Thanks for sharing that. I'm a newby to Substack, having just found it through following individual contributors. The political element voiced by McKenzie was unknown to me prior to your article, though the writers I've followed so far have a decidedly left bent. I don't think I'm alone in looking for a source of information that is reliably true. These days cable news & commentary are suspect, while network news only seems to report sensational events which these days involve Trump. After reading your piece, I feel better informed about Substack and will exercise caution when picking up new posts. For that I thank you again. Your subject matter, in my opinion, breathes fresh air into an journalism that has become largely political. So, write away! Write about whatever moves you & I'll read it.
In my search for media, my highest criteria are truth and integrity. I don't care how left or right it is, as long as the information is presented as accurate by the writer and with integrity as in trying to provide context from the writer’s worldview. Integrity also includes knowing when to soften one's opinion to reach more people. I've read enough to know when a writer is trying to promote an agenda or to generate clicks.
This is one of the major divisions in the country today: the inability to choose appropriate media outlets and the right journalists. Or should I say the ability to select a news channel with dedicated journalists over an entertainment channel with entertainers? I know some journalists are left on TV, but I've stopped watching most everything on cable news. I subscribe to the NYT, WaPo, and WSJ, but I no longer read the opinions.
So, I search for journalists to tell me the truth and use my instincts. In politics, I need for my opinion people to be all-in on the idea that the Republican Party is gone. It is dead, and its carcass is being picked at by various authoritarians, none of whom have good intentions. To me, this is plain reality. Nothing good is going to come from that party in 2024. Perhaps Substack will allow for some crossover between still-rational liberals and conservatives.
"You’ve been showing less independence and more indulgence of positions generally held by the political left." Heaven forbid! What is it about the cartoon-fantasy-version of what constitutes "the political left" that scares people like Jay so much? Is it wanting to actually take climate change seriously, and try to reverse the damage caused by a century plus of burning fossil fuels? Is it the desire to be inclusive and level the playing field, so that people who have historically been excluded from reaping the benefits of the "American Dream" get to have a seat at the table? Is it wanting health care costs to be more in line with nearly every European country, and health care to be available to everyone, regardless of how wealthy they are? Is it wanting women to be considered rational actors, rather than empty vessels who do not deserve any say in their own reproductive health? What a horrible, dystopian world "the political left" is striving for.
Ah so disappointing. Why can't you just write what the MAGAt expects from you? LOL
Seriously. I struggled with the notion of Substack in recent days due to all the revelations about fascists and racists and anti-semites and transphobes. Except I find your content invaluable, as well as a couple others I read. You bring up a really good point. Should good, morally and ethically centered people, abandon a platform just because there are toxic people on it? Until and unless Substack becomes mostly a haven for the worst of humanity, I think it important to support the good voices here. You included.
The reason these spaces are so frequently targeted by far right lunatics is because the people who believe in their bullshit are the ones who throw money at it. The founders of such places find themselves enriched by it, and thereby are sympathetic to them because they make money off them.
The wording of that email is almost identical to emails that a number of other women writers I follow have received from various men -- just substitute for the story-they-liked and the sentiment is almost word-for-word. Forgive my skepticism of how "genuine" Jay is.
Please, just keep being yourself and doing what you do. Don't get pulled into somebody else's BS. What you (and other truly independent journalists) are doing is good for us all. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing that. I'm a newby to Substack, having just found it through following individual contributors. The political element voiced by McKenzie was unknown to me prior to your article, though the writers I've followed so far have a decidedly left bent. I don't think I'm alone in looking for a source of information that is reliably true. These days cable news & commentary are suspect, while network news only seems to report sensational events which these days involve Trump. After reading your piece, I feel better informed about Substack and will exercise caution when picking up new posts. For that I thank you again. Your subject matter, in my opinion, breathes fresh air into an journalism that has become largely political. So, write away! Write about whatever moves you & I'll read it.
You’re awesome.
In my search for media, my highest criteria are truth and integrity. I don't care how left or right it is, as long as the information is presented as accurate by the writer and with integrity as in trying to provide context from the writer’s worldview. Integrity also includes knowing when to soften one's opinion to reach more people. I've read enough to know when a writer is trying to promote an agenda or to generate clicks.
This is one of the major divisions in the country today: the inability to choose appropriate media outlets and the right journalists. Or should I say the ability to select a news channel with dedicated journalists over an entertainment channel with entertainers? I know some journalists are left on TV, but I've stopped watching most everything on cable news. I subscribe to the NYT, WaPo, and WSJ, but I no longer read the opinions.
So, I search for journalists to tell me the truth and use my instincts. In politics, I need for my opinion people to be all-in on the idea that the Republican Party is gone. It is dead, and its carcass is being picked at by various authoritarians, none of whom have good intentions. To me, this is plain reality. Nothing good is going to come from that party in 2024. Perhaps Substack will allow for some crossover between still-rational liberals and conservatives.
"You’ve been showing less independence and more indulgence of positions generally held by the political left." Heaven forbid! What is it about the cartoon-fantasy-version of what constitutes "the political left" that scares people like Jay so much? Is it wanting to actually take climate change seriously, and try to reverse the damage caused by a century plus of burning fossil fuels? Is it the desire to be inclusive and level the playing field, so that people who have historically been excluded from reaping the benefits of the "American Dream" get to have a seat at the table? Is it wanting health care costs to be more in line with nearly every European country, and health care to be available to everyone, regardless of how wealthy they are? Is it wanting women to be considered rational actors, rather than empty vessels who do not deserve any say in their own reproductive health? What a horrible, dystopian world "the political left" is striving for.
Ah so disappointing. Why can't you just write what the MAGAt expects from you? LOL
Seriously. I struggled with the notion of Substack in recent days due to all the revelations about fascists and racists and anti-semites and transphobes. Except I find your content invaluable, as well as a couple others I read. You bring up a really good point. Should good, morally and ethically centered people, abandon a platform just because there are toxic people on it? Until and unless Substack becomes mostly a haven for the worst of humanity, I think it important to support the good voices here. You included.
The reason these spaces are so frequently targeted by far right lunatics is because the people who believe in their bullshit are the ones who throw money at it. The founders of such places find themselves enriched by it, and thereby are sympathetic to them because they make money off them.
The wording of that email is almost identical to emails that a number of other women writers I follow have received from various men -- just substitute for the story-they-liked and the sentiment is almost word-for-word. Forgive my skepticism of how "genuine" Jay is.
Please, just keep being yourself and doing what you do. Don't get pulled into somebody else's BS. What you (and other truly independent journalists) are doing is good for us all. Thanks!