I saw it on twitter this morning and it raised a wry, slightly cynical smirk from me:
Censorship is real. Let us speak up & tell everyone that #Hive does exist!
Why cynical? Because it was a comment from someone who has never really been censored at all. And it was naive.
I have lived in Thailand full time for about 18 years now and experienced 2 military coups and a bloody uprising which saw 86 people shot and killed by "the black hand sniper" in one day on the streets of Bangkok. Who will ever forget 2010? I live with known censorship of news sites etc (some simply blocked here in Thailand) and now, again, we have another round of student protests and a so-called democratic uprising.
The last days have seen many arrests, we hear sirens 18 hours a day as archaic army vehicles are escorted off the army base 10 mins from our house into fast-moving traffic, and as police make a big show of escorting prisoners from the nearby provincial court down the highway 500 meters from our home to the Provincial Prison in Mae Taeng.
Under the current emergency decree, gathering in groups of 5 people, inciting people to protest or sharing protest information online carries a prison term of between 15 and 25 years. The current response to that?
Image Source: Coconuts Media Bangkok
If I thought street protests were effective, I wouldn't give a hoot and I'd be down in Bangkok, on the streets and blogging my heart out about it on #HIVE.
As I write that line, another police car shoots down the nearby highway and I'm vaguely aware of the sound of sirens drifting across the ricefields (the water magnifies the sound) at 8.06am on a Tuesday morning.
The reality is that the technoligy is only a tiny fragment of the censorship problem.
Yesterday, 4 popular Thai news sites were closed down. 4 Thai news agencies to be shut down by gov’t as protests explode: police
Last night, it was announced that Telegram was under fire. Government going after Telegram users and social media posts to quell dissent. Why? Because Twitter's censorship and the subsequent rush to sign up for Telegram to enable the sharing of pop-up protest locations around Bangkok suddenly has made encrypted messaging the next target and "thing" to be banned.
In the last days, I have reflected a LOT about all the other student uprisings that failed, and WATCHED how censorship really works.
I'm here to tell you that #HIVE is only step one of a complex censorship equation. And it will only ever stay step one on the steep ladder towards social and political freedom unless some other things are embraced, and changed:
1. The framework of law that allows and enables freedom of expression under any and all circumstances.
It is failing everywhere around the world rght now, as information (and disinformation) becomes a more powerful weapon of war than a nuclear device. Hiroshima never did as much harm as the fear mongering and disinformation we're seeing from the centrally controlled mainstream Covid narrative.
Last night in Thailand?
The government said it is looking to charge individuals with the violation of the Computer Crime Act of 2017 as well.
The ministry said that it has discovered 324,990 cases of protest leaders, politicians and social media users that have created and posted content between October 13 and October 18 that were deemed to be against the emergency decree’s order.
Of the more than 300,000 reported cases, about 245,000 are from Facebook, around 75,000 from Twitter, and around 4,000 cases on web boards.
Puttipong Punnakanta, the digital minister, said the ministry will concentrate on charging the creators of these contents Source
Also yesterday in Thailand:
DOCTOR FIRED FOR OPPOSING USE OF CHEMICAL AGENTS ON PROTESTERS
That the Head of the hospital who oh-so-publicly did the firing wasn't immediately arrested? It was a failure of Law, not the vehicle to communicate it.
In a country without social security of any kind, no pensions and no unemployment benefits and which is economically ravaged post Covid, the call for other doctors to resign in solidarity renders any who do far greater heroes in this democratic uprising than a student facing riot police.
So how do you address the framework of Law that enables and allows censorship to flourish? Before you do that, you have to take a BIG STEP BACK and realize that this is not a Thai problem.
If you look at global censorship across multiple issues on social media, you will understand that censorship also flourishes in countries with so-called strong democracies. Like the USA. After all, Facebook and Twitter are both US companies and are still merrily censoring away on issues like Covid19, Vitamin D3, cryptocurrency and cannabis without any effective challenge.
How did it come to this?
Fundamentally we, as sovereign agents of free will, have allowed and enabled others to act on our behalf and been too lazy, distracted or preoccupied to call them to account.
Democracy and rule of law start with your vote, which enables someone to act on your behalf. And over time they do things like create goverments, create laws, create prison systems and create rules. One seemingly innocuous block at a time. The failure started the FIRST time a minor elected local official didn't perform or deliver, and we said-did nothing.
We allow them to distract us with all kinds of intellectual candy, if you will. We watch demonstrations on youtube, twitter and facebook. We rant and vent on social media or at physical protests, where they are allowed. But we fail to do those two fundamental things that will create change: effectively oppose at the political level and offer a viable alternative that others will vote for.
How to you change the censorship culture?
We MUST present viable alternatives into the parliaments of all countries to enshrine the rights of Free Speech.
Where does that start? Elections. Ensuring they are free and fair. And perhaps more importantly, putting up more than two candidates to begin reducing polarization and start working towards compromise and solutions. And being willing to engage in debate and the development of alternatives.
