people would give us the chance to explain what it is about this protest that is so vitally important, and why this is absolutely the best thing that so many young people could choose to do with their time. In my opinion, nothing is nobler than standing up for those whose rights have been violated and whose voices have been silence.
This is the story of how Anonymous came to discover the truth of the Church of Scientology and how we got involved.
In January 2008, a Scientology-produced video was leaked to the Internet. This video was made for a Scientology award ceremony where Tom Cruise was given the "Medal of Freedom Award" by Scientology leader, David Miscavige. A significant portion of the video was an overview of Tom Cruise's supposed achievements benefitting the organization, as well as an interview with Cruise himself. The video has proven to be rather embarrassing for Scientology, as their claims of Cruise's achievements are clearly exaggerated and Cruise was up to his usual antics in the interview.
When it became fairly obvious the public was laughing at the absurdities of the video's claims, Scientology lived up to their 'Fair Game' policy and decided to sue anyone who posted the video for copyright infringement in the hope that would force the video to disappear.
This attempt to censor the Internet through overzealous litigation caught the attention of Anonymous. Although the group has a long history of juvenile and often ridiculous behavior, they have also been fiercly protective of free speech on the Internet. They saw the barrage of litigation as an attempt by Scientology to quash free speech. They felt that the video was covered by Fair Use, especially since Scientology's lawsuits made the video even more newsworthy than it already was. Scientology's actions left the video itself open to the academic and press clause in copyright's Fair Use law, allowing the media, academia, and the public the right to review the video as a part of current events. This angered the church and they continued to levvy law suits against web sites and now news organizations as well. This widening of Scientology's attacks only served to further the objections of Anonymous, emboldening their resolve to take action to protect free speech on the Internet.
In the process of researching Scientology's litigious past, Anonymous became aware of the very dark and troubled history of the Church of Scientology. They read about the abusive control of its membership, the exorbitant fees charged for religious salvation, the harrowing systematic harassment of Paulette Cooper during Operation Freakout, the many families torn apart by Scientology's "Disconnection" policy, the mysterious death of Lisa McPherson, the scope of organization's infiltration of the US Government in Operation Snow White, and so much more.
It became painfully obvious to Anonymous that clearly, there was much more going on within the Church of Scientology than just their totalitarian attempts to violate free speech. They were heartbroken to discover that an organization in the United States was using religion as a facade for hateful criminal behavior. And worse still, that this organization that has already been convicted of so many crimes was still allowed to exist and operate within the United States. It was unfathomable that Scientology had been granted tax exemptions that no other religion in the country enjoys, to the extent that their tax exemptions have been deemed in court to be in violation of the Constitution. Anonymous was heartbroken that such an organization has been allowed to exist for so long, giving them free reign to continually and habitually violate the human rights of their members and critics.
Anonymous decided it was high time someone - anyone - stood up to this Goliath and said no.
Initially several individual anonymous let their immaturity overcome their reason, and they perpetrated Denial of Service attacks on Scientology's websites, which shut the websites down. These attacks caught the attention of Mark Bunker, a long-time critic of Scientology and the founder of XenuTV.com. As soon as Mr Bunker heard about what had happened, he posted a single video on YouTube addressed to Anonymous. He said that he agreed that something needed to be done, but he was very, very clear in telling Anonymous that the only way they could truly make a difference would be through peaceful protests within the law. After all, when fighting an organization so unbelievably corrupt, we cannot let ourselves sink to their level. Mr Bunker applauded Anonymous' desire to bring the leaders of Scientology to justice, but he didn't want to see them fall victim to Fair Game, and he didn't want to see anyone else breaking the law.
That one video inspired a change throughout all of Anonymous that was truly remarkable. Literally overnight a group that had been so juvenile and silly transformed into a force dedicated to peace, knowledgeable about the applicable laws, and emboldened to follow in the footsteps of Mr Bunker and so many other Scientology critics. They took Mr Bunker's words to heart and were transformed into an organization dedicated to peaceful protest, public education, and justice.
In honor of Mr Bunker's wisdom, he is now known as Wise Beard Man. His words are wise, his face is beard.
That is how Anonymous got involved and this is who we are today. This fight is so important to us that there simply aren't adequate words to convey the sincerity of our hearts. Anonymous doesn't have a leader, Anonymous is as far from organized as it's possible to be; and yet every single one of us is dedicated to change through peace.
To learn more about Scientology, please visit the following websites:
- Xenu.net
- XenuTV.com
- ExScientologyKids.com
- LermaNet.com
- Xenu-Directory.net
- WhyAreTheyDead.net
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