Freedom of Press: Where did it go?

I have been occupying since October 1^st 2011. Today is January 4^th, and I sit here today feeling very uneasy. Just yesterday Global Revolution was arrested. They were arrested after being illegally evicted by the NYPD and the NYC housing authority.

OWS Media Team Evicted and Arrested 1/3/2012

Why am I so bothered by this? Well first off I am one of our Livestream Producers, second, I am also our content manager for the website, and a member of the OLA Social Media Team. People know me, know who I am, and with my current housing situation, I feel as if I am the perfect target.

I am not the only member of the media team here in LA feeling a bit frazzled by this whole experience. I have spoken to a few others, and read a few emails this morning, that seem to show many of us are a little frightened, to say the least, by the recent signing of the NDAA, and the eviction, property destruction, and arrests of Global Revolution.

“But we aren’t doing anything wrong,” words I hear again and again, and also have been known to repeat over and over as if it were some sort of mantra. I really wish it was, as we are not doing anything illegal. All the Occupy media has been doing is reporting on what mainstream media has not, and generally will not.

Our media has been getting the voices of the people out there, some being heard for the very first time, many speaking from the heart, in a way they never thought they could, whether it be through spoken word, written word, music, or other forms of artistic expression. We have helped to inspire many to speak out against the injustices they have faced, we have worked hard to help show the rest of the 99% we are not what the MSM makes us to be in the public eye.

So today I sit here and wonder, what has this nation has become if the independent media is now being silenced, by means of force, for doing nothing more than reporting on what is really happening? When did “Freedom of Press” change to only apply to corporate controlled and funded media outlets?

The Main Stream Media is paid to show what their bosses want them to, and many times paint a very ugly, out of context, if not completely fabricated picture of any story that is not on the side of the corporate powers that control them. But they aren’t paid very well to do this, so why do they continue this cycle of madness?

I am not paid by anyone for my media contributions, even though I tend to work 12-16 hours a day working on the website, answering phone calls, and emails, updating social media, attending meetings, finding places for homeless occupiers to stay, coordinating with other committees, affinities, and friends of the movement to try and keep this moving forward.

I am not going to lie and say its been easy, as in some way, shape or form we have been under an attack since the very beginning. Whether it be verbal, physical, or emotional, there have been constant attacks on those who disseminate information to the masses. There have been people who have come in specifically paid to create dissension, mis-trust, and drive apart our community.

We have already found out two of those people, one who was paid by US Bank to come harass us, and she did quite the job at it. She slowed her role after we found out who she really was, and that she was getting paid to create unrest. There was another, who may not have been paid, but seems to have worked for similar benefactor types, to attempt to distract from and derail what we have been doing.

Those are just two examples, and as we move forward, and now have the time without a physical occupation, to really look at who the loudest, most distracting people are, and find out a little more about who is paying them to distract us from our goals. There are various national affinity groups working toward this, as they can see that this can destroy our movement.

I speak of this because I want to raise awareness. The media teams involved in occupations all across the country are made up by professionals who are under or un-employed. Many of us work endlessly and our efforts are being suppressed, or distracted from. Whether is be one issue, or another, or tireless email threads of nothing but nonsense, its to try to take our focus away.

And now we have moved on from taking focus, to straight up intimidation, and false arrests. What Global Revolution faced, is only the beginning of injustices to come. If we do not share these stories, we are allowing it to just happen, the suppression of independent media will only grow.

Its time to arm yourselves, but the weapons of this revolution are different. They are 3 and 4G phones, they are laptops, flip cameras, still cameras, and crappy camera phones. We need to be ready at all times, to record what is happening around us, get each others voices heard, and hold the MSM, and those who try to silence our voices accountable for what they are doing. We cannot just sit back and allow ourselves, our friends, our family to just be “disappeared.”

I write this knowing I am probably saying too much, but in my opinion I have held back too much for far too long. And so have all of you. Don’t be silenced. Make your voice heard, help your friends, family and neighbors be heard as well. The fight to have our voices heard has already become a battle, or as some say an “Info War.”

The facts are our tweets get deleted, our friends get unfollowed, Youtube videos disappear into thin air, is only the tip of the iceberg, and with SOPA about to get passed, it will get a lot worse.

Please don’t allow us to be silenced. Fight for what is right, speak out for your brothers and sisters, or eventually there will be no one to left to speak on your behalf, when they come for you.