It’s been 3 days, 11 hours, and twenty minutes since Bette Dangerous was hit by a targeted harassment campaign designed to harm me and this community - designed to scare me away from doing this work and to hurt me financially. Substack has tried to be helpful, but I had to diffuse the attacks on my own - cutting off likes and comments from our tribe. The attacks are ongoing. And that’s okay.
Turns out, this community is made of tougher stuff. Turns out, this community has amazing resiliency. And it also turns out, I found a workaround, and we are still communicating together - which is wonderful, since so much of my work is inspired by you.
One Bette member shared these thoughts:
“The trolls didn't bother me, because I know what they are trying to do. Not working with me in the least. I used to be more frightened by darkness. Now, the greater clarity you and your colleagues reveal increases my courage.”
I am grateful for those words, but I also know the psychological impacts these trauma merchants have - one member shared that “anger was still coursing thru (him) emotionally.”
I understand that anger, and then I reminded him that sadly, we gotta pray for these bastards. If a person’s job is to harm moms like me with scat porn, then they’re already living in some kind of hell.
In this podcast, I report on the attack, with the print version of this report here.
I also unlocked many of my key reports - here’s a handy thread to also share.
Please share this podcast and please also consider becoming a paid member. Thank to members who also support my work with Ko-Fi tips. Fighting fascism is my full-time job.
If you have allies that care about democratic freedom vs. fascism, please share my work and ask them to consider supporting. Success gives me the economic power to fight back.
I can’t do this without you.
I will leave you with these words from a muse - Ruth Ben-Ghiat - whose latest Lucid is titled - Lessons of Hawaiian Activism: The Value of Resilience. She was honored to be the 2023 Maggie and Dan Inouye Distinguished Chair of Democratic Ideals, and shared a story about a conversation she had with a community member. She wrote that the community member “became emotional when talking about the challenges of reaching people who are in the ‘disinformation tunnel’ and consumed with hate. She compared the deluge of lies and negative emotions to a tsunami, and described those fighting for social justice and democratic freedoms as opihi (the Hawaiian word for limpets), or small creatures that cling to the rocks as the water rushes in.
“It's a good analogy, since authoritarianism does deluge us with lies and threats, and it certainly tests our strength and ‘staying power.’ It can be difficult to show up day after day to protest, or doggedly work on lawsuits, legislation, voter registration, and more without knowing what the outcome of your efforts will be.”
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“Something Sacred never dies in almost all of us, that can hear the invitation of Truth…”-words from a Bette Dangerous community member
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More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism.
Save the date! The next Bette Dangerous ‘Speakeasy’ Zoom for paid members is Sunday, March 12, 4 pm PT. We invite special guests in the fight for truth and democracy, and it’s an amazing hour. If you are not yet a paid subscriber, please consider joining. You’ll receive invites, access to all archives, and comments.
Bette Dangerous Podcast Ep18 - The Economic Terrorism of Targeted Harassment Campaigns