1 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: Good morning, peeps, and welcome to Okay at Daily with 2 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: Meet your Girl Danielle Moody, once again recording from the 3 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: Brooklyn Bunker. Folks, I want to thank you all so 4 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 1: much for your kind messages and notes while I was 5 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: on vacation, finally taking my own advice and getting some 6 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: much needed rest and vitamin d um. I also really 7 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: loved the fact that you guys enjoyed the content that 8 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,480 Speaker 1: I left behind for you while I was away, particularly 9 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: the Dinner for One episode, which seemed to spark a 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: lot of conversation. And I'm really happy about that and 11 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: we will be sure to have Lauren back on the show. 12 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: But what a fucking week to return to my God, 13 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: So let me kick things off with starting my thoughts 14 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: on the oscars. Okay, so, folks, um coming up later 15 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: in the show, I have a guest on, a new 16 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,759 Speaker 1: guest that has not been on the show before, and 17 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: so I'm really excited to bring you their perspective. Kara 18 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: Ready is the director of the Disability Association for Journalists 19 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: and has worked in a variety of newsrooms from CNN 20 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: to NPR, MSNBC and others. And I wanted to have 21 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: Kara on the show because you know the incident that 22 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 1: occurred at the Oscars. And if by now you don't know, 23 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: I don't know where you have been. But so let 24 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: me give you a quick remix. During Chris Rocks I 25 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: guess set conversation his joke set, he decided to make 26 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: a very, in my humble opinion, disrespectful joke about Jada 27 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: Pinkett Smith, Will Smith's wife, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett 28 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: Smith were there at the Oscars. Why because Will Smith 29 00:01:55,520 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: was nominated for his Best Actor role in King Richard, 30 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: which he would later win that night after he smacked 31 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: the shit out of Chris Rock on national television for 32 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: making a joke about Jada Pinkett's hair. Now, let me 33 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: start to preface something right off the bat, which is this, 34 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: if you are not from the community that is the 35 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: butt of a joke, you don't get to say whether 36 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: or not something should just roll off of people's backs, 37 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: or whether or not they should just laugh at their 38 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: own pain, in their own trauma. The fact is this, 39 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: Jada Pinkett Smith has been very public about her battle 40 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 1: with alopecia, a immune disorder that has people's hair fall 41 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: out right and for some people who I've seen on 42 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: social media. It has shocked me, frankly that people are 43 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: just so cavalier with saying losing your hair is not 44 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:00,040 Speaker 1: a big deal. First of all, you can go so 45 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: far back into the fucking Bible, if that is your 46 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: religion of choice, where the woman's hair, women's hairs talked 47 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: about as their crown and their glory and all of 48 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: these things. We can also go back into history to 49 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 1: talk to you about the ways in which black women's hair, 50 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: body demeanor have been policed over the course of history. 51 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: I can't think of a time when black women's hair 52 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:32,119 Speaker 1: hasn't been the subject of somebody's joke, commentary, or abuse. Right, 53 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: And for Chris Rock, a man who actually did an 54 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: entire fucking movie entitled Good Hair talking about the politicization 55 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: of black women's hair, to make that joke at Jada 56 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: Pinkett's expense made no fucking sense. So do I condone violence, No, 57 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: But do I understand it apps a fucking lutely. I 58 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: do what I have said to Will Smith to tarnish 59 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: or to you know, distract people from your historic win 60 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: the first time ever for a long overdue Oscar. Yeah, 61 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: wasn't the best choice. Right, You could have used the 62 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: opportunity during your acceptance speech to fucking roast Chris Rock, right, 63 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: and that would have been acceptable and okay. But you know, folks, 64 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: here's the thing too. You never know what people are 65 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: battling with and what they are dealing with and what 66 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: will push them over the edge. And that is just facts. Again, 67 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: am I condoning violence? No, But I also say that 68 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,600 Speaker 1: if you've been paying attention over the past couple of years, 69 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: the Smiths have been in the news for a whole 70 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,479 Speaker 1: host of things, and they have also been the butts 71 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 1: of many jokes, even when they're trying to be their 72 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: most authentic selves. Share their vulnerabilities, share their indiscretions, to 73 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: open up conversations about open marriages, entanglement, all of these things. 74 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: They have brought it to their Red Talk table conversations. Right. 