Sources: SBSK.org, Your HHRS News
It has always made sense for Your HHRS News to include the New York City and Philadelphia areas as part of the territory of a New Jersey-based blog — after all, most of New Jersey does, too. Thanks to that policy, we’ve been able to introduce you to the special needs of the Falcone brothers and John Hudson. And speaking of inclusion, what they have in common is (Philadelphia-born) Chris Ulmer of Special Books By Special Kids (SBSK) fame.
SBSK was supposed to be the title of a book Ulmer wanted to write about his experiences as a special education teacher, but the idea was so unanimously rejected by so many publishers, he got his act together and took it online. He began posting weekly in-person video interviews of people coping with disabilities on Facebook, but with YouTube’s help, he soon found himself with three million subscribers and merchandising opportunities. What could possibly go wrong — that is, aside from a pandemic lockdown?
Well, in February 2019, another YouTuber’s video revealed that soft-core child pornography was going on: predators trading time stamp-coded messages of children in potentially suggestive positions. It upset YouTube’s big-time advertisers enough to start pulling on their purse strings. But rather than disable or monitor the time stamping, YouTube cut off the ability to make comments on videos featuring children and “vulnerable” adults — that is, if your videos WEREN’T in the sights of big-time advertisers.
Chris and his wife Alyssa Porter struck back with #UnSilenceSBSK — a nearly one-million-signature petition, and social media messages to Google/YouTube’s front office. In the meantime, they’ve been able to continue on Facebook, and have begun traveling again. Then, like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, YouTube contacted Ulmer this week, announcing that his SBSK YouTube comment community can be restored. He’ll have to restore the comments of his minimum of 400 videos one at a time — but then again, one at a time is how he ended up with so many. Congratulations and welcome back home, SBSK!