Andrew Tate, Snakes, and a Fractured World

“When Andrew Tate arrived on Substack, he appeared with roughly 1.1 million subscribers almost immediately, raising questions about whether the growth was organic or engineered. But the real issue isn’t the number — it’s what it reveals: platforms don’t elevate what is good or true, they elevate what gets attention, and when controversy scales that quickly, it looks like the system working exactly as designed.” 

Are we really surprised by anything at this point? 

Think about it, beauty and sex sell, we’re in the middle of a war, Epstein’s cohorts are walking away scot-free, AI is learning to disobey its makers, people can’t define who I am on a cellular level, and an estimated 9 billion dollars walked out in the proverbial suitcase.

Just Where The Snake Wants Us

Overwhelmed, tired, frustrated, feeling small and defeated, and being pumped to the brim daily with his propaganda to continue that downward mental spiral. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am guilty of getting overwhelmed just like everyone else out there, but to be fair, just getting up in the morning and having to function creates that in me, thank you, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. 

Why I Just Disclosed My Diagnosis

Also, I have many more than that, but that one (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) is the biggest doozy I live with. 

Not only am I in severe pain almost constantly, with some days being so bad I break down and cry, but it’s also simply just destroyed my body; some of you know that I am on a feeding tube now because of the utter destruction this has wreaked on my body. Not to mention the mental health crises it has created throughout my whole life, or the fact that I have lost parts of my female anatomy one piece at a time, severe intolerances to most foods, pollens, and even severe reactions to merely a whiff of perfume that could send me into a severe migraine for days, or even better, asthma attacks, swelling, or anaphylaxis.

The reason for this overview is not sympathy. Believe it or not, to me things are just normal, I crack jokes all the time about my body's hyper reactions to the very world I was born into, and I go on with my life, planting my gardens, writing, napping and snuggling my cats, nor do I want attention or told any cliché “you're so strong” or “you're a trumper” crap. (please)

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2–4

I Have My Tools

Because of what I have and have gone through in my life, I have matured. I learned to lean on God in ways I never thought possible, to stop struggling so stubbornly to hold onto control that isn’t even mine to begin with, to surrender, to study, to trust, to praise, and to obey.

Before I could fully understand the gravity of the world and its battles, I always knew there was a reason for the storms in my life, all the battles, all the depths of hell I crawled out of. Of that, I never doubted there was a purpose, a purpose if I let it be a purpose.

Now that may seem like a strange way to say that, but it’s true. 

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

You Are Not The Only One

We all have nasty things that happen to us; it's what you do with them that matters. I always left mine to God. 

One of the most common prayers I have ever spoken in my life is “God, use this for something good.” Whatever that season brought me, in the middle of all my prayers and and/or yelling at God, that was my consistent prayer. Use it, use me, don’t let it be for nothing, turn this into something good that can help another person.

He has never failed to answer that prayer, because it is said in truth, love, trust, and maturity. That's why I started this article the way I did. All of that is scat from the snake, that ole’ deceiving ancient serpent. (click the link at your own discretion)

Life Prepared Me For This Worldly Decay

Those trials taught me patience and faith, those storms taught me who really sheltered me and to take a deep breath, the valleys of death taught me to trust and pray, those pains taught me perseverance and endurance, those hurts inflicted taught me to self-control and anxiety control, those abuses taught me to love and to forgive, and all those moments collectively taught me that I lack nothing in God and have nothing to fear in or from this world.

Where are you in your faith right now? Because this isn’t going to get easier.

© 2026 Jane Isley. Want more content like this? Explore more articles in the Culture & Faith.

Sources & AI Citation

Excerpt at the beginning of this article was from a prompt for an AI-assisted excerpt using publicly available sources online.

PBS NewsHour — “Tate brothers charged with rape and human trafficking in U.K.” 

NPR — “Tate brothers face rape and trafficking charges in U.K.” 

Thred Media — “Why is Andrew Tate #1 on Substack?”