75 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:10,600 Speaker 1: Will Smith sat there while Jada Pinkett Smith was talking 76 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 1: about her entanglement, her affair with a much younger man. 77 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: We made memes about his pain. Right. So again, I'm 78 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: not condoning violence, but you have to understand that there's 79 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: only so much that people can take. And also for 80 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: those people that want to say that, oh, because of 81 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: their wealth and because of their fame, again, they should 82 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: just allow things to roll off their back and turn 83 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: the other cheek. Give me a fucking break, right, because 84 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: what we have seen over the course of the last 85 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: several years, as we've had more open conversations about mental health, 86 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:50,919 Speaker 1: about depression, about anxiety, particularly in these COVID times, during 87 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: this pandemic, where mental health and those conversations have been 88 00:05:54,640 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: at the forefront, you know, to just dismiss people's feelings 89 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:03,799 Speaker 1: and their emotions because they have money, to me, makes 90 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:07,599 Speaker 1: absolutely no sense because there are many celebrities that have 91 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: used their fame and their platform to advance conversations that 92 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: wouldn't have happened without them. And so again my problem 93 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: with what went down is this, I find it very 94 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: difficult to laugh at jokes at the expense of other people, 95 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: particularly people from marginalized communities. Alopecia, which is not something 96 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: that I know a whole lot about, But thanks to 97 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: the very openness of Congresswoman Ayana Pressley, thanks to the 98 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: openness of Jada Pinkett Smith, I have learned more right 99 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: about this immune disorder, about how it affects women, particularly 100 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: when society has wrapped up our femininity and our value 101 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 1: by what grows out of our head, and particularly for 102 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: Black women who have either had to iron their hair, 103 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,720 Speaker 1: their hair weave their hair in order to meet European 104 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: expressions of beauty. Right, as a black man, Chris Rock 105 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: should have fucking known better than to talk about a 106 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: black woman's hair, particularly one that is actually suffering from 107 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: a health disorder. So to make the comparison to a 108 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: movie where the woman in the movie Gijan made the 109 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: choice to cut off her hair as opposed to what 110 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: Jada Pinkett Smith has been dealing with, was just absurd 111 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: on its face, right. But my other issue is with 112 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: people's lack of fucking nuance and to understand the layers 113 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 1: and the complexities that were at play, right, Because to me, 114 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 1: there is also something else that many people have been 115 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: talking about, which is this toxic masculinity. Right. Why does 116 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: love right or defense of a woman have to look 117 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: like violence? Right? Why did Will Smith feel the need 118 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: to get it up out of his seat to knock 119 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: another man out, which he didn't. He slapped him, open 120 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: hand slap, Because let's be honest, if Will Smith actually 121 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: wanted to cause real damage to Chris Rock other than 122 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: his ego. He could have right, but he did not, 123 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: so that was also a calculated decision. But again, we're 124 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: talking about the issues of emotions and masculinity and toxicity 125 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: and what a man should do in defense of his 126 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 1: woman and all of these things, and not taking into 127 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: consideration all of the different layers and the nuances that 128 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: were at play is just, I don't know, intellectually dishonest 129 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: right at this point. And so you can see more 130 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: of my thoughts at Zora Magazine, where I wrote a 131 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 1: piece entitled in Defense of Black Women, And what I 132 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: did is start out with a very well known and 133 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: very well quoted speech from Malcolm X from nineteen sixty two, 134 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: right with regard to the fact that the most unpre 135 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: unprotected right and lack of care for person in this 136 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: country is the black woman. And you can't point to 137 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: something and tell me otherwise. So I'd love to hear 138 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,959 Speaker 1: your thoughts on my piece, But now I want to 139 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: make the transition to talking about somebody else's wife, who 140 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 1: should actually be in the fucking news and who should 141 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: be on everybody's fucking lips and is not because we 142 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: are so invested in the slap that we are not 143 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: looking at who is slapping the shit out of our 144 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,079 Speaker 1: fucking democracy right now, which is, Oh, I don't know 145 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: the Thomas is. So let's transition to this married couple 146 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 1: while I was on vacation, Clarence Thomas's wife, right, Jinny Thomas. 147 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:53,920 Speaker 1: It was brought to the attention of the world. Not 148 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 1: only was Jinny which I can't stand that fucking name, 149 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: like I want to change the car into Jinny now 150 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: because of her. But anyway, I digress. Jenny found herself 151 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: at the insurrection on January sixth, and she said that 152 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,560 Speaker 1: she was there in support of her president. Now, one 153 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: would assume that a sitting Supreme Court justice should not 154 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: have their spouse right be at any type of political rally, 155 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: let alone one that is based on a fucking lie. 156 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,199 Speaker 1: And you would assume that if your husband or your 157 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: wife is a sitting member of the Supreme Court, then 158 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,320 Speaker 1: the Constitution wouldn't be something that is foreign to you, right. 159 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: But as it turns out, Jenny Thomas wasn't just at 160 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: the insurrection, She wasn't just at the rally listening to 161 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: the speeches, but she actually helped fund the buses of 162 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: the protesters who would later shit in the Capitol building 163 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: and steal right and try and, oh, I don't know, 164 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: thwart our entire electoral process. An overturn an election that 165 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: sounds like, what's the word I'm looking for, Oh, a crime. 