We Will Not Be Silenced: First They Ignore You, Then Comes Censorship
Written by Teodrose Fikre, September 17, 2017
Let me break some news here. I am a nobody in the sphere of the opinion leaders and established “journalists”. Heck, it was only a few months ago that I was living at a mission trying to piece my life together [read Struggle’s Dilemma]. In fact, I launched the Ghion Journal while living at Harvest Farm in Wellington, Colorado where I was working in the farm’s mess hall cooking food for 71 of my fellow broken souls while earning a $7.00 a week gratuity. Call it the authentic audacity of hope, I wanted to give voice to the invisibles and the struggling masses even though I was invisible and struggling myself.
Giving a voice to those who are ignored by a society unhealthily fixated to the rich and the famous is the purpose behind the Ghion Journal. This is the reason I made a decision to disavow corporate bribes that the Corporate State Media denizen collects by way of maximizing advertisement revenue steams from Wall Street interests. We are getting enough hits to make a pretty penny from selling ad space to big corporations; in fact, part of my MBA indoctrinated instinct occasionally conceptualizes a business proposal where I aggregate website analytics, show our demographics and relay our global reach to justify advertising on the Ghion Journal.
Yet the experiences that I’ve had over the past two years—the realization of how this system of crony capitalism combined with federated power is hobbling the masses—makes me disavow profits in order to speak truth to power. The Ghion Journal is thus a zone of exclusion where corporations are not welcome. We go one step further and disavow ad revenues all together so that our attention is always focused on our primary mission [read Our Empowerment Manifesto]. Our overriding purpose is to speak against injustice and in the process try our best to be a bridge for disparate cultures and communities to unite under the banner of togetherness so we can defend our common interests.At the risk of sounding self-serving, let me state this truth. The system of global oppression—where a few lord over billions—is not afraid of those who speak with fiery rhetoric and those who agitate people into angry discontent. Far from fearing demagogues, the status quo actually elevates them for the playbook of divide and conquer depends on those who peddle separable grievances in order to shatter the people into islands of resentment. From Obama to Trump and the endless sea of politicians and mainstream media pundits are nothing more than two faced snakes who present injustice through one sided perspectives for this very reason. What the elites and the powerful fear are those who speak for universal justice and who try to rally people to the flag of humanity and our commonality of hopes.
We live in a time of pervasive conflict and change. I believe in my heart that the people are ready for a new age of enlightenment and to disavow those who divide us through indignation and sensationalism. It is for this precise reason that the outrage machine has been cranked up full blast; the closer we get to seeing how we are all getting duped as a people, the more the elites try to dupe us through hoodwink [read Hoodwinking US]. The same elites are reverting to something even more sinister as corporations and those in power at the Federal level are nefariously silencing those who stand for unity and togetherness.
Our nation is slowly morphing into Germany in the late 20’s. I’m not reverting to hyperbole when I say that fascism is slowly creeping in. Unlike the days of Hitler and Mussolini, the powerful are reverting to deception and subterfuge to shackle our freedoms. I’m not your average political hack, I’m not presenting this with a partisan agenda. Both Democrats and Republicans and the political class as a whole are chipping away at our rights and monopolizing thought in the process. What do you think the whole “fake news” kerfuffle was about? The Corporate State Media hounds yapping about disinformation is like a prostitute lecturing us about the virtues of chastity. Do not fall for the bamboozle; freedoms are never lost instantly, tyranny is birthed one nibble and chunk at a time until one day we wake up in a police state. 300,000,000 people are thus being slow boiled like frogs in a pot but we are too distracted by outrage to notice the rising waters that are simmering us into a boil.
It is this attempt to silence the Ghion Journal that elevated a nobody from the sidelines and gave us a voice where we had none before. An article I wrote about Facebook banning our page using some obtuse reference to “community standards” was pushed by fellow advocates for unity like Debbie Lusignan, Lee Camp, H. A. Goodman and those who care about justice on social media [read How Facebook Shackled my Voice]. This article captured the attention of those who have felt the sting of being censored by corporate fascists for having the temerity to express their voice while those who spread the most vile pictures and video are given allowance to preach from the pulpit of hate. It’s not a coincidence that this latest gambit by Facebook happened less than 24 hours after my interview with Lee Camp on RT aired, check out the clip all the way at the bottom of this article and you will realize why some who rule through greed would rather marginalize my message.
