Ever heard of 'anonymous'?

(image credit: en.wikinews.org)

Let's see ... how best to describe this emerging phenomenon.

Well, you can start with Wikipedia's definition:

"The self-styled Anonymous (used as a mass noun) is a label and Internet meme adopted within Internet culture, especially on 4chan, to represent the actions of many Internet users acting anonymously toward a given agenda. The term is used in phrases such as 'We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget.'"

But "anonymous" defies quantification. For one thing, "anonymous" people don't merely gather on the Internet. You can see them on the street at protests across the country (see photo above).

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"Anonymous" is a loose amalgam of people with many agendas. Very loose. The only tie that binds consists of two strands: a passion for justice, and a recognition that standing up for something, nowadays, includes the risk of being neutralized, whether it may mean loss of job, credibility or life.

"Anonymous" only wants their voices heard. Nowadays, in our ever-more surveilled world, one faces oblivion.

Well, this libertarian throws a cliche back in THAT face -- you'll pry my individuality out of my cold, dead hands.

Neoconstant has a very good overview of the latest "anonymous" incursion into the news.