Afterthought: The Indie Revolution

From the video: Jawbreakers VS Mark Waid and the Marvel Mafia

I’ve mentioned previously mentioned that I believe an artist’s role is to be offensive, to mock what society holds sacred and to push the boundaries of acceptability.

Vladimir Nabokov’s – Lolita

George Orwell’s – Animal Farm

Joseph Conrad’s – Heart of Darkness

Franz Kafka’s – Metamorphosis

Bret Easton Ellis’ – American Psycho

Chuck Palahniuk’s – Fight Club

H.P. Lovecraft’s – Call of Cthulhu

Cormac McCarthy’s – No Country for Old Men

All of them popular works. All of them provocative. All of them a brutal assault on the sensibilities of the typical civilized person. All of them published through established publishers; in other words, all of them published the traditional way. But with the dawn of the internet and the rise of companies like Amazon and Barns&Noble, so came a whole new world of opportunities. Those opportunities opened the doors for what might become an independent author revolution.

But why go indie at all? Isn’t the dream to work hard on a book, get accepted by a publisher, and finally see your work on shelves? Here’s the thing.

The culture of Political Correctness stands as a kind of filter, judging what flavor of media is allowed in polite society. It was once the right-wing conservative who had the run of things, wanting to ban creative works for being too violent, or “works of Satan.” Now, the pendulum has swung to the left…far to the left. Publishing companies and other media outlets are geared towards leftist sensibilities and they have no desire to loosen the grip on the reigns. Sure, conservatives and right-wingers can still get published, and they can even get published by left-leaning outlets…but only if they’re safe.

The old school Christian conservative Republicans were considered debunked long ago. The right-wing pundits who were the ideologically obsessed Social Justice Warriors of their time. Their rhetoric of God and country has all but become a joke in the mainstream media. They have very little credibility left with the new generation.

Today, Liberal gatekeepers are standing watching for right-wing creatives who are dangerous. Conservative or Libertarian creators who put logic and reason first; those who aren’t afraid to challenge the left-wing narrative; and those who have garnered a large following. These people get called Nazis just for speaking up. They get slandered, and threatened, and attacked. If your fame is rooted in the public sphere, these sorts of tactics can be fatal. Feminists have ruined long firmly established careers of powerful men in days. But the those whose fame is rooted outside the public sphere, these tactics aren’t nearly as effective. It’s these people, the ones who’ve roamed outside the Liberal Plantation and built their houses elsewhere, who the left-leaning outlets clamber to stamp out. In other words, it’s the independents who are the most dangerous.

As evidenced by what happened to Richard Meyer, Jon Malin, and Brett Smith during the Jawbreakers Incident (check out the video linked above for more information), the leftist held outlets are terrified of the people who dare to challenge them yet seem untouchable to their bullying tactics. And what happened to Jawbreakers is just the most recent example of the Liberal censor at work.

Let’s not forget what happened to Milo Yiannopoulos when Simon&Schuster was set to publish his book Dangerous. The left-wing hate mob attacked the publisher until they eventually dropped the work from their roster. Why? Because, much like the Jawbreakers team, Milo people listened to him which meant…he really was dangerous.

So, as a writer, your options seem to be either: left-wing and safe, left-wing and provocative, or right-wing and safe. Taking all that into account, the future seems very bleak indeed, and indeed it would be, if not for the rise of independent publishing.

I mentioned before that the most dangerous people to the left-wing were those with the bravery to speak out and those who have garnered a significant following. But where did all those people come from? Easy. The people the Liberal elite are leaving behind.

How many times have you heard a left-wing comedian say they only write jokes for like-minded people. How many times have you had a creator tell you not to buy their work because you expressed a differing opinion? Liberal arrogance and their lack of self-awareness have been alienating people for years.

This is how you get the outcome like Brexit. This is how you get Trump. This is how you create powerhouses like Milo, Ben Shapiro, and Jordan Peterson. This is how Diversity&Comics, a guy who makes comic reviews with a phone and a place to sit, can shake a company like Marvel to its roots. Because their followers are not just an army of trolls and provocateurs. These are normal, everyday people who are tired of Social Justice and Political Correctness turning all their favorite things into grotesque propaganda machines. And all these Social Justice Warriors don’t realize how many people they’re losing. They are so enveloped by their own egos that can’t see the truth unfolding around them. But…it makes sense. I mean, isn’t that what Social Justice and Political Correctness are…exercises in denial?

But the future isn’t all doom and gloom. The indie revolution is already happening.

Both times the Liberal censor has come out to crush someone “dangerous”, it has resulted in the target gaining more support and starting their own companies. The sensor only helped them increase in notoriety. Milo went on to create Dangerous.com. His book, Dangerous, was not only published but made him a New York Times bestseller. Even with Jawbreakers, people who want to comic will still get the comic. It’s still available online on the IndieGoGo page.

With every new outrage, with every new swing of the liberal banhammer, the indie revolution grows bigger. Social Justice can gatekeep all they want, but so long as there are people willing to take the slings and arrows, willing to counter their narrative, and so long as there are people willing to listen…no voice will be silenced.