Tomorrow is a place we are together

a poem and some housekeeping

"Tomorrow is a Place" by Sanna Wani sent to me by my dear Ann on a morning when I needed it the most.

---

Housekeeping Notes

Quite a few of you have written in inquiring about the recent controversy with Substack. If you’re not aware of it, here is a condensed version of events. Here is the company’s latest statement.

Trans folks should feel safe and supported writing here or being anywhere on the internet and these platforms shouldn’t be weaponized to dehumanize them. That is not a brave stance, it’s the bare minimum.

I also believe that writers should be paid for their work. This is not in opposition to people being treated decently. It is really upsetting that trans writers and writers who are trying to do the right thing are leaving this space behind, compromising their income while the very people who should be examining their attitudes towards others and the space they take up in the world keep getting richer. I don’t read any of the political writers here and I am actually very annoyed that they take up so much of the oxygen in the room. I left social media behind because of them and yet, here they are again. This time without the benefit of an editor so the work product is even more questionable. There are a lot of “cancel culture” refugees on Substack but truthfully they are just refugees from good editing.

It does say something about our society that these people are making hundreds of thousands of dollars pretending to know everything under the sun. I don’t know everything. I don’t participate in the polemic of the day not because I am shy but because I know that it is fraudulent to have strong opinions about something I know nothing about. It is also so disgusting to question the lived experiences of others. The fact that a boring wonk can make $800 000 for his questionable brain dumps on here but people with better taste and sounder interests don’t come close to that is sending me into a spiral. I am exhausted by this societal dynamic.

If there was an ethical or morally superior platform for cobbling a living, I would have found it already. From an ethical standpoint, for me at least, getting paid to write here doesn’t feel so different than getting paid to write for my book publisher, another incredibly problematic overlord. I don’t like any of it and it is not lost on me that by participating in these systems, I am compromised.

For now, this newsletter will remain here and I understand if that makes anybody uncomfortable. I have a host of reasons I could give you, ranging from what a pain in the ass it is to switch services to my overall belief that there isn’t a single ethical platform that exists. I am diligently researching all of my options. In the mean time, if you are a trans person or anyone who doesn’t want to support this platform, and you pay for this newsletter (roughly 90% of the readers get it for free) let me know and I will issue you a refund. No questions asked. Where we spend our time and dollars is intrinsically political and personal.

Thank you for your time, as always.