I left Patreon when CEO Jack Conte suspended the account of It’s Going Down News for responsible journalism of a public event. He did so—right after congratulating himself as a defender of free speech—under pressure from the Proud Boys. I engaged with Patreon’s Trust & Services, who conducted their own investigation into the matter; in the end, they refused to definitively state Conte/Patreon does not support white supremacists.
As a result of this, I pursued rebuilding my subscriber base through WordPress. I attracted 12 readers willing to pay for episodic installments of various Size Fantasy, Size Erotica series. Subscriber payments were brokered through Stripe, who soon deleted my account and walled off my subscribers. They insisted that erotica violated their Terms of Service. Most places ban images but permit literature, but not so Stripe.
Today I saw a screenshot by Rogan O’Handley, “DC_Draino” on Twitter. He had been banned from Twitter due to his career of misogyny, anti-LGBTQ propaganda, and white supremacy.
As we all know, Musk opened the doors to hate speech and bigots, and O’Handley has thanked him for $7,036 in ad revenue. As you can see in Twitter’s congratulations to him, Stripe facilitated this financial transaction.
Stripe canceled my account because I write about sex and lovemaking. Yet Stripe finds no conflict in supporting bigotry. Of course I wrote to them, and of course they sent me their boilerplate:
Stripe believes in creating a friendly, welcoming, and safe environment for everyone. We’re dedicated to ensuring our interactions are free from harassment and discrimination, for all gender identities, sexual orientations, ethnicities, races, educations, ages, disabilities, religions, national origins or any other aspects of identity.
– accounts@stripe.com, July 16, 2023
Having said that, I am currently working on this matter along with a few colleagues to give you an accurate answer. We’ll reach out as soon as possible to let you know how to proceed with this situation.
I already know how to proceed with the situation: my account’s been canceled. There’s nothing for me to do… except transmit what kind of groups and activity Stripe does support.
Lastly, if you’re still on Twitter, yeah, you’re funding accounts like DC_Draino’s. Think about Mastodon for social media. I’m not saying a principled stance is easy, but are you willing to sacrifice civil liberties for convenience?
And not for nothing, but I’m cheered to note this is my 500th post. I think this is a worthy topic for that.
Aborigen 
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