My future with Patreon
Just to let you all know:
I have received now six e-mails from patrons who are closing their Patreon account in protest against Patreon's 'deplatforming' of several channels, most notably that called 'Sargon of Akkad'. I have just checked my 'exit surveys' and see that fifteen people in the last week have stopped their patronage of Lindybeige, citing the reason that they have an ideological objection to Patreon's brand of censorship.
I thank all my patrons for their support thus far. I have always been lucky to have any of you. I entirely understand and respect the decisions of those who have chosen to stop funding through this platform.
I have written to my contact at Patreon, a delightful lady with whom I have enjoyed a pleasant rapport. In the e-mail, I gave Patreon an opportunity either to reverse its decision or explain itself to me. I dare say that Patreon has had many similar messages recently, and it is only fair to give them a while before expecting a reply.
If Patreon does not make a statement, either to me, or to the wider world, making it clear that it will make commitments to freedom of speech, then I may find that I can no longer continue using its services. At present, no practical alternative to Patreon exists. There was once Subbable, but Patreon bought it. There was StarSubscribe, but that has been crippled by a financial boycott by PayPal. There is talk of another service springing up to support creators - one run by people who believe in free speech, not just in theory but also in practice.
For the moment, I am waiting. Your support paid for a suit of armour. Without it, I won't be able to do the next similar big project, but I will not starve, and the channel will not die for lack of your funds. Not in the foreseeable future, anyway. I don't know how long to wait, and am following events in the hope of a sensible resolution.
I do not want to leave Patreon, but neither do I want to accept that I am working under the constant threat of being denounced as a bad person by anyone on the web who takes exception to something I once said, and then having my patronage taken from me with neither warning nor explanation. It seems to me better to transition gracefully to another platform.
For the moment, then, nothing is changing, but this is to give you some warning that I may have to do things differently in the not-very-far future.
Again, I thank you all. It is wonderful that people can be so giving in this way.
Lloyd (Lindybeige)
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Of course, none of you has been charged for this post.
For the curious, here below is the letter I wrote to my contact at Patreon. It is long and verbose, but I was straining to be polite. I did not write it in order to make a pithy public statement, but to set out my position very clearly, also hoping to preserve the rapport I have with a lady who is near-certainly innocent in this matter. I have removed her name from this copy.
_____________________________
Dearest X,
I searched for your name in G-mail, and this is the e-mail that popped up first. I note that your abundantly-helpful reply seems to be the end of the thread. Could it truly be that I neglected to thank you properly for it? I'm hoping that I did so in a separate message.
By coincidence, however, many of the concerns I raised in my e-mail to you have now popped up again, but not within the context of YouTube, but instead within Patreon. It grieves me that I find myself writing to you at a time of such concern, and not instead when satisfaction with Patreon has driven me to express myself to you. There is no justice. Perhaps I shall put an entry in my diary to report to you at some future time, when doubtless all will be well. Normally, you see, there are not the wrinkles of Patreon-related concern I notice today on my normally smooth and tobogganable brow.
The matter came to my attention when I started receiving e-mails from viewers of my channel. Each was a stranger to me, and yet each had the same message. So far, there have been only three, but trickles have a habit of turning into floods. Each had decided to stop support for my channel through Patreon, in protest against the censorship meted out upon a YouTube channel called Sargon of Akkad. I learned that his channel's Patreon account had been terminated without warning by some (possibly junior) workers at Patreon, and that rather than apologise for a mistake, the Patreon management has decided to defend this decision.
It would have been irresponsible of me to write to you before checking the facts of the situation. Of course, each side will have its own unique perspective on matters, but so far as I can ascertain, the facts are that the reason stated for the draconian step was that ten months ago, on a three-hour-long video on an obscure channel with about 3,500 subscribers, the presenter of Sargon of Akkad used a rude word when describing his opinion of the behaviour of neo-Nazis. The video received no money from Sargon's patrons at all. It wasn't even on Sargon's channel. It therefore, it seems to me, had nothing whatever to do with Patreon.
