057: Happy New Year! Don't Go Anywhere...
Plus, a reflection on the elephant in the room.
Hey, all!
I hope you had a restful week, whether celebrating or otherwise.
In the downtime that usually comes around this time of year, I’ve been able to properly consider what I’m going to do with my Substack. Long story short, it is my ultimate intention to leave the platform and start up somewhere else. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple as just jumping ship today.
A couple of factors play into the reasoning. One, I am furious and disappointed with the response from Substack’s founders regarding the open letter (read it here) calling them out for platforming and profiting from far right-wing mouthpieces, transphobes and anti-vaxxers. In short, the founders have indicated that they have no intention to step in and stop this mutually beneficial arrangement, and thus I will not be part of a platform that supports this.
The main problem this presents, however, is that I have nowhere else set up to go. My social media lie dormant, and I have zero intention of returning to those hell-sites. I’m in the process of setting up a website which should have a blog attached, but these things take time and lack the simplicity and functionality that Substack does so well. Any suggestions of other platforms or options would be most welcome.
I was inspired by a recent post by
(linked below), who is in a similar predicament.
Like Alan, I am asking for patience while sorting out this situation, and I will let you know as soon as I have a solution for where you can follow me and my work. Just to make it clear: please don’t unsubscribe, even in protest against Substack. If you leave now, the chances of us reconnecting are very slender, and I am in the thick of some extremely exciting plans for 2024. I’d hate for you to miss out.
In the meantime, I wish you a wonderful New Year’s celebration, and all the success for 2024. Feel free to let me know what your goals are - I look forward to reading them!
New Scribble ✍️
Notes: I’ve been sitting on this one for a while, waiting for the right moment to reveal it. Now seems more appropriate than ever.
The C-Word
"Sticks and stones may break my bones."
And yet, they’re quick to draw like a John Wayne flick,
firing "woke", "snowflake", "triggered" in the air.
It’s funny, when the tables are turned,
these people cower under a barrage
of "racist", "Nazi", "homophobe".
What they fear most, though,
what strikes terror in the heart,
is the C-word.
No, not the four-letter one,
but the one that calls them out.
C O N S E Q U E N C E S.
Thank you for reading No Margins Left - your support means the world to me. Quick reminder that you can pick up my books on paperback, Kindle or PDF depending on whether you go via Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Ko-Fi. Email me if you want signed copies.
And I’m out.
Until next time,
Mark, I'm sorry to know that you're leaving. I share your sentiments and disgust. The one thing I've learned is that wherever we go, Nazis follow. They destroy all the good stuff, and we continue to forge out the next safe space, to no avail. I'm staying to fight them, to hold Substack accountable, to continue to yell at Hamish (and maybe make some Hamish ❤️ Nazis merch). I'm staying until it becomes pointless, or there's a place for us to move en masse, hoping that Patreon or Medium will take advantage of this and make a Substack-ish place for us to go, where our communities can follow, and make one move. Change takes time. Sometimes, we have to stay in the mud to fight the pigs. Wishing you and yours the best for 2024. xo