Instead of backing down to pressure and coming to their senses, Facebook has gone one step further in silencing our voice. Not only did Facebook not restore our old page, yesterday I noticed a quirk that I can only conclude to be an effort on the part of Facebook to further marginalize the Ghion Journal. Media companies, in the age of social media, are dependent on a combination of pictures and catchy titles in order to draw readers to our website. Though I refuse to revert to the childish ways of the Corporate State Media by using words like “boom” and “throwing shade” in the articles posted here, I nonetheless use vivid images to draw readers to our website.
Well yesterday, this functionality was effectively eradicated on Facebook as articles from the Ghion Journal are restricted from showing the article’s associated images. From a marketing perspective, this is a big blow to our ability to draw new readers and puts us at a severe disadvantage as a media company that is trying to carve out a space for link minded thinkers. It is easy for others to say “leave Facebook” and to log off as a way of protest; but Facebook is the largest media platform in the world. They have effectively monopolized the industry of information sharing; being silenced on Facebook is effectively lynching our first amendment right of a free press, fifth amendment right protection of liberty, and our human right to speak—especially when the Ghion Journal espouses unity and love.
So we are turning to the people and putting our case forth before you. Where Facebook is trying to silence us and marginalize our voice, it is our hope that those who care about fairness and justice will rally to our side. After all, we are a media entity powered solely by the people as we walk among those who speak for. The elites did not become all powerful by accident, first they wisely ignore truth tellers until the voice of truth tellers gains a bit too much traction. The next step is to silence those who gain a following by scandal or by violence. We are asking our audience and those who know about us to rise in defense of free speech and to stand against corporate bullying.
In all honesty, this is beyond just restoring the Ghion Journal and about fairness. Let me pivot for a moment and talk about on this one thing that stirs in my heart. If we pause for a moment, from right to left, black to white and all groups in between are angered over the same things. We are letting our differences get in the way of a common solution. Don’t we all want a better tomorrow? Don’t we all want to live in peace without being told what to do? Don’t we all want a better future for our children? Why not focus on these issues instead of fighting over red meat? Put aside your loyalty to political idols —who I promise you don’t give a flying care about you—and unite for the sake of collective success or I promise you all of us will be equal before poverty.
As far as the Ghion Journal, let me get to the “ask” as they say in politics. I am hoping you do two things specifically. First, for my techie friends, if you are able to come up with a work around to this issue of the thumbnail picture now showing on Facebook, email us at info@ghionjournal.com and let’s see if we can figure out a way to work around this roadblock that has been put in front of us. I’ve already tried for 24 hours to come up with a fix including the use of the Facebook debugger and adding various open graph plugins. But I will admit that my techie level is neophyte at best compared to the gurus who can do wonders with a laptop.
For everyone else, including to IT geniuses, I am asking you to join in and help us amplify our voice. Where Facebook and the establishment are undertaking some Machiavellian ploys to silence those who diverge from politics as usual and who refuse to let money be our purpose, it is my hope that everyday folks will step into the breach and give us wings where entrenched interests tried to clip them off. Bookmark this website and use social media to further our message, let others know about us and in the process let people know how vital it to support independent media. Be a part of our journey and in time a website started at a mission can take on the Goliath elites who think they own speech and humanity with it. #WeWillNotBeSilenced
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy
If you appreciate the message of this write up and you too refuse to be silent in the face of injustice, share this article on social media using #WeWillNotBeSilenced
Check out the Ghion cast below where I talk about the reason d’etre behind the Ghion Journal and I explain how we aim to revolutionize the “fourth estate”.
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” ~ Martin Niemöller
In honor of those who died at the hands of despots, let us not repeat the sins of the past.
This interview by Lee Camp is the reason why Corporate State Media hacks will never give me access to their stage.
Teodrose Fikre
Originally from Ethiopia with roots to Atse Tewodros II, Teodrose is a former community organizer whose writing was incorporated into Barack Obama's South Carolina primary victory speech in 2008. He pivoted away from politics and decided to stand for collective justice after experiencing the reality of the forgotten masses. His writing defies conventional wisdom and challenges readers to look outside the constraints of labels and ideologies that serve to splinter the people. Teodrose uses his pen to give a voice to the voiceless and to speak truth to power.
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2 Comments on "We Will Not Be Silenced: First They Ignore You, Then Comes Censorship"
No, it is not “easy”, but there is no alternative unless you want to be a part of the “system of global oppression”. You either seek truth or you are banned in this era of “deception and subterfuge” that so effectively serves the ruling capitalist classes. Is this not the fundamental choice?
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Actually, there is a third option-to become irrelevant.
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