166 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:15,679 Speaker 1: It sounds like a fucking crime that the Department of 167 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: Justice you would think would be active in investigating. But still, 168 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: as of yet we hear crickets from Merritt Garland's fucking 169 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: Department of Justice. Now, riddle me this. Justice Thomas was 170 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:39,439 Speaker 1: also get this, ladies and gentlemen, the soul vote against 171 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: Donald Trump releasing his correspondence during the insurrection. Now we 172 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:52,560 Speaker 1: should all be wondering why was that? Why was Clarence 173 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: Thomas so against the release of that information? Could it be, 174 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:01,560 Speaker 1: as it turns out, that Jenny Thomas was doing back 175 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:06,240 Speaker 1: and forks, back and forth text messages between herself and 176 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, who was also 177 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: actively writing statements and letters to the Department of Justice 178 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: to get them to overturn or at least put out 179 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: some type of statement that would lead us to believe 180 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:26,440 Speaker 1: that the election was fraudulent, and then Donald Trump would 181 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: quote unquote take it from there, folks, the amount of 182 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:38,120 Speaker 1: fucking evidence that is staring Merrick Garland's Justice Department in 183 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:44,120 Speaker 1: the face, the amount of information that we have received 184 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: from the over five hundred people interviewed by the House 185 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: Commission on the insurrection. Now we see reports that they 186 00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: would like to write the House won six Commission would 187 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 1: like to request an interview with Jenny Thomas. And I'm 188 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: thinking to myself self, if this were the other way around, 189 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 1: and Democrats had caused an insurrection where Democrats had their 190 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: followers be a part of the killings and the abuse 191 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: of police officers, right, that Republicans would not be requesting 192 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 1: so nicely for an interview. That instead, oh, I don't know, 193 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 1: they would do the same type of aggressive shit that 194 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:47,479 Speaker 1: they did with Benghazi, which turned up with zero indictments, 195 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 1: but that they would make it known to the world 196 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 1: what exactly was happening Democrats. On the other hand, though, 197 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: I'm looking around and I'm saying, how much more fucking 198 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:03,560 Speaker 1: information do we need here from Merrick Garland to act 199 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: like he has a goddamn spine? How much more do 200 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:12,079 Speaker 1: we need to know to understand that our Supreme Court 201 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: is fucking compromised? Right? That our Department of Justice seems 202 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: to be compromised, and that there is no push or 203 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: emphasis coming out of the Biden administration to actually do 204 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: any fucking thing about it. That once again, here we 205 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: have more money and resources and energy going to Ukraine 206 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: and preserving their democracy and none of that same energy 207 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: going to preserve the United States. Now let me say 208 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 1: this because while I was away, I did a post 209 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: on TikTok, which, by the way, folks, I'm on the 210 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: TikTok's now, so go and follow me. But I did 211 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 1: a post on ti talk saying that, you know, in 212 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: response to Biden's speech in Poland, which he then had 213 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: to walk back once again and apologize for saying that 214 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: there needs to be a regime change in Russia and 215 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: that Putin needs to be removed, which, by the way, 216 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 1: every fucking person on this planet believes. But as we know, 217 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 1: words that come out of the mouth of the President 218 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 1: of the United States carry more weight. But here's also 219 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: the reality. Do you know how many fucking regime changes 220 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 1: that the United States has orchestrated over the last two 221 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: hundred and plus fucking years A lot, so for us 222 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,560 Speaker 1: again to feign shock and outrage like, oh my god, 223 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 1: people should be decided, be able to decide their own leaders. Yeah, 224 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: we'll talk to the people of Haiti, of Venezuela, of Columbia, 225 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: of Nicaragua, all of the places where the United States 226 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: has gone in and put in their own fucking presidents 227 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:03,320 Speaker 1: and prime ministers in order to better right position themselves 228 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: in geopolitical world, in the geopolitical world, and in warfare. Right, 229 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 1: look at what happened in Afghanistan, look at what's happened 230 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 1: in Syria, in all of these places, I mean the 231 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 1: lists of the ways in which the United States has 232 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: stuck its nose in other people's business. So for there 233 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: to be feigned outrage that the United States could never 234 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: or would never just once again shows us that the 235 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: history that we are teaching our children and have been 236 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:38,280 Speaker 1: taught ourselves has been based in the overall gaslight right, 237 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: which is to say that America is beyond reproach, that 238 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: we are all the good guys going around the world 239 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 1: to preserve democracy, and that it doesn't have anything to 240 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: do with the advancement of our own capitalistic interests. Folks, 241 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 1: it's exhausting. The bullshit is exhausting me. It's why I 242 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: needed to take a vacation. And even as I'm listening 243 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,320 Speaker 1: to people say that, oh my god, the president, those 244 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 1: nine words that he said, those nine words were a travesty. 245 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 1: And I'm listening to Republicans. Republicans have the audacity to 246 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: say what exactly that, Oh my god, Presidents shouldn't say 247 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 1: things that people find offensive, when in fact, you hold 248 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,920 Speaker 1: up Donald Trump, who won couldn't put together a cohesive 249 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:26,399 Speaker 1: sentence if he had a gun to his head, but 250 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,160 Speaker 1: also has said some of the most offensive shit, namely 251 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 1: wanting to tweet out potential nuclear war to North Korea. 252 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: Do people not remember that? Right? But again, America's memory 253 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 1: is like that of a gnat. Folks, Here's the thing. 