Latest / Queer 101 with Peppermint / Voter Suppression Is Real. Let’s Protect Your Vote

Transcript

Voter Suppression Is Real. Let’s Protect Your Vote · Queer 101 with Peppermint

0:00
SPEAKER_03: Hey everyone, we are here at the Supreme Court, a place where we know so many rights have been fought for and won, where civil rights have advanced in so many important cases as we know have shaped our country and shaped representation.
0:12
SPEAKER_03: But now, due to Louisiana v.
0:13
SPEAKER_03: Calais, the Voting Rights Act has been gutted.
0:17
SPEAKER_03: What does this mean?
0:18
SPEAKER_03: It means that Donald Trump and his allies across the country, whether they're governors or in the state legislature, are now redrawing maps and gerrymandering communities to take away black representation.
0:32
SPEAKER_03: This means they are carving out districts that traditionally have elected black Americans to represent their own communities.
0:40
SPEAKER_03: This is an attack not just on black Americans, but all of us should understand this is a very attack on our country, on our freedoms, and on democracy.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: Look, we both know that the midterms are coming up.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: If you're like me, do you know it isn't enough to just vote?
0:54
SPEAKER_00: You also need to make sure that other folks can vote.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: We know that so much of what we're seeing every day is not just that we're being misinformed, we're being lied to.
1:02
SPEAKER_02: Just popping in to remind you, the Constitution is clear.
1:04
SPEAKER_02: State and local government, that's who runs elections and the vote counting process.
1:08
SPEAKER_02: We will not be intimidated out of voting safely and fairly this election season, and we will ensure that by knowing our rights.
1:15
SPEAKER_02: You can stand up for your right to vote and your neighbor's right to vote with confidence.
1:24
SPEAKER_05: Huh! You gotta fight for your right to vote for scores seven years ago.
1:34
SPEAKER_05: Hey y'all! Welcome back, welcome, welcome, welcome back to yet another episode of Queer 101, the podcast, where we talk about any and everything under the sun, including queer art, queer culture, queer literature, queer whatever the hell we want, queer history, and of course, queer politics.
1:52
SPEAKER_05: I am Peppermint back, back, back again with yet another fabulous hot topic for today.
1:58
SPEAKER_05: It is voter rights and voter suppression.
2:02
SPEAKER_05: Now, listen, y'all, we're coming up on the midterms, and I think, look, it's just some shit I gotta share.
2:07
SPEAKER_05: Number one, a quick word for anyone who hasn't tuned in to this new season, season two yet.
2:14
SPEAKER_05: I'm changing things up a bit, obviously.
2:16
SPEAKER_05: Uh, I'm gonna be focusing on topics and guests that are really, really meaningful to me and hopefully meaningful to you too, or at least useful.
2:24
SPEAKER_05: And I've added a couple new segments to this series that I think are gonna be really fun as well.
2:29
SPEAKER_05: So you have to let me know in the comments what you think.
2:31
SPEAKER_05: And of course, I want this to be a conversation, more like a dialogue.
2:34
SPEAKER_05: So I want to hear from you.
2:36
SPEAKER_05: I want you to praise me, please me, drag me, tease me, whatever.
2:40
SPEAKER_05: Touch me, tease me.
2:43
SPEAKER_05: Uh it let me know if you disagree.
2:47
SPEAKER_05: Uh, or if you have any questions, because I'm here to try to find an answer, and we'll answer those questions together.
2:54
SPEAKER_05: Uh, of course, you can leave those all in the comments, or you can DM me or email me at queer101podcast at gmail.com.
3:05
SPEAKER_05: Now, before we jump into today's topics, I just wanted to mention something really, really quickly that is also very special.
3:12
SPEAKER_05: It is a wonderful book by uh my dear friend, Miss Jennifer Welsh of the uh I host uh co-host of the I've had it podcast, and it is called Not Today Fascists uh by Jennifer Welsh.
3:30
SPEAKER_05: Here it is, right here.
3:32
SPEAKER_05: Uh and I'm super duper duper excited about this book.
3:38
SPEAKER_05: I cannot wait to read it.
3:39
SPEAKER_05: Uh, Jennifer, if you don't know, is, as I said, one of the co-hosts of the I've had it podcast.
3:46
SPEAKER_05: These two ladies who have basically like become a firebrand in like a couple of years, like maybe a year and a half, really gotten out there.
3:54
SPEAKER_05: This book um I think is gonna be really, really useful.
3:57
SPEAKER_05: I one of the things that I've sort of witnessed about this lovely lady, both of the fabulous ladies uh of the podcast, because it's two fabulous ladies, is sort of their evolution.
4:09
SPEAKER_05: This is not necessarily self-described.
4:12
SPEAKER_05: I am observing.
4:15
SPEAKER_05: They were always, you know, liberal, sort of progressive, liberal women um who were really, really anti-Trump.
4:25
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and I think that was probably the seed that started the podcast.
4:28
SPEAKER_05: But now, as we're getting deeper into the fascism of it all, the fascistic nature of it all, uh many people, including these lovely ladies, are, and and this fabulous woman here, but both of them on the podcast, are seeing that, you know, like even the liberalism of yesterday, of yesteryear, is not gonna cut it.
4:51
SPEAKER_05: It's like a butter knife, and we need damn chainsaw.
4:54
SPEAKER_05: Uh, in term, you know, proverbial.
4:58
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and so I think that this book, in addition to saying all the fantastic things that she wants to say about the book or about her her journey and politics, which is surprised, that's mostly what the book is about.
5:11
SPEAKER_05: Um, I think we can observe a bit of an evolution in this lovely lady right here.
5:19
SPEAKER_05: I think she's fantastic.
5:20
SPEAKER_05: Uh, she is certainly guiding a lot of people who have yet, who maybe are afraid to speak out uh uh, you know, uh in ways that feel more radical than they really are.
5:34
SPEAKER_05: They might feel radical, but they are entirely necessary.
5:36
SPEAKER_05: And sometimes what radical is what is needed.
5:39
SPEAKER_05: So pick yourself up a copy of this book.
5:41
SPEAKER_05: Let's get this on the um New York Times bestseller list, which is really New York Times is really useless and pretty much uh state-run uh media, a propaganda rag for uh capitalists, but it does have the best-selling book.
5:58
SPEAKER_05: I mean, anything that sells, right?
6:00
SPEAKER_05: And so we want this to sell well, mostly because we want other people to be able to pick this up so that we can start to dismantle the system that keeps things like the New York Times afloat.
