On January 21, 2008, a group of computer hackers called Anonymous attacked the church of Scientology with some very innovative tactics. Anonymous used the internet to spread their message against Scientology. Along with live protests by masked boycotters, Anonymous attacked Scientology online. They hacked into the Scientology website where they used a denial of service attack to shut the website down.
Anonymous also posted videos online that spread rapidly. Though the video was only two minutes long, it had over 500,000 views within just a few days.
The videos posted from Anonymous threatened to destroy the church.
“Anonymous has therefore decided that your organization should be destroyed. For the good of your followers, for the good of mankind--for the laughs--we shall expel you from the Internet and systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form. We acknowledge you as a serious opponent, and we are prepared for a long, long campaign.”
The hacker group continued to post anti-Scientology videos on Youtube. Within a few days, Anonymous opened the Scientology website.
So, whose side are you on? The Annonyous group believes that they are upholding their freedom of speech , but it may be at the cost of somebody’s freedom of religion.
Where do we draw the line for freedom of speech?
Protesters feel that they have a freedom of speech to protest a cult whose beliefs they believe to be dangerous.
Do you support Scientology and it’s freedom of speech and religion, or do you support Annonymous and their freedom of speech to a religious cult they believe to be dangerous?
I don't necessarily feel like I am on either of the opposing sides, but I do feel empathetic for the members of the Scientology religion because we as Mormons have experienced this type of aggressive opposition with Prop 8 in California. I stand by the Anonymous group's freedom of speech, but I do not agree with the immaturity and hatred that are promoting. It almost feels as though it is an abuse of the freedom of speech to try and oppose another group's God-given freedom of religion.
ReplyDeleteI agreed with ae. There are just as many if not more anti-Mormon sites on the internet, so we as Mormons are certainly able to emphasize with Scientologists. But their is no way to simply choose a side in the case, because the law is on both parties side in some respects. Both groups have their First Amendment rights.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous are perfectly within their rights to protest, denounce, and warn others against what they believe are dangers of the religion. However, when they are impeding upon the rights of Scientologists to freely practice the religion then there is a problem. According to this post and the video, I understand that Anonymous called members at their home, made death threats, and hacked into the religion's official Web site. This is definitely not allowed, and they should be prosecuted for it.
We believe in our church that everyone has the right to "worship how, where or what they may." I think Anonymous would do well to follow this advice (particularly regarding some of their tactics)
It’s unfortunate that anonymous has taken the low road to tear down the beliefs of others. Attempting to prove why others are wrong always creates contention and hatred. The tactics they use are childish. For some reason there seems to be an assumption that the only rule on the internet is that there are no rules. Denial of Service attacks are a violation of the First Amendment, and of the freedoms of expression and assembly. One does not make a better point in a public forum by shouting down the opponent. I believe there’s a reason why “anonymous” is hiding behind their anonymity – they know what they’re doing is wrong and punishable. They are scared to get caught. They are scared to disclose their identity because they don’t have the courage to stand up for their own convictions. Anonymous and all other cyber bullies hide behind free anonymous speech as their “virtual ski mask.”
ReplyDeleteWhere do we draw the line for freedom of speech?
ReplyDelete“Protesters feel that they have a freedom of speech to protest a cult whose beliefs they believe to be dangerous.” They are right, of course. They are allowed to protest something they believe to be dangerous, but the problem lies in interpreting “protest.”
Obviously, Anonymous believed that “protest” implies crossing the line between exercising the freedom of speech and denying others’ basic rights. This is where they are wrong.
While I do not support Scientology, I do respect the inalienable right of any person or organization to freedom of speech and religion, inasmuch as it does not infringe upon the same basic rights of others. Anonymous has every right to express disagreement with the Church of Scientology, but it does not have the right to attack it to the point of denying it the basic right to religion and free speech.
On the Internet, there is a very fine line between freedom and anarchy. That line should not be crossed. Anarchy takes away freedom. Personal responsibility engenders freedom. Just because you can say or do something that doesn’t mean it is prudent to say or it.
There will always be dissenting opinions, and criticism will always be present. However, after the protests and videos by Anonymous, I think that Anonymous crossed the line when they decided to shut down the Scientology website. Speech is one thing, but when you actually act out in a way that is damaging to someone or something than you have gone too far. Anonymous has every right to criticize Scientology and to say whatever they want about it. I find their name as well as they conduct to be very interesting. Not only do they have masks, but they perform most of their actions on the internet, which as we talked about in class, is anonymous.
ReplyDeleteThis whole situation seems quite similar to opposition that the LDS church has faced over the years. Our church has been defamed over and over, and even our most sacred of ceremonies has been exposed to the world. People have the right to say and show what they want about our church. A lot of people feel our beliefs and practices are sexist, racist, and other things. Obviously these things are not true, but we can't legally attack these people for saying that. However, if someone was to hack lds.org and start messing around with the site, then situation changes. When conflict and speech escalate to this level, I agree with the Scientology representative from the video that this really is "cyber terrorism." It is fine if you want to defend your belief, but when you try to impose your beliefs on others or take away the privileges of others in a forceful way, then it is no longer free speech. The internet allows you to say whatever you want, but it does not allow you to do whatever you want, even if it is anonymous.