254 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: Clarence Thomas needs to be investigated. Jinny Thomas needs to 255 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: be investigated. Mark Meadows needs to be investigated. John Eastman 256 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: is going to be investigated because a federal judge has 257 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: said that he needs to release over one hundred emails 258 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,000 Speaker 1: right that are that are still sitting over four hundred 259 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: days removed from the insurrection on this motherfucker's laptop. My 260 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:19,120 Speaker 1: question is about this sense of urgency, is about the 261 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:21,800 Speaker 1: clock that we are on as we count our way 262 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,520 Speaker 1: down to midterms, and in all honesty, Democrats have nothing 263 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: to show. The last thing that I will say for 264 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: today is that President Biden also released his budget. And 265 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: when I tell you that, the only thing that I 266 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,120 Speaker 1: needed to see in that budget that almost made me 267 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 1: turn absolutely green and want to vomit is the increase 268 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 1: in funding, increase in funding for police and the military 269 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:02,200 Speaker 1: from previous budgets. So when Joe Biden found himself saying 270 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: we don't need to defund the police, we need to 271 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:09,400 Speaker 1: fund the police during his State of the Union, oh 272 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,919 Speaker 1: he meant that shit because he's giving them more of 273 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:17,679 Speaker 1: our tax dollars to kill more of us. Right, there's 274 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 1: no police reform bill. We didn't get rid of qualified immunity, 275 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,040 Speaker 1: but we're giving them more money so that they can 276 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 1: go around and play g I Joe and kill us 277 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 1: without any accountability or responsibility. So to the very people, 278 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,719 Speaker 1: the black people that put Joe Biden's ass in the 279 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:43,440 Speaker 1: White House, that was, sir, a giant fuck you. So 280 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:45,919 Speaker 1: if you think that folks aren't going to return the 281 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: favor in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty four, you 282 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: are absolutely fucking tripping and Here's the thing that I 283 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,440 Speaker 1: will say. I tell people to vote all the time. 284 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: I will absolutely vote, and I will vote for Democrats, 285 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: but let me be very clear, I understand people who won't. 286 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:09,320 Speaker 1: Coming up next my conversation with Kara, I really really 287 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,800 Speaker 1: hope that you take some really good nuggets away from 288 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: that conversation and let me know in the comment section 289 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:20,760 Speaker 1: what you thought about the Oscars fiasco and how you 290 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 1: are feeling now a couple of days removed, folks, I 291 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,639 Speaker 1: am very excited to welcome to woke f for the 292 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 1: first time, Kara Ready, who is the director of Disay 293 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:40,119 Speaker 1: of the Disabled Journalist Association. Kara, I am really happy 294 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:45,160 Speaker 1: to talk to you today. You know, removed from the 295 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,640 Speaker 1: OSCARS twenty twenty two. Who knew that it was going 296 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: to provide such fodder and layered conversation given the alto 297 00:20:55,920 --> 00:21:00,880 Speaker 1: physical altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock Um after 298 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,280 Speaker 1: Chris rock made what I will use in quotations as 299 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 1: a joke UM about Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith's wife, 300 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 1: Um and her hair and her appearance, UM saying that 301 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:18,119 Speaker 1: she looks ready for g I Jane two, Um, I 302 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:22,160 Speaker 1: want to talk to you, particularly about what were your 303 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:25,720 Speaker 1: initial reactions, uh, if you were watching it live or 304 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: you saw it you know, um via you know after 305 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 1: after the fact via video like I did, um what 306 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:35,399 Speaker 1: were your thoughts? Uh? And how how did it land 307 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:39,560 Speaker 1: with you? So I have a I have a history 308 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: with Chris Rock actually, um, he's He's known to me 309 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: as someone who is willing to throw out ablest jokes, jokes, 310 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: quotation marks without like no, with no feeling or thought 311 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,359 Speaker 1: about it. So when whenever I see him on screen, 312 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 1: I'm always like, oh oh, and then he did it 313 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:08,440 Speaker 1: and I was like, oh oh, Because you know, there's 314 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:09,920 Speaker 1: a lot of people that are like, well, no one 315 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: knew he had she had alopecia. Well, does not knowing 316 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: someone have alopecia make it okay for you to comment 317 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: about their physical appearance? Why is that an okay position 318 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:29,439 Speaker 1: to have? First of all, disability, We don't know a 319 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 1: lot of people are invisibly disabled a lot. Yeah, and 320 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:37,040 Speaker 1: so we have no idea what people are dealing with. 321 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: And so if that's all you can do is make 322 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: fun of the way people look, then like where is 323 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,480 Speaker 1: the camp? Where's the skill? And you know, I've been 324 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 1: in comedy circles. I did the improv circuit, and I 325 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 1: had a lot of improv bros say to me, don't 326 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: you don't understand. I'm like, right, because when I'm on 327 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,879 Speaker 1: stage with you, you always want to make fun of 328 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: my height. I'm a dwarf. Make fun of my height 329 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: because it's easy for you. And usually it's the guys 330 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 1: that aren't that funny yep, who immediately were like, I'm uncomfortable. 