vperdigon

Censorship

When the Pharisees crucified Jesus Christ they thought it was their duty to enforce the laws of God proclaimed by Moses.

The authorities of Switzerland burned "Social Contract" a book of Jacques Rousseau. Voltaire came to the latter’s defense and said, “I do not agree with a word that you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Miguel Cervantes wondered how so much evil could be committed during his time of Renaissance. He wrote “Don Quijote.”

When Hitler killed six million Jews he justified his act as a final solution to a problem.

When Marcos declared martial law, he claimed to save the republic and ended up violating human rights. His defenders today cite the infrastructure projects he implemented but fail to mention the kickbacks he and his cronies pocketed and how he amassed billons of dollars deposited in Swiss banks.

Today ISIS, Al Qaeda and the Taliban are ruthlessly killing people in the name of Allah.

Today, Facebook is censoring posts and comments in the guise of community standards. If you post or comment against the experimental vaccines FB is quick to ban you. Only you can see it. Worse, you can be banned for 24 hours or 30 days.

So much evil has been committed in the guise of good. Facebook should be careful it does not fall into the same category as evildoers. We understand FB took this route after it was sued or threatened with suits for one reason or another. However, it should not veer towards the extreme of censorship at the expense of freedom of expression. It is a tricky balancing act, yes, but it comes as the price of power and privilege. The billions of FB users make the platform powerful. They are the reason advertisers flock and give it also billions in revenue. It should be watchful ever not to commit evil against those whose role is to cast light on otherwise dark truths that cause inconvenience to powers that be. Facebook was praised as a great equalizer of the playing field. Now, if it takes actions that tilt the field in favor of the mighty then it will turn its back on its own power base.

If FB allows you to post what you ate a while ago or the latest shot of your face why can it not tolerate an expression that comes from your heart and mind? No pun intended but the face is often less important than the book.

You cannot criticize the host when you are a guest in his house. This is not a criticism. This is a friendly advice. I am doing so as civilly as I should. The host should not take it against a guest who cautions him about a potential or actual wrong. After all, the Facebook house is not just made of walls and columns. It is built on the strong foundation of support by its guests.