Welcome to 2024 of here to complain!
We’re so excited to share more essays, rants and posts by black, brown and indigenous folks this year! First, we have a few very important updates:
re: nazis
important note to our paid subscribers
H2C posts are now paid!
re: nazis
Quite recently, over 200 Substackers wrote a public letter calling for an explanation to Substack’s “platforming and monetizing Nazis.” First, co-founder Hamish McKenzie responded by saying that, paraphrasing here, “We don’t like nazi’s either! But we don’t hate them enough to kick em off. kthnxsrybai.”
Then, as major Substackers, like Platformer which has over 100K subscribers, threatened to bounce and take their money with them, Substack finally agreed to remove all Nazi platforms. Shock and awe. Surprise, surprise.
Now we all know this response ain’t nothing but some run-of-the-mill capitalism (derogatory). Money is money is money, and capitalists folks like these follow it wherever it goes.
Our stance on the matter
Many of you may remember H2C’s debut post from August 2023 mentioned “the elephant in the room,” which was this exact Substack policy that welcomed nazis with open arms. (Screenshot below):
To be clear, H2C recognizes that most white-owned platforms from NYT to Washington Post feature white supremacist perspectives constantly. White supremacy is often the default in media. In fact, it is perhaps almost too convenient to hyper-focus on the nazi accounts here as if even liberals, and supposed moderates, including our own U.S. president, don’t harbor many of the same views. But there are levels, of course.
important note to paid subscribers
Whether Substack kept its little nazis or not, H2Cs existence on this site continues to be a resistance to typical white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, and we never planned to leave.
However, this whole debacle has inspired a new frame of thought—Why not take this opportunity to find a more ethical site to fundraise for H2C?
With that said, we’re no longer accepting paid subscriptions via Substack.
Thank you so much to the subscribers who have offered your monthly donations! If you are able and willing to start or maintain your donations you may do so through Open Collective, a site that enables more transparent public fundraising. We welcome both monthly donations and one-time tips, all of which go to our contributors.
posts are now paid!
All contributors will now be given $50, a small token of appreciation for your time and labor. This amount is a combination of our paid subscriber donations and money out of my own pocket. It’s the most sustainable amount we can afford now, but so excited for when we can offer more.
As always, the more donations we get, the more we can give our contributors, so if you have it, please donate!
In the meantime, please send all of your submissions, questions and concerns to wereheretocomplain@gmail.com. Or comment below.
our faq:
That’s all for now, folks!
Thank you! The reason I took my site off of Substack was exactly this: Nazis (and transphobes) not only having a haven but a place to build a large audience and get paid doing so. I'm glad that you're here still. Perhaps things will change but I reserve pessimism about the chances.