Not everyone knows about the name Guy Fawkes, but they do know the face or, at least, the mask of the face. They have especially been seen in media and film. These are the infamous Guy Fawkes masks and how they have been adopted by anti-government and anti-authority groups. Who exactly is this "Guy" and what is his significance?
Guy Fawkes was an Englishman who became famous for this role in a plan to murder the King of England in 1605. Fawkes was part of a group that collected gunpowder in an attempt to blow up Parliament and the King. However, the night before the plan was supposed to be carried out, Guy Fawkes was discovered before he could light the fuse. He was captured and taken to the Tower of London where he was tortured and eventually confessed his plan. Fawkes, along with many others that were part of the plan, were sentenced to be hung. However, before any of this could happen, Fawkes jumped to his death, breaking his neck as an act of rebellion against the English monarchy. Fawkes was a strong catholic, which was his motivation behind the whole plan. Once the King, a non-catholic was killed, they would kidnap his daughter, make her a catholic and then find her a catholic man to marry. This would achieve the ultimate goal of making England an official catholic government.
Today, the mask can be seen as part of an anti-government movement. A major key to this adoption was the movie "V for Vendetta." In the movie, the protagonist wears a Guy Fawkes mask. These were mass produced in order to sell merchandising. Later on, the mask was used to hide the identities of those in a mass anti-Scientology group known as "Anonymous." The mask was most likely chosen for their mass production. Gregg Housh, a former anonymous activist stated in an interview, "It's available, it's cheap and it's in every city." Since then, the mask has been seen in Wall Street Protests, government protests in Thailand, and has even become a symbol of government in general.
What's weird about this is the mask and how it's used today does not follow the ideas of the real Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes was only anti-protestant, but people use it today like it is anti-government. Guy Fawkes was willing to murder many innocent people in order to get the catholic government that he wanted. If you ever see someone wearing one of these masks, then remember what the man behind the mask really wanted.
