Monday 6 May 2013

We Are Legion

Section 2(b) of the Charter states that "Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:...freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication."What does freedom of expression mean to you? Use different examples from the film, "We are Legion" to assist in your answer.

In the documentary film "We Are Legion", internet 'Hacktivists' come up with a new approach to activism. Hundreds of thousands of users in the online community website "4chan.org" set out to destroy the egos and reputations of any establishment that they think holds morally wrong ethics, and by dong so in a rude, yet charming and impressive sort of manner. They work under the name Anonymous, just as most of the users on the 4chan website identify as. Anonymous had temporarily shut down some of the biggest websites in the world, including the CIA's official website, PayPal and MasterCard, the Sony PlayStation Network server, and many more. Although most of these hacking attacks--by a group claiming to be activists--are usually for the greater good of humane ethics, do they comply with section "2, b" of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?


It is no secret that Anonymous' intentions are ethical and relatively justifiable, but it is a cold-hard fact that they have ignored the part of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that deals with "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression." Although The Church of Scientology has corrupt ethics, morals and practices, they still have the freedom of thought, and belief to cling on to. Whether or not the Church of Scientology has power in the Courts is an issue that is not thoroughly addressed in this documentary, but when Anonymous attacked them, they should have done they're legal rights homework before-hand, to win the battle of ethics in a clean and fair way. Some people may claim that Anonymous is just a bunch of computer nerds in their parents' basement, power-hungry, yet too lazy to get out of their reclinable chairs. This documentary proves this prejudice wrong, as thousands of Anonymous users from literally all over the globe scheduled a day to protest in front of the Church of Scientology, and followed through with confidence and the swagger of the Guy Fawkes mask.