Re: HateWatch Press Release: Activism vs Hacktivism

[Parsifal <noosph@noosph.org>]

[: hacktivism :]

I totally agree with this way of thinking and acting, and this is what i 
would have liked to find and discuss on a list like this one.

PArsifal


You wrote on 6/09/99 9:57 from Pan jaimelm@umich.edu


>Our forefathers made it very clear that no man should be denied his
>rights or infringed upon because of his affiliation with a group.
>Likewise, they felt strongly against outlawing groups based on the
>actions of individuals. There are ways to voice disapproval of hate
>groups without violating these principals. There are creative methods
>that can achieve reasonable results without denying another's right to
>free speech.
>
>The KKK comes here (Ann Arbor, MI) every couple years to hold a rally.
>They have six hooded representatives who speak at city hall. Various
>people have attempted in various ways to show dislike for the Klan and
>the rally. One group in particular has made it's presence known. The
>National Women's Rights Organizing Coalition started as a group to
>defend abortion clinics. After a period of time, they were discouraged
>from showing up by clinic staff. This was because N.W.R.O.C.'s tactics
>included hurling projectiles and starting violent confrontations with
>anti abortionists. In an effort to provide the group with a new enemy,
>N.W.R.O.C. organizers turned their attention to the cause of "racism".
>This included showing up at KKK or White Supremacist rallies and
>starting confrontations. Just as the KKK recruits it's followers from
>the young and idealistic, so does N.W.R.O.C. Some of their slogans
>demonstrate their philosophy: "Shut down the Klan by Any Means
>Necessary" and "No Free Speech for Fascists" (seriously!). They make
>every attempt to prevent neo fascist groups from speaking. This has led
>to two riots. Real Riots... bottles, rocks, tear gas, riot gear. Our
>city sustained over 1.7 million dollars in damages and police costs. It
>has not prevented the Klan from coming. It has not done a thing to help
>fight racism.
>
> OK, now to the Hacktivism. In an effort to voice disapproval of
>N.W.R.O.C. and their tactics,  a culture jamming campaign was started
>against them. This began with reworking their sidewalk chalkings (from
>"The KKK are the real Criminals" to "N.W.R.O.C. are the real Criminals"
>and from "Fighting Racism is not a Crime" to "Throwing bricks at people
>is a Crime"). Eventually, it led to full out digital (yet perfectly
>legal) warfare. A copy of their most popular flyer was downloaded from
>their web site. It was reworked in jammer fashion, posted to another
>site and distributed around town. This culture jam was successful. Many
>people responded to the flyers. Many people responded to the version on
>the web. They were made to think, without destroying the Klan's or
>N.W.R.O.C.'s free speech.
>
>pan
>
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