6:08
SPEAKER_05: And yes, New York Times, I'm coming for you.
6:10
SPEAKER_05: Uh and so get this book.
6:12
SPEAKER_05: And I'll okay.
6:14
SPEAKER_05: That being said, um now on to the topic of the day.
6:22
SPEAKER_05: Voting can feel frustrating, voting can feel imperfect, but I believe it still matters.
6:31
SPEAKER_05: It still can make a difference, it still can be a way, not the way, to exercise our and exercise our rights and at least let those in control and power, those in political power, those in positions of political power know that this is where we are, this is what we want.
6:57
SPEAKER_05: Political polling has taken place, has taken the has sort of like usurped that power, but I do think it's really important that I just don't want to be in a in a in a in a world or in a country in a United States where we have all the same systems that we have today, but we don't have the ability to vote, and that we just the only thing we have is protesting or or in being in the streets or what have you.
7:26
SPEAKER_05: I think we need to use all those things, and at certain times they're more relevant than voting, to be fair and to be honest.
7:34
SPEAKER_05: And then there's certain times where voting is more important.
7:37
SPEAKER_05: I would say on voting day, on election day, that's when voting really matters.
7:43
SPEAKER_05: Uh, but you can't vote effectively unless you are educated.
7:46
SPEAKER_05: That's my preamble.
7:48
SPEAKER_05: Um, so yeah, voting alone is definitely not gonna save us, but losing our rights puts marginalized communities in danger.
7:56
SPEAKER_05: And it also allows, you know, someone's gonna have take the mantle and use the power.
8:03
SPEAKER_05: And the people who are taking up, sucking up the oxygen in the room of political power right now are the capitalists, the corporatists, the corporations, the people who don't care, who really could care less, couldn't care less, uh, if we don't have a vote.
8:20
SPEAKER_05: Those are the same people that couldn't care less if you can't afford your life because they're not going to pay you a dollar more for whatever job that you are overworked and underpaid.
8:30
SPEAKER_05: So that's what I think.
8:33
SPEAKER_05: Um, and honestly, the same people trying to suppress the votes are usually the same exact people that are attacking trans rights, banning people from books, restricting health care, uh policing everybody's bodies.
8:46
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and I think that is one of the things we need to keep in mind is that, you know, it feels like it's just like the racists and the KKK coming for black people and people of color.
9:00
SPEAKER_05: It feels like it's just the bigots and the, you know, this the chauvinists and the sexists coming for women's rights and trans rights.
9:06
SPEAKER_05: But if you look at it like honestly, you know, on my side of the coin, I'm gonna show up for disability rights and for women's rights and for, you know, trans men's rights and for trans killed child killed, children's rights and and immigrant rights.
9:27
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna show up for all those things because I see that those things are all connected.
9:30
SPEAKER_05: So I can guarantee you that the people that are marching for white whites white pride month are the same people that are marching for straight pride month, and the same people that are marching for get the immigrants out of here month, and the same people that are going for Ban the Drag Queens book month.
9:47
SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
9:48
SPEAKER_05: Like they're I think they're all connected, and so we have to realize that.
9:53
SPEAKER_05: Um, and so again, voting is not the whole liberation strategy.
9:58
SPEAKER_05: It never was, but it is one of the tools that we are that we're trying to, you know, they're trying to really hard to take away from us.
10:06
SPEAKER_05: That's the first thing.
10:07
SPEAKER_05: Honey, they are trying everything in the book, and they are not even being secreted about it right now.
10:12
SPEAKER_05: Look, here's a clip of Donald Trump at a most re at a recent rally, uh, talking to his face.
10:17
SPEAKER_05: And first of all, you gotta ask yourself a question why is the president who's not actually literally up for election until 2028, in 2026, ahead of the midterms, campaigning and rallying for himself, but not even the people that are down ballot who are on the ballot in his party right now.
10:32
SPEAKER_05: That's the first thing.
10:33
SPEAKER_05: Uh, but anyway, at this rally, um, he was basically putting it all out there.
10:38
SPEAKER_05: Uh, this is what he had to say.
10:42
SPEAKER_01: And the problem that we have is they say that Trump does great when he's on the ballot, but when he's not on the ballot, his people don't come and they don't vote for senators, congressmen, and other Republicans.
10:57
SPEAKER_01: And that these people, they're running, they're great.
11:00
SPEAKER_01: But if Trump isn't actually on the ballot, so what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot.
11:09
SPEAKER_01: Just come and vote.
11:09
SPEAKER_01: It's so important.
11:12
SPEAKER_05: And so there you have it, honey.
11:14
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it it comes straight from the horse's mouth.
11:17
SPEAKER_05: He is ready to do what by any means necessary and also enlist and convince his followers to do the same.
11:24
SPEAKER_05: And the fun and the the the shame is that many of them will do it.
11:27
SPEAKER_05: If he says bum rush the the the capital or storm the voting places, they're gonna do it.
11:35
SPEAKER_05: And they're gonna I won't say they will achieve, but they're gonna do it in an effort to achieve for him what he I don't think has the whatever it takes to do himself.
11:49
SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
11:50
SPEAKER_05: If you want it done so bad, come on, baby.
11:52
SPEAKER_05: You run and go scale that wall.
11:54
SPEAKER_05: I don't think that's happening.
11:56
SPEAKER_05: But the point is the fact that they are trying to take these things from us and the fact that they're being so blatant, it should tell us something.
12:03
SPEAKER_05: That it's voter suppression.
12:07
SPEAKER_05: So voter suppression for the children in the room means creating barriers that just make it hard for certain people to vote.
12:18
SPEAKER_05: And the primary targets, historically and uh right about now, are black voters, indigenous voters, immigrant voters, Latino voters, young voters, disabled voters, poor and working class voters, which is ultimately the same thing, formerly incarcerated people who are historically in this country, all those groups I just mentioned, uh, trans and gender not conforming people, you know, this is these are the groups of people that are targeted.
12:50
SPEAKER_05: And sometimes it looks like quite literally dumping people off the voter registration um rolls, the voter rolls.
12:59
SPEAKER_05: Uh sometimes it looks like require a poll tax, which is what they have had throughout time, even impacting um uh uh in indigenous Americans, but then also uh certainly black Americans who were trying to vote during Jim Crow.
13:14
SPEAKER_05: Uh having a jar of jelly beans and asking them to guess how many jelly beans are in there.
