It came to my attention that someone was saying that my Court Reporter Rates Discussion group is illegal. I gave a blanket public response to this. But in the ensuing conversation I had with that someone, it came to light that some people have some deep misconceptions about who I am and what I stand for.
1. Christopher Day is not a communist.
I haven’t studied economics and economic systems at length. I get that fighting for working people seems pretty communist. But it’s actually a capitalist sentiment. Charging what the market will bear is very capitalist. The laws of the United States allow for us to create conditions where many workers can charge much more for the same labor. These laws also allow employers to purchase media coverage that steers workers away from charging what the market will bear. The median wage of the United States is $30,000. Guess who’s winning. Hint: Not the sellers of labor. By the way, chances are good that you are a seller of labor even if you hire people every now and again.
Just as an aside, a planned economy is a stupid thing. It works in video games like Suzerain. But look at all the things that create the GDP of the United States. Does anyone truly believe that such a thing could ever be planned? It’s much simpler to reconfigure the markets of today to be more pro-people,
2. Christopher Day does not believe in aliens.
Is it possible that Earth is not the only place with life? Sure. But I don’t spend very much time seriously entertaining the existence of aliens. I do spend a lot of time playing sci-fi games like No Man’s Sky, Starbound, Factorio, or StarCraft. Who needs the real thing? I can march across hundreds of worlds from the safety of my home.
3. Christopher Day’s publications do not harm students.
Thousands of court reporters are using my rates discussion page. This creates an environment where established players cannot game their ignorance and eagerness. It also creates an environment where the rampant misinformation campaign committed against consumers by the STTI Bloc is made impotent. Some students have even been kind enough to write to me and let me know that my work strengthened their resolve to become a court reporter. The students of today will be infinitely more informed than I was 16 years ago. In my view, this maximizes their chance of success.
4. Christopher Day’s publications do not hurt small businesses.
The small businesses were being demolished because of the schemes that go on in the modern court reporting business. I fail to see how media that makes plain the malfeasance of large corporations in the space hurts small businesses. If anything, it should drive more consumers toward small businesses that don’t have the capacity to lie to them on an industrial scale.
5. Christopher Day’s publications will not accelerate the adoption of stenotype alternatives.
Veritext has been advertising for digital reporters every day for over 2 or 3 years. The larger corporations have made it clear to all but the most indoctrinated / trusting that they are shifting direction. There is literally nothing they could do to adopt digital faster than they are today, so discussing rates doesn’t hurt us. And in fact, it can only help us as digital court reporters realize that they’re being massively underpaid and begin pushing back against that.
As the pay disparity narrows, so too does the incentive to use digital. Once that incentive is gone, and once the corporate executives have been fired for blowing so much money on advertising for digital, the stage is set for the field to be whatever it’s going to be, rather than what big money wants.
6. Christopher Day’s publications have an impact.
I’ve heard this one a lot about what I do doesn’t matter, won’t do anything, won’t change anything, or whatever the flavor of the day is. I slew the Speech-to-Text Institute and created the largest court reporting blog in the United States, capable of outing multimillion dollar operations for fraud. Hell yeah, I had help, and I’m grateful for it. But it must be getting really uncomfortable for the people in the “this changes nothing” crowd.
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Hey students, if you’re reading, all through your life people are going to put you down like they put me down. Your idea won’t work. You won’t do XYZ. You can’t do XYZ. Take constructive criticism as best you can. But realize that sometimes put downs are put on you just because someone wants you to do what they want you to do, and they’ll say anything to get you there. In this case, it’s pretty easy to see that there are some folks out there that want me to shut up. They’ll say anything about me to obtain that result.
You’ve now seen it with your own eyes. Does someone really believe I am a communist that believes in aliens while I hurt small businesses and students, while also believing I can do what I want because it won’t matter? The more likely truth is that they do not understand my ideas, so my ideas are uncomfortable, so they do not like my ideas. And the easiest way to get me to stop spreading those ideas that they don’t like is to inspire doubt within me that makes me silent.
Understanding that social dynamic is key to your success. You will meet many clients and agencies that will do anything, say anything, to get you to work for less, or to do whatever it is they want you to do, because that’s what’s in their best interest. You must have the strength to identify when that is occurring and act in your own best interest.
And court reporters are not an anomaly. This is also done to journalists. I became aware of a young journalist that would receive high praises whenever submitting work for the exposure. When it came to paid articles, those same people singing the high praises would suddenly be nitpicking. The difference wasn’t the journalist’s work, but that the journalist was seeking payment for their work. It benefits publications when journalists feel insecure about the value of their work because it leads them to accepting less money. The people representing those publications figure out pretty quickly that making journalists feel insecure is the fastest way to fatten their bottom line.
You may one day be engaged with someone trying to manipulate you. It is my sincere hope that on that day you have the strength to identify it, remain resolute, and perhaps even use the experience as a springboard to educate the next person.
It is my sincere hope that the students obtain a level of mastery I could never have imagined.
P.S.
To you, friend, thank you for giving me this material. I meant what I said. If ever you need to talk, reach out. Despite what I’ve done here, it will not end up on Stenonymous.