What’s Medium Good For?
NB: As my comment vanished and wasn’t linking back to the original article (not for the first time), I’ve re-published it as a story in response to this piece: https://ev.medium.com/medium-editorial-team-update-8679bcb9fabte81
My understanding was that you were punishing the editorial team for trying to unionize. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood. Nevertheless, I completely missed out on the glory days of Medium and have often lamented paying for a year’s subscription.
To be clear, I expect to be completely ignored. This is for those who may not be aware of other aspects of the story.
As a true left wing woman, I state with conviction that incessant synthetic leftist rantings here and on your sister platform Twitter have caused a great deal of harm to genuine left-wing promotion of genuinely left-wing ideals and beliefs. I have spoken out vocally on how appalling The Baron of Bloviate Trump is, but black and white thinking is also heavily promoted here. If you’re not kissing Grandad hair sniffer’s arse, you must be a fascist. Sigh.
From my perspective, Medium has promoted their favoured content to exclusion of most, ignored queries about whole site cloning and other issues, and cosseted and petted synthetic leftist wokemongers to the virtual exclusion of all others.
And that’s before you even start talking about the complaints from many large accounts about the massive drop in views and payouts they’ve experienced, and the fact that they appear to have become invisible to their followers.
I’m used to being invisible on Medium, women who understand that in fact feminism does have a definition, that no you can’t have your own brand of feminism and that it’s not about centering men (nor does feminism have anything to do with the dick sucking self-proclaimed lib fems heavily promoted here) are not generally given any sort of a boost.
To put it mildly 😂 🤣
Some say Medium appears to punish dissent against synthetic leftist wokemongering propaganda by censorship, actual banning, shadow banning and curation jail.
After the TOS and whole site cloning debacle of last year I removed over 100 articles and rehomed many, responding to Medium ignoring writer concerns and issues.
And I’ve just this minute stumbled upon this post, Medium writers are being ripped off again, in case you’re vaguely interested:
As stated, as a woman who grew up in Scotland raised in poverty I am actually left-wing. Not synthetically “don’t hurt my feelpinions” left-wing. Thus I find the incessant flow of dreary, wokemongering feelpinion-based ranting both extremely boring and counterintuitive, and rarely bother to click anything from anyone I don’t already follow and know these days.
Medium has paid no small part in strengthening my views on free speech. There was a time I believed in the concept of hate speech and thought it had some value. But seeing that concept aggressively weaponised to include anyone wokemongers personally don’t like, regardless of how factual, relevant, well argued and sourced dissenting voices are, I am now crystal clear on the fact that it is deeply important not to de-platform dissenting opinions.
In reality the regressive ranting on Medium is not the majority opinion, although here it is almost the only opinion allowed. By stifling free speech and creating a woke haven you have also driven away any and all other voices and discussions, however factual, rational or well constructed. Here on Medium the feelpinion is King. In turn, this has promoted in me synthetic leftist fatigue.
What’s really distressing is that many now actually believe that the incessant ranting of wokebots is left-wing polemic, when really it’s just regressive, patriarchal nonsense with a dash of emotion driven pointless rage aimed at the wrong people, repackaged and sold as progressive. The wokemonger screeching currently favoured by Medium offers nothing in the way of human rights promotion, progressive thought or helpful solutions.
From a previous comment (I’ve made this point many times here and elsewhere) (https://thegarrulousglaswegian.medium.com/ive-never-voted-right-in-my-life-baae99f656df)
“Once I used to say that a person does not become a misogynist, racist or homophobe because they read articles that anger them, even 100s of articles. I still stand by that.
However, what I have realised in the last couple of years is that you CAN make people simply not care. I am the epitome of left-wing. I grew up in poverty, the sort of poverty most of the people I know in Australia (where I live) would not be able to comprehend. I am what most Americans would consider so socialist I am nearly communist. I have shouted for the rights of vulnerable people and groups my whole life.
I no longer give a fuck about anything the synthetic leftist wokemongerers have to say. Still wouldn’t try to hurt anyone for their sexual orientation, skin colour, etc, if I saw someone in front of me being actually harmed I’d still step in (actual harm not meaning rational disagreement or dissent).
But I no longer read anything by them. No longer contribute. No longer care. I am sick to death of reading abuse shrieked at everyone who doesn’t bow down to wokeology screeched by testerics and handmaidens for testeria, and watching women and anyone who wants to draw attention to genuine issues being abused for having an opinion based in facts, reality and well thought out rationality that they don’t like listening to.
…When you have lost middle-aged left voting women like me, women who grew up in poverty in a Glasgow dump, women who advocate for socialised healthcare, socialised education, universal basic income, who are outspoken advocates for destigmatising mental health, women who work in disability and mental health and who have voted left from the first time they were allowed to vote, women who have always defended minorities and the vulnerable, when you have lost our vote — your party is fucked. The synthetic left are tone-deaf hateful ragebots screeching on a loop the same meaningless slogans. Everyone must bend the knee to their idealogies, and no debate or discussion is to be allowed. And I am politically homeless.”
So, I’ll be honest with you, I hope Medium goes down the toilet pan. Meanwhile, I use you as you use me. You take my money, I take my audience. The reason I have subscribed for one more month is simply that there are a couple of publications I do enjoy here, I have friends and an audience here (despite your best efforts), and Vocal+ isn’t quite up to standard. Yet.
Medium is entitled to do whatever it wants, of course. And will continue to do so, with no interest in what people like me, or the majority of society, has to say. Of course.
It’s just a bit galling to read your attempt to sound like the good guys, hence my riposte.
A piece I wrote on what Medium is actually good for.
I would not be even slightly surprised to find this comment, and myself, banned. I’ll be sure to take a screenshot for future chuckles, just in case.
PS — anyone choosing to reply to this comment, please reply to what I’ve said, not what you imagine or wish I’d said. Thanks.