13:18
SPEAKER_05: Even though they're registered, they've got their their everything they need to vote.
13:22
SPEAKER_05: They're registered, they're legal, they're they're all the things that you need.
13:26
SPEAKER_05: But we're gonna give you an extra hurdle.
13:29
SPEAKER_05: And when people couldn't do it, they were like, sorry, you can't vote.
13:32
SPEAKER_05: And honestly, I bet even if they could do it, they'll find another reason.
13:35
SPEAKER_05: Oh, you oh you did your shoelaces are untied.
13:38
SPEAKER_05: Whatever.
13:39
SPEAKER_05: Um, so doing everything from a poll tax uh for trans people right now, one of the things that we didn't really consider trans people and uh women and femmes who um are really one of the biggest groups that are going to be could be impacted.
13:55
SPEAKER_05: The SAVE Act has not passed, but I do believe that they will keep trying, Congress will keep trying over and over.
14:02
SPEAKER_05: Congress and the people behind Project 2025 will keep trying over and over again.
14:05
SPEAKER_05: Here's a quick video about um the Save Act, just so you know, the SAVE Act did not pass, but it they are trying and trying again.
14:13
SPEAKER_05: Here's a quick video about the SAVE Act.
14:16
SPEAKER_04: What is the Save America Act and why did the Britain Center call it the most restrictive voting bill ever?
14:23
SPEAKER_06: The Save Act is a bill that would require all American citizens to produce something like a passport or a birth certificate when they register to vote.
14:32
SPEAKER_06: Every time they register and when they re-register.
14:34
SPEAKER_06: Is that so bad?
14:36
SPEAKER_06: The core of this policy is a show your papers policy, and to demonstrate how bad it is, we have done research showing that more than 21 million Americans do not have ready access to those documents, which means that if the SAVE Act were law, which to be clear it is not, it would block millions of American voters from participating in our elections because they don't have ready access to those documents, perhaps because their current name does not match the name on those documents, and because they may be students or rural voters, or they may work multiple jobs that it would make it virtually impossible for them to obtain access to those documents, which are expensive, by the way.
15:17
SPEAKER_05: So you can see that like in trying to in attempting to pass a SAVE Act, which would require um uh enhanced um uh voter ID uh laws and more s restrictive identification laws in the first place, then people who have changed their name would be impacted.
15:40
SPEAKER_05: Now, this I want to be very clear that this has not passed, but this is, if anything, revealing of where they are.
15:48
SPEAKER_05: It is in Project 2025, and Project 2025, while uh mostly accomplished, is not a hundred percent finished.
16:00
SPEAKER_05: Many of the things like the Medicaid cuts that we are all dreading, um, the cuts to HIV services, the cuts, the the cuts to the federal uh workforce, all those things have already happened.
16:13
SPEAKER_05: Those things were at the beginning of Project 2025.
16:15
SPEAKER_05: We're about halfway through, and there's some things they were able to achieve, some things they weren't.
16:19
SPEAKER_05: I believe they will keep trying because there's already a project 2026 and a project 2028.
16:24
SPEAKER_05: Um, my point is though, um these groups are the ones that they are constantly attacking.
16:31
SPEAKER_05: So for trans people, enhancing the voter ID, I won't even say enhancing, putting stricter laws on your federal identification, like your passport, means that they can not only block you from voting if your I if they require a really, really, really enhanced federal ID system in order to vote every single time.
16:56
SPEAKER_05: Everyone has to give ID in order to register to vote.
16:59
SPEAKER_05: But showing up to vote and requiring an ID, uh requiring a passport, means that if you've never traveled out of the country and don't have a passport, you can't do it.
17:08
SPEAKER_05: If you haven't, um if you uh that what I should say that would cause problems for people who don't have a passport, it would also cause problems for people who've ever changed their names, according to what the Save Act would be.
17:19
SPEAKER_05: Save Act has not passed.
17:21
SPEAKER_05: I want to be very clear, it has not passed, as we saw in the video.
17:25
SPEAKER_05: However, these are the things that they are trying to do.
17:28
SPEAKER_05: And with some of these things, even though one bill they'll try to pile a bunch of things on in one bill, and if that doesn't pass, then they'll just take the bill apart, kind of like a demonic transformer, and then they'll just use the little pieces of the bill and try to pass those through in different at different times with different bills and different laws.
17:47
SPEAKER_05: Anyway, so my point is with the Save Act, with the proposals, the types of proposals that were present in the SAVE Act, uh, passports would be required for many, many people, and it would have to be your birth name, the name that you were originally given, which means if you've ever even changed your last name, then that would impact that's not your birth name.
18:10
SPEAKER_05: So that would impact people who've been married andor trans people and many others.
18:15
SPEAKER_05: Um requiring an official, like sort of brand new official updated uh ID uh for or b and or birth certificate or whatever um at the polls means that people who are like 99 years old or a hundred in 1926, black people in the South weren't even allowed to be born in the same hospital.
18:45
SPEAKER_05: So they did not get government issued documents.
18:49
SPEAKER_05: They weren't even allowed to go to school.
18:51
SPEAKER_05: The same the same schools, they didn't have the same access to the the federal systems of indoctrination.
19:00
SPEAKER_05: You know, they were 20, 30, 40 years removed from being classified as less valuable than a farm animal or a piece of furniture.
19:10
SPEAKER_05: They did not have, they were not, they were not born into a system that saw them as human, let alone as people that were worthy of voting.
19:20
SPEAKER_05: And so, you know, they didn't necessarily have or have a need for a typical ID, like many people.
19:30
SPEAKER_05: That not only impacts older people who from the South, perhaps, but also indigenous people from like First Nation people who were born into maybe in what they would call an Indian reservation or something like that, indigenous people uh in North America.
19:45
SPEAKER_05: And many they don't they have their own laws and their own self-determination in these very, very small areas, these small tribal areas that we've sort of corralled them in, even though this whole land is to is theirs, um, or certainly was theirs, and it still is, but it's not recognized in the same way.
20:06
SPEAKER_05: Uh, they have their own laws, they have their it's their own sovereign nations inside of the United States that are not a part of the United States.
20:15
SPEAKER_05: So they don't have the same necessarily the same government ID that we were that anybody who is born and a citizen of the continental United States um would have.
20:27
SPEAKER_05: I'm not saying that indigenous people are not citizens, they are the originals.
20:33
SPEAKER_05: I'm saying they might not get a birth certificate by the government or social security number or card in the same way that other people do.
