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NYU professor Gabriella Coleman opened this profoundly profanity laced academic talk with a question: why have internet enthusiasts been drawn to denounce Scientology so vehemently for two decades? Scientology, she explained, has provided a perfect nemesis for geekery.<\/p>\n
To the geeks, freaks and hackers of the net the Church of Scientology subverts the idea of technology to be about control instead of the freedom they cherish. Scientology has a long history of intimidation and litigation against its detractors and former members, which is abhorrent to the wilder ends of the internet. No end is quite as wild as 4chan, and it was out of 4chan\u2019s endless quest for the lulz that online organized resistance to Scientology would emerge. After the\u00a0infamous Tom Cruise video on his own experience of being a Scientologist<\/a> and the church\u2019s attempts to get it away of public scrutiny,\u00a0Anonymous emerged from 4chan<\/a>, a non-organization hellbent on the Church of Scientology\u2019s absolute destruction. Anonymous started out harassing the Church online, but eventually translated to sometimes hilarious street protests, and disgusting pranking. \u201cThey decided to emerge form the internet bunkers and hit the streets,\u201d says Coleman.<\/p>\n [[[MORE]]]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NYU professor Gabriella Coleman opened this profoundly profanity laced academic talk with a question: why have internet enthusiasts been drawn to denounce Scientology so vehemently for two decades? Scientology, she explained, has provided a perfect nemesis for geekery. To the … Continue reading