The Internet As Hostile Territory
Today I would like to bring your attention to a group whose videos have always been able to enlighten me in one way or the other, sub.media.
Though I´m a bit too old to fully share their juvenile infatuation with riot porn, I had my fair share of the real deal in my anarchist street fighting years myself when I was younger, they still manage to put a smile on my face occasionally and give me a perspective and an insight which can´t be obtained by watching the official channels only.
I especially like their videos about the plight and struggle of indigenous communities, fighting against corporate greed and ecocide.
And you always learn something new.
For example, I always thought, that the Spaniards had conquered all of South America (with the exception of Brazil and some minor territories held by France, Great Britain, Netherlands or whomever). Turns out, that huge areas of what is today Chile and Argentinia were never really under their control, with permanent resistance by the indigenous Mapuche people leading to a treaty in which Spain recognized the existence of an independent Mapuche nation in 1641.
After Chile and Argentinia had gained independence from Spain, the new nation states sent their troops into Mapuche territory, killing about 100 000 Mapuche, and then integrated the land into their territories.
Activists, of whatever cause, today use the internet to spread their message, to organize, to mobilize, but that can also backfire. Governments have used social media profiles to identify and subsequently arrest protesters and activists, like in Bahrain. Computers, Smartphones, Smart-TVs can be hacked and used to spy on their owners.
In the following video, many of the problems of surveillance and counter-measures will be illustrated and discussed, the gist being:
Activists, or better everybody, should regard the internet as hostile territory.
