[Debate] (Fwd) 100, 000 new Anonymous protesters added to the cadreship each year!

[Alan Murphy]

If you are intent on imitating an incompetent religious
fundamentalist, you can make your own mask -
http://forums.whyweprotest.net/threads/need-graphic-printable-guy-fawkes-mask.34051/



On 8/29/11, Patrick Bond <pbond at mail.ngo.za> wrote:
> (Damn those unintended consequences... But where can we get V masks in
> Durban? - may need them on Wednesday at the US Consulate, rush hour...)
>
>
>   Masked Protesters Aid Time Warner's Bottom Line
>
>
>             By NICK BILTON
>
> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/nick_bilton/index.html?inline=nyt-per>
>
>
>             Published: August 28, 2011
>
> New York Times
>
> SAN FRANCISCO --- Anonymous, the hacker group, has jostled with the
> Iranian government and the Church of Scientology and has briefly shut
> down the Web sites of Visa, MasterCard and other global corporations.
>
> Enlarge This Image
>
>
>             Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
>
> A protester in a Guy Fawkes mask at a rally in San Francisco on Aug. 15.
> Time Warner earns a licensing fee on the sale the masks.
>
> When members appear in public to protest censorship and what they view
> as corruption, they don a plastic mask of Guy Fawkes
> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/guy_fawkes/index.html?inline=nyt-per>,
> the 17th-century Englishman who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
>
> Stark white, with blushed pink cheeks, a wide grin and a thin black
> mustache and goatee, the mask resonates with the hackers because it was
> worn by a rogue anarchist challenging an authoritarian government in "V
> for Vendetta," the movie produced in 2006 by Warner Brothers.
>
> What few people seem to know, though, is that Time Warner
> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/time_warner_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org>,
> one of the largest media companies in the world and parent of Warner
> Brothers, owns the rights to the image and is paid a licensing fee with
> the sale of each mask.
>
> The hackers wear the mask when they protest outside of Scientology
> buildings. And they wore it during a short-lived protest this month in
> San Francisco of the Bay Area Rapid Transit's decision to cut off cell
> service to thwart an earlier protest inside train stations.
>
> "It's a symbol of what Anonymous stands for, of fighting evil
> governments," said one of the mask-wearers at that protest. The
> Anonymous member declined to share his name, noting that the entire
> concept of the mask was to remain anonymous. "You can get a mask and
> join the fight, too! But I heard the costume store is sold out until
> Friday," he said.
>
> Indeed, with the help of Anonymous, the mask has become one of the most
> popular disguises and --- in a small way --- has added to the $28
> billion in revenue Time Warner accumulated last year. It is the
> top-selling mask on Amazon.com, beating out masks of Batman, Harry
> Potter
> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/complete_coverage/harry_potter/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>
> and Darth Vader.
>
> "We sell over 100,000 of these masks a year, and it's by far the
> best-selling mask that we sell," said Howard Beige, executive vice
> president of Rubie's Costume <http://rubies.com/>, a New York costume
> company that produces the mask. "In comparison, we usually only sell
> 5,000 or so of our other masks." The Vendetta mask, which sells for
> about $6 at many retailers, is made in Mexico or China, Mr. Beige said.
>
> Mr. Beige said he did not know why the mask was so popular until
> recently. "We just thought people liked the 'V for Vendetta' movie. Then
> one morning I saw a picture of these protesters wearing the mask in an
> online news article," he said. "I quickly showed my sales manager."
>
> Guy Fawkes is not well known in the United States, except perhaps
> through the movie. But in Britain, the foiling of his antigovernment
> plot --- he was put to death --- is celebrated as a holiday, Nov. 5 or
> Guy Fawkes Day, and is commemorated with bonfires and fireworks.
>
> Although the Time Warner-owned image of Guy Fawkes appeared in 2006, it
> did not take on its new life until much later. That occurred after
> members of an online message board known as 4Chan showed a crudely drawn
> stick figure known as "Epic Fail Guy" peering into a trash can and
> reappearing wearing the mask.
>
> Then in 2008, Anonymous embraced it, explained Gabriella Coleman, an
> assistant professor at New York University's department of media,
> culture and communication. "Thousands of members came out from behind
> their computer and went into the streets to protest the Church of
> Scientology," she said. "Anonymous knew if they were going to meet in a
> visibly public space for the first time, they needed to conceal their
> identity. They inevitably chose the 'V for Vendetta' mask to do this."
>
> "It had a chilling effect. There were literally thousands of people
> standing silently in front of the Church of Scientology wearing the same
> Guy Fawkes mask," Ms. Coleman said. "The photos and videos that appeared
> in the news from the protests cemented the mask as the symbol of
> Anonymous."
>
> Warner Brothers did not respond to a request for comment on the mask's
> newfound popularity as a tool of protesters.
>
> Alan Moore, the author of the graphic novel on which the movie is based,
> could not be reached for comment, but in a 2008 interview with
> Entertainment Weekly, he expressed how proud he was of the mask's role
> in the protests of the Church of Scientology.
>
> "That pleased me," he said. "That gave me a warm little glow."
>
>
>