20:42
SPEAKER_05: That's my point.
20:43
SPEAKER_05: So even even defunct attempts like the Save Act have really, really grave consequences.
20:52
SPEAKER_05: Um, so how do they do this?
20:53
SPEAKER_05: Like I said, stricter voter ID.
20:55
SPEAKER_05: They'll close polling places, they'll you know, close polling places forcing people to who still want to vote to have to go to other polling places.
21:03
SPEAKER_05: They'll change some of the polling addresses at the last minute.
21:07
SPEAKER_05: Last cycle, they mailed out a mailer to their target that they don't want to vote and said, Oh, voting day's changed.
21:14
SPEAKER_05: It's on the this other day.
21:16
SPEAKER_05: And people didn't get to vote because they went to the wrong place, the wrong time, things like that.
21:22
SPEAKER_05: Um, obviously, as I mentioned, voter roll purges, so they're voting.
21:25
SPEAKER_05: The names of voters are just like saying, you know what, all these people that are registered to vote, delete it all again, and now anybody who registers today can vote for, you know, things like that.
21:35
SPEAKER_05: Limits on mail-in voting, which uh there was a big attempt with the Supreme Court that did not pass, thank goodness, but they will try again.
21:42
SPEAKER_05: Disinf as we heard in the video, uh, disinformation, again, lying about areas, times, things like that, uh lying about candidates, um, intimidation at the polling places, asking ICE or other people in for uh immigration enforcement to show up.
22:00
SPEAKER_05: At the polling, they have no reason to do that.
22:02
SPEAKER_05: There's not there's no border at the polling site, but they're talking about having ICE run those places so that anyone who is undocumented would not feel safe to go just for voting.
22:16
SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
22:17
SPEAKER_05: Um felony disenfranchisement, you know, it's you know basically saying if you if you've been to jail, you can't you can't if you've ever been convicted of felony, you can't vote.
22:29
SPEAKER_05: And then what you do is you go out and convict everybody you don't want to vote for a felony.
22:34
SPEAKER_05: Simple.
22:35
SPEAKER_05: Then you can't then you can't be accused of anything.
22:38
SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
22:39
SPEAKER_05: Um, but again, people who've had name and gender marker changes or mismatches for trans voters.
22:44
SPEAKER_05: So if they can make it harder for people to vote, more difficult for people to vote, more costly, more time consuming, um, then we don't end up voting, and then they make it easier to legislate us out of public life.
22:57
SPEAKER_05: Then we just sort of exist here.
22:59
SPEAKER_05: And then the rules that they make for themselves govern over us.
23:04
SPEAKER_05: Us meaning the people who can't necessarily vote.
23:06
SPEAKER_05: So trans people also can face extra barriers at the polls.
23:10
SPEAKER_05: You know, if your ID doesn't match your name, your gender marker, uh, or your presentation, then you might just be afraid of being harassed or outed, you know.
23:19
SPEAKER_05: Um, also lack of transportation and housing instability or housing lack of stability with housing can be an issue.
23:27
SPEAKER_05: If people are also deep in poverty, then they may not be able to take off work from their one job if their boss threatens them, even though that's illegal as well.
23:36
SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, so people who are disabled in poverty or criminalized, you know, they may have difficulty accessing, you know.
23:44
SPEAKER_05: Also, anti-trans laws are being passed by elected officials, which means that, you know, elections shape the way that trans people's lives are experienced on a daily basis.
23:55
SPEAKER_05: And voting determines who makes decisions about things like gender-affirming care, public bathrooms, school policies, IDs, documentations, passports, hate crime protections, housing and employment rights, you name it, all those things are happening.
24:11
SPEAKER_05: And voter suppression has a very long history in the United States, as I mentioned, especially against black communities.
24:18
SPEAKER_05: And the tactics, they may change for the most part, but the goal is definitely the same.
24:23
SPEAKER_05: Protect power by limiting participation.
24:27
SPEAKER_05: The less people that vote, the easier it is to get your what your agenda through.
24:33
SPEAKER_05: And it could be a one-sided agenda.
24:36
SPEAKER_05: A uh a fuck you or you fuck you citizens bill.
24:41
SPEAKER_05: If you can't vote and they pass the fuck you citizens bill, what you gonna do?
24:46
SPEAKER_05: Okay?
24:47
SPEAKER_05: Suppression is honestly, it's not really about laws, it's about fear tactics and protecting power, as I mentioned.
24:55
SPEAKER_05: And so people may be told that their voting does not matter, that they're not eligible to vote, that the election is already decided, you know, what good is it?
25:04
SPEAKER_05: Voting is too dangerous, you know, you need certain documentations that you really don't need.
25:08
SPEAKER_05: You know, did you bring your mother's, your firstborn mother's, you know, original copy of her birth certificate from whatever?
25:16
SPEAKER_05: No, no, no.
25:17
SPEAKER_05: And for queer and trans communities, fear can be especially powerful if people are, you know, worried about being misgendered or embarrassed or harassed at the poll or even exposed, you know.
25:32
SPEAKER_05: And then you have to verify through like official election sources and well, I just think it's really important that we verify through official election sources and local voting rights groups because those are the ones that are going to be the most up to date.
25:47
SPEAKER_05: You yes, you can register.
25:49
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it's in this country now by the time you're watching this, it's too late to register.
25:54
SPEAKER_05: But for future reference, you know, don't go to Elon Musk's voting registration website.
26:03
SPEAKER_05: A, depending on where you live, it may not actually register you.
26:06
SPEAKER_05: B it will capture your information.
26:10
SPEAKER_05: And there's no reason that they need more than your name, your address, and your date of birth for voting.
26:16
SPEAKER_05: They don't need anything else in for for in this current iteration.
26:23
SPEAKER_05: Huh.
26:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
26:28
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
26:28
SPEAKER_05: I think it's um I wanted to kind of I wanted to review, it was really important for me to sort of go through at a really base level, baseline level, and address some of these things and make a little bit of a presentation for you about like the mechanics of voting, not necessarily the politics of voting in this episode, but more like the mechanics of it and what it takes.
26:51
SPEAKER_05: And one of the things that I would highly recommend, obviously beyond registering, hopefully you register right now, is the importance of having a voting plan.
27:03
SPEAKER_05: If you can, try to at least jot down, if not memorize, the names, the last names of the candidates that you want to vote for.
27:13
SPEAKER_05: And you know what?
