The internet has become a parody of the world, a place where everyone has a place to speak their mind, right or wrong, based in belief or just to create some drama - and then people complain about getting banned on social media - blacklisted, their account gone.
What about free speech??
I am an advocate for free speech, even hate speech. I would rather know the poison that boils in the heart than have it hidden away by political and cultural correctness, where it festers and unites with the darkness in others to manifest in a thousand corrupt ways to cause violence and suffering.
Let them speak.
I am an advocate, but there is no such thing as free speech, there is always a consequence, always a cost - what we say should come with the responsibility of having said it, for there are three steps of the creative process -
- Thought
- Word
- Action
What we think becomes our words and our words become the action that create our world. For better or worse. I believe in ownership of experience - and we should own what we say in the same way we own our actions. Should we be banned from social platforms for our words?
Yes.
Yes, yes, we should.
But...
It is because we have to identify these platforms for what they are... Centralized businesses with the sole purpose to increase investor wealth. We need to wake up and understand that what we are dealing with are not public forums, they are private holdings who's drive is for profit for a narrow cross-section of society, and that slice does not like dissidents who encroach on their business model - and their gods of advertising revenue and the authorities who hoard control to which they bow.
If there is a dollar to be made by selling the life of their users, they will sell. Every time.
Privacy and security are not the primary concern, it is always money and power, they will make the money by giving power to those who crave it, they who will pay the price for control. It is a business, this is their model.
There is no such thing as free speech on a centralized platform all speech is *tolerated until it no longer offers a monetary return, and then - it is restricted, deleted, destroyed and washed away. The sooner we realize that these centralized models will never be free, the faster we can move on and build a world that is.
Stop fighting their rules. Abandon them altogether.
Let go of the idea that these places are ever going to be free, accept their rules or don't - but if you don't - leave and don't look back.
A true space of free speech is only possible in a place where there is no authority that can cancel a voice, a space that is truly public, because it is owned by everyone, not an area fenced off and designated as public by an authority, that will honor the boundaries for as long as it is convenient and profitable to do so.
You want free Speech??
Take ownership of your experience and ownership of your world - support the spaces that offer freedom through ownership of the space itself, a home where you can be yourself - for better or worse. But, do not for a minute think that there is no consequence to what you say. You are free to say it - but the cost is incurred in the response. Always.
The cost may be applause - it could be a beat down by police... Maybe both.
How strong are your beliefs?
There is no such thing as only upside; Are you going to stand your ground, speak your mind - or grovel at the feet speaking whatever keeps you earning, whatever keeps you safe? Are you Rosa Parks or another politician ready to turn on your back if someone will rub your belly?
We are all free to speak our mind, but the cost of reaction is too much for most to bear - but there has to be a cost for our behavior, otherwise there is no sense in doing anything at all, no value generated.
We are on Hive - free.
Free to speak as we speak, free to act as we act - but there are costs to our behavior, consequence to our freedom. We do not attract the eyes of the public because the public have been conditioned to value safe spaces without realizing they are cages. We have been told repeatedly how to act and what is right or wrong over and over until it is second nature, it is part of us and familiar - while what we do feeds into the business model the few have created - and the gaps keep widening.
Freedom of speech is costly. We are social animals who fear conflict and value convenience - we are small minds who cannot face criticism or difference in opinions, we are petty sadists who want to see those who disagree with us suffer - we are humans who have inflicted so much limitation on ourselves through cultural programming and restriction that we no longer recognize that the bars we have created are of our own making.
You are free to speak on Hive and you will not be banned, but you will not have access to the audience of Facebook or Twitter.
Yet.
Times are changing and slowly, inching step by step, we are awakening to the horror we have created and the world of community torture we have supported. We have sold our voice into the hands of corporations for no more than stars, hearts and thumbs up while they take trillions - and then we wonder how they can inflict those who threaten their income with excommunication.
And, we are to blame
We want our speech to be free, yet we want to censure the voices of those we disagree with and who disagree with us. We want our freedom by locking up others. It is an impossibility. If you are only free by restricting others, you are not free at all -
You are a visitor at the zoo, hoping the cage built is strong enough to hold the lion.
Freedom is scary and most will never have the strength to taste it, to make decisions and understand that 100% of the consequences are theirs, no one else to blame - just an experience to live and own. Most will bite their tongue, whether it is to stop being deplatformed or an argument with a loved one. Most in this world cannot speak freely, because they understand that the society in which we live, the community whether country, city or home - is made up of people with emotions, preferences, reactions.