Here's the thing- it's one thing to "protest" and use your freedom of speech to voice your opinion about a certain topic but it is a whole other thing to do it in such a angry, negative way. Us as mormons have fallen victim to it when we get mad protesters at our conferences and more recently with the whole prop 8 thing which has gone to a whole new level of "protesting." I know none of us appreciate how some of these angry protesters have acted towards us as a religion, nor do we sit is as respectable, therefore letting another organization do something similar is not okay- even if we don't agree with scientology either.
ReplyDeleteI just feel that a line has to be drawn with this whole freedom of speech concept. I totally believe in it and think it is a great privilege that we have, however, anytime we act in a negative, harmful way I think that is not necessarily good. I just believe there are ways of protesting and standing up to an issue or organization, without getting super angry. I know I'd appreciate it if some of the extreme prop 8 protesters would be more respectful and a lot less angry. It just comes across as super angry and unwillingness to understand. So from personal experience from angry protesters I do hope that this anonymous group can lighten up and not attack the scientology group so harshly- even though I don't agree with what they do, they don't deserve such harshness.
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ReplyDeleteYou know what? It's about time! Anonymous is just doing what the rest of the world, wants to do. So to my "anonymous" friends...I say...Thank you! Scientology is crazy...but I will get to that in a second.
ReplyDeleteLet me answer your question with another question. How is what Anonymous is doing any different than what groups do to the LDS Church? Anti-Mormon groups distribute and produce videos every day which spread false information and mock our values. These groups have even taken it one step further by producing a video that shows, in details, what goes on within our temples. In fact, a lot of the Christian world out there believes that our religion isn't a Christian religion at all. These groups have taken what we hold sacred, torn it apart, and posted our construed doctrine on the internet for comical consumption.
Just out of curiosity, I Google searched "Crazy Scientology Beliefs “ thinking that I would find a large amount of “anti” scientology videos. I was shocked when I found that roughly 75 percent of all the initial sites Google provided for me were positive, pro sites. I did the same thing for “Crazy Mormon Beliefs” and my results were not the same. I think you get my point. So why isn’t the LDS out ranting to the media about how we are being mistreated? Our beliefs however, are not as radical as some that the Scientology religion believes. Do you have time? If so check these videos out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0WetfWy3hE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O2_rZIgrQI
Do you see what I am saying? So in this situation, I am going to side with Anonymous. In fact, I join my voice of concern WITH Anonymous. They have the right, just like the anti LDS groups have the right to protest. They have the right to voice their opinions on what they consider a crazy dangerous religion. They have the right to produce videos voicing their claims. Where Anonymous crossed the line however, was when they hacked into the actual Web site.
I feel that Anonymous definitely has the right to protest and to speak out how they feel. All religions experience the same. When General Conference comes around, we constantly see protesters. Even as small as a sermon urging the members to speak out against religion could be considered protesting. It is something that is expected with any organized religion.
ReplyDeleteBut when it comes to actually hacking into the Scientology website and shutting it down is when it crosses the line of freedom of religion. I feel that when a physical action that interferes with one's practice it violates freedom of religion and disrespects freedom of speech.
I think the actions Anonymous took of hacking into and shutting down the Church of Scientology's website was inappropriate and wrong. But I think they have the right to protest peacefully. Whether or not they are making threatening phone calls we don't know for sure. But I really hope they are not. They throw away their credibility if they act in those inappropriate ways. I feel for the Church because I can relate to their frustrations. Being LDS, we have lots of rumors about us and we just want people to come and decide for themselves. I think as long as Anonymous is peaceful then they are living within their freedom of speech and it is the Church of Scientology's right to practice religion the way they see fit.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that it is ethical or morally right to break the law or do something like hacking into a website to bring about something that people feel is "good." It doesn't make sense to me why this mentality seems so prevalent in our world today. It is like saying, "When you are fighting evil/devil/whatever it doesn't matter how you do it... it just matters that you are fighting the evil, etc."
ReplyDeleteBoth freedom of speech and freedom of religion can coexist within a culture and have in our society for many years. Only when extremists from either side of the religious line disrespect these boundaries do problem erupt. In the case of Anonymous, freedom of speech does have its limitations. When speech is used to threaten or to encourage illegal activities, etc. only then does it cross the line.
As much bad press the church of Scientology has received over the years, for the most part they are a peaceful and law abiding church. Although their doctrines speak nothing of the Christ, they are not teaching evil doctrines or beliefs. Their effort is to minimize the suffering and pain that is found through the world through coming to know one's self, one's past, and one's potential.
This anonymous group has broken significant online laws and should be penalized for disrespecting another entity. They did not go about protesting the church of Scientology in the right way.