![censor.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/stellabelle/ZdFv7L4C-censor.jpeg)
*-Image made from artificial intelligence on Artbreeder.com and collage by me*

Firstly, thanks to @theycallmedan for creating these Hive writing contests. I look forward to these a lot. 

Free speech is a complicated notion and the understanding of it depends entirely on the person who describes it. Let’s get one thing out of the way: free speech doesn’t mean you get to abuse those around you. It doesn’t mean you get to harass people or threaten violence against them. It does mean you get to speak your mind honestly, and this freedom of speech also extends into the creation of software. 


Mostly, I have experienced the ability to speak my mind freely, although I have some limited experiences where I was made very aware of boundaries and censorship. The effects of censorship are chilling, not in what it does externally, but what happens to oneself internally. Censorship causes people to self-edit and silence their own thoughts, which is the real tragedy in this. I will talk about a few instances of censorship which I experienced and the fallout that came afterwards.

## Censorship of Art in Pixeos

I used to work for Pixeos, an art project on EOS. I quit when I found out that someone on the Pixeos team censored a work of art from one of my favorite artists, Alexandravart. There were a few things that happened that I found really disturbing. There were others reasons I quit, and it had mostly to do with clashing philosophy. 

Incident #1: Pixeos was planning to participate in an event in New York, by showcasing works by artists, and Alexandravart was part of that. I found out later that the person representing Pixeos had decided not to show one of the works of art at the event because it contained mild nudity. This resulted in the artwork not being shown in the event. I don’t have the piece of art in question now but it was in a very similar style to this and the figure resembled an alien as well. Hardly a reason for censorship! Good grief:

![Enlight1831.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/stellabelle/D5Ajgqr6-Enlight1831.JPG)


It’s hardly nudity, as the figures are not even in detail. Take a look at her style, it’s extraordinary and something so far from pornographic, i still cannot believe the stupidity of this person on the Pixeos team:
https://www.instagram.com/alexandravart/

When I found out that her art was censored and excluded, I was really disgusted. I realized at that point that I couldn’t trust any of the decisions made and the thing is, art has a long history of nude figures, and censoring artists in this way is a very destructive force. Just knowing that censorship of this kind was happening at the highest level was enough to make me quit the project, as I was having daily arguments with the person doing this type of censorship. 

The thing is, AlexandraVart’s art is TAME! It’s not at all the type of art that is crude or pornographic. I realized that if her art was being censored, then just imagine what else is being censored. Just the thought that this one person had control over what is seen and what is not seen was enough to make me puke. It wasn’t long after this that I quit. I don’t want to be associated with anything that is so stupid. It’s not a good look especially in the art world. Art should remain one of the last bastions of freedom. The fact that the art in question was super tame makes this entire thing even more ridiculous. I lost total respect for the people involved and their decisions after this incident.

Another weird thing occurred while I was working with Pixeos. I was creating a lot of GIFs, with little people dancing weirdly in them. I was told that the Chinese investors didn’t like this type of thing with people dancing wildly and out of control. I was told to stop making this type of art for Pixeos. 

While I have experienced very little censorship (when compared to the Chinese), I can imagine what it starts to do to your mind. The effects of self-censorship are what is really bad. Like when I was told to stop expressing art that showed people dancing and being out of control, the effect on me was to suppress all those urges to express it. Can you imagine what a lifetime of this kind of suppression would do to one’s creativity? It would basically stamp out all creative thought and critical thinking skills. It would make you completely dependent on an outside force to tell you what to do. It would make you doubt your own mind, and restrict your ability to think for yourself.

Once you realize that you are not allowed to say or think certain things, those ideas go back inside, and are repressed or live in the subconscious. I think progress halts in such an environment. I think also it makes you into an obedient sheep. Once your will is restricted like this, it prevents you from questioning what is happening all around you. It prevents you from seeing reality.

# You end up silencing yourself.
![censorship1315071_960_720.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/stellabelle/C5j91eFI-censorship-1315071_960_720.jpg)

The fear of being censored by powers greater than yourself is enough to stop most people from thinking critically. In such an environment, only the truly fearless are willing to speak out. And then when the sheep see what punishment is given to those brave enough to speak out, their sheepdom is solidified.  

I can imagine that Justin Sun is doing this right now on Steemit. People see what is happening to others (freezing accounts), and this makes them afraid that their funds will also be frozen if they speak out or question anything that Justin does. This type of environment allows really bad things to happen, as fewer and fewer people feel safe to speak their minds in an honest fashion. In a few months, Justin Sun has turned Steemit into a total dictatorship, with the only people existing or thriving in this environment being sheep.

# Fear of thinking is the true devastating aspect of censorship and I think it’s important to save it.

We have to band together and form new platforms like Hive in order to save free speech. Without these places, I think free speech will become scarce, as AI becomes more advanced. AI will shape human thought and it will all depend on who is controlling that AI. The real problem is the fact that so few media companies control social media. Fewer people in control of artificial intelligence is the true threat. Also the next years will be crucial, as governments adopt blockchain tech and use it in a way that it was not designed for: surveillance. 

## This brings us to crypto.

I’ll end with a quote:

“Article 19 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: 'Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.'
Of course, governments worldwide, and the UN itself, do not abide by this proclamation, but that last point is still of critical importance. The reception, transmission, and search for information via any media “regardless of frontiers” is part of free speech. Crypto is a technology. An idea. And it’s not limited by geographical constraints or “frontiers.” It’s a means by which to impart, receive, and seek information. After all, a bitcoin transaction or encrypted message is, in essence, an expression of information.” - https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-is-part-of-free-speech-and-free-speech-is-everything/

Thanks for reading. Please join the #FreeSpeech initiative and share why free speech is important to you. You can find out more here. https://peakd.com/freespeech/@theycallmedan/freespeech-initiative