The Three Founding Anons

As a part of the wholesale attack on progressive speech in the United States, Anonymous and mask-wearing Occupiers have been singled out for particular abuse.

In 1995 the United States Supreme Court ruled:

"Although the right to remain anonymous may be abused when it shields fraudulent conduct, political speech by its nature will sometimes have unpalatable consequences, and, in general, our society accords greater weight to the value of free speech than to the dangers of its misuse."

Mcintyre v. Ohio Elections Commission 514 U.S. 334 (1995)


Though often maligned (typically by those frustrated by an inability to engage in ad hominem attacks) anonymous speech has a long and storied history in the US. Used by the likes of Mark Twain (aka Samuel Langhorne Clemens) to criticize common ignorance, and perhaps most famously by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (writing as "Publius") to publish the Federalist Papers. Particularly in light of an emerging trend against vocalizing public dissent in the US, I believe in the critical importance of anonymity and its role in dissident speech.