27:14
SPEAKER_05: Like, if he's hot, if you've heard he's hung, fine, but that's not a reason to vote for them right now.
27:21
SPEAKER_05: We want to vote for people whose platforms, a you go to the website, b, you watch at least two interviews on different types of channels with them as being interviewed.
27:35
SPEAKER_05: Um, and then watch one of their speeches at their rallies, right?
27:41
SPEAKER_05: So go to the website, peruse their website, and look for your issues, issues that are important to you.
27:47
SPEAKER_05: Watch at least two interviews where they're being interviewed by someone and try to make it an adversarial interview.
27:55
SPEAKER_05: Not like one of those interviews on the morning show where they're like, Are you a good cook?
28:00
SPEAKER_05: I don't give a if they can cook.
28:03
SPEAKER_05: So don't watch that.
28:05
SPEAKER_05: Watch the ones where they're like, Well, we heard you said this, so what do you have to say about that?
28:09
SPEAKER_05: That is the vibe that you want in these interviews.
28:11
SPEAKER_05: Not because we want to see them being tortured, but we want to see them defend themselves and we want to see how they defend themselves.
28:17
SPEAKER_05: If they defend themselves with policy, and if they do good, you know, when the person's like, I heard that you're really not a vegan, and then they're like, You yes, I am a vegan, it doesn't really matter, but let me tell you who's speaking of vegans, people are having a hard time forwarding their groceries, and this is my plan on how to do that.
28:34
SPEAKER_05: That's the kind of official we want.
28:37
SPEAKER_05: So watch two interviews, two adversarial interviews, and then watch one of their speeches where they're just addressing, where they say what they want to say to their followers and supporters.
28:46
SPEAKER_05: Uh, all that is the bare minimum for every single office that you're gonna be voting for.
28:51
SPEAKER_05: Now, you may not have access to all those things, especially for some of the more local offices, and that's fine.
28:57
SPEAKER_05: But do as much as you can to educate yourself.
29:00
SPEAKER_05: And then also, if you can, talk to a friend about it.
29:03
SPEAKER_05: You know, voting is private for a lot of people, but like talk to a friend about it, see where they stand on the issues.
29:09
SPEAKER_05: And then, based on, you know, listen, if you and I are in the same state and there's only one politician who's running on Medicare for All, you don't have to ask me who I'm voting for.
29:20
SPEAKER_05: Just ask me what issues are important to me.
29:22
SPEAKER_05: And if I say, honey, a Medicare for All, then you already know who I'm voting for.
29:27
SPEAKER_05: It should be that simple.
29:28
SPEAKER_05: And that's what you should do.
29:30
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
29:32
SPEAKER_05: Okay, now is the time I got something to say.
29:37
SPEAKER_05: Speaking about voting, one of the things I think that I used to use in the 90s was my intuition and the vibes.
29:45
SPEAKER_05: I used to vote on intuition and vibes, which I think served us somewhat right, somewhat well, at least we thought so, moderately well.
29:54
SPEAKER_05: You know what?
29:55
SPEAKER_05: I have to be I have to be very honest.
29:58
SPEAKER_05: I was in, I was a youngster, I'll say that, when Bill Clinton was campaigning and running for presidency uh back decades, back, back, back, back.
30:13
SPEAKER_05: And I heard him talk a couple times, and granted, I was not a voting age, so don't even try it.
30:22
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
30:23
SPEAKER_05: I was a youngster, but you know, I remember doing this practice, this thing, this practicing for adulthood thing, where I would go into school the the next day and ask my friends, well, who are you voting for?
30:37
SPEAKER_05: Even though we're uh none of us were voting, because we just felt like we were participating in it.
30:43
SPEAKER_05: And that felt good at that age.
30:45
SPEAKER_05: And so, honey, I know that my mind was changed on Bill Clinton the minute he played that saxophone.
30:52
SPEAKER_05: And it's cliche and played out, and we've heard everybody say it.
30:54
SPEAKER_05: But honey, I gotta tell you, the black folks up in my house were like, uh-oh.
30:59
SPEAKER_05: And I think we had just never seen a politician do something like that before.
31:03
SPEAKER_05: So, on one hand, it felt, you know, accessible and real, and people just want to be connected with, right?
31:10
SPEAKER_05: As individuals, as humans.
31:12
SPEAKER_05: And you can connect with us on the issues and be like, I understand exactly where you're coming from, and I'm gonna, this is how I'm gonna fix it.
31:19
SPEAKER_05: Or you can be like, I listen to the same music as you.
31:22
SPEAKER_05: Both of those things feel good and might be convincing enough, depending on the situation and the voter, to get somebody to vote for you.
31:30
SPEAKER_05: I may have never gone to your website or heard you talk about a single policy, but honey, if you know how to do that rap, whatever the way, and you might do my favorite song, then I might be like, you know what?
31:40
SPEAKER_05: You're down, honey.
31:41
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna get you.
31:42
SPEAKER_05: So there's a lot of people that voted that way.
31:45
SPEAKER_05: And that is the 1992, like for me, that was my, you know, what is it, 1992, fifth, fifth or sixth grade, you know, self.
31:56
SPEAKER_05: Uh whatever.
31:57
SPEAKER_05: No, I don't know, what year?
31:59
SPEAKER_05: Bottom line is like, that was my middle school ass self.
32:03
SPEAKER_05: That was that, those were the tools that I was using.
32:05
SPEAKER_05: And I realized as an adult, I can't keep using the same tools that I was using in middle school to determine who's a good person to vote for.
32:13
SPEAKER_05: I was sold, hook, line, and sinker for Bill Clinton.
32:16
SPEAKER_05: People thought, people called him the first black president.
32:18
SPEAKER_05: That was what they called him.
32:19
SPEAKER_05: As ridiculous now, but especially considering what his legacy really is, but that I'm just saying those are the tools that we use.
32:29
SPEAKER_05: Times have changed.
32:30
SPEAKER_05: We cannot use those tools anymore.
32:32
SPEAKER_05: We cannot just go on the vibes.
32:33
SPEAKER_05: And I also think that those are the same types of tools that were used to nomin to elect the current president back then in 2016.
32:44
SPEAKER_05: Just sort of like m mostly vibes.
32:47
SPEAKER_05: And that's what we were using for most of the presidents, to be fair, right?
32:50
SPEAKER_05: We cannot, and I'm not just thinking about present the presidency here, we but we cannot just use these same tools.
32:57
SPEAKER_05: We have to advance our tools.
