Nazi Punks Fuck Off!
Now it's me asking "Should I stay or should I go?"
Some of you may know: for nearly ten years I wrote a weekly newsletter titled See You Next Tue! (SYNT) because it came out every Tuesday. SYNT launched in 2014 as a way to promote Marathon Fundraising editions of my talk show Aerial View, then on WFMU, now on thehoundnyc.com. SYNT transformed over the years into an in-depth review of my week, a “walking memoir” wherein I went into (too much) detail about what was happening in my life.
My little promotional newsletter eventually came to dominate the week, culminating in frantic writing, editing, assembling and posting sessions every Tuesday. Worse than the time-suck SYNT became was its negative effect on personal relationships. A desperate digging for material meant I inadvertently relayed private, off-the-record conversations, attributing them to people who never asked to be in my newsletter. Friendships were cratered. Family relations got strained. I hit a crisis point back in January of last year and I asked my readers (some of whom made the transition here to NIHILISTC1) if they wanted to stay or go. Many of you stuck with me, so thanks. Then, in June of last year, I made the painful decision to end SYNT, leave MailChimp, pivot to Substack and begin NIHILISTIC.
Well, another crisis arrives and I’m now the one wondering “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?”
It’s come to my attention via various articles that Substack has a Nazi problem. And I fucking hate Nazis. And White Supremacists. And Racists. And Anti-Semites. And assholes in general. Fuck off, OK?
Part of being a punk rocker or “hard corer” (?), for me, was always a think-for-yourself-question-authority attitude. I’m on the side of the little guy, the underdog, and against fucking fascists and Nationalists and MAGA and everyone who wants to dictate and rule and otherwise oppress. And I’m not happy about how the weasels running Substack have apparently handled this whole sordid mess. Giving Nazis a platform here, allowing them to make money and taking part of the proceeds doesn’t sit right with me. Fuck that. So I’m on the cusp of pulling up stakes and, yes, reviving See You Next Tue! I don’t yet know what I’ll do with the URLs I own, thenihilistitcs.com and nihilisticbook.com or whether I’d ever come back here. Who knows? I never thought I’d bail on SYNT. I’m going to sit with this a bit before making a final decision but, as of now, my heart tells me to vote with my feet. My poor, aching feet.
If I do decide to pivot away from Substack and back to Mailchimp, I’ll let you all know how you can join me there. But If you’d like to get a taste of See You Next Tue!, click the bus.
I appreciate the handful of you who paid for a year’s subscription to NIHILISTIC: please let me know if you’d like a refund, full, partial, whatever.