“I write what I like.” — Steve Biko
HAS your work been suppressed? Do you live in fear of retribution from the powers that be? We all have stories to tell of hitting that glass wall, whether through abuse of editorial power, misuse of legal authority, or merely brushing copy under the carpet, the usual censorship runaround. The Size Issue would like to hear from you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a media worker for a large corporation or a small zine, suppression often occurs without your knowledge and consent.
In fact the highly selective editorial process is often a ruse for a much larger pattern of abuse. Throughout history, original thinkers, non-conformist individuals, dissenting voices, minority opinion-makers, have been targeted because of their views. Being a dissident is not about falling in line, or going with the flow, in fact questioning authority and posing intellectual problems and mental challenges is an important part of the consensus process, and provides a counterbalance to what would otherwise be a narrow outlook and one-dimensional view of life.
People like Galileo, Trotsky and Steve Biko were martyred for their ideas and yet today we all realise that the sun does not revolve around the earth; that there is more than one possible reading of Marx or Lenin; and being conscious of ones oppression does not mean participating in the oppression of others. Philosophy teaches us how to approach these challenges, but without a forum for expression or a means of discussing topics such as free speech in an open environment, we begin by participating in our own oppression, then assist in the active suppression of information by stifling arguments and censoring debates, and end-up aiding and abetting the suppression of other peoples ideas. Is it not obvious that engaging in our oppression means renouncing our right to oppress others, to act as fellow oppressors?
When was the last time you stood up for what you believed was right? It takes chutspah, gumption and sagacity to question authority and to actively debate the issues at hand. The Size Issue wants you to reach down and see whether blogspace has balls. We want you to come out and resist media suppression, by posting stories about press censorship, intellectual gagging, cultural brainwashing, NIA mind control, corporate-government thought-police, resistance to apartheid and big business and other forms of groot baas mentality.
Resist Supersizing and Suppression of Information by mailing Suppressions Anonymous
or check out The Size Issue, a blog dedicated to exposing Supersized Media and the Independent Media Cartel.