WEBVTT - An Unclean Binary 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:14.640 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to wok F Daily with 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:18.439 Meet your Girl Daniel Moody recording from the Home Bunker. 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:25.200 So the decisions have been made. Republicans have chosen a 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:33.120 four time indicted ninety one counts rapists as their nominee 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:38.360 for President of the United States. Oh and also he 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:42.600 is a fraudulent businessman and not as rich as he 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:47.960 has said. But in their opinion, voting for a woman 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:52.840 just wasn't an option. So Nikki Hailey is out, and 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:57.960 she did not readily endorse Donald Trump. She said that 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:01.680 he would have to quote earn her voters. Give me 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:05.440 a fucking break. Also in the news Mitch McConnell, who 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:09.720 has come out and endorsed Donald Trump as well. What 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:13.640 I realized, not what I realize, what we've known, and 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:17.800 it's just like so fucking gross about the Republican Party 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:24.800 is that they have no morals, no conviction, no backbone, 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:29.200 no desire to do right by anyone other than themselves. 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:37.759 They embody white privilege, toxic masculinity, patriarchy, greed, hatred. That's 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:40.840 who this party is and to say anything otherwise is 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:46.280 a lie. And for the media moving forward, which is 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:50.040 going to try and jam down everyone's throat this horse 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:54.120 race matchup between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. I just 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:56.240 want folks to be very clear, which I know that 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:58.760 you all are, but I want you to make the 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:02.240 folks around you really fucking clear, because that's my goal here. 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.120 It is not I don't you know. I appreciate it. 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:08.080 I'm so grateful for the folks that listen to this show. 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:12.480 But your real value is in the messages you decide 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.480 to share, in the people you decide to connect with 0:02:15.680 --> 0:02:18.840 in the community you decide to lift up right and 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:21.960 open their eyes and their ears to the truth right 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:25.040 and help them recognize their power. So, whether that is 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:29.200 in sharing an episode, sharing a social media clip, or 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:33.119 just sitting down and talking to folks about where their 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:37.399 head is at for November, that's our real goal here 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:41.720 on WOKF. You know, it isn't for me about the 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:44.320 clicks or the downloads or any of that. I just 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:48.880 want those that are faithful to the truth, to democracy, 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:55.200 to freedom, to feel empowered to share, to speak out, 0:02:55.600 --> 0:03:01.840 to commit to fighting. That's what I want, That's what 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:04.920 we need. The next several months, we're going to be 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:08.520 inundated by bullshit from the media. They're going to play 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:13.639 Donald Trump's speeches and lies and hateful rhetoric NonStop, because oh, 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:16.040 we got to show both sides. They're going to do 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:20.200 so without any analysis, without any critique, and they are 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.760 going to give him the platform that Hitler could have 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:26.680 only prayed for. Do you know what I'm saying as 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:30.880 he was going from country to country and taking over. 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:38.200 Donald Trump is a cancer. He is a virus. But 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:41.880 he is not our ultimate problem. It is the millions 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:45.960 of people who get on television and when asked if 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:48.880 they want a strong man, say yes, that's what we need. 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:54.119 Because these are people who are don't know history right, 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:59.000 who think strong man just means tough and not an authoritarian. 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:02.240 That once you vote for him the first time, he 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:06.120 don't give a fuck about you the next time, because 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:11.960 you've given him everything that he needs. Donald Trump is 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:15.080 prepared to run a rough shot over our democracy to 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:18.040 fill his coppers so that he can be a king, 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:24.480 a Russian oligarch, right, But the American version, the people 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:28.800 around him who swear loyalty will be you know, paid 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:32.320 in gold bricks, while the rest of us will be 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:38.680 carrying bricks on our backs. So I just want folks 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:41.200 to really be clear about the fact that, yeah, you 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:45.200 will see me criticize Joe Biden because I fucking can, 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:48.160 because for the next several months, we still live inside 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:53.360 of a democracy, and I want this president to recognize 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:56.280 the fucking stakes. I don't give a fuck about Joe 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:58.480 Biden's age. I do give a fuck about the fact 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:04.080 that our tax dollars funding a genocide. But I also 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:09.760 know that I can't fight for other people's rights when 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:13.279 we lose every single one of ours that are left 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:19.200 that the Supreme Court hasn't taken away. So, folks, it 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:25.000 is it is time. The election begins now, and the 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:32.520 election is between our freedoms and authoritarianism. And you only 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:35.880 get to vote on this once, so I hope folks 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:40.000 decide to make a count. Coming up next my conversation 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:47.560 with our in house doctor, doctor Jonathan Metzel. Folks, anytime 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:50.080 that we have the opportunity to sit down with our friend, 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:54.040 our in house doctor, doctor Jonathan Metzel, I am always thrilled, 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:58.880 and today, Jonathan, I may be in need of some therapy, Yes, 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:07.839 some help. I don't know, Jonathan. The week started out 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:12.560 fairly shitty with the Supreme Court's decision around Donald Trump. 