The terms of use for Patreon make it clear that they refer only to creations supported via Patreon. Mr Akkad has therefore not violated them. It is also very suspicious indeed that Patreon was even aware of such a very obscure short segment of such a very obscure, long, and old video. This is very strong evidence for either (a) Patreon's putting in a great deal of effort to find an excuse for terminating this customer's account, or (b) Patreon's terminating the account, in order to comply with the request of someone who wrote in, denouncing Mr Akkad, and who had put the effort in. These are not the only possibilities, nor does either seem likely, but they do seem more likely than all the alternatives I can think of.
I see that Mr Akkad has 864,000 subscribers. I do not know how many supporters he had on Patreon, but I have seen it reported that he was getting about $12,000 a month. He must have had thousands of patrons. I wonder, does the number of verified complainants have to exceed the number of supporters for the decision to go against a channel in this way?
I now find myself in a position in which it would seem an act of moral cowardice to be silent. So, I must ask you:
(a) Are there really members of staff at Patreon who examine past utterances by everyone benefiting from its system of patronage? Do they really have the irreversible authority to terminate accounts without warning if they find anything they think might give them an excuse?
(b) Would Patreon really cave in to the demands of an internet snitch, who, for whatever reason, denounced a channel's reputation, even when the complaint is merely against the exercise of free speech?
If the answer to either of these questions even approaches 'yes', then I think it would be obvious to you that I must reconsider my use of Patreon.
I am not here to defend Mr Akkad. He is a political chap, and I am not. I have never met him, though I have once corresponded with him about the history of the Second Punic War. I do not use the language he uses in some of his videos, nor do I criticise individuals quite so fiercely as he chooses to. I am sure that he and I would disagree on many things, but that is beside the point.
My bank does not check through my on-line postings on Twitter to make sure that I have not used any rude words which, if used in the context of a business deal with that bank, would be inappropriate. Shops that I go to to buy my food do not require me to have no criminal record before allowing me to buy from them. The police themselves do not scrutinise my activities on the off-chance that I might have once been rude, and if they were told that I had been, I am confident that their first response would not be to imprison me.
Yes, I do believe that Patreon has the right to choose with whom it does business. However, I also believe that if Patreon is really a responsible company, it will not seek out excuses to ban people for expressing opinions, even if couched in rude language. It is meant to be a company that supports artists. Artists express, and they do it their way. If Mr Akkad had broken a law, that might be different. I do not see that he has. Even ex-convicts are allowed to open bank accounts, however. If the shame of doing business with anyone who had ever transgressed were really intolerable, then very few people would ever be able to do business with anyone.
Am I being investigated for possible transgressions? If so, I do not want to live under such a sword of Damacles. The thought that Big Brother is watching me is not a pleasant one. What hurts more, though, is the thought, the ugliness of the idea itself, that were someone to write to you saying that they didn't like something I once said, that you, X, would turn out to be not the silken Myfanwy* that I had hitherto imagined, but would instead leave me to my fate, lifting not a finger in my defence. This experience would not be a first-time for me. I was once thrown out of my post at a university, because that university received a complaint by e-mail about something I had written many years before on a personal web-site, humorously expressing an opinion about some people's diets. Rather than simply writing the complainant a polite reply, or possibly better still ignoring the complaint, the university decided to get rid of me. This act of moral cowardice ended up costing the university quite a lot. Its PR department was kept busy for about a month just dealing with the fallout. The story appeared in several newspapers and on local television. The university, instead of sensibly changing its mind, dug in its heels, and ended up having to invent several lies in order to defend its decision.
I realise upon re-reading, that the end of that last paragraph may have come across as a threat. It was not a threat. It was merely some back-story so that you can better understand my worries on this matter. Freedom of speech is important, but defending it requires some moral backbone. If a university run by old and supposedly wise heads can prove itself so cowardly, can I trust an internet company run by the comparatively young to behave much better?
Wishing you all the very best that the universe affords,
Lloyd
* "Ring leader, tom-boy, and chum to the weak" - (see http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/john_betjeman/poems/790.html),
[snip earlier thread]
Comments (60)
I would follow you to a personal website?
I
Star Guardian Neckbeard: I only supported Lindybeige on Patreon, not Sargon, so your statement above is either plain wrong, or deliberately mendacious. I am now leaving Patreon, but dearly hope to have the opportunity to support Lindy on another platform. If you are going to slime people, at least have the courage to post under your real name. BTW, I'd also discourage Lindy from closing his Patreon account while there is no practical alternative, as he's clearly just caught in the crossfire, and has vastly more skin in the game than I do.
