TAKING BACK THE NARRATIVE

Abby Martin talks about the importance of citizen journalism and taking back a history stolen by the ruling elites.

"I SAY FUCK objectivity because we don't need to know what the corporate monster thinks just to contrast it with what the other side thinks. We know which side is right and I know which side I'm on.

As an activist first ,and that's where I started as an anti-war activist in my community and understanding that is not just war, that it is everything, and that the corporate media is complicit, I realised we needed a free and independent and grassroots means of communication. Without it we can't communicate information on the issues we are facing.

Anyone can become a citizen journalist, all the tools are available. The tutorials are all there. I learnt how to use a camera and speak in front of a camera just by spending time at my local community access station in Berkeley. When Occupy Oakland came along I was right there because I wanted to be part of what was happening in my community.

The other thing is that we can't be scared. Capitalism makes us feel isolated because it tries to make us see ourselves just as individuals, that we aren't connected to each other. That's on purpose. It's a matter of getting out of our comfort zones and talking to our neighbours and going to see what people are doing in our communities. Its about connecting people, empowering them and lifting up their voices.

I never thought I'd ever get paid for what I'm doing now - I just did it because I knew I had to. I'm going to die doing it, I'm going to die telling these stories, telling the truth, because history is written by the winners and we need to correct that history and amplify the voices that were crushed, that were killed. We need to lift up the voices of the marginalised and oppressed and tell their stories. We need to tell who the real fighters were, who were the real revolutionaries, who really changed the course of history.

The Empire Files retells a history written by the winners and the corporate media. We need to take back the narrative. These stories can empower people to act - and that's what they don't want, they don't want us to unite."

Abby Martin presents The Empire Files on TeleSur Television.