Imagine waking up in the morning, and reaching out to your phone. "Hello world," you said with a smile, or maybe with a grumpy tone. After all, like it or not, social media *is* a part of your world.
You unlocked it. You hit the button. Nothing happened. That's weird.
You tried pressing the button again. And again. And again. It keeps showing the message that your account was inactive. Maybe if you log out. And log in. And log out. And log in.
It takes a while to realize that somebody, somehow, deactivate your social media. You got tingle all over your body. If 'they' can deactivate it, what else can 'they' do with it?
Somebody told you your account was deactivated because it is nasty. Because you are a horrible, horrible person. And you just don't get it.
You are not a horrible person. You tried to bring people to their sense. You are speaking the truth. You are protecting what you think is important. And it is your right to speak. First amendment, right?
Maybe people take it the wrong way. But it is their business, their problem, not yours. You have the right to voice your opinion, and nobody has the right to silence it as long as it still within the acceptable scope. You are not breaking the law.
And for that reason, you do not deserve one-sidedly cut off like this. If you are not breaking the rule, nobody has the right to block your social media account. Just like nobody has the right to refuse you service in restaurants or other business. It will be discrimination.
But you still got blocked. And it is scary. It is scary because it shows rules doesn't matter. People can disagree with you and silence you. Your right to voice your opinion was taken away from you. What's next?
You remember the stories told by that Indonesian girl, how in her country people can get in trouble by saying something against the grain. You remember the teen in Singapore who got jailed for proclaiming he was an atheist. You remember the 'disappearances' of people who speak out against tyrans in other countries. It makes you shiver to the bones.
You absent-mindedly check your social media again. It was on now. You are back on track. It should made you leap with joy, right? Instead, it made you even feel colder and scared. No purpose, just because *they* disagree with with what you said, or who you are. Is this even America?
You check the statuses, likes, and such, and *they* are congratulating whoever did this. You don't break the rules, but people take matter in their own hand. Does that mean next time a majority decide on something and you are against it, they have the right to take corrective action towards you, regardless on what rules that has been laid out?
A lynch mob is a lynch mob. Just because *they* think it is right doesn't mean they can go at it, regardless whether the person who is prosecuted is right or wrong. That's why there is law, there are rules, so people don't infringe on other people's right just because they think they are the *good side*.
So people wont hurt others with different race.
So people wont hurt others with different belief.
So people wont hurt others in the name of "Truth".
So people wont hurt others (innocently) because they think they are doing the world a favor.
Yet people think what happen to you is ok, because they don't like you. Don't *they* understand this could work against them? That next time *they* are against bigger voices, *they* will get silenced too?
Your social media is back on again, but your rights are forever infringed. You will forever feel insecure, unsafe. Your safety net, the laws and rules around you, has been violated. You have been judged and prosecuted even though you are not breaking any rules.
All because you are not what majority wants you to be. All because you say things that doesn't corespond to 'the spirit' even though many silent ones might feel the same way you do. But you got prosecuted nevertheless.
Welcome, my dear, to the new America.
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