There are some things, if you are blessed with a smidgen of common sense, that you. just. do. not. do:
Tug on Superman's cape
Spit into the wind
Eat at a place called "Mom's"
Or, tell Anonymous to "Bring it!"
Things must be getting dull over at "God Hates Fags" Central. It seems that the WBC invented a threat by Anonymous, and then answered said faux threat in their unique and "amicable" caps-lock style of intercourse.
Considering that old-school 4Chan Anon call each other "faggot" as a term of endearment, I don't think the WBC yelling "Fire, faggots!" in a crowed Internet is going to cause any stir whatsoever.
Before Westboro ginned up this stunt, they would have profited by reading Lisa's diary here. She nails it. Westboro fail. Again.
I find it fascinating that after watching the 4Chan b-tards for way too many years, and having considerable interaction with the Anonymous Chanology "moralfag" contingent, that organizations are baiting Anonymous for the guaranteed publicity of it all.
The current Anonymous project is involved in truly interesting things. Like the latest in liberation communications support, Wikileaks-like leaks, things like that.
"Moar" after the (shark) jump....
AnonNews is a site that, in an anonymous fashion, anyone can post to using an "open posting" paradigm. You. Me. Even agents of the WBC. An open letter at this site is about as "official" as a FrightWing rant by a random poster in a Yahoo! comments thread.
But here is an excerpt of what started the bruhaha, an open letter at AnonNews:
Open Letter to Westboro Baptist Church
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.
(Yadda, yadda, edited for length, click on headline to read full post.)
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.
You know, that whole open letter strikes me as a little TL;DR (too long, didn't read) for Anonymous. And, as Lisa pointed out, utterly humorless. Not Anonish at all.
Leaving aside that this is not a genuine 4Chan /b-tard Anonymous pronouncement, Westboro hastily picked up the gauntlet (that they probably threw down in the first place) with glee:
It is notable that the WBC underlined "bring a tsunami of coverage to Westboro's message" in their broadside. That alone is a pretty glaring clue as to what's up with this.
Meanwhile, this reply at AnonNews looks to be the real deal from the 4Chan Anon crew:
A follow-up post at AnonNews rather sums it all up:
3. To the Media
I'm sure someone out there in Media-land is reading this. Before you start typesetting that big headline, or even open Twitter on your phone, think about this: Is this really newsworthy? This is the equivalent of two American businesses arguing over who gets to have the loudest commercials. This isn't news, it's filler. Or maybe you can twist this to your own end, make one side out to be the bad guy in this whole thing. Congratulations, you're no better than either side. If you absolutely must turn this escalation into a story, please, for the sake of the teeming masses, be impartial. Tell the story as-is. Let people make up their own minds. We have been your whipping boys before, sometimes for good reason, sometimes not. Sure, we totally ruined a guy's Myspace page, which is reproachable in the eyes of some, but we have, and always will be, the greatest form of free speech you will ever find. No other group, online or anywhere in the world, are you able to write about anything and everything. Do you think that guy looks dumb? You can tell him! It's like Catholic confession, in that the anonymity of it all frees the soul, so it can speak unabashedly. One day, I would like to see a news report on "Free Speech's Last Stand," where Anonymous and the various websites they frequent, get a slight positive spin. You can still mention how horrible you think the sites are, with all their porn and gore and crass language, but just once, why can't there be an article about how cathartic this is?
We may be Anonymous, but we are still human.
We may never forgive, but we are still capable of compassion.
We may never forget, but we are still a bad memory for some.
Expect us. Just not all of us.
Note to the press: Henceforth, try to source Anonymous news at their IRC chat, at 4Chan, and the Chanology "moralfags" at Why We Protest .
Note to Westboro Baptist Church chuckleheads: Anonymous is more like that old Candid Camera tag: "When You Least Expect It, You're Elected."
The update is that even the mainstream snooze has grokked this and are now calling it a hoax.
Now, WBC, go play with your posterboards, and be careful, those sticks can put out an eye.