I’m only on Parthenon because of you, give me another way to support your content, and I will quite happily leave this platform and never return.
Your statement makes me respect you even more, And whatever the future brings, you have my support
patreon after years of lurking and now this....urggghh.
I've just now started supporting Lloyd on
I may not agree with what you are saying, BUT I will fight to the death for you to be able to say it.
I'd discourage Lloyd from closing his Patreon. The financial cost to the channel would be substantial, and while Sargon's followers will support him on other platforms over this issue, I wouldn't expect the same fanatical level of support from Lindyfans, many of whom disagree with Sargon politically. The people emailing you aren't Lindyfans, they're Sargon fans hoping to goad you into throwing away your livelihood to punish Patreon for banning their guy.
OK, Patreon is exhibiting the same fundamental problems as FB and YT when it comes to openly defining and policing acceptable content and/or behavior on their respective platforms. That's bothe depressing and disgusting, but try to react rationally: Object strongly now and encourage alternative platforms. Support those alternatives once viable. Most importantly, don't punish content creators for the sins of the only currently available platforms.
The Guardian as a good article on the very real success that deplatforming has won against truly vile elements in society: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/19/how-the-world-has-fought-back-against-the-violent-far-right-and-started-winning" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/19/how-the-world-has-fought-back-against-the-violent-far-right-and-started-winning</a> Furthermore while I will die in a ditch to defend Lloyd’s right to free speech I also have some care for Patreon’s right to choose who can use their platform, and what speech they are asked to support and host. Too often the free speech warriors have a habit of being the immensely privileged, and I see bugger all support for reforms to defamation and libel laws by which the truly powerful crush speech which threatens their interests.
I hope you see the irony in posting that article about how doxxing and deplatforming is good when used against the right, when the same author back in June wrote an article in the Guardian about how doxxing was bad when used against journalists - <a href="https://archive.is/O0Ku3" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://archive.is/O0Ku3</a>
I'm old enough to remember a time before social media, when people who wanted an online presence did it through their own website. I also remember the advent of the donate button, and shopping carts.
Even if I disagreed with Patreon it would not be particularly sensible for me to cut off your nose to spite their face. Maybe I would use an alternative method of payment if it troubled me that much but I've no plans to do so unless and until you say so.
Wow that's a wordy letter. Fun to read (and probably would be fun to watch), but I have to imagine it'd be more effective if it were cleaner/shorter. Regardless, I'd be happy to continue my support on another platform.
I recommend PayPal. Just let us know what address you’re using and I will follow.
Preemptively de-platforming yourself seems quite petulant.
Eh, having the perpetual threat of sudden loss of access to your means of income with no warning, notice or time to react, based on the flaky behavior of a random company isn't a good thing to have in the back of your head. It can create a lot of anxiety. Add to that the fundamental issue of not wanting to support a platform that doesn't support free speech, and it makes sense for someone to not want to take their business to Patreon.
YouTube itself has something like this but not many creators are able to get it. Maybe you can use that? The only page I could find about it is this though: <a href="https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7636690" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7636690</a>
Patreon has posted a response: <a href="https://patreonhq.com/hate-speech-on-patreon-a9026e52c2cf" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://patreonhq.com/hate-speech-on-patreon-a9026e52c2cf</a>
Personally, I'd be very sorry to see you leave Patreon although I fully appreciate your stance on freedom of speech etc. From a supporter's pov Patreon is just very simple to use, it's a robust platform and it's got sufficient "heritage" to be seen as secure and credible. However, it's utility is purely as a way of supporting those channels I want to. I have no regard for Patreon outside of that. So, if you decide you wish to operate outside Patreon's boundaries then good luck to you! I'll carry on supporting you come Paypal or postal orders!
Hot damn, I love the internet! Sargon tries to rile up white supremacists by ineptly hurling their words back at them, the white supremacists report him for using said words, and then people other side of the political divide team up to bring him down. And people say the internet only serves to drive us apart. It’s a heartwarming little tale actually, people coming together around the holidays for a shared cause, and who doesn’t love a good witch burning? I am enjoying the sudden influx of new capitalists using the “private companies” argument. A company makes one call they agree with and suddenly capitalism goes from being exploitative and heartless to the bee’s knees. Anyway, I’m happy to move to another site if one is able to get off the ground. It seems unlikely given the reactions of MasterCard and PayPal, but fingers crossed and all that.
