Not to seem too pedantic on this matter but I fail to see or understand why this "Anonymous" bunch have targeted the GP in Canada. From reading the Wiki page on this loose affiliation of hackers with no particular agenda it struck me that they have, to some extent, been able to make connections between whichever cause they claim to be supporting and the disruption which they then seek to cause.
I'm not a supporter of their activities but, given my opposition to the GP in Bahrain, I too felt that there was a connection to be made between the Bahraini Government and the arrival of the F1 circus into the country. You could appreciate that the event was being used as a political tool, a PR exercise. It also created a situation on the ground where reports were coming in of mass demonstrations which coincided with the staging of the race and the death of at least one protester over the course of the GP weekend. The connection was not tenuous in that instance.
But now we're in Canada and there is no connection between student protests and the Canada GP. This raises the question as to whether this Anonymous group has any function other than chaos and anarchy. If these are their functions then they are remarkably co-ordinated.
Anarchy is all about the lack of any cohesive political and economic structure and is based totally on the freedom of the individual. Any co-ordinated effort, by definition, must be considered to constitute order which is entirely contrary to the tenet of an Anarchic society.
Much like the Mayday rioting in London and the presence of Anarchist Groups (another anathema) at G8 and G12 summits I always like to have a laugh at the fact they wear a uniform, and in their current guise the Guy Fawkes mask. No anarchist worth their salt should be identifiable as part of a group as this represents the beginning of the replacement of the existing social and political order by an anonymous group seeking to progress the Anarchist Principles. Replacement of one order by another, regardless of its origin, must irrevocably lead to the resumption of the status quo whereby the individual finds him/her self subject to government by others and by the dogma of a state whether local, regional or national.
Marx understood this which is why he severed his links to the anarchist movement in the 1870's. Anarchy is appropriate only as an individuals political ideology, when it forms groups which dedicate themselves to a particular cause and on foot of that threatens the rights of an individual or individuals it defines itself as other than anarchy.
This is the case with Anonymous, they seek to use the umbrella of Anarchy to progress what is essentially an alternate world order perspective. They claim to be anti-globalisation but cannot operate without the tools provided by Globalisation: They claim to represent an ideology which supports the rights of the individual but refuse, in this instance, to allow the individual to exercise their right to attend a Formula 1 race, instead they support a student protest which is not motivated at destabilising the government but rather by winning concessions from the established order.
The students do not seek regime change, they simply want their position to be heard - they are seeking to provide alternatives to the current proposals which will see tuition fees rise by up to 75% over the next few years. Their goal may be laudable but it is not anarchic in any form, if anything these protests have been sparked by elected leaders of student groups - these will be the next generation of the political class and a true Anarchist would belittle these protests as no more than a battle for power within the established political structure. The outcome of this protest will see no more than a minor economic amendment to the existing Government's proposals.
The fact that Anonymous refers to F1 as the crass elite shows just how far removed from reality their members are. Personally I'm a massive fan of Formula 1, I don't have a lot of money, I attend those races which I can afford and those to which I have been given tickets as a present, I am blessed that I have a wife who understands my love for the sport, even if she doesn't like it herself and, like most fans, I would love to be able to spend my weekends going to all of the F1 races, I would love to be able to stroll around the paddock and pitlane and rub shoulders with the great and the good of the sport. I cannot and do not and like the majority of fans I work hard for the money which allows me to attend the events.
I like F1 even though it is not perfect - leave it, and me, alone. I am an individual and I'm asserting my rights.