When you stand up for your freedom of speech - make sure you are willing to own what you say.
These platforms do not care about our freedoms, they do not care about whether a person is damaged by their actions - all they care about is their profits - and until we are willing to accept them for what they are and make the conscious and intentional decision to stay or leave, we will never be free upon the digital land they own.
But the thing with digital real estate is, more land can be created - new cities that house communities that do not subscribe to the world of oppression in order to fit in with the expectations of the centralized owners, those who tolerate their users until they are no longer worth their while.
And then they cut them loose. free.
If we are free - we must create our home - not beg for a space in the corner of another's.
Earn your space. Own your place.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
@theycallmedan stole my thunder and got you past 80. T_T
Ah, lols. I think it was you who pushed me over 70 and 75 :D At 85? - I can take The Haej... :D
Thank you for all the support over the years :)
Hmm that'll be too much waiting, though.
Can I take you back under 80 to push you past 80 instead?
xD
You will always know... sloppy seconds.
LOL
Facebook is junk food. Hive is staying in and cooking. Yes; it'll take longer and you might need to teach yourself some stuff, but it's actually nutritious.
I just found Hive and it's much more interesting than facrbook which is stuck in web2 as they call it.
A hearty meal with a growing menu :)
This is true. So true.
You see? I told you that the 80 will appear soon:D
Jokes aside, this post deserves an Oscar.
"You become what you think all day long" Ralph Waldo Emmerson
A short truth here; At Papillon we received a request from a government department to help long time prisoners with Laptops to assist with their studies. We also issued them with gym training equipment, but I digress.
One day as I handed a laptop to a prisoner he told me that he might be in a physical prison, but that he felt sorry for us. He said and I kid you not, that all of us out there were in a bigger prison. A mental prison that is controlled by the sheep herders.
His words have found a home in my mind.
Take care!
These things that stick with us can change us, or be reminders of what we should have listened to, but didn't. The world is changing in ways that we are yet to comprehend and most of us re going to be caught in the middle of the flock.
Let's hope not my friend. To tell you the truth, I am looking forward to it.
Many new opportunities will reveal themselves.
This morning I had a conversation with my wife. Now hear this.
The supermarket staff pack all of the shelves by hand. Many shoppers fiddle with the goods have a look at them and place the items back on the shelves. As Covid is a surface virus and of the "handlers" could have it and bingo, you touch a can and you get infected.
Here's my answer. We have to find a simple and effective way to identify the virus on surfaces. Some scientists here in South Africa have managed to unlock the genome sequence of the virus. The first genetic picture. The news is all over.
Now, if we can get the sequence, which will be available soon then we have to find a software developer to convert the sequence into a detection mode.
A detection mode that can be programmed into ordinary hand scanners.
Imagine marketing virus surface hand scanners to supermarkets and the public across the planet!
Just an original idea.
Take care!
There are going to be many opportunities, even in the industries that are suffering, like restaurants. instead of paying for all that useless floor space, they will go into becoming caterers and prepare foods that are best eaten at home. models change, necessity facilitates.
Have you ever seen those black light tests in motels? I think I'd rather not know :D
"Black light tests"? Nope, never seen them, as never been to a motel.
I have never used one, but I have seen them used on TV where they look for bodily fluids on sheets....
Ha! No, the thing that I am thinking about scans finger prints and such.
Yeah we are not free because we are being controlled by what we are believing. We are free to post in a platform because they liked or they might not find offensive for them about it.
Maybe a free speech will only occurs when no one's listening to you.
Or when you think no one is listening.
Great reading!
I wonder how many people do realise this. Especially the ones vomiting hate on FB.
And congrats on the 80 rep; what a milestone!
I think people have lost some of their fear when it comes to what they say online. Perhaps we have become so disconnected through the screens that we know longer fear the consequences of getting punched in the face.
That, or since there isn't a real person in front some just lose the filters. But as you, I also prefer to know what people are actually thinking; always best to know the true colours.
At least it is true to what they say and perhaps in line with their actions. I like some transparency, even if they think they are hiding :)
My thoughts exactly :)
Excellent introduction to the theme to be developed in the new initiative on "freedom of expression". I sign up to participate with my own experience that I had to live and that still bear the consequences of my actions. Blessings.
Enjoy the writing, it is cathartic.
Cool article! Every day the size of your texts grows, to concentrate so long becomes even more difficult.
😀
:) I have been shortening them, but not all topics are aided by brevity :)
Yep I guess looking at it and pondering it, you are right. Free speech really is never free. I know recently I said some things in my household just recently that I thought were Free Speech. Only to be harshly reminded by my wife that there would be consequences to this "free" speech ;)
Wives are a very good indicator that freedom is an illusion. :D
I support your freedom of speech!
