"So did he? Publish that rant, or whatever it was?
"Well, he didn't respond at all for a few days, but then a flame war broke out. One faction was firmly convinced he was about to launch the mortgage strike he's been agitating about. They acted like they were ready to pull the plug, as long as he led the charge. Another group said he was all talk and no action, so they might as well just fold their tents and go home.
"And you, Leo asked. "What did you think?
"I thought they were baiting him, hoping he'd do something they could string him up for. I mean, think about it. If he really was about to trigger a revolt, why call attention to him? So I figured they'd set it up as a logic trap. If he does nothing, they claim success in silencing a terrorist. And if he does post something inflammatory, no matter what it is, they can claim it wasn't the scheme he'd been plotting, and that they have their so-called ˜terrorist' on the run. They win either way. I just wanted to scream!
"Hence the need to vent.
She nodded, and slumped.
A man from a nearby table walked over. "Listen, I heard you two talking about the Bank Shot guy. There's news. He just franked a post through one of his supporters' blogs. He said the charge is a sham. He wasn't contemplating issuing a call to action, or even prepping some expose of the mortgage industry. What he did was to lay out the tactic they're using against him, and set us a challenge.
"A challenge? Shem echoed. "What sort of challenge?
"Well, the way he put it was this. One voice can be silenced. A crowd can be controlled. But the concerted action of a multitude of individuals can't be stopped. He suggested that we take a lesson from the Wobblies. If they haul off the speaker, someone else mounts the stage. He wants to multiply the Bank Shot Blogger's voice, for anyone who agrees with him to start using the alias to pick up the fight. If you need a picture, he said, think of the crowd in Guy Fawkes masks at the end of ˜V for Vendetta'.
"Hoo, Leo said beneath raised eyebrows. "That's a chilling thought.
"But think about it. How can they counter a voice that won't be silenced? It's a shrewd move.
Shem nodded. "It certainly would be, if enough people had the nerve to put their necks on the line like that.
"I don't understand, Leo said. "What risk are they taking? I mean, if they're posting anonymously, and under his byline?
"Anonymity is harder to arrange than it used to be, she said. After thanking the man for the tip, she took a sip of water and plowed on. "The telecoms have succumbed to pressure from the feds, and started giving up IP associations. Even if your Internet connection has a dynamic IP address, the ISP's servers still have a record of which ones were assigned to whom and when. So even if you post anonymously, you're safer using a public computer or access point. I suspect that's why John Frachetti took to the road in the first place.
"Okay, he said after digesting the technical stuff, "but to do that, you'd have to go out in public, which makes you easier to watch, especially if they already had a reason to track you. All you've done is trade one kind of risk for another.
"Exactly my point, Leo. Anyone who takes up Frachetti's challenge will be offering up her life, or at least her livelihood, on a silver platter. It can't work if only a few people start making Bank Shot posts. There has to be a continuing stream of them, like Wobbly speakers at a street rally. That image he conjured was potent.
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