J’Accuse…!
The Assemblage’s propaganda revealed for what it is — a scapegoating smear campaign
On December 28, 2020, I was so proud and excited when ILLUMINATION-Curated published the then most personally expositive story of my spiritual journey. I credited an esteemed and prolific spiritual trekker, with whom I feel a bond and I look up to as a guide. We have exchanged many emails and I anxiously awaited his response. The 3-days-later-response shook me:
I once wrote for Illumination but no longer do. You may want to do a search about its practices and why other journals began to refuse submissions from authors who published with Illumination or any of its variants. You may come to a different conclusion about the ethical integrity of their practices; that’s for you to decide for yourself. Personally, I have found Know Thyself, Spiritual Secrets, and Spiritual Tree to be better venues for articles on spirituality, as their readership is more focused on that topic, whereas Illumination covers much more ground
I responded in relevant part: “If there’s something you think I should know, and don’t want to say it, at least point me to a link or something.” He sent me these two pieces by Jonathan Greene:
- How To Identify An Online Writing Pyramid Scheme It’s Really Not That Hard To Figure Out
- Why Assemblage Had To Remove Its Submission Requirements How To Get Better, Not Bigger
There is little I have more disdain for than a self-aggrandizing, self-promoting pot that accuses a shining-light-kettle of being dark. Today it is you, Jonathan Greene that gets exposed, and I copy Medium Staff and Medium Legal.
I am an HSP-INTP — i.e, a bullshit detector on steroids. I can spot an MLM from 100 miles away. Those that you accuse, are not. You took a page out of the MLM playbook yourself, tossing around a bunch of conclusions that confirmation bias will lead to your false premise. But you see, there is one ingredient of an MLM that is missing, and without that, neither an MLM nor a pyramid scheme can be the case.
To whom do we pay our $5.00 a month or our $50 a year.
Case closed.
But a new case opens as you sir have violated numerous elements of Medium’s policies and guidelines.
In the first article, you were careful not to name publications by name. When you did not achieve your desired result, in the second article you make the mistake of making the case against yourself a slam dunk:
Even writers who make it to the party often fall under the spell of creative egoism and fail to see the forest for the trees. If The New York Times can say that they won’t publish work by a freelancer who also publishes for The New York Post than why can’t Assemblage say that it won’t add writers who choose to write for Illumination, Illumination-Curated, The Innovation, Never Fear, or An Idea? (and Be Unique — added October 30, 2020, and now Paper Poetry — added November 15, 2020)
By doing so, you undeniably and unabashedly connect these publications to your accusation of being a pyramid scheme. The accusation is false as none of these publications collect “the money [that] flows upward to the top of the pyramid while the underlings are all using their time to build the lowest rung.”
It is illegal to run a pyramid scheme. Thus, you accuse these publications of being criminal. That is libel and/or slander per se.
Moreover, the NYT and NYP are commercial enterprises engaged in a competition. Medium.com is a community for the mutual benefit of writers and readers. It is psychologically revealing that you seem to see it otherwise.
You didn’t “have” to stop taking submissions. You chose to because of all the bad eggs out there and then used it as an opportunity to scapegoat and shame.
Thus, in my legal opinion (NYU School of Law ’92, admitted and in good standing since 1993), your articles violate Medium’s published guidelines, which state:
Harassment Medium exists to share and discuss ideas. We don’t tolerate harassment, which includes:
Bullying, threatening, or shaming someone, or posting things likely to encourage others to do so…
Reviewing businesses or products in a gratuitously harmful or abusive manner
You attempt to shame not only Illumination but our readers and the 1000’s of genuinely good people who write with us when you blame us for the bad-apples and say that anyone who doesn’t remove their pieces from our publications is stained. You write:
Because their audiences and following are fake.
50,000 fakes, huh? Wow.
Any publication that encourages clap groups and scroll sects and writing letters with all links behind the paywall also encourages favor liking so writers can “help each other out.” We don’t want the remnants of this staining our pages.
I challenge you to point to a single clap that I have received or granted that was not deserved. I for one do not engage in the follow me and I’ll follow you game. I have 84 followers at this moment and I follow 29 — I challenge you to chart my growth from 10 followers to 84 in the last 3 weeks and to attribute it to anything beyond my content and sunny, spiritual nature.
I am proud to have just become an editor for ILLUMINATION. I happen to write only serious content. I would not write 95% of the self-promotional items I see in almost every publication. But to accuse these fine people I work with of promoting plagiarism is a fucking lie and I think they should sue you — oh but that would take resources which they don’t have because no one at any non-Medium-owned-publication is making any money as an owner because we don’t collect any fees, subscription or otherwise.
The editors, all of whom volunteer their passion for writers and writing, spend an inordinate amount of time outing and banning plagiarists. We provide a platform for writers. Many humans are low-life opportunists. Many writers just need a place to have their voices heard. That is what Illumination and its progeny provide.
This is what I provide:
It seems to me you are just jealous of Illumination’s growth. Either that or you’re just a tool in someone’s shed. These are my opinions. Try and silence me and I will raise my voice.
Whether retraction and apology get you off the hook with Medium, is up to them. Extortion is a serious crime.
In addition, we used to have a 30-day clean period required for a writer to be added if they had written for Illumination, Illumination-Curated, The Innovation, Never Fear, or An Idea in the past (and Be Unique — added October 30, 2020, and now Paper Poetry — added November 15, 2020). That has now been eliminated as well and no new writer will be added if they have published anything in those publications and wishes to leave those pieces there. If the writer chooses to remove all submissions from those publications, they may be considered at a future date
It is your right not to accept anyone with a prior association with the falsely accused. But in my legal opinion, you cannot condition acceptance on the take-down of content. That sir, is in my opinion, a violation of NY Penal Law Section 135.6, which is New York’s very expansive view of impermissible coercive conduct.
Maybe I exaggerate to make a point — does my sharp finger in your chest prick? Regardless, I assure you a strong case can be made that the facts fit the statute.
I am sure your first move will be to read or assign a flack to read, everything I have written here or elsewhere. Knock yourself out — not because you won’t find stuff at which people might look askance, but because I do not give a shit. I have been open and honest about my demons and challenges. I have no fear. My openness, what some would say vulnerability, is not my weakness — it’s my superpower.
I have pulled many punches that I am sure you would like left in my quiver. I strongly suggest you retract and apologize to me, our readers, and our writers — if you cannot stomach including the other editors, I’m sure they will live.
A Fight with me you cannot win nor will I lose.
Many will not understand why I made this my business. This is why:
I’ve been wondering when this song would reveal synchronicity:
Rama-crate
Very truly yours,
I am Marcus!!
