An Illuminating Bit of Information

for those of us who are celebrating the return of our publication

Yesterday morning I woke up to what would be a debilitating all-day migraine. I was at least able to periodically check in to watch the comments and progress on Slack as it pertained to our rather suddenly-disappeared publication Illumination.

The day before I had sent a formal report to Medium addressing our various issues, and after a very lengthy back and forth they said that they were looking into the issues on both sides. Satisfied at least that there would be an inquiry, I was later horrified, as were we all, to see Illumination blacked out.

Like many of you I felt completely untethered from a publication I have come to love. People whose voices I both respect and delight in.

At first I felt guilty as hell because I feared that my sincere attempt at putting an end to the unfortunate experiences many of us, particularly Dr.Y, were having with one particular party, had backfired badly. The good news is that as the day wore on, the overwhelming response, publications and outpouring paid off. That was not only impressive but for my part, deeply emotional. I read testimonials by folks who have not written as much or for as long as I have about how Illumination provided a much-needed safe space for their writing. The leaps in stats and visibility, the tagging and exchanges, the sheer diversity and welcoming environment that Dr. Y has worked so hard to create.

To say that I am delighted that we’re reinstated would be an understatement. The shutdown, to my mind, ended up being a pretty terrific gift, because kindly, look at who showed up, and how, and the response that Medium saw for our publication.

Missed any of it? Here you go:

But wait, there’s more.

As I alerted Dr. Y last evening, I received a PM from another Medium friend who had this same party as part of their publication. The same party who has just been banned from their publication for the same reasons. I am not at liberty to identify either the publication, the person, or the party involved for all the obvious reasons. That may well escalate the same way our situation did.

However I might posit to all my fellow Illumination writers that to my mind, not only does this completely validate our publisher, but it also underscores the fact that we have had a complaint that is now being shared on other Medium platforms. We are hardly alone. Kinda felt that way for a while.

It ain’t just us, folks.

That said, if I may make a suggestion, please. Medium has to operate in a legal sphere as do we all. As it relates to any kind of formal complaint, let me make an analogy, for this is where I got hamstrung in my report to Medium. Think of it the same way if we had to terminate an employee who has become toxic.

Any body that has the power to remove a person requires proof, and documentation. I had blocked the party in question early on and as a result, anything that I might have been able to provide to underscore my case was unavailable. Therefore anything I might say falls into the useless categories of hearsay and opinion.

If you need to terminate an employee in the US, the law requires (in part) that there are documented incidents that a legal team can point to as proof. Emails, comments, threats, whatever- printed off or copied and pasted, for example, to a Word document. Dates, times, places. What you and I feel about someone’s behavior, our opinions about it are meaningless. What is useful is what can be measured. Measurable actions are researchable. Opinions and feelings aren’t.

To wit:

he has a bad attitude, he acts like a jerk, nobody likes him

vs

he arrived an hour late, 10 am, on the morning of February 2nd 2020. Upon coming into the office he called a female fellow co-worker a “slut” at a volume that could be heard in the entire office. Then he got into a heated argument with an important client (name), at the end of which he called the valued client an “asshole” and hung up on them. That client has since cancelled their contract with our company, costing us hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. We have an audio tape of that client conversation and the client’s formal cancellation, including the reasons (abuse by this employee), in writing, dated Feb 4th, 2020.

Any organization that seeks to terminate an employee has to show facts, dates, times, places and a pattern. Anyone can have a bad day (I had one yesterday, just ask my pill bottle). A pattern of abuse is something else again.

So. As I heard from Dr. Y last night, if ANY of us receives a communication that falls into the categories of threat, abuse, harassment, false claims, character assassination and the like, please PLEASE print it off, or copy and paste, note the date and time. Do not just block. Because Medium is willing to hear what you and I have to say but only if there is documentable proof of the behavior. We’ve been asked to send those comments in to Medium.

This is true for any of us at any time on Medium. I’ve been on this platform since April 2018. I’ve been trolled less than twenty times over the course of more than four thousand articles. That’s remarkable, if you have any experience on Facebook or other platforms. Our experience with this most recent issue is completely over the top, but in the scope of human behavior it’s to be expected.

Simply disagreeing, or taking issue with someone’s POV is not harassment. As long as it is civil discourse, which is the standard by which Medium measures those exchanges, you and I can honor our diversity within the community of Illumination by simply choosing not to read that person’s material. You are invited, not compelled, to read others’ work.

Here is that standard:

Medium is a destination for interesting, high-quality writing, and civil, thoughtful dialogue.

That same section discusses what they call “quality journalism.” Whether or not you agree, and whether or not you and I get frustrated about what curators consider worth highlighting, are both immaterial. All of that is highly subjective. The gift of Illumination is the inclusiveness of all manner of stories, fiction and poetry without judgment. Again, that’s priceless.

Had I had any inkling at all that our interaction with this particular party was going to head off the rails the way it has, I’d have printed off all the comments and then blocked that party. Going forward, I will. That goes for others who abuse the privilege to be on Medium, and in particular, Illumination. Dr. Y set the bar high, and I think the highest of all the publications on Medium. To support and continue that high bar, I would ask that not only do we strive to respect and value our diversity going forward, but if we again face this kind of challenge, please document before erasing or blocking.

For me, at least, lesson learned.

Yesterday, I saw and read all the heartfelt support articles that were published. One in particular spoke to me, and I got privately introduced to a remarkable woman who happens to live just down the highway from me. We are emailing each other now. I cannot wait to get to know her better.

When we go public with our hearts, our heartfelt support for Illumination and what this burgeoning, positive publication has done for so many of us, we also open the door for off-line friendships.

That’s just priceless.

It’s not just that our publication is back in business. I think that we learned as a community over the last couple of days what it looks like to pull together, to work for a common good, a good that is doing a lot of good for all of us. Our outpouring of support for Dr.Y got noticed all over the system. As a result, it raised awareness about the party with whom we have had our private challenges. That strengthens another publication’s argument to have this person removed from their ranks as well after abusing other writers.

Folks, that’s powerful.

While I share Dr. Y’s sincere concern for this party’s well-being and their state of mind, and I am most certainly aware that our current Conditions can lead to some pretty interesting stress-related behaviors, there is a point at which compassion becomes enabling. That’s a tough call for anyone who is trying very hard to be inclusive, as Dr. Y is, and to encourage all of us to take the high road. High roads are hard work. If they were easy, everyone would walk them.

Dr. Yildiz built it. We came. We lost it. We fought for it. Let’s protect its integrity going forward.

We did take the high road yesterday. Kudos to all. I’m just immensely proud to see us back in business and also better than ever. I might invite a solid discussion on Slack to see if there are other ways to ensure that we color inside the lines as much as possible, while splashing the airwaves with all the magnificent diversity that Illumination represents.