I KNOW #HIVE is only just in its first teetering steps towards being a part of the Free Speech solution when we're only a few weeks out from a US election and I'm NOT seeing much content put here on Hive that would change electoral minds and is relevant/important enough to need the sanctitiy and protection of blockchain immutability.
This current student uprising in Thailand is likely to fail. Mostly because they have no new national leader with popular support waiting in the wings, and no game plan for the reform of the fundamentals of law and civl society.
It all makes me very sad. And determined.
I spoke with my Thai daughter, Miss 16, about what fundamentals are needed to change this censorship culture in Thailand, and we agreed on 3 things:
- education about civil society and conceptual thinking;
- law reform; and
- blockchain technology.
I'm incredibly grateful for #Hive as a platform for free speech, but oh-so-mindful that WE need to make personal adjustments to not be part of the censorship cutlure. And that means:
- not blocking or excluding opinions or people which upset or offend us;
- listening to off-beat, out of the box voices which differ from the mainstream narrative;
- being willing to hold others to account, even when that's unpopular or exhausting;
- being willing not just to protest that which we abhor or find destructive, but also to put in the days-months-years it takes to create and popularize viable alternatives.
If we don't have viable alternatives ready to implement, all the protest and demonstration in the world won't be effective and is easily interpreted, and dismissed, as unrest and empty complaint.
For me, right now, it's a debate I have to step back from in Thailand, whilst I quietly mother one of the new generation of Thai people who CAN and WILL be an agent of change. While there's a 25 year jail term for protesting or posting about that and my right to stay and mother my Thai child relies on government rubber stamps, it's an unwise move to blog about what I really think.
It pains me to take that stance, but it's important to understand why. Meanwhile I blog and post when the ISPs are running properly, I don't rant when googlemaps and facebook messenger are down (again), I try to ignore the military helicoptors and sirens, and I am mindful that we all have to collectively live with the consequences of the choices others have made for decades and centuries.
Me? I want to create a different future, and am unravelling my bit of this mess as gently as I can, and trying to build something different.
Grateful, even when I am censored. Thankful for the people who DO create viable alternatives, and that starts with being grateful for the leaders who created #Hive, even whilst acknowledging that it's just a beginning.
Cos all great journeys start with that first small step. #Hive.
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Great article. Here in the USA, I have become more and more concerned about the direction our country is going. When I hear the chants, lead by our president “lock em up”, rigged elections “ etc I cringe.
We are in desperate need of a leader who will unite us NOT divide us. I am so saddened that our great nation is floundering in its belief that all men and women are created equal. That all lives matter. That we truly are a UNITED country. Freedom of speech and our rights to peacefully protest are being eroded and it scares me.
All I can do is Vote and encourage everyone to do the same.
It’s time for change!
I am so saddened that with all its democratic machinery, no one in the US is putting forward viable alternatives to break the destructive 2 party see-saw gridlock. It's arguably the most politically resourced coutry in the world and yet people are not interested in creating new parties, challenging congress and being effective. Bleating about Trump on facebook is a sign of how sick US democracy actually is.
"All I can do is vote" is not true. You CAN begin to collaborate with like-minded others and create a new party, a new voice, a new leader. Waiting for someone else to do that is a feudal hangover and the enemy of real democracy.
Hugs. Hoping Biden is enough but I sincerely doubt it.
!ENGAGE 25
I feel your pain. And yes our whole system needs to be re-worked.
But wealthy people in power will fight third party participation, at least get rid of the electoral college and have the popular vote to determine the winner. Truth is, unless you have great sums of money, you don't stand a chance.
How about some campaign finance reform, level the playing field. The best people in our country are kept out of the running due to lack of $$$.
Our leaders must take climate change seriously and do something NOW or it really won't matter who's in charge, mother nature will take her revenge. There will be no turning back soon.
Stay well!!
ENGAGEtokens.Awee, thanks so much!
dude I really didnt know this was such a hige problem at the moment (and ongoing). News like this doesnt even reach here and there is a part of the problem. Awareness and education..
Not much I can do from here but send ya a BEER! as support and a reblog, girlie...stay strong!
It's a cyclical event if you look at Thai history - we literaly joke locally and say "we are overdue for a coup." Lots of solid reasons for that and thhere needs to be a massive culyural shift that happens before democracy could ever work here. We're Ok. Just offline a lot tight now, and frustrated driving around and the "present location" function hardly ever works.
Beer? Always welcome. Dikke knuffel.
!ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.you are right in everything you wrote here. i live in a country that is probably somewhere in the middle of the two mentioned, and here censorship is not that strong online, but almost all big news are bought by ruling party.
also, hive could be useful if you want to be anonymous, you probably can, you just need to spend some additional time to set everything up.
