Blowing Up Parliament is Fun for All Ages!

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I can think of no reason

Why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent

To blow up the King and Parli'ment.

Three-score barrels of powder below

To prove old England's overthrow;

By God's providence he was catch'd

With a dark lantern and burning match.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

That, my friends, is the Guy Fawkes Rhyme.

Who is this crazy Guy Fawkes fellow, and why have you never heard of him? Well, maybe you have. Especially if you have seen/read V for Vendetta. Guy Fawkes, in November of 1605, attempted to blow up the House of the Lords, where King James I and most of the aristocracy of the time was convening for Parliament. The conspiracy called for some 1800 pounds of gunpowder to be blown up on November 5th, blowing up the houses of Parliament and crippling the British government. The plan also stated that the royal children would be kidnapped. However, on Friday, October 26th, the plot was discovered by a Lord Monteagle, who received a letter from his brother, one of the conspirators, to not attend the State Opening of Parliament on the 5th. At midnight on the 4th, guards were posted. One found a man posing as John Johnson with a stack of firewood next to some 20 barrels, all filled with gunpowder. This man was, in fact, Guy Fawkes.

Fawkes was subsequently hung for crimes of treason and attempted murder of the King.

That's all well and great, but who cares?

Well, Fawkes and his co-conspirators were all Catholics, and the King and his Parliament cronies were Protestants. They didn't exactly have the most...cordial...of relationships. So, in a desperate attempt to get religious freedom, the Catholics took matters, and gunpowder, into their own hands.

Well, that turned out to be an epic fail.

Guy Fawkes, however, became a cultural icon.

On November 5th every year, Britain celebrates his attempt at free speech (and a bit of anarchy) with fireworks.

In America, he's mostly known as "That V For Vendetta Dude," as V wears a Guy Fawkes mask.

This directly ties in with my last post on Anonymous, as when Anon shows up for protests, many wear Guy Fawkes masks, as they represent everything Anon stands for - free speech with a touch of anarchy.

Hope you all found this informative.

Next time, we will look at PostSecret.

Can't stop the signal.