Think about it like this, when you plug in online you disconnect from the real world, it doesnt matter how responsible you think you are, the internet is a drug and it is addictive. The escape from our everyday lives, is addictive.
Anonymous for example, I like to think of them as the hactivist version of the MMORPG game World of Warcraft, which I will refer to as WOW from now on because Im lazy and like to keep things swift.
In WOW you have the main frame that makes the game, World Of Warcraft. Anonymous has its main frame that makes the Collective, Anonymous.
WOW has “teams” that the players get to choose to be on, The Alliance and The Horde, then you have races that are compatible to each “team” and some races that can go in-between both sides, I guess you could regard them as neutral?
“For The Alliance” or “For the Horde”?
Anonymously has “teams” mostly seen as “White Hats” or “Black hats”. These teams collide, just like in The Alliance and The Horde, but are occupied by hactivists that are compatible to each ”team”, with some that are neutral, staying in-between.
If you have ever played WOW, you know theres a multitude of Guilds, some are highly skilled players, some are newbies and some are straight up trolls. Just like the subgroups within the Anonymous Collective,
Secs are just like guilds…
Whether we admit it or not, the Secs in Anonymous are subcategories of the collective. Made up of a mix of individuals, some are highly skilled, some have none whats so ever but they are learning, others are just trolls and get their kicks from cyber bullying.
Anonymous as a whole, claim that there is no “leader” or there is no governance etc…. So why the subgroups? As a society, we need “leaders” we need rules, regulations and codes of ethics, without some sort of guidance and expectations, it becomes a cesspool of degenerate fools who only have the aim to cause chaos and ruin what was once a good idea.
You can be anyone….
The beauty of this digital world is you can be anyone you want to under the guise of an Anonymous member. You can be Jennet from accounting, Dave from sales, heck you can even be Giga Chad, just like a game, online, you can be anyone and no one will know…. Unless they know how to find you.
Unfortunately, the most relentless bullies creep around in our world too. Some of which, with the intent to cause maximum suffering, mentally and at times physically, these trolls are called cyberbullies and their numbers have been expanding at a rapid pace lately.
Cyberbullies are not to be taken lightly, in some cases, they will push a person so far that they will take their own life in order to try escape their online abuser. Take the Savannah Meadows news article in Barrie, Canada for example.
This person was hunted down, all of the information and their family members included.
Their life history blasted online for the world to see, while the cyberbullies gleefully patted themselves on their backs for a job well done.
Their victim applied for M.A.I.D, this is a legal medically assisted induction of death. They had to wait for a year, unfortunately the cyberbullies saw this as the perfect tool to push their victim further, they wanted to break their target, sadly they succeeded. Their Victim took her life, herself, because she couldnt take the torment and constant harassment from these keyboard warriors.
The ring leader over the group of bullies so callously admits in a voice message, to bullying their victim to the point of suicide, and stated “I will make a post saying I am not accepting responsibility for his suicide”
Under the guise of anonymity, the bully thinks they are protected. Until they have a hunter after them. So just like the games we play online, there are the good and bad guys.
Sadly, the statistics are increasing, for instances cyberbullying kills..
By- Toxicity