I'm not enough of a techie to really understand HOW to set up a completely untraceable Hive account. Maybe this is a global community service one of the more senior, tech savvy Hive leadership could work on? Documenting the massacres in Nigeria online isn't a very safe thing to do - and yes, anonymity is a VERY powerful tool. We need to be certain it's 100% rock solid, and How.
!ENGAGE 15
i am not an expert on this, but i think all the options to create an account that don't require email can't really be traced, from the hive part. than there is IP addresses and maybe computer id (never got enough into it, to know more)
ENGAGEtokens.Pretty sure that's the most counterproductive thing to do. But I guess listening is not an option.
👀
So much of what I'm seeing is counterproductive. Sigh. Street protests without viable alternative political models are counterproductive, cos they force views from the opposing side to become even more entrenched.
I have personal hopes that the King of Bhutan might step up oneday as a global mediator. I think I'm gonna post about that too in the coming days - about the failure of the UN as mediator and the need for global discussion during national conflicts.
!ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.The question is, did people even know how to do what was needed to nip this in the bud at the time and were many of them even aware of that failure to perform? The truth is, many of us don't even know how government systems work and not everyone would understand them even if it was taught.
I see a lot of blaming of previous generations for not doing something about this sooner, but the truth is they didn't really know that something needed to be done or even how to do it. It's a case of the frog in the slow boiling water, not realising things have gone to far until it was too late.
From the French Revolution and before, people have known. I would argue that they don't want to know. Example? The Uigher camps in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_re-education_camps They are everything that Auschwitz was, 60 Minutes aired the powerful documentary in Australia over 12 months ago. Are Australians effectively protesting? Nope. No one in the world is, actually. Cos then our magic iphones would evaporate, as would most cheap imported consumer goods.
We have been bought. And we allow it. And we DO know.
!ENGAGE 25
Recommended viewing:
It's a good question: What can we do about the world's injustices, now that we have this Free Speech vehicle? Let's all BLOG about that... make it a HIVE challenge. Send that Q to @eddiespino to fwd to @theycallmedan.
I would say that today many are way too preoccupied with work and online distractions to actually even bother figuring out how to do anything but complain about situations. However, they seem to like blaming older generations for current government problems, while still not figuring out what to do now.
I never saw that documentary and wonder how many people did. Yet assuming everyone did, short of demanding we go to war to stop things in China, what can an Australian do? We could have a peaceful protest to say we don't agree with it, but will that made a difference to the Chinese government?
Within our own country, there are things that can be done to approach local government with their procedures, but you have to take the time to look into it and find out how (often not information that's easily found). Also, you don't know how up to date information is. For example, my husband was reading that in order to get a local MP dismissed, you need a minimum of 6 people to go in and say that this is what they want to happen. Now this apparently applies to Britain, but I haven't been able to find out if it applies here. Assuming it does, you then have to try and motivate enough people to go in and call for that dismissal. The chances are most people will be sceptical that this is even true because it's not common knowledge, so what are the chances of getting enough together?
You might get people together to protest, but because this isn't actually an 'officially approved' way of enacting change within government systems, it rarely works to gain action from government. They are sitting there waiting smugly for someone to actually follow their procedures and jump through their hoops, then saying they couldn't actually do anything, because the changes demanded weren't properly applied for through the correct channels.
I believe this is why a lot of people don't do anything, because they are afraid of the repercussions if it turns out they're not allowed to do that. They also don't realise the implications, further down the line, of them not standing up for themselves and letting government officials get away with each of those little chips away at human rights and freedoms.
I just find it futile to try and blame others for not doing things. After all, while those who have stood up to authority and the status quo to make things better have often succeeded, usually many years down the line, they often ended up imprisoned or killed for their efforts. So it's no wonder no-one wants to stick their head out.
More thoughts a-churning, but I'm being dragged away...
ENGAGEtokens.There is some thing seriously wrong with this world where we have uprising and protests on and off the past decade. There is no end to these dictatorship governments who cling onto power at the expense of the people, and they need to be removed. In Thailand, at least there is a democtratic structure in place, as to how democratic that really is, is another matter, but at least the framework is there.
Some places are goiing to be more difficult and of course I'm talking about Hong Kong who is up against the worse there can be on this universe.
It has been going on since the French Revolution and before... the difference is the last 10 years we have widespread social media.
The conflict here in Thailand IS directly related to the China equation, and many would say fueled and funded by the US as a way of defeating the CCP mindset. I have to say that I have personally witnessed things to support that theory.
Ultikmately, though, 2 party democracy doesn't work in the US either, and we need a global model more along the lines of the Dutch and the Scandinavians, who create both wealth and political stability by having MANY parties and MANY differing mindsets sharing power.
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.Same here
It truly IS a comunication vehicle ahead of its time - now we just need our global education and legal structures to catch up so people can USE it freely. Not ever being able to really remove content without that makes it also a dangerous communication tool in conflict areas right now.
Hope you're well - the comment sincerely appreciated.
!ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.