It is astonishing how at times the most painful truths emerge from comedians' mouths or books... Initially, you laugh, but when reality hits, it's no longer funny...
I used to watch a lot of comedy in the past and two of my favorite comedians were Eddie Griffin and George Carlin. These two had a unique ability to highlight absurdity in a hilarious manner. During one of his stand-up comedy shows, Eddie Griffin said: "think while it's free".
One would chuckle and move on after hearing this but as time passed and we entered what is known as the digital era, it has become increasingly clear that free thinking is no longer entirely free anymore and when discussing free speech, things are even more concerning. This is all possible due to the centralized nature of the internet and social media apps.
It's likely you've already heard about the police state quietly developing in the UK amidst the rising protests and violence in the country. This is a result of excessive immigration, of course. What's appalling to me is that as an immigrant, you can get away with community work hours for rape but face jail time if you post so-called "hate comments" on Facebook.
Personally, I've stopped using Facebook a long time ago and would never return to it, but many still use it without realizing that everything they share online is recorded and meticulously analyzed by algorithms. Once authorities are alerted, action is taken.
There are already several individuals in the UK facing jail time for "hate comments" on Facebook targeting immigrants, who are becoming increasingly violent. It may seem like isolated incidents, but before long, we'll reach a point where only certain topics approved by the establishment will be allowed online, within guidelines set by them.
This wouldn't be an issue if we weren't governed by mentally ill and pedophiles, but unfortunately, that's our reality, and these individuals set very low bars when it comes to hate and offense in internet interactions.
On Hive, this isn't a problem since the platform is not controlled by a central entity dictating content. However, as algorithms and their controllers continue to police the internet, freedom of speech will have no place left to hide.
Once they can control free speech, they'll attempt to control thoughts as well (if they're not already doing so). How they plan to achieve this is uncertain, but I'm sure they'll find a way sooner than we expect. In this context, Griffin's words take on even more significance.
This doesn't mean that we're doomed and gloomy all of a sudden; we can always code our way out of tyranny if needed. However, we must remain vigilant and strategic in doing so.
Thanks for your attention,
Adrian