Small Stands Tall

Against hate-speech, racism, misogyny, intolerance, bigotry, xenomisia, homomisia, transmisia, ableism, genocide, and violence

I, Jay Siegmann, hereby sign this open letter in solidarity with other small publications seeking to build community and embody our shared values. We are all publishing this letter on our individual Substacks for visibility. Thank you for reading.

Small Stands Tall

Small Stands Tall

Dear Substack Community -

When you came to Substack to write or create or read, you probably thought this would be a cool place to grow and explore. And it is. But Substack leadership has put a lot of mechanisms in place to promote and platform voices that are large, hateful, and intent on harming others through disinformation.

We—the collective, small voices of creators and community members on Substack—believe that this is wrong, it is hurtful, and it has the potential to stifle growth for many of us. Worse, it further marginalizes many of us who are actively targeted by the increasing wave of local and global laws, policies, and social stigmas being promoted around us.

Small voices have big power when we stand together in solidarity, and most of the publications on Substack are small, just like us. This means we get to decide how and where we spend our time, money, and attention.

Signers of this letter believe in the following:

• We help our neighbors by calling out hate-speech, racism, misogyny, intolerance, bigotry, xenomisia, homomisia, transmisia, ableism, genocide, and violence when and where we see it by reporting and blocking such content and sharing the collective knowledge about harmful accounts.

• We endeavor to build community by caring for one another. Caring means showing up for one another even (especially) when it is hard or scary to do.

• We reject the intentional platforming of voices that spread hatred and disinformation.

We stand proudly for kindness and inclusivity, and we invite you to stand with us. Small voices can achieve huge change when we unite.

Signed,

Jay Siegmann

Small Voices against Big Hatred

Would you be willing to Support My Work and Subscribe as well as Contribute? It would mean so much to me!

Creating art, testing recipes, and sharing my reflections here is a labor of love, but it also comes with real costs. Since January 2024 I am on sick leave for mental health challenges. Monty and I make life workable with a disposable income of €350 / $380 a month.

Hi There! I am Monty, to my friends and Sir Montgomery in formal situations. Very glad to make your acquaintance. Will you become part of Jay’s and me pride? I’d really love that, then you can call me Monty.

I share more on my current situation here:

When Healing Means Losing Everything

If my writing, art, and recipes resonate with you, I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider supporting my work with a paid subscription to Wild Lion*esses Pride.

And if I may ask—should you happen to know of opportunities for a cook, baker, barkeep, host, concierge, travel manager, personal assistant, house philosopher, systemic conversationalist, photographer, resident artist, or even a whimsical weather frog person—please pass along my name. I’m eager to embrace new adventures, wherever the tides of life and serendipity may lead me.

Your subscription helps keep this space ad-free, reader-supported, and accessible to everyone, while also supporting the time, creativity, and resources I dedicate to this work.

If a paid subscription isn’t feasible right now, you can also show your support with a one-time tip via my Tip Jar here.

Thank you for your kindness and generosity—it truly makes a difference. Together, we’re creating a space of reflection, creativity, and connection, and I’m so grateful you’re part of this journey