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:17.040 And you know, it seems like every week, like by 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:19.360 the time we get to Friday, we're all so grateful, 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:23.480 but like so run over and exhausted after what the 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.200 week has entailed. And I feel a lot of people, 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:30.679 including myself, by the time we get to Friday, we're 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:34.839 all like tapped out. And I feel like we've talked 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.159 about this, this is part of the strategy, the hopelessness, 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:43.040 the flooding of the zone, the overwhelm. And you know, 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:46.920 you've been out talking to people promoting you know, your 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:51.600 book what we've become, and are people also talking about 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:57.400 like their level of exhaustion, anxiety, just frustration that they're 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:03.039 having as they're trying to be responsible citizens, engage citizens, 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:03.800 et cetera. 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:09.039 Well, I mean, people are exhausted and they don't know 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:11.520 what to do right now. And there's also so much 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:15.880 internal division. I mean, I'm going to need twenty five 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:18.080 years of therapy for some of the stuff that's happened 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.880 to me in the past month, just crazy stuff. And 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:27.680 so so yeah, I mean, people on the right are 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:32.560 very energized, they feel very mobilized, and so we got 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:34.240 to change this around, you know what I mean? Like, 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:39.840 if you get energy from from taking some rest and 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.200 coming back and recommitting that you should do that. If 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:45.480 you get energy from going to a movie theater and 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:49.080 chasing aoc out and screaming at her, do that, whatever 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:51.440 you need to do to get your energy back, so 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:53.080 that we can all come together on one team. We 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:55.960 got to do that because you know what I keep 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:58.800 thinking is we talked about this before, but in so 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:03.360 many elections, and you know Jason Stanley's book about how 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.720 when the left is fractured, that's when fascism takes over. 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:11.920 We're being fractured by design. I was talking here before 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:16.320 about Nitan Yahoo coming to power because Liberals were exhausted 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.440 and they just kind of trudged to the polls. But 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:21.560 the right was like totally mobilized because they had the 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:24.040 He had promised them we'll take over the course forever. 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:27.400 And so I don't know, We're following some pretty bad 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:32.120 trajectories right now. And honestly, we need a miracle and 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.480 I'm happy to I'm happy to think about what that 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:38.760 might be, but we need something's got to change course here. 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:42.800 I don't want to like trudge into Did you see 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:44.840 that thing on social media about the one hundred and 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:47.880 one year old guy who ran one hundred meter dash 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.480 like in Asia somewhere and everybody was cheering for him. 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:54.600 It took like four hours. But I don't want that 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:58.160 to be like us toward the finish line here, like right, right, 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:01.400 So we need something that makes people feel energized and mobilized, 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:04.400 and and I just don't know what that is. And 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.760 I know there are so many divisions. And I also 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:10.079 think that like for everybody people who like seemed like 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:12.199 they were unquestionably on our team, we were on the 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:14.760 same team as them, and everybody's like, I'm not on 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:17.680 your team, and it's a it's it's a total playbook 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:21.640 that's being done to us. Honestly, it's a total playbook 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:25.120 that's being done to us. And so I don't know, 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:31.280 it's it's a weird no one. 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.360 I just I want, you know, because there is this 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:40.520 sense of stuck, right, Like I feel very stuck, very 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:44.280 stuck in the sense of like every time that I 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:48.120 try and find ways to defend the Biden administration, the 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.920 Biden administration turns around and does some shit that I 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:55.880 find indefensible, right, And so it is on one hand, 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:59.120 and I just put out a video, you know, at 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:00.920 the time of this record, I put up a video 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:03.480 that was just like, we're not living inside of a 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:06.920 very of a clean binary in terms of thinking. And 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:09.600 I need people to like move on from the good 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:12.200 guys and the bad guys and like those being very 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:15.480 clear distinctions as light and dark, right, They're just not 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:18.160 We're living in a lot of shades of gray. And 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:21.880 I don't think that we have ever really processed that 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:24.880 as a country. America has always been set up as 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:28.439 the good guy, right, That's what we have been fed 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.760 inside this country. That's how we've been indoctrinated. And so 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:34.920 I also feel like, and you tell me that the 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:38.559 sense of stock that we are into is kind of 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:43.800 this unveiling of who America actually is in reality, and 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:48.240 that being pushed up against what we have known or 0:10:48.280 --> 0:10:48.960 been told. 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:52.319 And what do you mean? 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:54.959 I mean? So? I mean I mean this like I'm 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:58.080 growing up elementary school, high school. America is the good guy. 