End of Feb Quick Patreon/Politics Update

I've only just found your Patreon, but here's another vote for you charging whether or not you've posted. Think of all those years we've enjoyed your stuff without ever giving you money! Think how much better the world is with a decently fed and sheltered Vi Hart in it, productive or otherwise!

Hi Vi, I've only just discovered your Patreon, but I've loved your videos for many years, and who loved the "doodling" videos. I'm more than happy to pay my small contribution every month, whether there is a new video that month or not - it would take decades (centuries?) to pay back for what we already got from you! PS as I watch many of the richest and most powerful men in the world fail to stand up for what's right and decent, people like you give me hope!

I would have been perfectly happy to continue my Patreon-age even without a video this month. I do not want you worrying about things like rent or food. I want you working on what you want to work on - even if that is just going to protests. That's the point of Patreon.

We are with you, Vi. I appreciate you.

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” RFK 6/6/66

Hi! I appreciate the reinforcement about the value of little things. I find myself fighting not only the feeling that these actions are too small to be useful, but also some of my background is adjacent to movements that are very big on coordinating protests and boycotts to amplify their impact, with the implicit corollary that boycotting in an uncoordinated manner is somehow self-indulgent at best, and at worst, maybe surrenders to the atomization of resistance that the bad guys (whoever they may be for you) want. I try to be more pragmatic, I prune the complicity out of my consumption as best I can, and don't feel too bad when I can't, and still advocate for structural change. Anyone supporting someone on Patreon has to be in that position, it seems to me -- Patreon contributions are themselves little things, but we can see that they sometimes have big impacts. Anyways, thanks for doing what you do, follow your muse on charging vs not charging, we'll be here when you need us.

Just adding in to the chorus: I'd be more than happy to take away whatever burden of deciding "did I do enough this month" is, and just continue sending out my full pledge every month. I have every confidence that art gonna art eventually.

Hi, Ms. Vi! When you decide whether to charge* us or not charge* us each month, is it an all or nothing thing? If you can make the decision on a tier-by-tier basis then perhaps you can create a "Vi's gotta eat" tier where the charge goes through every month regardless of whether you've been toiling feverishly or enjoying much-needed hammock time. And if you can't do that, perhaps there's another payment option out there. If you set something up elsewhere, just for the money side of things, (speaking for myself) I don't mind setting up a monthly transfer to "Vi's Sammiches Fund". On that other topic you mentioned, It's certainly tough times for big empathisers and those they're empathising with. I know it's not scientific but I like to imagine that we're all connected, and doing our best to protect any joy we have isn't betraying those who are suffering, it's just helping to limit the effects of those who want to cause suffering. (Well, if I'm being totally unguarded, I actually believe that trying hard to be happy when the ambient vibes are really dark is somehow magically helping to push the world in a better direction. But that's just me.) Anyway, many happy good wishes! * by which I mean, accept donations which are being freely and happily given.

Today, I try to ignore the news so I can make art. Tomorrow, I will pay attention to the news and make art. There's a time for everything. Where I live, in Ireland, there is a lot of fear. We are scared of war, and most of us are horrified by what is being done to Gaza and Ukraine. Since the war in Ukraine started, we have accepted many asylum seekers and generally the country has been racked with concern and fear, which troubles us but also brings us together. But within Ireland not everything is peachy -- we also have a rising tide of racism and anti-immigrant sentiment, which is obviously preposterous in light of Irish people being historically a very large group of emigrants travelling to areas like America, and our having faced discrimination as a group. However, there is also hope. We have a new president, Catherine Conolly, elected on a platform of inclusivity and recognizing the existential threat of climate change. In light of Trump and other world leaders, I feel grateful and comforted to have what feels like a normal leader in my own country. What's nice is that it is spring now and the sun is out.

Hi Vi -- I'd like to argue to the contrary (and try to convince your other supporters) that you should get the full amount of Patreon drawdown each month -- on the grounds that a creative person is constantly bubbling/gestating ideas and "Project Finding". To me, we should be supporting you every month -- on general principles, not as a transation or piece work. We love the way you think about things, and want to support your *making of ideas* not just your *making of artifacts*.