Written by Amie Wohrer (@AmieWohrer)
Thank God, and I mean thanks be to God that the monsters of the Third Reich were not privy to an outlet such as the internet. Imagine for a moment: “Wow! A million of you are watching! I am happy that so many members are actively involved in our cause. We are very excited to see such growth! This concludes our meeting for today. I hope to see you all next week, same time, same place. I am member five hundred fifty and five, or you may call me Adolf if you wish.” A man called Hitler signs off from his weekly livestreamed meeting for the German Workers’ Party. The unimaginable human loss, the unbearable hardships endured during this darkest period in history, may likely have paled in comparison to the aftermath of an online Nazi Party. The hate, as vast its reach historically, could have been remarkably more infectious and far-reaching; maybe even unstoppable. Because of this, we must be watchful, and we must be careful.
Censorship is nothing new. It has always been used to silence the voices that don’t agree, and when coupled with false accusations, it can not only silence, but it can incite good people to do terrible things, and remove the target group’s ability to defend themselves. We conservatives are experiencing this now, but potentially on a much larger scale because our oppressors have a highly effective and efficient silencing tool. And forget about a gradual rise to power. Big Tech is about as powerful as it gets and their power was gained while we enjoyed its fruits. Now instead of seething speeches in uncomfortable, sweaty, crowded venues, tweets are sent and retweeted, posts made, shared and liked, and all in a matter of seconds. Millions of people lied to in their homes with no more energy than it takes to press a button. In an instant impressions are made, opinions formed, tall tales believed. Pictures and videos can be shared with the world and doctored so realistically that the image in front of you is in control, and tells you what you’re going to believe. Even propaganda art and “merch” can be produced and sold to the masses through a website. It seems we have a long road ahead, but take heart! There is hope.
It’s true that current-day censorship has a remarkable advantage, but we, the current-day dissidents have one too. Imagine: From a small house in the Netherlands in 1940, Christoffel Dehaan, a baker and a member of the Dutch Resistance makes a cryptic Facebook post while his wife Tess hands a tray of food through a stair tread to a Jewish family for whom they’ve been providing refuge. The post reads “Come to Dehaan Bakkerij for your freshly baked sweet treats and breads! Our customers tell us we have the best Boterkoek and Tijgerbrood in all of Holland :)”. The smiley face means they have room for more Jews. In an instant their followers are notified and word will go out to a family fleeing the Nazis. If the internet had been around back then, many people could have been saved. We should consider ourselves blessed that we have it now, at a time when our thoughts and beliefs are being forced into a similar kind of hiding, and we should not squander our time while we still have access to it. It should be used for good. To communicate truths and make known the “places” where like-minded people can be found.
“Conservative” is becoming the new “Juden.” We are under attack. We are being called racists and white supremacists, being dehumanized, there has even been talk of “deprogramming” us. They want, they need, to make us the dangerous ones, so that in the court of public opinion, censoring us and abusing us won’t raise any eyebrows. After all, it’s ok to hunt an animal. But as grim as this dot com censorship and discrimination seem, let us not lose sight of one important truth; they have access to the masses through the internet and so do we…for now.