my post about net neutrality

[ejpoeta]

I posted this in my notes on facebook. i am hopeful that folks will read it and actually listen, though i doubt it. i have family who will think it's some kind of left wing conspiracy or some bs. but i tried to make sure they knew this had nothing to do with political leanings, but in our last bastion and our last place to have a voice.

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I don't know how many people even know what this is. But it is the basis of the power of the internet. It is the fact that we are all equal on the internet that we can be heard. The TV is owned by big multiconglomerates. The radio is owned by the same people. And as regular folks we have no voice on either unless we are allowed to by the big companies.

The internet has helped artists get an audience when the record companies didn't want to give them a chance. It has allowed writers to have their books published and people to even know they exist. It has allowed amateurs with video cameras to go viral on youtube. But there are those out there who want to take it away from us. Verizon and google are working on a way to make it so that instead of us all having equal access to the internet as we do now, THEY can decide who gets the bandwith. Who gets heard.

This may sound benign. But it isn't. When Iranian citizens protested the fraudulent elections in their country, we all cheered their use of Twitter to organize. We in this country as citizens use the internet to be heard by our government as well. We use it to come together and plan how we will get our choices on the ballot and to work towards getting them in office. We use it to voice or displeasure with how our representatives are governing or not governing. It is our voice. And they want to stifle us.

Imagine if verizon or time warner could give those who could pay the ability to keep us from voicing our concerns. They could control which messages get out. They could control your website if they don't like what it says. Imagine you don't like your service with verizon or ATT and want to tell the world. They could inhibit your ability to get that message out there. What if you don't like what your senator is doing or want to support ron paul? if they don't like your message they could make someone trying to get to your message have a harder time doing that.

We are the people and we are losing our voice. This is not about politics or religion. This is not about anything other than the fact that as regular folks we are about to lose the last place we have to change things. I know we think the internet is unstoppable, but once the people who we have to go through to get to the internet can control how much of it we see and how quickly we get there, we will lose that which we have come to expect.... the freedom the internet has given us and it's voice. Our voice. No matter what the message, it should have equal access to everyone online.

Of course they aren't doing that yet. But they are going to try unless we raise our voices to say we want NET NEUTRALITY. i may not like the message you want to put out there. You may not like mine. BUt we should both have equal ability and equal access to get that message out there.

Please let your congress and senate representatives know that we want net neutrality to remain intact and protected. I want to preserve net neutrality so that we regular folk have at least one place left that we can have a voice. we have already given up so much. Let's protect the only place we have left.

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, ejpoeta.:thumbsup: