REDEFINING CENSORSHIP BY SAMANTHA SUTCLIFFE

Hell is other people – Sartre

Then what is a revolution? It is not the process of building a new society - but rather a radical destruction of the existing society. - Boris Groys

In order to understand our identity we have to avoid the gaze of the other. Sartre states the gaze of another is hell because judgement objectifies us and thereby negates the possibility of change that defines our subjectivity. In Boris Groys’ Into the Flow he explains that being offline is the act of contemplation that leaves no trace and therefore does not belong in the material world. The death of the subject means the incapacity of the subject to communicate and contribute their own message. “In our media-driven postdeconstructive age, the dead subject became a secret.” My observation is that the death of the subject is censorship.

The only way for change is to burn everything down. Let things go without remorse. Let the dead bury the dead. No longer seeing ourselves as human, corruption becomes the backbone of society. Insecurities subdued by narcissistic aparatuses lead to stagnation and exhaustion running the physical body down. Our country fights pain with pain. In The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Shoshana Zuboff explains that technology has led to behavior modification. She states that only “we the people’’ can derail this force and asks readers to imagine and construct a future. What higher power can we surrender to that exists in the physical world? Can we surrender to our humanity? Becoming symbiotic with nature will reveal that there is no such thing as peace or conflict. Or good or evil. We exist formless, in the now.

WIKILEAKS

The infrastructure of the internet today is the privileged place for the current generation of “clerks”. Julien Brenda uses the word Clerk to describe an administrator in a democratic state ruled by law. Wikileaks is an example of what some people consider a Utopia - the return to universalism with the free flow of information. However the free flow of information can not be a Utopia. Universalism was born out of religion and philosophy with the goal to unify the human race by transcending individual perspectives into one universal perspective. The free flow of information has created more of a political divide.

The achievement of Wikkileaks was only possible through hacking, or the intrusion into the private sphere. Hacking, like tabloids that reveal the personal lives of celebrities, is a complete destruction of the private sphere. The difference between Wikkileaks and gossip is that the attack is on the international press rather than an individual person.

Soviet states used a combination of conspiracy and publicity to gain power. Hegel states the human being ceases to be a subject of truth. He compares one to a sophisticated animal with particular interests and desires.

Wikileaks shares the same intent as 4chan. A free flow of information with similar results, a political divide. We are granted freedom of speech with anonymity. Anonymity allows us to share our opinions and experiences without much repurcussion.

Our value has become our reputation. Our reputation is our behavior and behavior is learned. When live is about survival, can we think about etiquette? Is etiquette inherited? There is a notion in the 21st century that we are ignorant if we are not politically correct. This is an illusion created by the privileged. If ignorance means no educations then we have no choice but to be ignorant. Class is inherited. Can you have standards when you have no choice?

IMAGE REMOVAL

A MARKET HAS BEEN CREATED

In the last decade the risk of monetary loss has kept our mouths shut. Those who look the other way chose to self-censor themseves becoming complacent. For reasons much more complex than words can describe but our research helps us start to disseminate. Lack of connection to physical existence. Some still face a struggle of freedom that comes from purity and privilege. Government run and citizen enforced open air policing reveal that the marginilized don’t deserve freedom. These open air prison systems implemented by citizens prevent people from jobs and support thereby preventing them from recovery and basic human rights.

The present day art dealer or record label profits off of controversial acts that are dead but rarely do they take risks when there is no monetary gain. The image is created and projected onto the artist as a brand or a marketing tool. The image could also be created by the artist themself and acted out in order to get a message across. That message or image will, if successful, be profitable. Viewers, listeners, fans will be attracted to the image. They find meaning in the image. A reason to live. The image helps humanity and media companies survive. We must remember survival is not possible without access to the flow of capital. It’s time for the removal of your image. because not all images are allowed to enter the flow. Can the removal of our image bankrupt the media? Is life possible without participating in the flow?

How do we remove our misrepresented image from the internet? Companies take our image and brand us. Once our image is taken and put up online we a longer have control or ownership over it. We’ve been manipulated. Thinking that being “seen” will help us be “heard”. This manipulation has created a whole market for lawyers and security hackers who are able to suppress information. A lawyer from Minc Law, a law firm specializing in defamation, will charge a retainer fee of $3000 a month with a commitment of twelve months. You are looking at a total of $36,000 for one year. They work with SEO trackers to create new information about you that will suppress the old information about you. With this option you are paying for a service to generate more content.

How can we remove our image for free? You can not remove your image from the internet just like you can’t change the past. The only change that can happen will occur in the present so the best way to remove your image is by no longer putting your image online. Overtime old information is suppressed until irrelevant and no longer searchable. Just like a dead body decomposing.