Dear all,
This is my periodic thank you to all who read my blog, and especially to those who help out by liking, sharing and/or donating to keep the blog going. As ever, I would like to spread that thank you, to cover all those who write outside the mainstream media – you know why but this time, I’d also like to underline the importance of keeping track of a range of writers.
Johnathan Cook’s goodbye
It’s a while ago now I spotted this post by one of my favourite bloggers…
Click here to read Cook’s “goodbye” post
…take a look at a few of the headline posts on his Facebook page…
Use your bookmarks menu, or subscribe to writers’ blog sites
It’s only by reading the independents that you can keep your head straight in this mendacious and dangerous world we live in. For that reason, I’d particularly recommend that you bookmark/share/follow someone like Caitlin Johnstone, someone who applies themselves consciously to trying to undo the two-dimensional, misleading nature of the dominant narratives the mainstream media create. It doesn’t matter if you don’t always agree with them – I don’t agree with all of Johnstone’s or Cook’s ideas, but they are examples of writers who think, analyse, and back up their arguments in a way that allows you to exercise that precious human ability to apply critical thinking. Here are a few of Johnstone’s daily memes, all of which aim first and foremost to chip away at the massive smokescreen that is the US government’s narrative on everything…
Click here to look around Johnstone’s website and blogs
Please don’t rely on what pops up on your timeline
It’s not just Jonathan Cook who I’ve noticed mainly by his absence from my feed lately, and a couple of times, when I’ve gone looking for other political commentators I like, I found they’d written blog posts about their stats changing in a suspicious manner. Now, mine are doing it. I still get broadly the same amount of click-throughs from WordPress reader, from Twit and from the other platforms my friends use but I put things on my Facebook time line and they sit there, unseen, for hours. That’s why my message today is this:
If you’re interested in anti-war, anti-racism, anti-austerity writers, or in women’s rights, or socialism, or anything really, that requires honesty and critical thinking, rather than an imposed, mainstream narrative, it’s very likely that the writers you need are being pushed to the margins. They might still be writing away on WordPress, Patreon, Substack or Medium, or on the blogs on their own or their organizations’ websites, but they might not be turning up in your news feed as they used to. Please don’t let them slip out of your mind. Keep a bookmark list of your favourite blogs, follow them, share their articles around a range of platforms so new people can find them, and if and when you can afford it, please encourage them by donating so they don’t have to pay to stay online and be heard.
Coffee is nice, beer is nice, company is precious
Above all, please don’t let austerity plus techno-world isolate you. Take every opportunity you get to go out and talk to people, face to face and make sure it’s not always the same people. Never lose your interest in what others have to say, even if it’s only to argue with it. Nothing – absolutely nothing – helps you keep your head straight as much as a range of good, analytical conversations.
Please don’t believe me
Those who know me will know that when I give advice, I’m generally at least halfway talking to myself and quite a lot of the time, saying things so I can read them and see if they’re true, so please read critically, and if you can improve on any of what I’m saying here, or add to it usefully (especially by suggesting links to good writers) please get thee down to the comments box below this article and make some suggestions (after you’ve hit the ‘like’ button, or the ‘share’ or ‘follow’ buttons, or even the ‘donate’ link! 😀 ).
Thank you, thank you sincerely for being a reader of independent writers!
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Dear Reader,
Times are hard, and so the articles on this site are freely available but if you are able to support my work by making a donation, I am very grateful.
Cheers,
Kay
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Kay Green 