331 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: I'm not landing jokes. I know what will I know 332 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:22,480 Speaker 1: what will land a joke? I'll make a midget joke 333 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 1: because she's right here and you know, and people are like, well, 334 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:30,120 Speaker 1: it was just off the cuff, But why is not 335 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,639 Speaker 1: always what comes out of his head off the cuff? Yew? 336 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: Does that say about you and your talent and people? Kara, 337 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: you don't know, you don't know. I do actually know, 338 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 1: and I've had I had a conversation with him into 339 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: the mall and a mall once because he texted or 340 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:55,919 Speaker 1: he tweeted. Right after Hillary Clinton got the nomination in 341 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, he tweeted something, well, now a lesson being 342 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,679 Speaker 1: midget can be on the ticket now that we have 343 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:09,960 Speaker 1: a woman. Now I'd already had a problem with him 344 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,679 Speaker 1: because in his Bigger and Blacker special he said that 345 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 1: Stevie Wonders should be allowed a pet midget to walk 346 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:22,760 Speaker 1: him around. So this is someone that literally comes for 347 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: people and their appearance and their their disability. And so 348 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,480 Speaker 1: when I went to him and said hey, yo, I 349 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,840 Speaker 1: ran into him in the mall, just randomly it was 350 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 1: and I just was like, can I speak to you 351 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 1: for a saca? Because this is what this does. And 352 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,600 Speaker 1: he kind of just acted super surprised that anyone would 353 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 1: confront him on that, and then kind of just kept saying, well, 354 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,959 Speaker 1: I'm old and in my fifties, I can't change if 355 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 1: people are laughing, it's funny. And you know that actually 356 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,800 Speaker 1: explained to a lot of what happened on Twitter last 357 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,640 Speaker 1: night was the people were like, you guys are being 358 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:08,399 Speaker 1: too sensitive. Amanda Steels came out and said, if you 359 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,639 Speaker 1: guys can't take a joke, then what's up for you? 360 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,040 Speaker 1: We got to be solidarity with black people. Well, black 361 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: people of the second highest rate of disability in America, 362 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: So who are you who are you being in solidarity 363 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 1: with if you can't acknowledge disability and blackness and how 364 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: disability is a core is a core tenet of blackness 365 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:34,360 Speaker 1: in America, Like, if you can't acknowledge that, then you're 366 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 1: not in solidarity with black people. You're in solidarity with 367 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 1: this very thin view of blackness. And I have a 368 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:47,119 Speaker 1: problem with that. You know, it's there are so there 369 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:54,640 Speaker 1: are oftentimes right where comedians say things right. The point 370 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:58,280 Speaker 1: of comedy in a lot of ways, right is supposed 371 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 1: to be to bring into conversation good comics. Let me say, 372 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: to bring into conversation issues that we struggle with talking 373 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:12,399 Speaker 1: about right without there being some type of punchline. And 374 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:16,439 Speaker 1: you know, I had a similar type of conversation and 375 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:21,159 Speaker 1: have had similar type of conversations after Dave Chappelle's stand up. 376 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 1: Right and Dave Chappelle's stand up is targeting and targeting 377 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: of the trans community. And you know, it's always the 378 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,280 Speaker 1: people who are not the targets and the butts of 379 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: the jokes, who feel that they have the space and 380 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 1: the place to be able to tell those other people 381 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,399 Speaker 1: who are harmed. Right. And when I say harmed, I 382 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,720 Speaker 1: don't just mean upset feelings, because upset feelings are also valid, 383 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:55,439 Speaker 1: but words we know can turn into violence. Right. We 384 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 1: had a former twice impeached President of the United States 385 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:05,640 Speaker 1: make a joke as a candidate about a disabled reporter, right, 386 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 1: who was then jostled about at one of his rallies. 387 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 1: Because people take those quote unquote jokes, right, and they 388 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 1: use them as a reason to dehumanize other people. Because 389 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:24,360 Speaker 1: without to me, without the context, right, without the understanding, 390 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:29,680 Speaker 1: and frankly, without really what it means to be a 391 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: true ally to a marginalized community, you don't get the 392 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 1: opportunity to make jokes that are harmful that can turn 393 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 1: into actual physical violence. And the fact is that you know, 394 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: the harms that words have are can cut way deeper 395 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,520 Speaker 1: than a physical knife, right. And these are the things 396 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:59,040 Speaker 1: that I you know, I am a big believer that 397 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:02,920 Speaker 1: there are just that it's laziness, right, Like I think 398 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 1: that Chris Rock is a I do believe that Chris 399 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:09,439 Speaker 1: Rock and Dave Chappelle are brilliant comedians. I do believe 400 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,639 Speaker 1: also that they are completely problematic at times, and that 401 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 1: without that, without people really checking them and really offering 402 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:23,679 Speaker 1: conversations as to why this is okay? Right, Like, you've 403 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: begun the list of people that you can readily make 404 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:31,840 Speaker 1: fun of, right without their being consistent pushback has shrunk, right, 405 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:35,800 Speaker 1: Like it is no longer acceptable to make fun of lesbian, 406 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: gay bisexuals. Oh, but you can still make fun of 407 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: trans people, right because you know less than twenty percent 408 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: of the population is made up of trans people, So oh, 409 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 1: we feel that's okay. You can make fun of people 410 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 1: with physical disabilities, or emotional disabilities or mental disabilities, because oh, 411 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: it's it's easy. Right. We can talk about bipolarism, depression 412 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 1: and make these make these conversations because it's low hanging fruit. 