Written by Mimi   

I’ve had friends from poor, third-world-countries who would tell me I was lucky to be an American. “In my country, if you say something the government doesn’t like, you disappear,” one friend said to me. I argued that we didn’t really have freedom of speech here in the US, that there is a long history of persecution of political activists here in the US, that we just have the appearance of freedom of speech. (Do a web search on “red squads” then on “COINTELPRO” before you debate me on this.)

Someone who is offensive and hurts people, like Howard Stern, for example, is allowed to speak, but activists who want to help make the world a better place, and therefore threaten the establishment, are often censored, or worse. Look at what happened to Martin Luther King, for example. His family believes that some agents of the federal government may have been involved in his death. The FBI spied on him, even sent him a threatening letter at one point urging him to commit suicide. His wife, Coretta Scott King, was spied on by the FBI until her death.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mlks-family-feels-vindicated/

http://www.thekingcenter.org/assassination-conspiracy-trial


But who needs the past when current events continuously prove my point?

So the day after 4th of July, I come across a story online about a man who was arrested for posting something on Facebook that some people didn’t like.

Seriously?

Facebook?

Bryton Mellott has received death threats. But even more threatening is that images of his face and the name of his employer have been distributed widely across the ‘net. Message to Mellott: Don’t criticize the US government or your life will be ruined. You may never work for Walmart again!

Hmm… Is that a bad thing?

Wait a minute… What are we celebrating on the 4th of July? Freedom?

Freedom of speech?

Freedom of speech! Yes, I’m sure it exists somewhere in the world. Maybe in Denmark? Or Sweden? Norway? But not here in the U.S. And, most disturbing, it’s not just our government but our fellow American who can’t tolerate freedom of expression.

Bryton, if you’re out there and happen to read this article, let me tell you this: I’m with you. Many Americans are with you. Some of us support Bernie Sanders and/or Jill Stein, and some of us do not because we refuse to support any candidate. We’ve given up on the system altogether. But regardless of our political leanings, most Americans do still believe in freedom of speech. Bryton, hear this:
You had every right to publish that Facebook post. Internet trolls aren’t real. Sometimes they are paid by prominent people to propagate certain ideas across the ‘net. Sometimes they are just lonely, depressed or disturbed people with poor social skills who have no other way of communicating with people other than to leave hostile comments on web sites. And one crazy person with lots of free time can create 50 aliases online to make it appear that he or she is actually 50 different people when, in fact, it is just one demoralized, lonely individual trying to get some attention.

In a civilized society, people respond to posts they don’t like by deleting the poster as a friend, leaving a comment that simply says, “I disagree with this,” or by just ignoring the post and choosing to look at another post instead. This is how civilized, well-adjusted, mentally healthy people respond to opinions they don’t like. I myself have heard some pretty outrageous ideas in my lifetime. Having lived in big cities and interacting with the general public, I’ve met people from all walks of life, all socioeconomic backgrounds, races and ethnicities. It’s shocking to learn that there are a few people (thankfully, not many!) who still admire Hitler, for example. And certainly, Donald Trump has said some outrageous things. (Oh, but he’s rich, so he has freedom of speech. It’s just the rest of us who do not. So maybe we’re celebrating Donald Trump’s freedom of speech, freedom to bully, intimidate and silence our fellow Americans on the 4th?)

Not that I want to hear people make irresponsible statements, mind you. Freedom comes with it a responsibility. Free people know this. They think before they speak. Even while expressing opinions anonymously via the Internet, free people who value their freedom of speech understand the responsibility that goes along with it:

Think before you speak!

What’s disheartening is that Bryton clearly did think before expressing his opinion. Whether you agree with it or not, he made a statement not to hurt people but to get people to think, to create positive social change. If Internet sources are accurate (I haven’t seen the actual post), he stated that he was “not proud to be an American” and referred to “atrocities” committed against poor people, women, people of color and LGBT people. So Bryton believes that some people in the USA do not have access to democracy, that some people are disenfranchised. Do you disagree? Why? Can you express your disagreement intelligently? Rationally? Nonviolently?

I find it fascinating that the very people who claim to be patriotic ‘Mericans are violently threatening one of their own fellow Americans for exercising his freedom of speech. This is what you “patriots” do on the 4th of July? You threaten, bully and intimidate then ultimately censor other Americans? Celebrating no more freedom of speech in America? Celebrating violence and fear? Celebrating imprisonment of political activists in the Land of the “Free”?

Sickening.

I just need a moment here to reflect on what America and being an American used to mean to most of us.

Ehem.

Well, you’ve certainly done a good job of proving Bryton Mellott correct in his estimation of the USA. Not a free country at all. A country that certainly does commit atrocities such as jailing poor people (he works at Walmart for heaven’s sake!) and causing people to lose their jobs for expressing opinions on Facebook. On Facebook? Seriously?

Facebook?

Sorry, I just can’t get over that one. Facebook is the place for small talk on the Internet. It’s called “shooting the breeze.” People say all kinds of things on Facebook, forgetting they’re being published and possibly seen by people all over the world. Sometimes they change their minds and contradict themselves. That’s what people do when they’re just "shooting the breeze." They’re speaking freely, uncensored, and so they think they can say whatever they want.

Sometimes they don’t think before they speak, forgetting that everything published online is permanently stored somewhere on the ‘net. But why is our government getting involved in this guy’s Facebook posting? It’s just bizarre.

(I suppose it wouldn’t be bizarre if we lived in communist China or Saudi Arabia, but this is still the United States of America. We’re constantly being reminded of how “free” we supposedly are and how lucky we are to be ‘Mericans… )

Most of us would never have heard of Bryton or his Facebook post if it weren’t for this overreaction. Now, his name may get written in the history books for being one of the first Americans to learn the hard way that the USA is officially a police state. Children are still taught to believe they live in a free country, but then when they go against the grain, refusing to conform and consume, they’ll learn the painful truth.

Those of us in the US who truly believe in freedom are living in the wrong country. Perhaps we’ll find ourselves refugees one day. And that day may come sooner than we expect.