As many listeners of GLBT podcasts already know, one of the podcasting originals—we’ll call him X—was forced completely off the Internet recently. It came as a direct result of online harassment, possibly by the same person who exposed X to his employer, putting him at risk of being fired (because firing gay people for being gay is perfectly legal in most of the USA). That’s all we can really say about it.
This makes me feel sad because it means no more podcasts from him, but I can’t express how angry it makes me feel, too. He’s a great person who didn’t deserve this treatment (not that any of us do). Also, because the departure was so abrupt, none of us had the chance to say good-bye or thank you for those many hundreds of hours of podcasting.
So I’m offering this space for anyone who wants to leave a message for him. Two rules: Do NOT mention the name of any of his former podcasts or online identities (call him X), and do NOT talk specifically about what X does for a living or where. This is to protect him. Any comments that mention either will be edited or declined. And one more thing: Negative or attacking comments will be deleted. This is my house, my rules. Please respect these rules!
So go ahead and leave a message for X!
Update 1 July 2010: At some point I hope to figure out a way for X to reply directly, but for now, he’d like me to tell you that he’s reading your messages and appreciates them.
Update 3 July 2010: I’ve received a message for you all from X. I’m posting it on his behalf to add a layer of protection:
Listeners, Fans and Friends…
I want you all to know that I am fine. I did not lose my job. I got a strong slap on the wrist. The previous name and podcast are gone for good. However, I will be coming back at some point. I’ll let you know when I do.
I cannot thank you enough for all the wonderful messages, tweets, e-mails and all the kind words you all posted here on Arthur’s site. I appreciate you all more than you know. It feels good to have so many people concerned about me and caring about me.
A big THANK YOU to you all! I really appreciate it!
X
This post will remain at the top of this site for a few more days to make it easy to find for anyone else who wants to comment.Thank you all for helping me to give X some support. This is why it’s called a community!
This episode was recorded live on Pride 48, the 48-hour podcasting marathon, on Saturday, June 26, 2010. Joining me were Nigel, Daniel Brewer and Scotty, the Little Aussie Battler. This is episode is different from my others, and not just because it’s live or 90 minutes long.
I start out today talking about Pride 48, the 48-hour live podcasting marathon. It begins with a kick-off show at 8pm Eastern on Friday, June 25 in the Americas (9pm Saturday, June 26 in New Zealand) and ends 48 hours later. As host of Pride 48 for 2010, I’ll be on the kick-off show and the wrap-up show. My own live show is 5:30am-7am June 26 Eastern time in the Americas (9:30pm to 11pm New Zealand time). I’ll record that show and post it the following week.
2Political Podcast Episode 31
I have both New Zealand updates AND a short topic today. Not only that, it’s my second podcast this week! I can’t remember the last time I did that. After NZ news (including an update), it’s on to today’s short topic: There are some unusual things I miss about the US, and today’s show art shows one (thanks for the photo, Lord Byron of Illinois!). I talk about that and a few other random things—not the sort of things that most people think about. Comments let me further comment on an earlier topic.