I do recall Patreon making another ill judged decision previously (on the matter of funding). I initially put this down to "managerial naivety" brought about by inexperience. Unfortunately it seems they're slow learners. Lloyd, I'm happy to support your work on what platform you choose to use.
I totally agree. i do think sargon is a bit of a dickhead but people need to be heard. This anti platforming is a dangerous idea. I have punted the idea of building an alternative to patreon with my team of software guys. I am possibly the biggest patron on this site as i have paid £30k in the last 3 years but the system is useless for accounts etc. They also charge more than is necessary. I have moved to sponsoring larger projects away from the platform. I am just selling a company, launching another and have a few minor problems to sort out but i will have a lot of time on my hands in April and will revisit it if you would like a chat. I design software systems, rather than programming, and this is well within our ability to build and finance it.
Out of interest: To my understanding a lot of these issues can be ultimately tracked down to payment services like PayPal refusing to work with sites that don't heavily limit content, forcing the site administrators to walk on egg shells in situations like these. Do you have a way around that?
Hello, Lloyd. I appreciate your dedication to being proper in your e-mail to Patreon. I will not be quite as verbose in my response, but may I suggest that you give us a PayPal address at which we may support you? I am part of the F@$# You movement against Patreon and have decreased my payments through them over 80% last year while still supporting my creators even more than they had previously been receiving. I look forward to supporting you in the same manner. Thank you again for your excellent content. -- Barry, a fellow Lindy Hopper
As is always the case in theses sorts of issues, the problem almost exclusively in the handing of the situation rather than the situation itself. Hopefully Patreon clears up the issues and Lloyd can get back to stabbing baddies with swords
I appreciate your stance on this issue and I think that it is admirable to stand up for freedom of expression and separation of work / life. However, I also believe that Patreon is currently the ideal platform for supporting creators and would urge you to wait and see rather than leave in the near future, especially with the possibility of advertising rates continuing to drop as time goes on. If another platform matures into a viable competitor to Patreon, that would be a better time to consider jumping ship.
Just a note of support for you and thanks for your solidarity on this issue with other more-affected creators. Please let us know if you plan to move or close your account in advance, I'm sure many would like to make a one time donation to help support you in between platforms.
Well stated, Lloyd, and I must agree! There is the possibility of SubscribeStar making a comeback in a week or so once it gets a payment system sorted, but just let me know where you go or system you find. In the meantime I've found myself not using paypal. Also, supposedly how Patreon is aware of that clip was that those same neonazis have gone around in a targeted harassment campaign, taking a list of out of context statements and distributing them in an attempt to hurt him; how ironic, that here we have neonazis and the censorious silicon valley left working together here.
Yeah, no fuck sargon of akkad. Patreon is a private business. If they find something or someone that they don't agree with on a ethos level than that is their right. Sargon attacks and defames people in his videos and I'm happy using a service that makes it harder for him to get funds for spreading his hateful messages.
You've written a beautiful post here Lloyd. I will continue supporting creators here on Patreon for the current time. I was a supporter of Carl Benjamin, and I intend to do so elsewhere. But many of your fellow History/Swords/Warfare Educational Channels are likely to be far less interested in finding an alternative. For all their past experiences... I think that most of them think they're safe. The adpocalypse, IndieGoGo, JoergSprave's banning, ThegnThrand's banning, and numerous other events should've highlighted how creators need to be sure they have a diversified basket of eggs when it comes to their support structure. Patreon has been a good one for most of you, but I honestly do think that there are some of you who could very easily run afoul of the pernicious acts set forth by these standards. I won't abandon you on patreon as long as it is a meaningful resource to reach you, or others. But I implore you to encourage whomever you can to pursue other ones as they become available. As, I would very much like to pursue patroning you all elsewhere. It's safer for you, and more in line with my own beliefs, and so it seems to be with yours as well. Thank you, Lloyd!
