Now You Can Eat Grapes

I learned today that I am a Content Creator. I listened to a congressional hearing on C-Span and realized that I fit the bill. Sounds great, huh? Anyone--and I mean anyone--who speaks, sings, dances, advertises, acts, or writes a blog is a content creator. I knew these people as speakers, singers, dancers, advertisers, actors, and writers. I thought I wrote personal essays. No, I am a content creator. Unfortunately, there are no standards. For that, I am not happy. I try to maintain high standards--state my sources, refrain from name calling, refuse to use AI for writing, and shy away from outright blame.

I am on social media, which, by the way, is how content creators exist. So wow. This is fabulous. I have joined the ranks of Randy Rainbow, Jimmy Kimmel, Paula Poundstone, the ACLU, women who actually sing an aria consisting of "Fuck you, Bitch", numerous political and religious organizations, and lobbying groups, to name a few. And these are just the leftists. I shudder to think of what goes on in the right wing forts. We all live in bubbles or tents, remember? The sad part is that we cannot agree on how we got into these separate places and how to leave our silos.

A nagging issue is money. Readers may think, she has plenty. I am not complaining. Famous individuals have a great deal more money, so they create content as part of their public personas, like Meryl Streep or Oprah Winfrey. Of course, these two talented individuals are paid in numerous ways. Women who sing impromptu operatic melodies, consisting of curse words, are receiving hundreds of thousands of likes on various sites. When that happens, one can get companies to advertise on one's site. The creator gets paid, and the companies sell more junk. Or one can develop and/or sell a product online which may or may not result in income.

I do not expect money. Substack has a set up for paid subscriptions, just sayin'. Robert Reich, Heather Cox Richardson (again lefties) and many others solicit subrscribers to their pages, to survive in these tough economic times, or maybe I should be honest and say thrive. Hell, Robert Reich, whom I greatly admire, has received salaries from the government and the University of California, book royalties, remuneration for speaking engagements, and now Substack too. Pretty good, I would say for a short (I'm short too) former Secretary of Labor. He is super smart, so he deserves to be paid.

I do not go on Tik Tok, but I believe receiving many likes for doing something unusual--like sticking your tongue out while standing on your head--can bring in the dough. Or taking off your makeup can be very popular.

I am very proud to say that I am no longer just an old lady who writes. I am a Content Creator, who utilizes several platforms on which I show my work. And I do get likes, hearts, and sometimes even comments. But, damn, Robert Reich and Heather Cox Richardson do not know I exist, nor do millions of people.

What is a platform, you ask? A platform is not only a stage--like at the Kennedy Center which we now boycott-- but a virtual space whereby one can watch videos, brag about one's cat and kids, show vacation pictures, spew hatred (yes, some on the left do that too), tell jokes, and sing arias consisting of the word "Fuck." I think the latter is so popular because it used to be a forbidden word. Now, one can utter the word, and not a soul cares, freedom? I suppose. However, if one has a big following--a phenomenom autocratic leaders hate--and one speaks the truth or alludes to the truth, it is off to the dungeon (metaphor). That is the opposite of freedom. Our rights --to speak, listen, and watch--have been abrogated That is tyranny.

As a postscript and not directly related to this post, remember the Grape Boycott? My mother did not buy grapes for years which is incredible. She was not a social activist. But, I think she believed that fair is fair. Due to this boycott, the grape workers were able to negotiate union contracts with the growers which led to improved working conditions and labor laws. Just a friendly reminder--Boycotts are effective tools. I will not specify, but I am certain one can find the bad companies on Google.

To quote Friederich Nietzsche and others, "Life is not a dress rehearsal." This is the real deal, and we are in trouble. Please get to work.

©Karen Levi 2025