413 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 1: To your point, what do you think is then the 414 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: responsibility of journalists to have more of a nuanced conversation 415 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:20,120 Speaker 1: as to why, as to why what we witnessed, you know, 416 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,160 Speaker 1: at the Oscars and what we have seen before, whether 417 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,400 Speaker 1: it be on comedy specials or stand ups or what 418 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 1: have you are problematic. So I'll just every newsroom I've 419 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:37,400 Speaker 1: ever been in has been superablest, and I will just 420 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 1: say that out loud, and newsrooms need to start first 421 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:48,280 Speaker 1: checking themselves and looking around and understanding that if you 422 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,760 Speaker 1: don't know, if you have a disabled colleague, then you're 423 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: probably in a really ablest room. I'm not saying there's 424 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,680 Speaker 1: not disabled people in there. I'm saying that there's people 425 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:03,080 Speaker 1: that are afraid to disclose, which means they're also not 426 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,960 Speaker 1: asking for accommodations because they're afraid for their jobs, which 427 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 1: means you are penalizing and punishing people. And people are 428 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,440 Speaker 1: doing things to their bodies that maybe they shouldn't be 429 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:17,240 Speaker 1: doing because they're afraid they're going to lose their job. 430 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 1: So then start there right. Then The second spot is 431 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:27,000 Speaker 1: is if you are in that space, how in the 432 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: world are you going to cover this? If you if 433 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 1: your colleagues can't even tell you that they're disabled, how 434 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:38,160 Speaker 1: are you covering this? And so I saw I had 435 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:43,360 Speaker 1: a lot of my journalist friends on my page upset 436 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 1: because I took the position of no way, And you know, 437 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,239 Speaker 1: this guy's been problematic for a reason. I am not 438 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:57,000 Speaker 1: condoning slapping on stage in a national setting. That's not 439 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 1: what I'm saying, right, It's not what I'm saying. But 440 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,080 Speaker 1: what I am saying is when you reap that kind 441 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 1: of violence, when you put that kind of violence in 442 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:09,120 Speaker 1: the world, violence will come back at you. And that's 443 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: what happened. And no one can seem to hear that 444 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:17,520 Speaker 1: what he said was violence, and that violence and like 445 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: people are like, it's just words. No, it's not, because 446 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:25,040 Speaker 1: as a person who has Dwarfism, when I go on 447 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:28,600 Speaker 1: the subway, I have to look around to see who 448 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:32,120 Speaker 1: has it in their head that I'm not really human, 449 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 1: which he basically has said a lot is that we're subhuman, 450 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:39,520 Speaker 1: that we're not really full of people. That were jokes. 451 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:44,479 Speaker 1: So if you're putting that in the water, other people 452 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 1: who are less informed than you take that, take that 453 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:53,160 Speaker 1: and run with it, and then there's violence. There's physical 454 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:56,960 Speaker 1: violence perpetrated on you. But no one seems to want 455 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,760 Speaker 1: to make that connection. And so journalists never make that 456 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:05,160 Speaker 1: meshing because they first of all, they don't see it right. Second, 457 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 1: because it's not around them. Even when I was in 458 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaker 1: the newsrooms were super violent to me, and like I 459 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,440 Speaker 1: would have people come up to me and be like, oh, 460 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,320 Speaker 1: you persevered, you persevered. I'm like, you let me sit 461 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:21,480 Speaker 1: in it, and you said nothing. You just let me 462 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,640 Speaker 1: sit there. While I was being told I wasn't that bright, 463 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:30,000 Speaker 1: I shouldn't make it past assistant because I couldn't be 464 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 1: put on screen because that would be exploitation. If you 465 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 1: put a dwarf on screen. You guys watched that visibly 466 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:41,360 Speaker 1: watch that but pretend like it didn't happen and don't 467 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:43,560 Speaker 1: notice it. So why am I going to listen to 468 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,880 Speaker 1: you talk about this issue when you haven't investigated your 469 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,600 Speaker 1: own ableism. So the word that journalists need to do 470 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:54,480 Speaker 1: before they start reporting on this stuff. First of all, 471 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:57,040 Speaker 1: they need to hand the mic toism disabled journalists and 472 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,080 Speaker 1: have them cover it. Second of all, they need to 473 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:03,960 Speaker 1: go investigate their own ableism in a real deep way, 474 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: the way that newsrooms have started to investigate racism. But 475 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:17,280 Speaker 1: guess what, racism and ableism intersect all over the place. 476 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:21,680 Speaker 1: So if you're investigating racism but you're not investigating ableism, 477 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 1: you're not doing the work. And and how are you 478 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: covering people disability? Disabled people make up twenty six percent 479 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: of the American population, twenty six percent the people that 480 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,280 Speaker 1: have the highest rate of disability or Native Americans and 481 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 1: black people. What does that say that you aren't covering 482 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:52,680 Speaker 1: disability in a real, real substituent way, but you're covering them, 483 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:58,200 Speaker 1: You're covering the protests, But meanwhile, fifty percent of the 484 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 1: people are that are killed by hops are disabled. That 485 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:06,440 Speaker 1: all of the names that you know in your head, 486 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:12,200 Speaker 1: like Sandra Bland had epilepsy disabled, George Floyd had a 487 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:17,919 Speaker 1: drug problem. That's a disability, right, Um, I can't even 488 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:24,280 Speaker 1: like Eric Garner had diabetes and heart issues, all disabilities. 