The Censorship of Facebook

Yesterday afternoon, all of my Facebook accounts were deactivated. At first I was a bit disconcerted that it had stopped with no warning, or signs that there was an issue. I tired to contact Facebook to figure out what the heck was happening, but there is no way to even contact them what so ever. You can submit a request, and I have sent several dozen with no response what so ever. I began researching the net to others who have had similar situations, and apparently the whole system seems to be automated and many people are currently being shut down if they have any kind of trigger terms within what they post or how they post. It can take months to get an account reactivated. I am not quite sure what to make of this. I think it is one of the greatest social inventions ever, the best networking tools instantly at our disposal globally 24/7. But how good is a social system if it becomes unreliable, without any way to interface with your issues or problems with the system. Has Facebook now become the new big brother that watches and begins to control and dominate how we interact and use it? Has it become a soulless entity that sucks us in merely for the adverting dollars? Somehow the past 24 hours without Facebook has given me a new perspective and given me my life back. This morning I got more work done than I have in a month, because I remained focused.

Though I am thankful that it has given me this global connection that otherwise would have taken years to cultivate, it appears to have not hurt the integrity of my work and this project. It appears that the following I have on this project remains and still follow and I greatly thank you all for that. If any of you out there can still spread the word what has happened I am most appreciative.

The next issue I think really needs to be addressed regarding this is censorship. What triggers some people to be shut down while others remain? Why was my account specifically targeted, when I am having such incredible response from everyone who visits it? I sent the message out yesterday asking others to respond. Granted I am involved in a project called The Naked Man Project and I have been linking it to my Facebook feed, but I have been doing it consistently from the beginning. Yes it does involve nudity, but I feel I have made a great effort to censor my own images and feeds when I felt they were not appropriate for general consumption. I see as much skin and nudity on others profiles of images of them on the beach or by the river rafting. I have seen far more graphic imagery on many personal profiles than what I have in mine that borders on graphic sex? Why are these not censored? Where do we draw the line and who is qualified to define what that line is when the subject is so subjective? My friend Gianni, who deals with a lot of gay artist, says this is becoming quite common on Facebook for many gay artists to be deactivated. Does this mean that the programmed automatons of Facebook are homophonic? Are words like gay, love, desire, male, naked, and art a trigger? Gay Artists throughout history have been censored, but have still always prevailed, like Michelangelo. Does this mean that I now walk in the footsteps of greatness destined to become a part of that class? It has certainly been my dream. My friend Gianni says in some cases where he has seen this happen it has been at the hands of other less skilled or wannabe artists who become jealous of the work of artists who are succeeding at what they’re doing. If this is the case, I too am quite flattered by the success I am finding in my imagery and know I am on the right path. Perhaps I will never learn what has happened here, but it is a cautionary lesson for all of us to take to heart. Beware we are all being manipulated by forces beyond our control. Freedom of expression has been repressed, and whenever this happens it becomes a fearful day for all of humanity as the radiant light of beautiful art continues to prevail.

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