Anonymous vs Westboro Baptist Church

[Lighthawk]

Open Letter to Westboro Baptist Church
AN OPEN LETTER FROM ANONYMOUS

February 16, 2011

TO THE CONGREGANTS OF WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH:

We, the collective super-consciousness known as ANONYMOUS – the Voice of Free Speech & the Advocate of the People – have long heard you issue your venomous statements of hatred, and we have witnessed your flagrant and absurd displays of inimitable bigotry and intolerant fanaticism. We have always regarded you and your ilk as an assembly of graceless sociopaths and maniacal chauvinists & religious zealots, however benign, who act out for the sake of attention & in the name of religion.

Being such aggressive proponents for the Freedom of Speech & Freedom of Information as we are, we have hitherto allowed you to continue preaching your benighted gospel of hatred and your theatrical exhibitions of, not only your fascist views, but your utter lack of Christ-like attributes. You have condemned the men and women who serve, fight, and perish in the armed forces of your nation; you have prayed for and celebrated the deaths of young children, who are without fault; you have stood outside the United States National Holocaust Museum, condemning the men, women, and children who, despite their innocence, were annihilated by a tyrannical embodiment of fascism and unsubstantiated repugnance. Rather than allowing the deceased some degree of peace and respect, you instead choose to torment, harass, and assault those who grieve.

Your demonstrations and your unrelenting cascade of disparaging slurs, unfounded judgments, and prejudicial innuendos, which apparently apply to every individual numbered amongst the race of Man – except for yourselves – has frequently crossed the line which separates Freedom of Speech from deliberately utilizing the same tactics and methods of intimidation and mental & emotional abuse that have been previously exploited and employed by tyrants and dictators, fascists and terrorist organizations throughout history.

ANONYMOUS cannot abide this behavior any longer. The time for us to be idle spectators in your inhumane treatment of fellow Man has reached its apex, and we shall now be moved to action. Thus, we give you a warning: Cease & desist your protest campaign in the year 2011, return to your homes in Kansas, & close your public Web sites.

Should you ignore this warning, you will meet with the vicious retaliatory arm of ANONYMOUS: We will target your public Websites, and the propaganda & detestable doctrine that you promote will be eradicated; the damage incurred will be irreversible, and neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover. It is in your best interest to comply now, while the option to do so is still being offered, because we will not relent until you cease the conduction & promotion of all your bigoted operations & doctrines.

The warning has been given. What happens from here shall be determined by you.

WE ARE ANONYMOUS.
WE ARE LEGION.
WE DO NOT FORGIVE.
WE DO NOT FORGET.
EXPECT US.

Source

[Mikey]

Well, Westboro - you've thrown more than enough shit... now, you are about to be introduced to the fan.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

I'm... actually cheering form Anon here.

[Lighthawk]

It's hard not to...WBC are among the biggest assholes that have ever walked the planet. I don't really agree with Anon's methods here, but considering the target, I think I'll make an exception.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Ayup. Complete and total scum, there.

[Graham Kennedy]

Oh joy, one wrong heaped upon another.

Westboro Baptist Church is a stain on humanity. But who the fucking hell are Anonymous to take it upon themselves to decide which opinions they will "allow" and which they will not?

[Lighthawk]

THEY ARE ANONYMOUS.
THEY ARE LEGION.
THEY DO NOT GIVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT LEGAL AUTHORITY.
THEY DO NOT SEE THEIR OWN HYPOCRISY.
EXPECT NOTHING GOOD TO COME FROM THIS.

[Sonic Glitch]

THEY ARE ANONYMOUS.
THEY ARE LEGION.
THEY DO NOT GIVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT LEGAL AUTHORITY.
THEY DO NOT SEE THEIR OWN HYPOCRISY.
EXPECT NOTHING GOOD TO COME FROM THIS.

[Vic]

It would seem that Westboro is going to get a taste of it's own medicine.

[Lt. Staplic]

I found this on youtube: Link

[Lt. Staplic]

It also appears that Anonymous didn't issue the threat.

A hacker known as The Jester posted the threat not Anonymous the resulting crashes in the Westboro websites was their doing. From what I've found the WBC goaded Anonymous with a series of tweets and I quote "Bring it on". the group released a statement that they were not responsible and had no interest in the church.......


that is until the day of the inverview (see link above) when the guy got so annoyed with the lady from the church continuing to cut him off he hacked downloads.wesborobaptistchurch.com (it's down now) and put up a message. You can see the message in the link in this post.

[Mikey]

Well, of course people like the WBC can't allow people to engage in actual discourse - that would show them up for the hateful subhuman monster which they are.

@ GK - yes, I've never been one to condone vigiliantism; but no matter that Anonymous didn't issue the original threat, the scope of WBC's actions is so awful and abhorrent to actual human beings that I'm perfectly happy to let them get what's coming.

As an aside,

In the battle of hacktivisits vs. monsters (which also happens to be an upcoming movie starring Harrison Ford)

[Graham Kennedy]

@ GK - yes, I've never been one to condone vigiliantism; but no matter that Anonymous didn't issue the original threat, the scope of WBC's actions is so awful and abhorrent to actual human beings that I'm perfectly happy to let them get what's coming.:

The first part of that statement is contradicted by the last part.

[Tsukiyumi]

@ GK - yes, I've never been one to condone vigiliantism; but no matter that Anonymous didn't issue the original threat, the scope of WBC's actions is so awful and abhorrent to actual human beings that I'm perfectly happy to let them get what's coming.:

The first part of that statement is contradicted by the last part.

Not really. "I've never", as in "I have never" implies that he hasn't before, but has changed his mind in this case.

[Mikey]

Indeed. What has happened in the past doesn't deny what happens in the present; and while I'll probably continue my prior stance into the future, it still doesn't prevent me from feeling this way in this case. I'm fully willing to admit that this is a visceral reaction rather than an intellectual one, and I'm 100% OK with that.