Welcome to my hole in the ground

Once again I'm effectively homeless online. I quit Reddit after the whole API thing; for some reason I didn't miss it. But I got involved again on Facebook, which I'd abandoned for years. I guess I really wanted a place to talk about politics.

It's probably me. There's an undeniable pattern. I get involved in political groups online, and end up being censored and/or banned for what I'm told are extremist comments. Now, as I see it, my comments are anything but extremist; the oligarchs are literally killing off the human race and rendering the Earth uninhabitable for life, but we're not allowed to even TALK about fighting back.

The latest round was particularly ironic, I think. I was on a Facebook group that was originally called "Guillotines for Billionaires", but was later called "Guillotines For A Better America", or something like that. I think the implication of violence was pretty clear, no? In fact, I was quite surprised that Facebook itself allowed the group to exist. It was pretty clear that the group wasn't hidden or anything, since we were hit by a surprisingly high number of DNC trolls. But in any case, I had fun making memes and being involved with the group. Until...

Someone posted a photo of a sign on a pillar that said something like "Thank a cop today", with a stick underneath that said "And pepper spray them". I commented "And kick them in the balls. HARD. And then take their gun." Okay, a little harsh, but all cops are bastards in my book. Nonetheless the INSTANT I tried to post that comment I got a message that my comment went against community standards - and that if I deleted it immediately I might "avoid potential account restrictions".

Now, there's nothing that gets me more angry than being told to shut up. So I quit the group and Facebook on the spot.

That's free speech in these days of late-stage capitalism; censorship by software, with no appeal allowed. The only places that have free speech are those where no one will hear you...like here.

So I'll be writing here and in the other digital holes in the ground, for now.

Letter to America (Letter to the American People)

 I despise censorship. No, that's putting it too mildly: I LOATHE it with incandescent hatred.

So when western governments (purportedly "democracies") join with big tech companies to censor something, I'm immediately triggered.

The Letter to America written by Osama bin Laden is the latest target for censorship. It makes some valid points, and also some completely invalid ones. But I believe that people have a right to read it for themselves and make up their own minds, rather than have their supposed representative governments clamp their dictatorial hands over our eyes.

Even the Internet Archive has been purged of copies. But I found one, oddly enough, on Newsweek. Needless to say, I immediately copied the text and saved it. If this link is taken down, I'll post my copy.

Fuck censorship!

Osama Bin Laden's Letter to America (full text)

Winston Smith Lives Again

Attempting to discuss concerns about Covid-19 vaccinations on Facebook and Reddit is a dangerous game. It immediately invites hysterical attacks, shattering of old bonds of friendship and family, and group outrage.

In the last three weeks Reddit has taken censorship of those who question Covid-19 vaccination to an unprecedented new level of Orwellianism. The sub r/unvaccinated , a "Safe community for unvaccinated redditors that refuse or are hesitant to take the new experimental covid vaccine. A place to support, share thoughts and discuss news topics." has had no new posts since November 9th - seventeen days ago.

Does it seem strange that in the current environment the Unvaccinated subreddit would become a ghost town? There's no need to wonder. I myself posted there twice in the last ten days, only for my posts to silently and completely disappear.

Go there yourself; post to your heart's content. Watch as your posts vanish, one by one. They never existed. No one will ever hear what you have to say. Nor will you ever be given a reason for that censorship.

I tried writing to the group moderators, of course. No answer ever came. I've been writing to the moderators individually, but so far have received no answer. The first ones I wrote to seem to have been inactive for months.

Mind you, this was a fairly active group! And questioning the safety of Covid-19 vaccines is not illegal. That speech on that subject can be simply blanked out of existence is an ominous sign of what's to come.

Break Up Facebook

 Here's the hashtag I was trying to figure out!

#BreakUpFacebook

And since I can say it here without being banned, break up Mark Zuckerberg, too. With a guillotine.

The Whims of King Zuckerberg

The 24-hour suspension that I got from Facebook last evening had magically turned into a three-day suspension today - for no reason that I can see, since I wasn't on Facebook since last night and am not able to post, comment, or react to anything there anyway.

I plan to work up an anti-Zuckerberg meme, post it on Facebook, and spend as much time off Facebook as possible.

We are not free.