32:59
SPEAKER_05: The system and the policies and the the um the sort of motivations behind the candidates are more complex and more layered.
33:11
SPEAKER_05: So we need to be more complex and layered in our approach to voting.
33:16
SPEAKER_05: And that means we cannot just relay, rely on, oh, I like him.
33:20
SPEAKER_05: Like, I don't care.
33:22
SPEAKER_05: I can't I will vote for someone I hate as long as they are doing what they say they're gonna do and say that they and talk about and and and really, really tell the truth, speak truth to power.
33:38
SPEAKER_05: And right now, my um issues of choice are money out of politics, Medicare for all, healthcare for everybody, uh, housing, you know, and so on.
33:50
SPEAKER_05: Those are the two the two main things for me.
33:53
SPEAKER_05: Um and then there's more, obviously.
33:55
SPEAKER_05: And the more further we go down the list, the more that becomes a local issue.
33:59
SPEAKER_05: But my point is we need to use better tools.
34:03
SPEAKER_05: Back in the day, I would have just said, I'm a Democrat, so as long as they're Democrat, I'll just vote for them.
34:08
SPEAKER_05: And oh, I'm too tired.
34:10
SPEAKER_05: D, D, D, D, D, D, D, D, D, D, D, D, D.
34:14
SPEAKER_05: That could apply in more than one conversation.
34:16
SPEAKER_05: But the point is, Democrat, Democrat, Democrat, Democrat, Democrat, I'm done.
34:22
SPEAKER_05: Let's go to the restaurant.
34:23
SPEAKER_05: That was my approach.
34:24
SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
34:25
SPEAKER_05: Maybe, oh, oh, there's that girl, that's that name, you know, and that's it, name recognition.
34:31
SPEAKER_05: But we have to be more, we have to have a better approach to our voting.
34:36
SPEAKER_05: Because there's a lot of people with the D Democrat next to their name who we would never, who do who have never upheld liberal, let alone leftist or progressive values.
34:51
SPEAKER_05: People like Kristen Cinema, people like uh Joe Manchin, people that, and the new version of those two, which is like out of control, is um John Fetterman, right?
35:02
SPEAKER_05: And I think by now many people understand that John Fetterman is acting the opposite of how he was acting and the opposite of what he says he would be doing.
35:11
SPEAKER_05: He's certainly on the opposite party.
35:14
SPEAKER_05: Like he he sides more with Republicans and identifies more with Republicans most of the time, in my opinion.
35:21
SPEAKER_05: I don't vote for him and I don't have the ability to vote for him, uh, but I certainly would not.
35:27
SPEAKER_05: And so I think by the same token, there was a lot of people that were able to say, why didn't you see the signs with Graham Plattner?
35:35
SPEAKER_05: And granted, Grant Plattiner was ended up being very problematic.
35:41
SPEAKER_05: It was Grant Plattner was, we can agree that Graham Plattner, the Graham Plattner situation, the scandal was over sexual misconduct, an accusation of a credible accusation of sexual misconduct.
35:55
SPEAKER_05: What the problem I have with the situation and how it was handled is it was just an accusation.
36:00
SPEAKER_05: And while we do need to believe any any accusation and investigate any accusation, we need to have an investigation.
36:08
SPEAKER_05: If it's criminal, then there needs to be a criminal investigation.
36:12
SPEAKER_05: And I do think that people should pay their price and people should be held accountable.
36:16
SPEAKER_05: But if people should be, if we're gonna hold people to account, we really need to hold some them to account in in all the ways that matter, not just politically.
36:27
SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
36:29
SPEAKER_05: So that if someone's someone should be held to account whether they are running for election office or not, it really does feel like the only people who are paying, who do pay or pay the price or be held to account for their sexual misconduct are Democratic candidates.
36:46
SPEAKER_05: Even though we know that Democratic candidates are not the only people who may be involved in sexual misconduct, but the only ones whose careers have gone down the drain for sexual misconduct are if they are running as a Democrat.
36:58
SPEAKER_05: If they're running as a Republican, they're like, boo, I'm good to go.
37:01
SPEAKER_05: And they're like, oh shit, I can't wait to vote for that rapist.
37:04
SPEAKER_05: And so that's number one.
37:07
SPEAKER_05: With the whole Grand Platinum situation, I would like to have seen an arrest.
37:12
SPEAKER_05: I would have liked to have seen a court of law, a lawsuit, a, you know, I would have, where is that?
37:19
SPEAKER_05: That's the first thing.
37:20
SPEAKER_05: Second of all, the problematic part from the vote from the voter's perspective, or at least from the in the in the media's perspective, was he's committed sexual misconduct.
37:32
SPEAKER_05: He's accused of committing, credibly accused of committing sexual misconduct.
37:35
SPEAKER_05: But we know that sexual misconduct is not a disqualifier in American politics.
37:44
SPEAKER_05: Otherwise, the president would not be the president again.
37:48
SPEAKER_05: Sexual misconduct, we know, if we're being honest with ourselves, we don't care about sexual misconduct.
37:54
SPEAKER_05: We only care about we only pay it, we respond to it in terms of cancelization, cancellation, canceling, the cancel culture, if they're Democrat candidates.
38:07
SPEAKER_05: Because it's the most useful tool to eliminate a Democrat candidate.
38:11
SPEAKER_05: And the people who want to eliminate Democrat candidates are the ones who will do anything to stop Medicare for All, to stop money coming into politics.
38:23
SPEAKER_05: And so the people who hated Medicare for All really loved the fact that there could be credible allegations of sexual misconduct against a Democrat-elected official because they would never use that.
38:38
SPEAKER_05: Those same powers would not, have not, and will never use sexual misconduct as a reason to disqualify or remove a Republican candidate from the race.
38:49
SPEAKER_05: I've never seen it.
38:51
SPEAKER_05: I've never seen it.
38:52
SPEAKER_05: I've never seen someone say, this person raped this person, and everyone's like, well, we gotta get that person cancel them.
39:01
SPEAKER_05: When?
39:01
SPEAKER_05: Where?
39:02
SPEAKER_05: That's that's the first thing.
39:05
SPEAKER_05: Second of all, it's not, it was his problematic behavior and accusations that were his downfall, not his policy, not the fact that he wanted Medicare for all, not the fact that he wanted money out of politics.
39:18
SPEAKER_05: And we need to be very clear about that.
39:20
SPEAKER_05: Because then when we're going for someone else, right now the people in power will say, actually, we need to cancel anybody that's talking about Medicare for All because they might be a rapist.
