Death First, Then Dishonor

Hey, out there. I hope Spring finds you well and in good spirits.

I want you to know first that I don’t write for money. I don’t get a penny from ads you may see here. I don’t have sponsors. I write because I simply want to. I have the story of my life in the archives, free to anyone.

I’ve been all over the place, from the trauma of my childhood to the paranormal to political issues that I felt strongly about. Crime, misadventures, and mayhem have been a part of each of our lives. Trauma affects millions nationwide and more around the world. Life is hard and leaves its scars.

If you’ve followed me even for short stretches, you’ll no doubt have seen me change since 2019, when I began using this site. You’ve seen me be nihilistic, a doomsayer, an acidic and cruel critic, a scribbler of bad fiction, and a self-pitying crybaby.

But so many of us share these moments even if not all feel like discussing it.

Ain’t life hard enough, though, without drama and lies?

I think so. I’ve freely told my story in the hopes that someone could learn something from my past and see me still alive, bitching up a storm. Honestly, I never thought I would live this long.

But I have. I’ve seen changes that, if I take the time to think about them, are really stunning.

When I was growing up, flat screen TV sets didn’t exist. Telephones were restricted to home use and had rotary dials and party lines.

Cars ran on leaded gas. Gas stations gave stuff away with a fill-up of premium. Could be a glass with the Sinclair dinosaur on it, an inflatable pink Easter bunny, or S&H Greenstamps.

Homes were cheaper. The note was daunting but could be paid off.

Tires had innertubes, and you had to change to snow tires in winter. There were no radials.

Television or the drive-in movies were it for entertainment except for radio and vinyl records. There was no MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter. No cell phones.

And no YouTube.

I had a channel once. Then Google sent me an email. What it said was meaningless to me. It seemed that I had “failed” to do something. That’s okay; I never wanted to be a YouTuber anyway. I have a face for radio and a voice for writing.

But some people aspire to be not only on YouTube but to become megastars, too. And they will stop at nothing to get there. They do pranks, stunts, unboxing stupid stuff nobody cares about, do videos where they react to other people’s videos, and get extremely cruel about it, tossing insults around like they want to get attention and cause as much pain as possible while gaining views.

The trend now is the movie reaction video. Some are fun. You can tell if it’s their first time watching something. Others are fakes who lack or force emotions, which is just pitiful.

There are so many YouTube videos out there that you get to know which ones to follow or to avoid.

My biggest gripe is Patreon. The user wants you to pay so much per month to have input on content or early premiers. Whatever the “perks” are, it’s never worth it. There be trolls and bots anyway, there to make sure you don’t get a say. Moderators get drunk with power and fancy themselves as e-bouncers, and they will ruin everything for you. I don’t know what kind of turnover rate there is with Patreon members, but I’d wager it’s high.

If there’s anything that makes the whole thing more disgusting, it’s the drama-on-crank.

I’m talking about feuds, hoaxes, game play cheating, and tricks to get more subscribers.

But there’s one more thing, something worse. Something beyond disgusting: faking illness, a handicap, the death of a loved one, or your own demise.

I saw a video where one creep streamed while confined to a wheelchair, but in one session, he forgot what he was doing, and live on camera got up and walked out of frame!

That’s one YouTuber down.

The faked deaths are what shocked me the most. Jaystation did this in the video below. He went live to say his girlfriend had been killed by a drunk driver. He even went to a roadside memorial. In both videos, he utterly failed to be convincing. He’s no actor, that’s for sure. His tears were forced, what few he shed, and I wondered how so many of his followers could have been fooled by him. As it turned out, she wasn’t dead. Eventually, YouTube banned him completely, but it took way too long.

YouTube has some great content. I’m not denying that. I really enjoy some of it, but the rest makes the whole thing a virtual cesspool. Yet those who bring in sponsors like SS Sniper Wolf get away with everything, including personal attacks against what she considers rivals. She’s shallow and cares about no one but herself.

Jaystation got away with lies for far too long. Others get one video demonized and are suspended for one day. Reason: money.

If it seems arbitrary, don’t be fooled. Nothing about this is arbitrary or random. It’s down to AI, then flagged content is measured by people against the party that posted it. There’s your answer.

If you’ve gained a million subscribers, you’ve put up content people liked, or, maybe, they see your drama and are just waiting for you to self-destruct. And if you betray them, it’ll happen so fast you won’t grasp what’s going on.

Of those million subscribers, some are bound to be invested, emotionally or otherwise, and they will turn on you when they learn the truth.

Some YouTubers checked on Jaystation’s story. They checked traffic accidents and even the police. No such accidents occurred, and no such people had died on that road. It’s too easy to get caught these days. And remember: first comes (faked) death. Then dishonor. So are you really that desperate to come up with content or gain views?