International Left-Handers Day

Yup, there is such a thing.

That is today apparently, 13^th August. I have no idea why, every day seems to be something’s day, and today it is we left-handed people.

I originally thought this would be relevant to the Substack community – is there a name? Subbies? Sublings? Stackfodder? We are creatives, so if the rumours are true and we lefties tend to be more creative, you would imagine that there would be more of us on here, a bit of a leftie leaning, but I suspect it is actually the opposite.

What I have discovered during my less than a week here is that we creative types are actually in the minority. Most people are here because they have heard that they can become rich by tapping a few platitudes and Ai poems into the keyboard each morning, then just sit back and watch the cash flow in. Greed has, as always, brought the lazy and the talentless here, drawn by the monetisation of the platform.

So we creatives, people who write, people who share art, people who care, are definitely in the minority. We are the ones sitting quietly and getting to know each other, while a vast gathering of Mammon’s disciples rush about us, desperately trying to find ways to cheat money out of us and out of each other. Described perfectly by Eren Daskesen @HEYBEREN – Digital beggars keep asking for paid subscriptions.

I am reminded of a passage from one of my favourite books; Raven Seek Thy Brother by Gavin Maxwell:

It seemed paradise indeed; I did not know, though I was already in middle age, that you cannot buy paradise, for it disintegrates at the touch of money…

That certainly describes my first few days on Substack. I was promised a meeting of minds with writers, readers, appreciators of books, art, and culture. What I have actually found is a small community of such people, cowering in corners to escape the rush of feet as the vast majority rush about in pursuit of money.

Joy is found in small places however, and less than a week in, I have already joined forces with some lovely people, those who read and write merely for the pleasures to be found in doing so. This is my first post, and I doubt it will be the last, because those few nice people and their love of what matters is enough to make me too take shelter, and allow the rush of avaricious feet to pass me by.

Thanks for reading my first Substack post. Please note that I don’t ask for money, or a coffee (which we all know just means money) or any other bloody thing.