39:32
SPEAKER_05: And that is ridiculous.
39:34
SPEAKER_05: We cannot have that.
39:35
SPEAKER_05: Second of all, or third of all, we have to stop using identity politics as the bastion for progressive values.
39:45
SPEAKER_05: Progressive values need to be humanity first.
39:50
SPEAKER_05: And to be fair, the history of racism, the history of sexism, the history of disability uh uh discrimination, the history of anti-immigration sentiment, the history of anti-Semitism, the history of uh anti-Muslim sentiment, and all of the other uh anti-trans sentiment, all of the other discriminations, the discrimination against these marginalized communities, when these communities are marginalized, how are they marginalized?
40:14
SPEAKER_05: They're marginalized by being sh disenfranchised from the system.
40:18
SPEAKER_05: They're don't not having fair access to jobs, not having fair access to voting, not having fair access to housing, not having fair access to the protections that make it physically safe for them to go move about and have physical safety, which is basically physical health, right?
40:34
SPEAKER_05: And so disenfranchising people from health, from jobs, from housing, from all these different things, that is what trans people are fighting against.
40:43
SPEAKER_05: That's what black people have been fighting against.
40:45
SPEAKER_05: That's what like all the disability community has been fighting against.
40:49
SPEAKER_05: Not having equal and fair access to the basics, to the ability to eat, have shelter, and do what you need to do.
40:58
SPEAKER_05: So we need a person that runs on that.
41:01
SPEAKER_05: Those are the people that we need to be electing, regardless of if they're black, if they're female, if they're this, if they're that, or that.
41:08
SPEAKER_05: But unfortunately, we're seeing time and time again that the leftists in the last cycle who were talking about Medicare for all and keeping our money in our country and not paying for genocide overseas, those people were attacked as what as um womanizers and racists and all these things.
41:30
SPEAKER_05: And then the very first, and I was told, don't support this person or that person because they might be transphobic or they might be against women.
41:38
SPEAKER_05: And that's what many of the Democrats and and supporters of Democratic candidates, centrist Democratic candidates, were saying.
41:44
SPEAKER_05: But then we turn around and the very first group of people to say, fuck trans people, fuck trans rights, fuck that.
41:52
SPEAKER_05: Maybe we do need to move to the right.
41:54
SPEAKER_05: Maybe we don't want to see trans people in sports.
41:56
SPEAKER_05: Maybe we trans people don't deserve gender affirming care.
41:59
SPEAKER_05: Maybe trans pe children should not be the people who were saying that the most have been the Democrats ever since Kamala lost.
42:08
SPEAKER_05: The very first thing the Democratic National Committee said was we were too woke.
42:14
SPEAKER_05: We were too supportive of trans people.
42:16
SPEAKER_05: They threw us under the motherfucking bus.
42:18
SPEAKER_05: And then six months later, Gavin Newsom's on his podcast with Nick Fuentes, chumming it up with him, agreeing with him, with Charlie Kirk, agreeing with him, saying, yeah, trans people are the problem.
42:42
SPEAKER_05: Not verbatim, but agreeing with his stance on trans people and agreeing that trans people do not deserve X, Y, and Z.
42:51
SPEAKER_05: When we were told, and there was a huge backlash against Hassan Piker for saying he might not vote for trans uh for trans for Gavin Newsome, he he would not vote for Gavin Newsome.
43:04
SPEAKER_05: And he he explained why and extrapolated why.
43:07
SPEAKER_05: People were up in arms and saying, you're so anti-trans for saying that you're not going to vote for Gavin Newsom.
43:14
SPEAKER_05: And then Gavin Newsome was like, actually, I'm anti-trans too.
43:18
SPEAKER_05: We cannot be voting for supporting these centrists who time and time again show us that cosing up to power and closing up to the right and moving to the right is their way of doing it.
43:30
SPEAKER_05: I'm talking about Buddha J.
43:32
SPEAKER_05: I'm talking about Harris.
43:33
SPEAKER_05: I'm talking about Newsom.
43:35
SPEAKER_05: I'm talking about here we are right here.
43:39
SPEAKER_05: Newsom, uh who Newsom.
43:41
SPEAKER_05: Harris and Sarah Longwell.
43:43
SPEAKER_05: Harris is to uh uh uh Liz Cheney, as Sarah Longwell is to uh Tom Morello.
43:52
SPEAKER_05: Here we go, right here.
43:53
SPEAKER_05: This conversation right here that we have these centrists who used to be.
44:00
SPEAKER_05: Or are still Republicans chumming around with the black person that they pick in order to do what?
44:13
SPEAKER_05: I don't know, other than getting that black person to move more to the right.
44:18
SPEAKER_05: And suddenly that black person saying, Yeah, fuck them trans people.
44:24
SPEAKER_05: We don't need that.
44:25
SPEAKER_05: So if you are a Democratic elected official, watch out because if you are the kind of person that decides to move to the right, we're not gonna be having it.
44:35
SPEAKER_05: What we're seeing from the liberal allies, the people who we were taught will and grace.
44:43
SPEAKER_05: How much more liberal ally could you have gotten?
44:49
SPEAKER_05: But the problem is liberal is performative and it's not really progressive.
44:56
SPEAKER_05: Because if it were, Deborah Messing would not be endorsing a Republican gubernatorial candidate.
45:07
SPEAKER_05: Like right here.
45:09
SPEAKER_05: She is has endorsed against uh Kathy Hokel, New York's governor who's up for re-electment or re-election, Bruce Blakeman.
45:24
SPEAKER_05: Now, listen, darling.
45:26
SPEAKER_05: Governor Hokel is on warning to Miss Missy, okay?
45:32
SPEAKER_05: But not because she doesn't care about queers or blacks or this or that.
45:37
SPEAKER_05: I don't even know how she feels about it.
45:39
SPEAKER_05: But she has not been anti-trans overtly.
45:44
SPEAKER_05: Her policies that she support may be harmful, and that's another conversation.
45:48
SPEAKER_05: But that's usually because politicians often cozy up to corporate power.
45:53
SPEAKER_05: But this kind of bullshit shows that when the going gets tough, these people get Republican.
46:02
SPEAKER_05: And so we need to really be rethinking who our allies are.
46:20
SPEAKER_05: We were in an era as LGBTQ people where we were valuing the voices of allies over the voices of the people who were actually a part of the community.