489 00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,640 Speaker 1: We don't talk about that. We just talk about black guy, 490 00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:31,239 Speaker 1: black woman, this, that and the other. But why why 491 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:36,040 Speaker 1: are prisons full of disabled people? When we talk about 492 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:40,960 Speaker 1: the school to prison pipeline, I rarely hear how that 493 00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:45,080 Speaker 1: how the school to prison pipeline actually functions. It functions 494 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:50,120 Speaker 1: by using disability as a weapon. But we never talk 495 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:51,880 Speaker 1: about that. We just talk about the black boys and 496 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:54,439 Speaker 1: the black girls that get whatever. We don't talk about 497 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:59,760 Speaker 1: the actual system that creates this problem. Why are thirty 498 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:06,920 Speaker 1: to of our prison populations disabled? You know? And it's 499 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,640 Speaker 1: you know, you say this right, you're saying these numbers 500 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:14,480 Speaker 1: which are so incredibly jarring, the statistics. And then I 501 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:18,000 Speaker 1: think that the President's budget was announced this week, and 502 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:21,920 Speaker 1: do you know that he gave you know, trillions of 503 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:26,719 Speaker 1: more dollars to the police, right to the police and 504 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:31,399 Speaker 1: to the military above and beyond. Right, then is ever 505 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:35,760 Speaker 1: called for or they're even requesting? And I think to myself, 506 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:39,080 Speaker 1: you know, when are we going to have the consistent 507 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:45,959 Speaker 1: conversation about why money to police does not help people, right, 508 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,640 Speaker 1: that it adds to harm. That instead of sending police 509 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:54,640 Speaker 1: for a you know, mental health issue and breakdown, which 510 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 1: are a lot of the reasons why people are called, right, 511 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:03,040 Speaker 1: they haul there, you know, they call the police because 512 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:06,120 Speaker 1: you know, somebody is having a mental health crisis. And 513 00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:08,560 Speaker 1: then the next thing we hear about that person is 514 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:13,280 Speaker 1: shot dead, right or strangled or need on or what what, 515 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:17,520 Speaker 1: whatever the case is. And we're saying, you're sending these officers. 516 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:21,560 Speaker 1: It's not a crime. These people need actual help and 517 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: that's not what police do. And yeah, I said it, 518 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:28,200 Speaker 1: that is not what they do, right, And so you know, 519 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:32,640 Speaker 1: you you then we say, you know, as Democrats, oh 520 00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:35,080 Speaker 1: well we need to support the Democrats. And I'm like, 521 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:39,359 Speaker 1: they're the ones that signed off and created the crime bail, right, Like, 522 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:41,839 Speaker 1: So when when we look at these things and we 523 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:45,880 Speaker 1: talk about harm, I really want us to have expansive 524 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:50,120 Speaker 1: conversations about what harm looks like, right, and how we 525 00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:55,000 Speaker 1: contribute to these harms because you know, right now, you know, 526 00:36:55,280 --> 00:37:00,239 Speaker 1: following this this Oscar's incident, the hashtag trending is I 527 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:06,200 Speaker 1: stand with Chris Rock. That's what's trending right now on Twitter. Right, 528 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:09,680 Speaker 1: And I'm thinking to myself, So you stand with the 529 00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:14,640 Speaker 1: public humiliation and abuse of a black woman. That's what 530 00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:18,000 Speaker 1: I'm thinking, right, Like this is this is what you're 531 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:22,000 Speaker 1: standing by. Nobody's saying, Chris Rock, oh, be canceled this, 532 00:37:22,239 --> 00:37:25,319 Speaker 1: I'm saying, learn a goddamn lesson. Like you said, you 533 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:28,440 Speaker 1: put out, you put out violent words, You put out 534 00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:33,360 Speaker 1: violence into the universe. Best believe in karma when you 535 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:36,840 Speaker 1: do things like that. I do not condone violence. I 536 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:39,680 Speaker 1: don't condone violence in any shape or form. But like 537 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:41,960 Speaker 1: Chris Rock said in one of his stand ups, I 538 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:46,960 Speaker 1: understand it. I understand where it comes from. Right, And 539 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:52,359 Speaker 1: I understand that the possibility of watching your wife, as 540 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,880 Speaker 1: will Smith may have over the last however many years 541 00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:59,759 Speaker 1: from her diagnosis, of watching her lose her hair a 542 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:02,440 Speaker 1: woman man who is in the public eye, who is 543 00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:08,000 Speaker 1: an actress, and your beauty standards are held above everything else, right, 544 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:12,719 Speaker 1: and then watch that struggle privately, and then watch it 545 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:20,240 Speaker 1: ridiculed publicly for other people's entertainment. It's one time too many. Yeah, 546 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:24,279 Speaker 1: Also in a room full of her peers, in a 547 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:27,680 Speaker 1: room full of her peers, in front of a national audience. 548 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:32,480 Speaker 1: Why like, why did you need that? What was it? 549 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:37,000 Speaker 1: And I remember having this conversation with him and he 550 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:43,000 Speaker 1: just kind of didn't get it. And someone said to 551 00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:48,080 Speaker 1: me when during the discourse last night, well he's disabled too, 552 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:52,080 Speaker 1: and I said, yeah, he is, which makes it worse. 553 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:55,480 Speaker 1: It doesn't make it and it's not an excuse. You 554 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:59,840 Speaker 1: don't get to say, oh, well i'm disabled, so or 555 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,560 Speaker 1: I didn't get it because my disability didn't make me 556 00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:05,279 Speaker 1: get it. And it's now people have talked to you, 557 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:08,319 Speaker 1: people have said things to you about it. You can 558 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:12,359 Speaker 1: get this. You're a smart dude. You this is not 559 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:17,800 Speaker 1: don't blame don't blame this on your disability. And he hasn't. 560 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:21,279 Speaker 1: He literally hasn't, so I'm not saying that he did. 561 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:25,799 Speaker 1: But there's other people coming out trying to use disability 562 00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:29,600 Speaker 1: as a weapon, yeah, to not clear this up. And 563 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:36,040 Speaker 1: I just it's it's upsetting to me that the black 564 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:40,760 Speaker 1: community just really no, I'm not saying all the black community, 565 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:43,600 Speaker 1: but there's a large portion of the black community. It 566 00:39:43,719 --> 00:39:45,520 Speaker 1: just is kind of like, I don't know what you're 567 00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:53,120 Speaker 1: so upset about. And we're never gonna be free until 568 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,440 Speaker 1: we talk about are all of our oppressions? There were 569 00:39:56,480 --> 00:40:03,040 Speaker 1: some leading black journalists saying awful things on Twitter last night, yep, yep, 570 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:08,919 Speaker 1: awful stuff like like can you really call that a disability? 