on coming back (and maybe leaving?)

when principles and platforms collide

tl;dr: i’m wrestling with substack's troubling partnerships and content moderation issues while questioning what it means to build authentic community in digital spaces.

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Substack’s logo. Source: Substack.

hey bellezas!

i've been sitting here in my parent’s living room in michigan, wrapped in a blanket my mom crocheted years ago, trying to find the words for something that's been keeping me up at night. (and no, it's not just my dad's legendary snoring echoing through these thin walls.)

we need to talk about substack, community, and what happens when your digital home starts feeling less like home.

here's the thing - i disappeared for a while. finals, work, life... the usual suspects. but something else has been gnawing at me, something that makes writer's block look like a minor inconvenience.

substack recently partnered with "the free press" - bari weiss's publication that's about as "free" as those trial subscriptions that mysteriously charge your credit card after three days. it's a right-wing outlet masquerading as "independent journalism," packaging conservative talking points in a wrapper of intellectual aesthetics.

but that's just where the trouble starts.

scrolling through this platform lately feels like walking through a funhouse mirror version of what we thought this space could be.

i've seen posts promoting eating disorders getting amplified. content advocating harmful ideologies slipping through the cracks. men unrepentantly advocating for pedophilia. and the moment - the very moment - someone sees my they/them pronouns on my profile? ay dios mío, my notifications turn into a masterclass in missing the point.

it's like showing up to what you thought was a community potluck and realizing some folks brought poison to the table.

this matters because spaces matter. platforms matter. the choices these companies make about who they amplify, who they partner with, what they moderate - it all matters. we're not just talking about algorithmic choices or business decisions. we're talking about the shape of our public discourse, about who gets to feel safe in digital spaces, about what stories get told and how.

i keep thinking about something my abuela used to say about choosing your battles: "a veces el silencio es complicidad" - sometimes silence is complicity.

so here we are, at a crossroads. do i stay and resist? create counter-narratives in spaces that seem increasingly hostile to my existence? or do i pack up my digital casita and move somewhere else? (spoiler alert: there might not be a perfect platform out there, but maybe perfect isn't what we're looking for.)

what i know is this: community isn't about the platform - it's about the people. it's about you reading this right now. it's about the conversations we have, the stories we share, the space we create together.

i don't have all the answers yet. but i'm thinking deeply about where to go from here, and i want you to be part of that conversation.

hasta la próxima, mis amores! 💖

edgard ✊🏽🌈

p.s. to my san diego people - miss you all! can't wait to be back in hillcrest on january 3rd. keep the city weird for me. 🌴

p.p.s. if you have thoughts about potential new platforms or what you value most about this community, drop them in the comments. your insight matters more than you know. ✨

p.p.p.s. and to those who came here just to hate - i have another saying: "el león no se preocupa por la opinión de las ovejas." look it up. 😘