I'd like to share what I did this weekend

If you have a moment....

This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay.

And my first reaction was sympathy.

I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want anyone to extend themselves on my account.

Importantly, I’ve learned Substack has this feature, where referrals earn subscriptions. And I’m encouraging that too.

But first, before continuing, I’d like to tell you how I spent my weekend, if you have a moment.

Yesterday, I had a migraine but domestic chores called. I worked on those, amongst other things, here and there.

And as duties subsided, I started work on my latest piece last night: For the Children, ostensibly a piece about military style boot camps, but the wider question of crime and how I think National’s policies are going to aggravate the problem, and not improve it. As usual, and disappointingly, big multinational corporates are the ones to stand to profit.

I started around 8 pm and closed up shop just after 2 am.

Then I woke up this morning, edited it for another 2 hours, before pressing “send.”

Some of my posts, like Knives out for Kāinga Ora flow out quite seamlessly.

Others, like What Has the Government Done For You? can take multiples of days (yes, even as an inventory piece, I read the analysis to provide credible perspectives and sources.)

And this morning’s piece took me, embarrassingly, over 8 hours.

And that’s not uncommon.

I know the threads, the trends, the connections in my head. That part comes intuitively as I avail myself of data, but laying it out in a way that I hope will help readers understand, is another thing altogether.

I will frequently pull from historical sources, press releases, multiple media outlets, as well as research papers, videos, interviews, budgets, economic data in order to provide a relatively holistic appropach to my writing.

I’m usually not an SME (subject matter expert) but I am highly proficient at understanding content, synthesizing complexity, and then presenting it in a way that I hope is clear, helpful and credible.

I’m a one man show, so I have no editors, helpers, readers, reviewers, until I press ‘publish’. I find that if I rely on others’ data then I can make mistakes, e.g. in Simeon Brown’s Insanity, I relied on a third party to calculate Auckland Light Rail costs and later took that out and put a correction at the bottom.

So I generally like to go through the details myself. This way I can quality assure my own work to the standard I expect. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s my expectation that I have done my best for others and can stand by it. If I make a mistake, I will correct it, but I’ve found when it goes by my own hand, it's usually fine.

All this to say - it does take a lot of time and effort for me - and I follow this level of work and much more, on most days.

It could be my own unskilfulness, an insistence on checking details, looking up historical and present records, reading experts, putting in context, or finding and preparing pictures/videos that help tell the story first hand.

I don’t know. But I do know that if my voice isn’t helpful, I will stop making it.

The thing is, I do this in some blind, naive hope that it helps. That’s a very, very vague phrase and I have nothing to back that up with.

When I first posted, people called me names like “you’re clearly a Green Party member,” or “Labour Party employee,” as if those were meant to tarnish what I was writing. Later, I learned these were just tactics to discredit people that were a threat to their beliefs and interests.

The facts are I am a member of no party and have never held allegiance to any one or any group.

Many of my beliefs are rather conservative, but at the same time nothing overrides the value of human life and dignity, and helping those who can’t help themselves.

Kiwis matter. New Zealand matters. Our nature and environment is precious. Facts therefore matter.

The Buddha once said “Do good, avoid evil and cleanse the mind.”

And Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is essentially inward, within a person's heart.”

I ask folks to share because my voice is small, and while different publications have accepted my writings as a guest contributor at times, I do have a strong desire to share what I learn because I believe it will help our country make better decisions and not follow the path of others like the US, or the UK over the last 14 years. The shenanigans, resources, and reach of corporations and the likes of corporate and right wing media, Taxpayers Union, Free Speech Union, NZ Initiative, and Atlas Network are formidable. I understand that - I do.

I ask folks to subscribe because your free and paid subscription helps to sustain my work and makes sense of my own illogical endeavours, even in the face of criticism.

To date, my salary from writing is around $900 annualised. I believe my time, skills, and effort is worth much more, but I don’t ask for more than what comes of its own, because my sense of service overrides self-interest. The subscription model adds more burden than it returns. Yet some voice whispers that I matter too.

I would once again urge anyone who can’t comfortably afford to pay to reach out. I will gladly help anyone who is unable to.

I also encourage paid subscibers to gift the articles to others - my key objective is to get my message out, even in the face of those that would censor it. Free subscribers can make referrals or just like and share. I’m also looking at different options to Substack to balance things out, and to offer better options of value. I’m evolving.

Everything else is to help sustain my voice and ability to continue.

My writing impacts not only myself, but the people I share a place with. And while they are patient, I do reflect on its value, and my own position within that.

Above all, I only ask that you do your part, learn the facts, share knowledge, be courageous in your voice and actions, help our country - and the most vulnerable of us - live better lives, because I believe only in common dignity, and shared kinship, can Aotearoa New Zealand fulfill its true potential. That’s where my selfishness comes into play.

Thanks for listening to my personal account on this July Sunday day.

Wishing you a great rest of day,

Tui

PS I would like to make it clear that my intent is not paid subs but sharing and transparency. I will be looking for ways to evolve the model in the hope it makes it easier for everyone. I deeply appreciate all who are here to share this space. Sincere thanks.

Photo credits: Rob Dickinson and bb