Anons are as American as apple pie. Many founding fathers wrote under pseudonyms to avoid persecution and shape the discourse on the merit of their ideas. Benjamin Franklin was the OG Anon. We all know him as a Renaissance Man Founding Father. He signed the Constitution, served as the first postmaster general, founded the University of Pennsylvania, invented bifocals, and adorns the $100 bill.
Few know that Franklin became wealthy from publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he wrote under a pseudonym called Richard Saunders. He posted many articles under anon handles like Silence Dogood, Martha Careful, and Busy Body. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote as Publius for The Federalist Papers. Thomas Paine penned the revolutionary pamphlet Common Sense without any name attached. Evelyn as S.G. Tallentyre coined the immortal free speech principle attributed to Voltaire:
Modern anons are continuing this proud tradition. Franklin swapped genders for some of his nom de plumes. As “Yuri Bezmenov”, I am trans-racial, trans-national, and trans-living. The real Yuri is the perfect pseudonym because he is a legend who warned us about everything I cover. Substack is loaded with fantastic anons, many of whom can be found in my recommendations. They are far superior to any MSM propagandists on the vital topics of our day. We are spicy in the tweets, but gentlemen in the streets.
Writing as an anon unleashes creativity by suppressing the ego that accompanies a real name. Before picking up the pen as Yuri, I never wrote anything publicly under my name and it will stay that way so I can remain a private citizen. I don’t do it for fame or glory, I do it for the love of the game. Some of my favorite writers of the pre-social media internet were anons like The Leveraged Sellout. They wrangled the wild west with no Substack, Twitter, dashboards, e-mails, or income. Just gifted shitposters with websites who became legendary through word of mouth.
Doxxing is the occupational hazard of anons. As anons grow, they attract the attention of the censorious hall monitors. Even when one gets exposed, the Streisand Effect elevates them to new heights while dozens more pop up. The more anons are out there, the harder it is to take us all down. For example, Doug Mackey aka Ricky Vaughn was sentenced to 7 months in prison for making memes about Hillary Clinton. I have made my peace with getting doxxed and hope it will happen when this samizdat is large enough to support my family.
I am in awe that 30,000 people read this stack. ~0.1% of you know who I am IRL. Most of you are anons as well. Odds are that we will never meet, yet we share a bond and an understanding that is greater than many of the people we spend time with. I appreciate that you trust me to illuminate our world. In return, I pledge to protect your privacy and tell the truth. No fabrication or exaggeration. No attacks on private citizens, but public figures are fair game. The pen is mightier than the sword. I am for debate and against physical violence, for free speech and against censorship, for individualism and against collectivism.
Shakespeare, Orwell, and Nas said it best:
“Identity over ideas” is the woke religion—and it collapses the moment you apply it to American history. Tell that nonsense to Benjamin Franklin, who wrote as Silence Dogood, or to Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, who argued as Publius in The Federalist Papers. By today’s standards, their work would be dismissed as “anonymous disinformation.” That’s how absurd this has become. Identity politics isn’t about truth—it’s about control: who’s allowed to speak, and who gets silenced. Anonymity breaks that monopoly. It levels the field. Judge arguments on merit, not melanin, pronouns, or pedigree. That’s freedom—and it terrifies the censors.
Great stuff Yuri