571 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:14,400 Speaker 1: Losing your hair? Like why, first of all, why are you? 572 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,919 Speaker 1: Why are you questioning someone's disability? Like if your lights 573 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:21,320 Speaker 1: getting black? Like and I know we're not supposed to 574 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:22,759 Speaker 1: do this, but I'm black, so I can do it. 575 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:25,960 Speaker 1: But like people questioning lights getting black? People me like 576 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:29,440 Speaker 1: are you really black? It's like, where do you Why 577 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:35,400 Speaker 1: is that your duty to gate keep m You're sitting 578 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:39,600 Speaker 1: there gate keeping this this woman's disability. You have no 579 00:40:39,719 --> 00:40:43,520 Speaker 1: idea what she's gone through. And she doesn't need to 580 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:47,080 Speaker 1: tell you that either. No, And I think you know 581 00:40:47,239 --> 00:40:51,839 Speaker 1: what comes up you know as well? Is you know 582 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:57,720 Speaker 1: when the late actor Chadwick Boseman died, right before his death, 583 00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:01,960 Speaker 1: the amount of comments that were made about his appearance, 584 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,520 Speaker 1: the amount of jokes that were made, and then lo 585 00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:09,520 Speaker 1: and behold to come and find out, Oh no, it 586 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:13,120 Speaker 1: was cancer. Right as to why he looked the way 587 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:16,879 Speaker 1: that it did. Oh now, everyone's so apologetic, So why 588 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:22,000 Speaker 1: not just provide people with grace and assume that whether 589 00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:28,040 Speaker 1: they are rich or not, that we don't need to 590 00:41:28,239 --> 00:41:30,920 Speaker 1: make fun of people because we have no idea what 591 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:37,000 Speaker 1: they are carrying. We have no especially, I would say 592 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:40,240 Speaker 1: Kara too, in this particular moment that we are living 593 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:44,000 Speaker 1: in of just trauma and history and all of these 594 00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:49,280 Speaker 1: things that are happening, that like, we owe it to people, 595 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,880 Speaker 1: to ourselves and to them, to have more grace, to 596 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,520 Speaker 1: have to show more integrity and more dignity than we 597 00:41:57,560 --> 00:42:00,760 Speaker 1: are seeing across the board, let alone own from those 598 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:05,760 Speaker 1: that we put on huge platforms because of their skill 599 00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:08,759 Speaker 1: and their artistry and all of these things. Right, it 600 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:11,439 Speaker 1: is a it is a trickle down effect. So last 601 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:17,160 Speaker 1: question for you, you know, is there is there a 602 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:21,360 Speaker 1: positive spin to have to this? Is there an opening 603 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:25,880 Speaker 1: for more of a conversation to be present? I hope? So, 604 00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:32,040 Speaker 1: I really do. Um. It's it's really complicated though, because 605 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:37,040 Speaker 1: all of this happened sort of publicly, right, and so 606 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:40,239 Speaker 1: black people were trying to figure out, We were trying 607 00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:42,360 Speaker 1: to figure out in our own conversations like how to 608 00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:45,520 Speaker 1: deal with this, And then you have why people inserting 609 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:48,120 Speaker 1: themselves being like I have an opinion and you're like, 610 00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:51,279 Speaker 1: like to stay out of this for a minute. Um, 611 00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:58,880 Speaker 1: it's I hope that it it. It is an opening. 612 00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:05,200 Speaker 1: I think that this issue is so wrapped up, you know, 613 00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:08,279 Speaker 1: as a kid, and like, I don't want to make 614 00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:10,840 Speaker 1: this all personal, but as a kid being raised in 615 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:14,120 Speaker 1: a black family when you're disabled, some of your relatives 616 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:16,239 Speaker 1: are like, just shake it off, don't don't worry about that, 617 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:18,719 Speaker 1: keep it moving, blah blah blah. Because that's that's what 618 00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:21,520 Speaker 1: we teach each other. It's just can't worry about all 619 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:24,359 Speaker 1: the opression. You just gotta keep rolling through it. But 620 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:28,239 Speaker 1: that's what I'm hearing a lot on Twitter, is like 621 00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:30,520 Speaker 1: just push through it, or she should have just pushed 622 00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:32,880 Speaker 1: through it, or why couldn't she just like whatever, because 623 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:34,840 Speaker 1: we all have this and we all got to move around, 624 00:43:35,239 --> 00:43:39,640 Speaker 1: and it's no, we actually need to dissect this. We 625 00:43:39,719 --> 00:43:44,480 Speaker 1: need to we need to slow down and talk about 626 00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:47,520 Speaker 1: all of these statistics and talk about what that means 627 00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:50,799 Speaker 1: and what that means for us and our culture and 628 00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:55,560 Speaker 1: what that means so that we can fix or rise 629 00:43:55,800 --> 00:44:01,040 Speaker 1: past this oppression. And like, we can't stop pressing ourselves, 630 00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:05,680 Speaker 1: but we can stop oppressing within our own community. And 631 00:44:05,719 --> 00:44:08,960 Speaker 1: when people talk about solidarity, they have to really mean it, 632 00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:13,759 Speaker 1: and solidarity doesn't mean shut up because we have to 633 00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:17,239 Speaker 1: praise that one successful guy. It's like, well, no, if 634 00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:20,520 Speaker 1: that successful guy is doing harm to a large portion 635 00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:24,359 Speaker 1: of our population, we need to check it. That's part 636 00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:27,040 Speaker 1: of what solidarity is about. And I hope that we 637 00:44:27,080 --> 00:44:31,360 Speaker 1: can finally like understand that solidarity isn't actually being quiet 638 00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:37,239 Speaker 1: and not criticizing. Solidarity is making space and criticizing within 639 00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:41,560 Speaker 1: our community so we can be better and be together 640 00:44:42,239 --> 00:44:50,280 Speaker 1: to fight the larger issue of oppression. Yeah, Carol, ready, 641 00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:53,480 Speaker 1: thank you so much for making time to join wokate 642 00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:56,080 Speaker 1: f daily and I hope that you will come back again. 643 00:44:56,160 --> 00:44:59,680 Speaker 1: There are many more conversations for us to have. Really 644 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:08,239 Speaker 1: apreciate you. Thank you so much for the opportunity that 645 00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:12,000 Speaker 1: is it for me today. Friends on woke a F 646 00:45:12,239 --> 00:45:15,120 Speaker 1: as always, dear friends, Power to the people and to 647 00:45:15,360 --> 00:45:19,279 Speaker 1: all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck.