Dear Friends,
In this article I would like to share trigger warnings about the content contained on this website, and to specifically disclaim liability for any damages, emotional or otherwise, that may be caused by your accessing this website and its content.
Disclaimers and Warnings: Ricardo Vollbrechthausen Studios, LLC and all associated shareholders, LLC members, management, and staff (“RVS”, “We”, “Us”, “Our”) explicitly disclaim the responsibility, or ability, to make you feel good, comfortable, safe, accepted, important, or any other positive emotional state while engaging in any way with us, our website, or our content. We also explicitly disclaim the responsibility, or ability, to protect you or prevent you from experiencing any negative emotional states that may arise while engaging in any way with us, our website, or our content. We are not responsible or liable for any damages arising from any emotional distress, harm, discomfort, or trauma that you may experience by signing up for and/or accessing and using any part of this website, the library, any particular piece of content, or from any interaction with any member of our shareholders, LLC Members, management, and staff. By subscribing or otherwise engaging with us or our website, you are explicitly accepting responsibility for managing your own emotions, emotional states, and mental health, and are also explicitly waiving the right to make any claims of emotional and/or mental health distress, damage, upset, and/or harm against RVS, and all associated shareholders, LLC Members, Management, and Staff.
The content on this website is presented “as is”. If you find this website’s content upsetting, harmful, or objectionable for any reason, or potentially upsetting, harmful, or objectionable for any reason, your only remedy is to unsubscribe from the library, not subscribe to the library in the first place, and to immediately stop accessing the website, the library, and/or any piece content, and to stop interacting with RVS LLC, and all associated shareholders, LLC members, Management, and/or staff.
No Children or Minors – We don’t think it is age appropriate for minors to be exposed to the content on this website without supervision from a legal guardian that can help them understand and process the content presented through this website in an age appropriate way. Since we can’t monitor whether or not a legal guardian is actively helping a minor understand this website’s content, we currently do not allow children or minors to subscribe to our library or use our website in any way.
Additional Comments
It is our hope, but not our promise or guarantee, that we foster an open and inclusive environment that promotes the comfort and wellbeing of our team, subscribers, and community at large. However, due to the nature of the educational services offered on this website, it means subscribers are voluntarily and purposefully signing up to access content that may potentially upset or stress them. Indeed, discomfort is itself often a crucial part of the learning process.
It is important to acknowledge that we can’t make everyone happy. Every single line of content in this library will be offensive or upsetting to someone, somewhere, for some reason or another. That is inevitable, and one of the main reasons we have freedom of speech protections written into the first amendment of the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution.
Beyond the general aphorism that “everyone has an opinion”, we do think it is important to note that some content in this library may be seriously disliked and particularly upsetting to some members of the public – on both sides of the aisle – including, but not limited to, content that shares opinions, analysis, commentary, and data on the intersection of finance, economics, financial literacy, investing, and business with “hot button issues” or “emotionally charged issues” like race, gender, disability, crime, death, disease, war, romantic relationships, poverty, governance, public policy, social justice, and more.
We do our best to cover all content, and especially potentially sensitive or upsetting topics, with as much sensitivity, kindness, and positivity as we deem appropriate. But at the end of the day, some content may still be quite jarring because of the nature of a particular piece of content, and the specific sensitivities and world views of a specific subscriber. Different individuals will find different content differentially acceptable or unacceptable. However, please know that no content on our website is intended to elicit or encourage harm, violence, or hatred towards any individual or group.
It is important for subscribers, or potential subscribers, to understand that this library’s function is to contain and share content that might be helpful for a specific individual’s pursuit of their financial goals, regardless of whether that content makes that, or any other, individual feel “good, warm, and fuzzy” or “bad, unsafe, and anxious”. This website is primarily a pragmatic and utilitarian space, which takes precedence over it being a”safe space”, or a “comfortable space” – especially from an academic or intellectual point of view. We will strive to be frank, direct, and to the point – and clarity of communication will be prioritized over any particular code of niceties, politeness, and political correctness (It is important to acknowledge that what is considered “politically correct, polite, and nice” is subjective and can vary significantly by group and individual).
The purpose of educational content, and education at large, is to expose individuals to new ideas, new concepts, and new world views – and to actively challenge individuals on their existing ideas, beliefs, and world views. The learning experience requires students to go into it with an open mind – because they are trying to learn something new – rather than going into it with a closed mind – unwilling to learn or accept new ideas or feedback – or simply seeking out ideas and information that validate their pre-existing ideas, prejudices, and preferred world views. Seeking validation for pre-existing ideas and beliefs is not exactly “learning something new”, since you already held those views prior to the alleged “learning”.
Again, we are sorry to see you go, but if you are not happy with the library’s content or our approach to content creation and curation, your only remedy is to immediately cancel your subscription and stop accessing and using our website. You also have the option to not subscribe and access the website or content in the first place.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to message us via our public contact page or our subscriber only library help desk.
All the best,
Ricardo Vollbrechthausen
