Good evening, the Escapist. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, whereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle are celebrated with a nice holiday. I thought we could mark this internet site, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted onto websites, and Anonymous and 4chan will soon be on their way.
Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with the internet, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, think, and speak as was reasonable, you now have 4chan and unmanaged sites, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well, certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now, run rampant, 4chan. They promised you freedom, they promised you free speech, and all they demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. This night I sought to end that silence. This night I wrote this post, to remind the internet of what it has forgotten. More than five years ago a great citizen wished to embed the the Escapist forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of the internet remain unknown to you, then I would suggest you allow the Escapist to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me here on the Escapist and together we shall give them an internet site that shall never, ever be forgotten!
