By Acadia Otlowski
Like the internet deities they perceive themselves to be, the self-proclaimed “hacktivist” group Anonymous has unleashed its wrath on Ku Klux Klan members in the now infamous town of Ferguson, MO.
The conflict has become a distraction from the actual conflict in Ferguson.
Poor race relations have caused friction in the community, which has sparked numerous protests following the police shooting of the unarmed 18-year-old, Michael Brown.
All eyes are on Ferguson as the city and the nation wait to find out if Officer Wilson, the officer who allegedly shot the teenager, will be indicted.
There will be protests if Wilson isn’t indicted and this is what the Ku Klux Klan warns against in its letter. It deems those that would protest “terrorists” masking as peaceful protesters. The letter threatens “lethal force” against the protesters.
Anonymous is an organization that promotes freedom of speech and actively encourages protests. So naturally it didn’t take too kindly to the KKK’s threats. It responded with a threat of its own. IN response to the letter, the group began to “unmask” KKK leaders on Twitter.
Anonymous has marked four individuals as members of the KKK, including a former and a current police officer. It has been suggested that the reason the KKK jumped to the defense of Wilson is due to the local chapters connections to Ferguson police.
Now obviously there is no evidence that these particular individuals are in fact members of the KKK. But what is being shown through this latest development is that events no longer occur in just a place. While the mainstream media has portrayed the Ferguson situation as a two-sided conflict, in reality they are countless factions, many of which are online.
The internet is a huge factor in the Ferguson conflict, opening up a dialogue that did not exist in the original civil rights movement.
On Monday, the hashtag #opkkk began to trend on Twitter following Anonymous’ takeover of the Klan’s websites and Twitter accounts.
The Klan’s official Twitter handle, @kukluxklanusa, was seized by the hacktivist group, which then stated through the handle, “Based on the direct messages sent from and to this account, we can confirm that this account was run by an official Klan member.”
This conflict has gotten personal. It is no longer about the people of Ferguson but a fight between two opposing factions. Anonymous has taken it upon itself to punish the Klan for its threat of violence again the community in Ferguson. While admirable, it seems that Ferguson has gotten a little lost in the scuffle.
Ferguson is what matters. Not the fact that Anonymous hacked the Twitter account. Each time Anonymous does something of this nature, it is as if they are screaming for attention.
“Look at me! I am doing a good thing! Look at me!”
This is not the point. While Anonymous’ motives are good, phrases such as “You should have expected us,” seem overly grandiose and self-centered. Instead of simply tweeting that Anonymous has won the fight for the Twitter account, the group should show solidarity for the community in Ferguson.
Anonymous may get the public’s attention with these tactics but after they have it they need to do something with it.
Enough flaunting your victory, Anonymous, now make people care.