Transkript Lloyd Evans video - "Things are
better (THANK YOU!!)"
Hello
there. I'm here at RamaCrow recording some interviews and other future uploads
and I just want to take a moment to sincerely thank all of you who have
responded so amazingly to the video - I put
out a couple of days ago regarding the financial state of the channel. When I
filmed that video, we had a combined 432 supporting us as patrons and YouTube
members. Which, as I explained, wasn't quite enough for us to keep going as a
company. As of right now, about three days later we have 556 patrons and 110
YouTube channel members making for a combined total - and I'm not kidding here - of 666 patrons and YouTube members, which is just incredible.
Read into
that number what you will. I promise I'm not making it up. As I explained
before, we really needed to get to a minimum number of 500 supporting the
channel on a monthly basis to break even, in other words - pay peoples wages,
pay my wages, pay the owners wages, pay the insurance for the equipment, pay our
company accountants fees, etc.
But ideally
we needed to get back to the 620 figure, which is where we were when we hired Tibor.
So for us to exceed that figure in such a short period of time is just an
incredible response from our viewers. And on behalf of the whole team, I really
can't thank you enough. It's extremely humbling to know that our viewers have
our backs and want us to not just continue, but grow the channel as we
intended, so I wanted to jump on camera and reassure you all this it's now back
to business as usual.
We hear
your unequivocal call to continue, and if things ever get dicey or uncertain
again, it's extremely heartening to know that we can just let you all know
about the situation and leave things in your hands.
I do just
want to say a quick word about the defamation campaign as mentioned in my
video. Some of you will have noticed I pinned a comment saying that I would
automatically and unashamedly delete all abusive mean toxic victim blaming
comments along the lines of get a job. Or it's all your fault anyway. I stand
by that comment, not because I'm trying to shut people down or sweep anything
under the rug. Obviously, viewers are free to respectfully disagree with me on
any opinion I express in any of my videos. And the comments sections of any
video I make will bear evidence of this.
But when it
comes to rude, hateful, invasive comments where people usually from the luxury
of total anonymity or inserting themselves in my personal life and claiming to
know what I have or haven't done in private better than me, I really must draw
the line.
I think
most mature adults understand that nobody is perfect and that we all make
mistakes. My mistake was to be unfaithful to my partner and I'll always be
sorry about that.
But as I've
said before, nobody deserves to be bullied, harassed and character assassinated
across multiple social media platforms simply for being human.
I've had
fake e-mail circulated implicating me, a father of two girls, as a sexual
predator who grooms teenage girls. I was accused of being involved in sex
tourism simply for choosing Thailand as a holiday destination during a mental
health crisis. I've had packages sent to my home containing books with titles
such as Leave a Cheetah gain a life. Friends and colleagues have been emailed
and pressured to have nothing more to do with me. I've done interviews that got
taken down or never saw the light of day because the channel or journalist was
inundated with complaints. People have left menacing voice mails. Multiple
videos have been made portraying me as a monster, including some calling for me
to be reported to the police.
My video
editor has been stalked and had copies of his college thesis posted online.
Most
recently, the owner of a Zagreb wine bar where I host live music events
received an e-mail warning her to have nothing to do with me.
This
behaviour, and I've only given you a small sampling of what I've been dealing
with, is totally unacceptable and if I'm being completely honest, it makes me
ashamed to be an ex JW and mortified at the thought of attending ex JW
gatherings in the future. You can, if you want, tell me to turn the other cheek
or to not take my brother to court to just let it all go. It's certainly very
easy to say that when you're not on the receiving end.
But you
need to understand that I give a damn about my work and my legacy. And I know
that if I let this behaviour go unpunished, not only will it continue, but it
will also tarnish my reputation and therefore the value of the body of my work
for generations to come long after I'm dead.
My 2 girls
could conceivably be forced to deal with the lies that have been spread about
me if I leave these lies unanswered.
So yes, I
will keep blocking the haters and I will continue with my legal action for as
long as it takes. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate those of you who
understand all this. And are sticking with me and showing compassion and
solidarity during this intensely challenging time.
I did very
recently come extremely close to packing it all in. Obviously the finances are
bad, so the business was no longer looking viable anyway. But I sort of had a
job offer to do a job. I know I would have hated, but at least it would have
taken me away from all the JW XJW toxicity.
It was very
tempting - and honestly - it would have been the easiest thing in the world, to
dissolve my company, leave Tibor and Diana jobless. And just bring everything
to a virtual standstill. I can specifically remember thinking, whatever happens, I don't think I have another
convention season in me.
But what
pulled me from the brink was a friend who's never been a Jehovah's Witness, who
urged me to think about continuing my work because they could see the good it
was doing.
And then I
read some of the comments and messages of support. And it caused me to think.
Maybe this is worth one last push, maybe I should let the viewers decide if we
continue.
So when Tibor
and I were in Zagreb filming last week, I filmed the video where I put all my
cards on the table and here we are.
You the
audience have spoken. And if you believe in me and in the amazing team I have
around me and keep us at around that 500/600 hundred figure, then I'm prepared
to carry on.
And for the
record, I will do my very best to ignore the haters and keep focusing instead
on the overwhelming majority of you who see the bigger picture and care about
the work I do.
We will
still be leaving RamaCrow even with the influx of new patrons and YouTube
members, I want us to recover and be on a much stronger footing, before we
think about renting a studio again in the future.
Just please
keep in mind that you will still see RamaCrow videos for potentially months to
come because we're here until at least the end of April. There are interview
videos and other content being filmed that won't be going out until potentially
many weeks from now, but that doesn't mean I'm going back on my word or
anything like that.
RamaCrows
days are numbered, but I'm fine with recording in my bedroom, for a while. And
if we get a studio again at some future point, it will be because we have the
finances to commit to it long term.
If you are
one of the new or returning patrons or YouTube channel members, thank you again
so much for coming to our rescue in our hour of need. And giving us the green
light to continue. I very much look forward to seeing and meeting some of you
in future live streams and zoom calls. Speaking of which, if you are having
trouble accessing any of the perks for your tier of membership, please do send
a message on Patreon or via the channel's GMail - which is [email protected].
Finally I
also want to say a massive thank you to those of you who couldn't afford to
support the channel financially, but still sent through messages of kindness,
love, compassion and solidarity. I've been reading each and every one of these
messages and I can't tell you how much they've meant to me.
This is
without a doubt a tough gig, and doing it to the extent we're doing it can
exact a very heavy toll. But you are amazing viewers have given us a resounding
call to continue, so we will do exactly that.
Thank you.
And I'll
see you around.