46:28
SPEAKER_05: And we were val and we were worshiping, frankly, the celebrity of heterosexual white people who were not a part of the community, but were famous and really, really um intertwined in Hollywood.
46:43
SPEAKER_05: And we and we were worshiping that because what we wanted to do was get more visibility within Hollywood.
46:49
SPEAKER_05: And in order to do that, we had to give awards to people who tolerated us.
46:54
SPEAKER_05: I wonder if we knew as a community that Deborah Messing would be turning around and endorsing Bruce Blakeman if we would still think that she's worthy of that, of the accolades from our community.
47:06
SPEAKER_05: When we could have given that to somebody who's been in the trenches and can't leave the trenches in the community.
47:14
SPEAKER_05: And so I just wanted to point out that come 2026, next month when we vote, next week when you vote, and 2028, we cannot use the same tools that you used when you were a teenager or five years ago.
47:28
SPEAKER_05: We have to figure out which policies will save your ass and connect those policies to the candidates who are diehard talking about them things Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 9 to 5 or 11 to whatever, the all 24-7.
47:50
SPEAKER_05: Those are the candidates.
47:51
SPEAKER_05: And I don't care what that candidate looks like, who they sleep with, what the I don't even care if they say they can't stand trans people.
47:59
SPEAKER_05: If they they hate trans people, I'll vote for them.
48:03
SPEAKER_05: If they say I hate, and I said this on the last thing, if they say I hate trans people, but I want every single trans person to have free health care and all the different things, that's the person that I want to vote for.
48:17
SPEAKER_05: And so I think it is really, really key that we stay on that because that is who is that is what is going to be the most effective vote.
48:25
SPEAKER_05: Not the one that votes for the saxophone guy because he could play saxophone or I like her hair.
48:31
SPEAKER_05: We can't take that style anymore.
48:33
SPEAKER_05: And just because they wear an LGBT pride shirt, or you saw them at a pride parade once, is not enough.
48:40
SPEAKER_05: Bitch was on a TV show that was at the at the time the bastion of LGBTQ visibility.
48:49
SPEAKER_05: And now look.
48:52
SPEAKER_05: So get it together, y'all.
48:55
SPEAKER_05: Fuck that.
49:01
SPEAKER_05: Now, don't wait until election day to find out that there's a barrier.
49:05
SPEAKER_05: Make a plan now.
49:06
SPEAKER_05: Check your voter registration very early.
49:10
SPEAKER_05: Make sure your ID requirements are understood in your state because they could be changing.
49:15
SPEAKER_05: Make a voting plan, vote with friends, where to vote, when to vote, how to get there, what documents you're going to need to bring, because the rules are constantly changing.
49:23
SPEAKER_05: So I say look it up now and then look it up the day you go to vote.
49:26
SPEAKER_05: Make a plan with someone else, volunteer, you know, for a voter protection or ride to the polls groups, things like that.
49:32
SPEAKER_05: Like if you can service your own community, I've done that from time to time, then you need to, then you need to, if you've got the ability to, you know.
49:42
SPEAKER_05: If you have a car and you can transport some people, things like that, please do it.
49:47
SPEAKER_05: Let's get everyone out.
49:48
SPEAKER_05: This is what it means to get everyone out.
49:50
SPEAKER_05: Support local organizations that are fighting voter suppression.
49:53
SPEAKER_05: And if you're trans or your ID doesn't match, just know your rights before going to vote.
49:58
SPEAKER_05: That's key.
49:59
SPEAKER_05: In your state, in your municipality.
50:04
SPEAKER_05: We have to take this.
50:06
SPEAKER_05: We have to take it smart.
50:08
SPEAKER_05: So, in closing, you know, honestly, they're really counting on our exhaustion and our fear and our silence.
50:15
SPEAKER_05: So do your homework, y'all.
50:17
SPEAKER_05: And it's simple.
50:18
SPEAKER_05: Check your registration, know your rights, make a plan, and bring somebody with you who can fight.
50:24
SPEAKER_05: No.
50:25
SPEAKER_05: Don't, I don't, I'm not calling for violence.
50:29
SPEAKER_05: I'm not saying I don't endorse it, but I'm not calling for it.
50:31
SPEAKER_05: Uh voting is definitely not perfect, but it is powerful enough that the people who are spending millions are trying to stop certain communities from doing it.
50:40
SPEAKER_05: And that is why we need to fight back as hard as we can and know our stuff better than they know it.
50:50
SPEAKER_05: So thank you all for tuning in, coming back, and supporting.
50:54
SPEAKER_05: Um, I'll be here every single week.
50:56
SPEAKER_05: And I hope you will be too.
50:57
SPEAKER_05: So please share this with your friends.
50:59
SPEAKER_05: Please just click a like, interact with the buttons down below, comment, subscribe.
51:04
SPEAKER_05: Tell me, you know, like where you're voting from.
51:07
SPEAKER_05: Are you in Michigan or Florida?
51:08
SPEAKER_05: Are you excited about Abdul Al-Sayed?
51:10
SPEAKER_05: Are you excited about Angie Nixon in Florida?
51:13
SPEAKER_05: I am, honey, I I would I don't I don't go to Florida right now, but I dagged on it, I would vote for Angie Nixon in a heartbeat.
51:24
SPEAKER_05: I think she is demonstrating some of the some of what we need.
51:31
SPEAKER_05: I want to leave you with a video here.
51:33
SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, thinking about what I want our elected officials to do and what how I want them to be.
51:39
SPEAKER_05: I want them to be for the people, and I want them to fight for the corporations fight for the corporations.
51:44
SPEAKER_05: I want them to fight for the people as hard as our current elected officials fight for the corporations and the corporate entities.
51:50
SPEAKER_05: And so here's a mayor out of Saint Denis, Saint Danis, San Danis, France, uh, Mayor Bali Bagayoko.
51:59
SPEAKER_05: Uh this is the energy that we want our elected officials to have.
52:03
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna leave you with this.
52:46
SPEAKER_05: Produced and edited by Josh Rosenfine.
52:48
SPEAKER_05: Original music composed by Nell Balaban.
52:52
SPEAKER_05: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast.
52:57
SPEAKER_05: And while you're there, leave a rating and review.
53:00
SPEAKER_05: It really helps others discover the show.
53:02
SPEAKER_05: Stay connected and join the conversation by following us on CoverMint247 on all socials and at Pridehouse Media or email us at queer101podcast at gmail.com.
53:15
SPEAKER_05: See you next week.