From the admin of flag.blackened.net, a major anarchist site. The FBI “requested” IP logs from him and, after an agonizing decision, he turned them over. Here’s why.
I have been ordered to submit IP info on two separate incidents having to do with subdomains hosted on flag. Both of these are in regard to claimed or threatened responsibility for acts of propaganda by the deed.
That’s oddly stilted language, “acts of propaganda by the deed”, must be anarchist-ese. Anyone know?
Both incidents involve topics which are completely out of line for consideration here at flag and really I can only view them in two ways. Either people are simply ignorant about the murderous history of the FBI, or, as is my belief in one case, they are trying to make flag vulnerable to government intrusion.
He’s not paranoid. Flag has been a target by the Feds in the past.
At this point let me say, in all honesty and conviction, that if I end up dead by strange means – suicide, overdose, drunk driving accident (I never, ever, ever drink and drive), “accidental” gunshot to the back of the head while sleeping ala Fred Hampton, car jacking, or anything else reasonably suspicious, contact the FBI in Chico, California for more details.
It was an obvious suicide, he shot himself in the back ten times.
Really, I am not left with much of a choice. Here are my two choices as I see them:
1. Do not comply with the wishes of the FBI. This will most likely lead to the seizure of flag and a compromise of all the sites and information online. It will probably also lead to me being imprisoned, I would guess. I personally do not fear this, but I am the sole support for my wife and infant daughter. There can be no doubt we would probably lose our home as a result.
2. Comply with the wishes of the FBI, provide the IP addresses, and count on the fact that I will catch a lot of heat and hatred from my comrades in the anarchist movement worldwide.
Though it pains me to comply with the State in any manner, I have to choose option #2. The people who have foolishly compromised us all will shoulder the burden for their selfish actions. Frankly folks, they know better – we all know better.
It is by far the most agonizing decision I’ve been faced with in relation to my anarchist opinions.
This is why we do not discuss certain things as if they are a legitimate part of anarchism. Resist the extra y-chromosome influenced urge to sound more hardcore than the guy next to you. Nobody is impressed and the powers that be are sitting on the edges of their seats waiting for an excuse to shut down flag. Freedom of speech does not exist, don’t try to test it. They will come bust down your door – for real – point a gun to your head and pull the trigger if you refuse to comply.
Believe it.
Your admin,
Dave
I’m not anarchist. If you wish to gain political power, you will force someone else out. They wiill probably regroup and come back after you. Therefore, you need to be organized, and the amorphous structures favored by anarchists aren’t strong enough to combat such counter-attacks. The other side will be seriously well-organized, the anarchists will not be.
None of which has anything to do with the above. The Admin made a coerced gut-wrenching choice. Judging from his words it’s obvious someone posted way over the line stuff, probably deliberately, which endangered his entire site and maybe his freedom.
Yikes. Be careful out there, folks. And as someone pointed out in the overwhelmingly supportive comments to his post, why log IP addresses at all?