why i haven't been streaming since being banned on twitch
I feel like at this point I should probably say something, given that I never announced anything. I have not gone live in four days, nor am I clear when I am going to be returning to streaming regularly. I understand that the majority of the people who follow me on twitter just like my twitter presence and do not engage with my content, but for those who have been wondering where I've been, I think I owe an answer.
Three days ago I tweeted that I would be seeing a psychologist because of the intense amount of scrutiny I have been under and how it makes me lash out at people. I know my feelings are justified, it's my behavior I'm trying to change. It isn't wrong of me to lash out when I have been the repeated target of false allegations, harassment, doxxing, death threats, and been used as a punching bag for every single person who hates trans people and are convinced we shouldn't be allowed to transition as minors.
Two days ago. What a heap of bullshit. You lash out at other streamers, not anyone who is remotely responsible for what you listed, like me.
Having coverage from mainstream publications has meant more people have learned about me and the work that I do than I ever thought was possible. I became something I never signed up to be: the face of a culture war. I was not aware of the consequences that doing extensive livestream coverage of anti-trans legislation and dunking on conservative pundits spreading anti-trans ideology would bring me. After my twitch ban I trended on twitter for five days, and most tweets about me were blatantly transphobic.
Well, well, well. If it isn’t the consequences of your actions. Also, turn off personalized trends.
As someone who began medical transition when they were a minor over eleven years ago, the topic of transgender youth and their access to healthcare is very important to me. I, like most people, am a flawed human being who has made mistakes in the past and is always trying to learn from them and become a better person. Despite this, I still want to be there for all young trans people who feel they do not have a voice and that there is no one in this world like them that they can look up to. I keep my DMs open despite the deluge of bigoted messages because of all the teenagers who send me messages saying seeing me fight back against transphobia gave them the courage to come out to their families. It reminds me what I am fighting for, and gives me the motivation I need to keep moving forward.
Oh wow, he does it for the kids. That doesn’t make him sound just a little suspect.
I know that because of my focus, my content might always be niche, but it serves an important function and has fundamentally changed the lives of more people than I can count. I am so proud of myself and how far the community we've built together has come. I'm excited to see all the progress we will make when I return from my hiatus. In the time I have taken off, I have been working with my team to retool how content on my channel is produced, rethinking how I engage with other content creators, and working to tighten moderation to keep both me and my community safe.
That sounds like cope. Remember the opsec expert and how nothing changed, it actually got worse? That was funny.
I do not know yet when I will return to streaming. I'm going to keep working on things behind the scenes so when I return I will be calm and ready to continue making entertaining and informative content and cultivating the kind of community I wish existed when I was younger.
That still sounds creepy.
I want to thank everyone who has supported my Patreon since getting banned from Twitch, because it is a reliable source of income even when I'm not streaming. Streaming is my career. It's something that I am genuinely passionate about. Every day I take off, I lose hundreds of dollars and this not only affects me, but the team that I pay to help me produce content and keep me safe while threats against me continuously escalate.
Who are you paying? I know your mods do it for free, they’re mods. Your editor should be getting paid a slave wage for their quality of work. Who’s keeping you safe? Are they in the room with us right now Lucas?
I also want to take a moment to show my appreciation to some of the people who have had my back throughout this: Alejandra Caraballo, Chelsea Manning, Taylor Lorenz, and everyone else who has stuck their neck out for me, stood up for me, and checked in to make sure I was okay during the most rough moments of the past couple months. I appreciate all of you, and wouldn't be able to do this without you.
I just want to include this one tweet from Bradley:
