I feel like I need to fill people in and lay things out so everyone knows whats up. First: Im definitely leaving MI. As much as Ill miss the small circle of friends old and new that I have here, Im not doing them or myself any good by continuing to stay in a situation where I have to fight and scratch for every tiny crumb of progress. My financial situation alone has been a major impediment to my progress, and while my appreciation for those of you who have helped me get this far over the last four and a half years is boundless, the reality is that right now theres not enough coming in, too much going out, and Im basically in reverse when it comes to progressing. I cant focus on classwork when Im a) taking way too many classes on at once because Im in a hurry, which is in part due to b) Im constantly under pressure to generate more money. The combined pressure - including having to spend sometimes upwards of 40 hours a week just monitoring this page and my other social media and web platforms to try and stave off the ongoing attempts by unethical actors who are terrified of who I am and what I represent to crush me before I can fairly get off the ground - ends up with me trying to do way too much at one time, and then I end up failing at everything. I have focused my energy on wrapping up my political science credits and let a couple of gen-ed requirements fall by the wayside. My grades in my polisci classes are excellent - As, for certain, even if I totally tank my finals due to still being out of it from surgery. I dont *want* to pause or put my education on hold. I *have* to. In spite of the help Ive had, it frankly hasnt been enough, and when I cant even try to raise money to *eat*, I sure as hell cant try to raise money to buy a vehicle and build a studio. So, the trolls want to cut that avenue of income off, fine. Ill just finish the job on my own and then they can blow me a few extra times when I succeed anyway...and make no mistake about it, I will succeed. I already *am* succeeding, in so many ways. Its just that financially isnt one of them, and Ive come to a point that without some kind of monetary security I cant go any farther. So Im adapting. Thats what successful people do. We dont just give up and turn our backs on what we believe in when obstacles some up or life gets hard; we figure out a way to eliminate the obstacles. Im fortunate to have earned the trust and respect of some really great people over the years, and Im fortunate that one of them is in a position to offer a workable option for me to get my feet under me without giving up my goals. Since the coordinated and deliberately negative campaign against me (the evidence of which youve all now had plenty of opportunity to observe for yourselves) absolutely precludes any kind of major fundraising effort - and itd take a minimum of $100K to get me where I need to be, right now, if I stay in Kalamazoo - heres whats going to happen: - Im going to make the money on my own, through traditional employment *while* - I continue pursuing my degree and - continue generating new content, including - my upcoming book Manifesto, - a re-energized and far *more* aggressive approach to exposing crappy media whores who glibly substitute click-bait, plagiarism, and lies for news and make a gigantic profit by stealing from advertisers, which adds to the costs we ALL pay for goods and services - continuing to work on all the other social and political issues Ive been working on, including some documentary film work that Ive been unable to pursue, and - more regularly-occurring blog, podcast, and video content, while - getting my production companies, both non-profit and for-profit, up and running. Did yall think this was penny-ante bullshit? I dont go small. I never have, and I never will. Barring death, within the next five years I will be employing people in at least two states, changing the world for the better in ways that make the last decade of my work look like tiddlywinks, and ensuring that both my family and those who have continued to believe in and support me can continue to benefit from what Ive created long after Im worm food. And maybe along the way Ill do some acting and make some more music, too, just to really piss off the naysayers. Let the tweakers and idiots continue bragging about their Alexa rank and how much money theyre stealing by selling fake news to rubes. Let them think that means success. Ive got real work to do, and Im doing it. Ive been exploring options for completing my degree in SLC...University of Utah appears to have a pretty well-developed media production program. Obviously Ill have to look much more closely, if things play out that I finish my degree out there rather than coming back to Kalamazoo to wrap it up...but its good to know I have meaningful options. Bonus: Im actually done with everything for my major, and all but (I think) 3 credits of my minor here at WMU. When alls said and done, Ill probably have to take another 25-33 credits (accounting for possibilities of some credits not transferring to their degree programs), but by no means am I without options. Ideally Ill come back here and finish...but if I can do that out west while pulling down 30-40K a year versus doing it here while not doing a damn thing but starving, being stuck, and continuing to rely on the generosity of 0.1% of my readership to survive, Id say that Im fortunate to have the other option. Regardless of how the details play out, Im still on track. Its just that track currently ends at a broken bridge, so Ive got to fix the bridge to ensure that I get where I want to go, and I take as many of you with me as I can. For the immediate future: Ive got to live through the next few weeks here in Kalamazoo, which means eating and all that stuff. (NB: In spite of claims to the contrary, I dont refuse to cook. I dont have a freezer, and I dont have any way to get to the grocery store other than by bus, so Im not able to shop normally, but I do cook. Just not as often, or as nutritiously, as I would like; I often cant get to the stove because twelve other people also use it, and the oven is a non-starter.) I still hope to be able to maximize the opportunity presented by driving cross-country to at the *very* least get a few thousand decent stock photos out of it, but unfortunately the trolls with their malicious, lying, pathetic, and stupid attempts to cast this trip as a vacation have put a pretty major dent in those possibilities. Under no circumstances is relocating 1600 miles a vacation, and these are certainly not the best of circumstances. The way things are going in this country, simply not getting beat to death for having out of state license plates on my vehicle will be something of a miracle. I am still not 100% certain whether a straight shot on I-80 will be safe; that depends largely on weather conditions in Wyoming over the next three weeks. If chain laws go into effect on I-80, Ill have to swing down to I-70 instead and go through Denver, Grand Junction, and Vail to catch I-15 north, which will add a couple of hundred miles to the trip. My friend Chad who is putting this all together is also not made of money, and it may very well play out that he doesnt actually have enough to cover everything itll take to get me out there. With that in mind, Im still raising money for this trip, and to survive until I leave. Contributions may be made via PayPal to john@lowgenius, and theres a link in the top right of the content area on every page of LowGenius.Net that you can use as well. Yes, those contributions still come down to the same thing they always have - helping me keep moving forward so I can keep doing what I do: advocating for progressive reform, increasing media and political literacy, and shining a light on the broken or nonexistent systems in this country that continue to divide us and prevent the vast majority of us from being able to partake in the American Dream. Anything Ive got left over when I get to SLC will be used for rent and food to keep me rolling until I get a job (which wont take long) and start bringing in paychecks. I may have to put a deposit on the vehicle or some other expense that I havent yet accounted for; I dont have all that information in yet. My many thanks to all of you who have helped me get this far whether through sharing my content, adding encouraging words, or contributing food, clothing, or funds to have help me made it this far. These last few months have been an herculean struggle, and now Im taking the opportunity to shift more of the burden of that struggle on to my own shoulders instead of yours. Much love, -jh
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 01:42:33 +0000