I have no idea whats been going on with all the different platforms when it comes to subscribers and monetary gains and funding. All the way from here to YouTube is been an absolute Nightmare for some content creators. Especially those who rely on these platforms for their income to create these videos. Hopefully you can avoid this because it sure would be a damned shame to lose this page here. In the event of that I agree with Jawom here in the comments that maybe a Kickstart page might be a good alternative, or search for a similar funding site. Hell, if you have the know-how I'd create your own for the matter; might be a bit easier with how things have been going with everyone lately. No idea what the future holds here, but hopefully it sorts itself out and won't affect your or your channel. That would be a bloody shame.
How about a GoFundMe.com account? A pledge to make 10 more videos on a specific topic, flaming arrows or something. I would be happy to pay once, a year's worth of Patreon payments instead of Patreon. Or a website where we could make donations.
Lloyd, you might want to think about writing shorter e-mails, especially if the people on the other end are being paid to read them. If I have to scroll to keep reading an email at work, I don't tend to read it very carefully.
You may well be right. I have just written another, intending it to be short. I failed. I digressed a bit and... well, you know how it is.
To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t in good conscience tell you of any particular fondness for Sargon on my part and on a purely personal level I’d say Patreon is well rid of him and his kind, however I do concede that you sticking up for him is deserving of recognition, solely based on principle that is. Freedom of speech can not be a matter of opinion, even a dimwit like Mr. Benjamin must be able to speak his twisted little mind and spout his alt-right rubbish. The moment you start making exceptions you create leeway for those who might seek to silence or censor others for whatever reason. Thanks for the update and the transparency. Cheers!
I think it will be some time before Jordan Peterson's new platform gets off the ground (cf, his 'University'). Andrew Torba of gab.ai /was/ working on one, but he's taking a break I think. So it'll be a while. Bitcoin! (not really - not a fan....)
I laud your sense of righteousness in defense of the free exchange of ideas, although I do find it ironic that you choose Mr. Benjamin, a man who would happily end the free speech rights of "stupid feminists" were it within his power, as the catalyst for this confrontation. I have no doubt that Patreon acted in a rash or dubious manner in their treatment of Mr. Benjamin, such being the very standard of customer care in this late-stage capitalistic world. However, I don't see their decision as anything other than a cold, corporatist calculation. Mr. Benjamin's business is not worth keeping if doing so suggests that Patreon implicitly approves of Mr. Benjamin's sophomoric and repellent views. Please understand that I have long enjoyed your creations and, my own personal economic position having recently improved, I have only just begun to financially support your work. I have no intent of ending that support and, should you leave this platform, will follow you in whatever future economic stratagem you may elect to pursue. But also know that I find your support of Mr. Benjamin and those like him disappointing.
I think there's a fair bit of differentiation between "supporting Sargon" and "not agreeing with Patreon" in this matter, it's not a black and white subject by any means. I've had nothing but negative experiences with Sargon's videos and writings (with my admittedly very scant exposure), but unless he (or anyone else) specifically broke Patreon's rules under conditions where the rules are applicable, Patreon shouldn't be able to terminate his account. When you start using Patreon you enter a legal agreement, which should be followed by all parties consistently. I'm all for not supporting someone because (the impersonal) you disagree with them. That includes Patreon, if (the impersonal) you disagree with the rules of the platform allowing something, not associating with Patreon is a valid choice. Patreon is allowed to set up their rules to not allow certain forms of legal free speech, but if Patreon is indeed a platform that doesn't support legal free speech, then that's a valid reason for a creator to not use it, whether their content would otherwise be allowed on the platform or not.
When it comes to cases such as Sargon of Akkads, I'm all for freedom of speech of course but not freedom from consequence. If you revel in offending or spreading misinformation or hate then I have no problem with a company such as patreon removing these people if its against their company morals. Fromwhat I've seen of his he appears to come off as an infowars-lite type of channel so I'm not surprised of upset that his patreon did get banned. I think Lindybeige is quite safe from the Patreon ban hammer because he rarely comments on political hot topics (feminism, racism and the like) and he never does so maliciously which I gather Sargon has. Yes its funny to make jokes about reclaiming the British Empire and 'lol france surrenders' (which sadly is what most of his fan forums seem to devolve into) but from my recollection (and I'm happy to be proved wrong) he's never endorsed any of those things. He last video which touched on a 'hot topic' was over a year ago and just a response from his 217 Questions book. Personally I'm not going to stop my patronage to Lloyd because beyond anything else he puts out good quality, entertaining videos on a variety of topics, all of which I have an interest in.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
I'm so conflicted on this one, I really don't know what to say.
