Since a Few Folks Have Asked "How Can I Support WARN and Chauncey DeVega?"

I would like to thank the folks who favorited, shared, and commented on my most recent essays on "white surfer Jesus" and the problems of race and representation over at Alternet, the Daily Kos, and Salon. I am pleasantly surprised by the supportive and the kind emails I have received about how I handled that delicate topic.

As regulars know, business acumen is not my thing: I do not monetize We Are Respectable Negroes. Instead, I have chosen to do periodic fundraising drives. The traffic from my posts on the TV series The Bible have been pretty good by our standards here. As such, I have received some emails asking about how to donate in support of We Are Respectable Negroes and my other writings online.

There are rumors of a great left-wing conspiracy in some circles where I (and others who write online) am offered up large sums of money by our "sponsors"; more benignly, most folks do not understand how the online freelance writing business actually works.

My work on Salon and elsewhere is rarely compensated. As the big kerfuffle over at the Atlantic and also Joe Scalzi's great site Whatever detailed, the traditional and electronic publishing game is chang(ed)ing--to the disadvantage of those who write and produce content. There is no manna from heaven for one's work. Much writing for large news and opinion sites is now rewarded with the promise of "exposure." I am a person of modest means. Consequently, I take beer and chicken money whenever it spontaneously appears as a reward from supporters and fans of We Are Respectable Negroes and Chauncey DeVega.

When we redesigned the site, I added a link called "Donations and Other Support" over at the sidebar in the "Since You Asked Section." As a kind would-be contributor noted, said link is hard to find and makes it needlessly difficult for folks to follow through on their impulse to throw some change in the tip jar. That is a very fair point.

In response, I have added a regular Paypal link on the right sidebar. I will leave it there for a few days as traffic demands. As always, I appreciate your support of both WARN and my work elsewhere.