General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Rolling Stone: Barrett Brown Faces 105 Years in Jail. But no one can figure out what law he broke. [View all]starroute
(12,977 posts)I just googled on it and that phrase has appeared exactly once in connection with Brown, in the March 2011 article that you quote. Brown is most often described as an unofficial or de facto spokesperson for Anonymous -- and he denies even that. (He also likes to pull people's chains.)
http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/we-spoke-to-barrett-brown-from-prison
VICE: We have such little time, so lets get right into it. A lot of people say that youre the spokesperson for Anonymous. What do you say to that?
Im not. For two years now Ive denied that publicly. Every time Im asked, it turns out that Im not. The first thing people find when they Google me should be a D Magazine article in which I explained that. No one is the spokesperson for Anonymous. It doesnt work that way. I wouldnt want that position if it were a position.
I dont necessarily agree with everything Anonymous does, I dont necessarily like a lot of Anons. I was very supportive of the dynamics that Anonymous represents, Im very much an advocate (and continue to be) of these new sorts of communities to express yourself on the internet and the next move Ill be making is deploying some communitiesa little more structured than Anonsto perpetuate themselves, and grow, while maintaining Anonymous core qualities. Ive identified with Anonymous very closely for two years now, but one of the interesting things to me is how all the articles refer to me as the self-proclaimed spokesperson for Anonymous. They all copy off each other.
You did also call yourself Cobra Commander at one point.
Oh yeah, I called myself that after the NBC Nightly news called me the underground commander in a new warfare. Which is just a ridiculous thing to be called.
http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2011/april/how-barrett-brown-helped-overthrow-the-government-of-tunisia
Anonymous is sometimes referred to in the mainstream media as a group or a collectivethe Christian Science Monitor went with a shadowy circle of activistsbut Anonymous, per se, doesnt exist. It has no hierarchy, no leadership. So even though Bloomberg and others have called Brown a spokesman for the group (which, again, isnt a group at all), Brown denies having any position within Anonymous.
Anonymous is a process more than it is a thing, Brown tells Isikoff. I cant speak on behalf of Anonymous, because theres no one who can authorize me to do that.
When he explains Anonymous to a newbie, Brown relishes the inevitable confusion and will toggle between sincerity and irony to heighten it. Until youve spent some time with him, its hard to know what to believe. When youve gotten to know him better, its even harder.
You have to remember, Brown says, reclining in the green lawn chair, one arm slung over its back, a cigarette dangling between his fingers, were the Freemasons. Only, weve got a sense of humor. You have to wield power with a sense of humor. Otherwise you become the FBI.