Just throwing it out there: One potential, if a.t.m. a bit unfinished platform, specifically for people who create videos, would be Floatplane Media, created by Linus Sebastian and Luke Lafreniere (Linus Media Group, Linus TechTips etc.). It's somewhat of a mix between YouTube and Patreon, in that it's a video sharing platform in its own right, but you directly subscribe to the creators you want to support. The platform is being developed specifically because they're not happy with freedom of speech issues on platforms like YouTube, and they don't prevent you from releasing your content on YouTube as well (all of the current creators in there do). The intention is basically that people who want to directly support you would do it via them, get access to better video quality and some other functionality, perhaps extra videos or earlier access, but you're free to post on YT as well so that everyone can see it. Their current creators are all tech and computer based, and like I said they're still starting up, but who knows, maybe in the future this would be a viable option for you. EDIT: Forgot to mention that the people creating it started as YouTubers themselves, understand the position of content creators, and created Floatplane specifically because they're not happy with some of the ways YT and others limit creativity and freedom of speech.
For what it's worth, Patreon's actions have made it *more* likely for me to want to stay with the platform and keep using it. There's a difference between free speech and providing a payment platform for racists, white supremacists, bigots - and I don't believe we should be supporting those people.
There is no such difference - especially given that Patreon allows openly racist creators to continue raising funds this way. Try searching for creators with the "n-word" in their name and you'll see what I mean.
Thanks for the explanation. Many left Patreon, back when they pulled their billing changes, and never came back. Kickstarter bought out Drip, which is a similar service to Patreon. Since many people using Patreon also use Kickstarter, it sounds like a good fit. <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/introducing-the-new-drip" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/introducing-the-new-drip</a>
Thanks. I'd never heard of it. What are these sites called? Kickstarter is a 'crowd-funding' site, so what is Drip?
Thank you Lloyd. I'm keeping my account open as long as I can bear it. The sooner you are off Patreon the better.
You're right about the moral cowardice thing. Opinions can be radically divided on this - as comments show. The danger is quite real. Hope no pitchforks get directed at you, and keep us posted.
I thank you for your transparency in this matter. Regardless of whether or not my feelings on the subject at large align with yours, the lengthy explanation and shared email are appreciated.
I've been finding more and more lately that the people whose work I follow - whose politics I have never asked after or been particularly curious about - tend to have principles that align with my own. It suggests that people who hold certain beliefs tend to have common interests.
I'm on the side of free speech, and if some fool finds the words rude or offensive, too bad. On a regular basis, every day, there are essentially infinite things at which to take offense for anyone who would seek out such things. That said, good luck with fixing Patreon, and YouTube, and all the the other self-appointed defenders of the faith, whichsoever faith that may be. On the gripping hand, if you need build your own platform, or just email video clips or whatever, I'm still in, since I find your content almost always interesting and occasionally stellar. So just keep us posted as to where to send the money, and thanks again for your efforts in producing this content.
Lindy, I will follow your channel by whatever means are available. If a new option becomes available I will happily subscribe there instead.
I commend your response to this and your support of free speech. I love your content (have been a subscriber on YouTube for a while and just started following on Patreon) and my Patron support is far overdue, so I am signing up. Plus, I really like watching long videos of people walking around in sabatons.
Sargon is an alt-right mouthpiece who doesn't care for facts and has gone on record as "not caring" to read entire articles. Good riddance IMO.
"Amazing - every word you've just said is wrong" - one of the worst movies ever made [for clarity, this is directed at Zealous Champion]
If protecting racists and fascists is a hill you're willing to die on, then I'm not sure you deserve my money honestly. Free speech is a lame duck to hide behind when people are spreading dangerous misinformation willingly to support ideas that are a direct threat to minorities across the western world.
If you don't think bad people deserve free speech, you don't believe in free speech. The entire point of free speech is to protect unpopular and even despised ideas.
I'm not going to be leaving Patreon just yet, not so long as creators I support are still here, but if enough of them leave I will follow them to whatever new platform they use. Still waiting on that graphic novel!