Thanks - I will use it wisely :)
You can use it as you wish, that's the true beauty of freedom!
Yes, but does anyone aim to use anything other than wisely by their own estimation? :)
That "freedom of speech is costly" paragraph was a very neat summation of...so many people XD
All of us in some way I guess.
People are not ready to be responsible for their words and actions. You famously said of the poison they accumulate in their souls. Thank you for your thoughts.
Ready or not, the world doesn't care.
Bravo, I knew you would take this prompt to another level.
My greatest concern is self-censorship caused by the fear of censorship.
Self-censorship is where most of it happens - often because we might think that our words carry more weight than they do. The other issue is that people do not want to lose access to the benefits of being acceptable - money and relationships.
Agree with you completely, HIVE is one of those platform where free speech is allowed. But do you think many in our community are actually speaking out in all their freedom? I tend to believe quite a few of us are writing about what they think the community wants to read, or at least what they think will bring some votes to their posts (and comments), or get some engagement going on. With this, I essentially want to say that even on platform and in communities where free speech is 100% allowed, community members may not speak up in all their freedom. As you say: Actions has Consequences. At HIVE the consequence can be that a users is ignored by everybody and don't get votes. Even in a platform that does not distribute money to content, being ignored may drive a user to keep certain opinions and ideas away from the community.
That said: HIVE, 3speak and other decentralised social networks offer a better framework to allow free speech, though the net result may not be that different to all the centralised platforms available.
Self-censorship is the most common form. Most people understand there are consequences to their behavior and words - and they don't want to miss out on the benefits from society and community. You can say what you want, but you can't earn on whatever you say.
A better framework is the start to people again taking responsibility and ownership of their words It isn't about saying what you want, it is about thinking well about what you say. It might not look so different, until push comes to shove.
You're right, everything can be meaningful, but one needs to know what one says, ie thought about it. The result is very likely much more in the grey area so to speak, in longer form to explain the why, far from any black/white statements. Though it is for some ot more poeple almost impossible. I have the feeling - no research done on this - that many people don't really think things through on topics they participate in discussions, or at least tru to participate.
I think self censoring can be a good thing as well since I believe we always have to respect one another. When respect is used in anyting we say, we may not say some things to some people, while we say the same thing to others. It depends on the circumstances and the other people we talk too and with what determines what we can say and what we better can either phrases differently, or not say at all.
There is no need for self-censorship at all. Just express your thoughts in such an 'authentic & eloquent' way that always seed doubts into your interlocutors minds on how to act correctly after having listened or read to you. };)
If you make them think, your 'message' will already have crossed and overcome all barriers. ¡Mission Accomplished! :)
I think the biggest compliment I can give you is to borrow parts of this ..,
:D
Understanding #freespeech is
understand where you are
and what to say at any given moment.
Long but free of all #hivers to read.
Keep delivering!
Free to post
Yes, freedom of speech can never be completely free because we are all hostages of society.
Or we do not want to express our views in one way or another, fearing reaction and condemnation. Or those who dislike a person's thoughts or it not profitable for them(as in a centralized community) can simply remove or hide a person by threats, etc.
thanks for sharing this helpful thoughts @tarazkp
Yeah, it's a paradox all over. Free of what? You can't be free of consequence, free of the laws of the system (natural or artificial) that you exist in. You can't go out of every system. The Universe is a system. So freedom has been defined by philosophers as being possible or ethical up to where you would limit another person's freedom.
And when it comes to freedom of speech there is so much hypocrisy, and you said as much. Anything that can be said offends somebody. If you were not to offend anybody, you might as well remain silent all through your life. And some choose to do so, more or less. In order to teach, you have to offend. In order to persuade, you have to offend. And those who are easily offended...they just can't listen. Listening is not as easy as repeating your mantras over and over. It's kind of...the opposite. And if you can listen and continue repeating your mantras...that's mastery ;)
A good topic for discussion this one. I would purpose that a greater number of people not understand the concept of free speech and responsibilities and risks associated with it. I would argue that the vast majority of people on large commercial platforms are not so much concerned about free speech but enticed by the promise of audience, convenience and entertainment. Furthermore, many have the misconception of owning a "free" account, e.g,, "my Facebook", "my YouTube", "my Instagram", etc. When the real owners place restrictions on or block access to accounts, those people become distraught. Many people want things for free, they are just much less interested in free speech.