Does Censorship Exist Locally?

Canton, Ohio is a mid-sized city. It also happens to be both a "purple" city politically (ie, a place where one can find a myriad of political views) and one that has a very interesting location due to how close it is to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and other major hubs. 

As such, it stands to reason that everyone has something to say about everything from abortion on demand to same-sex marriage. Christians mingle with non-believers and it is not strange to find a man in a suit sitting next to a rocker with purple hair when downtown. 

Since Facebook and social media, in general, has everyone else reading the posts of those who they see every day, the freedom to speak peacefully but without restriction is vital. Remember, Ohio went to Trump but to suggest that Democrats do not exist - along with a growing number of libertarians - is to miss an obvious truth. 

Before further attention is given, those not living in Canton may wonder why they should even care. After all, who cares about a mid-sized city in the rust belt?

Canton is good for study because of its location and because of the wide range of people that Canton's placement on the map affords it. Not many cities give such a fair and wide mix of people, races, and viewpoints for study. 

So, with that known, how does Canton do? The answer is, honestly, pretty good. Once upon a time, the writer of this very article was nagged by a police officer for an "offensive" Marilyn Manson shirt which parodied Willy Wonka - an altercation that involved yelling, threats of arrest, and a Stark County Fair official allowing the shirt - but those days are largely gone.

Today, people are allowed to express themselves pretty openly and while some of the riots which tortured cities all over America in 2020 did also erupt in ol "Can'town," in 2021, a visitor is as likely to see a Trump hat as they are a Black Lives Matter flag in someone's front yard. 

Here, however, isn't where the question ends. 

As of this writing, Ohio's Governor, Mike DeWine, is bucking against what is supposed to be a conservative/rights-minded Republican Party and is coming out in favor of things like allowing businesses to fire employees over vaccine refusal for COVID-19. This is also a move that could harm those who can't get the vaccine due to other health concerns which the patient may have. 

From there, even in little old Canton, Ohio, comment lines on social media erupted with those for and against the idea. One reader pointed out that more of the black population has health conditions that make the vaccine dangerous than white people do (which may be quite correct, according to some studies), so this is a move that may stifle minority advancement in the name of a public health mandate. 

By now, one must be wondering how this has anything at all to do with free speech. 

The issue comes to light when it is understood that even talking about the vaccine (which is just one of the topics which outlets like Facebook censor conversations about) is enough to get a person suspended from the platform, restrictions from posting, and even the elimination of their account. This also means that all of their content, family videos, photos, and more can be wiped away for having a conversation about a vaccine that simply is not safe for everyone. There is no medical treatment that most people can think of which is for everyone, and this is no exception. 

This means that big-tech has the power to stop those with facts that may prove the official line to be faulty and in doing so, it censors people. Now, this is where Canton begins to look a lot like other places far, far away...

From here, the people who were content to see a Trump supporter fly his flags on his truck and the Trump supporter who still waves at his neighbor who sports a "BIDEN 2020" bumper sticker on his Prius begin to look, falsely of course, at their neighbor as their enemy. After all, it was "them" who caused this censorship. 

While this isn't really true, anger bubbles. Keep in the mind, the anger is not even coming from the community itself, it is coming from big-tech and those who are far removed from the area. Also, this isn't real contempt that anyone has earned from their neighbor, it is the result of what is perceived by the censorship and how the major media spins it. Suddenly, people are angry at each other over things that they did not do. 

That, in a very brief and, perhaps over-simplified outline, is how censorship far away from one area can trickle down. That is why it is important that the federal government stands behind free speech when it comes time for them to defend all people from the whims of big tech. They are the new public square and unless they want the legal responsibility of being a publisher, they need to get out of the way - perhaps by mandate - of everyone who posts content. 

It is that simple. 

Lastly, lest anyone reading was to imagine otherwise, this censorship is not only close to home, but it can be PROVEN to be wrong. Pictured below are two strikes against an account on Facebook. In the first "offense," the person suspended from use was quoting a Ministry song from 1989 (some sources say '88) and answering a trivia question in a music group. 

A person had asked what was sampled in a song and the answer was given, "Hitler. Sieg." Now, keep in mind, Ministry is not pro-Nazi, the sample was used to prove a point, not to endorse Adolph Hitler. Secondly, what right did Facebook have to get involved at all? What rule on the terms of service were broken by answering a trivia question about a song that is 32 years old?

How is knowing that Hitler was sampled make anyone pro-NAZI? The photo shows that the user explained that he was even NOT supporting Hilter, mindful of how it may look. 

The second wrongful strike came via merely quoting a study, which was conducted by some of the brightest minds in modern medicine who have no political drive, dealing with the COVID-19 vaccine. The user did not even make the statement, he was just quoting a doctor. 

How is quoting a reputable doctor an offense? How is it even known that the person posting the quote supported the quote?

Keep in mind that if Facebook or a similar site shuts down the page of a user, there is no recourse and all of the memories and works stored therein are gone. POOF! Also, as seen in the screenshots, no one is there at Facebook to address the facts which are clear.  

This is censorship. Maybe small areas like Canton or "average U.S.A." is dealing with this madness well, but sadly, if those with real power beyond those borders don't stand for liberty, it won't matter much.