Dear Steem Community, I believe in us. <3
I don’t usually get political on here...like at all. I honestly try to avoid it—but I feel like with everything that’s been going on lately, we are left with the choices of either becoming political or allowing our truly precious community to get swallowed by big business.
That said, this evening I listened to the entire meeting between Justin Sun and the witnesses, and I want to just make a massively public THANK YOU to you all for looking out for our larger interests in that meeting, y’all.
Particularly wanted to thank @ausbitbank for recording the whole thing for us, because that kind of transparency is amazing to have and so rare in the world in general, and I appreciate being able to feel like I could be made aware of what’s going on. That action really embodies everything this community stands for, and I really appreciate you making that a reality for the rest of us.
Also want to thank @followbtcnews for sticking to his guns throughout the conversation and being a voice for true consensus. Literally repeating the word CONSENSUS a number of times. Sometimes people need to be reminded, and I appreciated that attention to that word. I felt represented.
I feel really proud to be a part of this community, where when a real imminent threat has presented itself that not only do I feel that the witnesses really care about keeping that community alive for the sake of the community, but also to the actual community itself for stepping up and making those witness votes happen so that we can regain control and bring some normalcy back to this blockchain and community.
While I have been very fortunate to have monetarily benefited from Steem in the past (I was able to quit my job a couple of years ago partly due to my Steem earnings at the time), it’s never really been about the money for me. It’s been about the community here and the opportunities we have here to truly speak what’s on our minds and say it in whatever way we feel compelled to say it, and that “good content” actually means more than just “content we agree with,” and that this has been a place where all kinds of people with all kinds of beliefs and interests can all hang out together. That sounds cheesy, but it’s truly been one of my favorite things—not just about the platform, but about the past few years of my life.
Steemit has given me so many opportunities to meet and interact with people with whom I’d otherwise have never met—and given me experiences I’d never would have had were it not for the platform. I’ve made friends with people all over the world (@jsantana—I’m looking at you in particular, buddy) and those friendships have stood the test of time, and I’m continuing to make friends from all over the place. Every day. That’s huge.
As we saw with this craziness of the sock-puppets being put in place, none of this would be possible without the hard work, effort, and INTENTION of our gracious witnesses, who give of themselves to make sure this ship stays sailing. It’s that work behind the scenes that has allowed us a platform to rant, a platform to create, a platform to discuss...a platform to be unabashedly ourselves.
Thank you, witnesses. For standing up for us, for standing up for decentralization. For standing up to big business. For giving a voice to the voiceless. Thank you immensely.
I am Jessamyn Orchard (@jessamynorchard), and I am a former youth pastor, worship minister, and church lay leader, who graduated from a Christian college. Most recently, however, I’m an addict in recovery who rededicated my life to Jesus about 6 months ago. I was raised in church, and saved at age 12, but I did a lot of straying over the past 10+ years, falling into pits of sin through addictions and self-pity. I’m no authority, just a believer in a big God and called to spread His word through as many conduits as present themselves to me. Fumbling Toward Jesus is a multi-media ministry campaign and includes a written blog of daily devotions on Steemit and an accompanying monthly podcast on Anchor.fm, and it represents years of study—both over the years and lately, and now combined with a whole load of human experience. I’m just a super nerdy sinner saved by a really awesome grace.
Heir heirrrr!!