Final Thoughts and That Big SURPRISE!
I bounced around today between bouts of joy while dealing with talking to friends with some pretty severe issues today. I talked to three of my best friends, trying not to giggle while listening to some dilemmas.
Today was my last piece for No Longer Quivering. I was happy, peaceful and content over it, feeling like the circle has come around and I've done what I need for my health and writing my book. So happy I took the step, but that's not why I laughed all day after discovering something yesterday.
Why am I laughing? Karma, baby, sweet karmic realignment to someone that surely deserves it mixed with some vindication.
One Katie Joy of Without a Crystal Ball, former friend through work at Patheos. She's being sued by Tati Westbrook, another YouTuber. I haven't followed the entire Tati and Katie story. I do know that Katie has been 'reporting' on a pile 'stories' about Tati's husband from some years back. We all know that Katie's skills at sourcing her ideas are poor, so guess where this has led? Right to a five million dollar legal snafu.
There are a million stories I have heard behind the scenes at NLQ I could have written about, but made the choice not to cover due to things like not being able to confirm the information, or thinking more about the privacy of the child or young person involved, or other circumstances. You really must make the decision how much to share, and consider who you put at risk for not confirming details.
When Katie Joy stood me up in May I was hurt, but was pretty content to share it here, and move on. If there's one thing life has taught me is that people will screw you over sometimes, even those you think are friends. Best to move along, nurse your bumps and bruises and know you did what you needed to do for you. Karma is such a nasty bitch that eventually everyone gets theirs.
There are so many stories I could tell you about myself even having acted in a less than honorable fashion and getting spanked by the universe. What goes around, comes around, and those that live by the dull machete get taken out by the dull machete.
What made me do a slow burn and be pulled into the world of YouTube and other bloggers that despise Katie was not the standing me up and then lying to her viewers claiming to have spoken to me and that we were copacetic. It was the lying about why she left Patheos and the fact that she'd been misusing info from No Longer Quivering. That bungled thievery and claims about Patheos were just too much on top of the lying over apologizing to me. It was especially galling because I knew what had gone down at Patheos, that it wasn't fun or pleasant, and that she simply did not walk away.
Reading through the legal documents this afternoon this jumped out at me.
None of us who write for Patheos, or do moderation or anything on the writers side are official employees of Patheos. We are mere 1099 contractors, like the plumber you might hire to replace your toilet, or mow your grass. Not official employees. We all sign contracts that binds both sides, but can be ended at any time. Just like I ended mine today by telling Patheos two weeks ago that the 31st would be my final day. Or they can terminate your contract if you violate the rules, like curse too often, post things that can get the company sued, do not post on schedule, or any number of things. It's a contract, and it behooves both parties to stick to the requirements of each.
Patheos is not the only place myself and many at Patheos do content provisions for. I closed literally everything in the past few weeks. I am 60 now, and still two years from collecting Social Security, but we're living well off Jim's retirement and our investments. This turned into a zero sum game once I started being chained to the desk for hours a day.
I've said all along that she didn't merely walk away, and this law suit spells it out. Her followers need to ask themselves what else is she lying about. There's a long laundry list.
Hoping this forces her to confront her own issues off line.
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