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:01.599 Carry a strong stick you walk around. We provide democracy 0:11:01.640 --> 0:11:04.480 around the world. We do these good things, right, Like 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:08.360 we invade countries only because like we're ousting the bad 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:12.000 guys in these things. That's not true And it's actually 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:14.760 never been true. I've always said that America has had 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:18.120 very good pr and as soon as you start to 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:21.000 like really open up your eyes and look through other 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:24.320 people's perspectives, whether those be other nation states or other 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:27.480 you know, immigrant populations and groups that have come into 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:31.760 this country, you see a clearer picture of who America is, 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:36.080 which is not a perfect place, right it is a 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:40.480 place that we strive to perfect, but the veil of 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:44.199 a perfect place has really been lifted. Am I wrong? 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:47.200 I mean I don't. I certainly don't think you're wrong. 0:11:47.280 --> 0:11:48.920 I just think that, you know what I mean, Like, 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:54.920 I just think that like, for example, let's say let's 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:59.880 say that Iran gets a nuclear bomb and Israel collapses 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:05.640 and Iran becomes the massive superpower of the Middle East, 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:09.280 for example, or something like that, Like is that where 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:11.920 our foreign policy doesn't matter, you know what I mean? 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:18.920 Like or Russia invades Sweden after they take over your quane, 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:21.240 and they do other kinds of things like that. I 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:22.839 just think that there are a lot of ways in which, 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:27.600 strategically speaking, I mean, I never I've never obviously thought 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:30.160 that our foreign policy was like perfect or ideal or 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.480 all these kind of things. But I also feel like 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:34.960 we could be in a lot worse position than we 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:39.760 are now if there are like massive superpowers who are 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:42.520 very hostile to us, or who are hostile to like 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:46.440 liberties or rights, and so the idea of like the 0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:52.080 foreign policy which I don't love in with Biden versus 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:54.160 what I think it would look like under Trump. If 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:56.920 you're just talking about like a vote by to vote 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.480 on one of those two things, I would take. I 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:03.760 would take at least working with the Biden administration on 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:06.040 fixing our foreign policy, because I know what it'll be 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:09.400 like for Trump, and under Trump, it'll be a massive 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:12.480 change to like my life and your life and other 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.560 things like that, you know, same with a bunch of 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:17.199 other things. Do I want there to be like a 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:20.280 massive trade war with China, or do I want to 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:23.840 support Taiwan? How do I feel about Russia? Things like that. 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:28.040 So I just for me, I just think geopolitically, it's 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:31.320 not never it's not just about like one group of people. 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:34.760 I mean, I certainly think we have a real ethical 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.680 issue right now with like our foreign policy and things 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:40.040 like that. But I also think that it's just hard 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:42.080 for me to think of it out of context. And 0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:45.880 so for me, the bigger issue is do I want 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:50.280 America to fall and Israel to fall and Russia and 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:55.200 Iran to become massive expansionist nuclear superpowers. I could see 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:57.440 that being a hell of a lot worse, And so 0:13:57.800 --> 0:13:59.720 I don't know. For me, it's not like I think. 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:03.040 I mean, again, my dad's a Holocaust survivor. I've lived 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:05.000 in a lot of different places. I have no rose 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:09.040 colored glasses about foreign policy. But I could just say strategically, 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.520 you know, it seems to me like the worst scenario 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.560 would be that Israel tells US to fuck off and 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:18.800 they don't need us anymore, and they go in alliance 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:23.680 with Russia, and Russia goes in alliance with Saudi and 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:26.600 the dollar doesn't is no longer the US currency, and 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.000 they do a goldback Saudi currency and the dollar doesn't 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:33.960 mean anything like then you're really really talking about a 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:37.200 really different United States than the one you have now, 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:38.760 which is going to have like a bunch of really 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:44.680 powerful guys like Trump, no immigration. The poor people now 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:48.360 become the immigrants in terms of like the paid labor 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:49.880 and stuff like that. So to me, that's just not 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.080 in America. I want to live in So I guess 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:54.600 for me, I'm just as I always do. I think 0:14:54.640 --> 0:14:57.360 long game, and I just think, you know, there's a 0:14:57.520 --> 0:14:59.560 real pretty clear choice right now. 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:03.080 Are we selling the clear choice? Though, Jonathan? Right? Like, 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:05.520 if everybody is in this place of despair, and let 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:08.720 me tell you something. The hair is that just stood 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.240 up on my arm and like the chill that went 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:13.840 down my spine when you just played out what a 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:19.480 reordered superpower superpowers could look like. Yeah, it's terrifying, right, 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.640 but it's all It's also not something that I think 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:25.480 that you're just making up out of thin air, right, Like, 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:30.080 these things are these things are absolutely possible, and I'm wondering, 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:35.320 in your opinion, then how do you talk about these possibilities? 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:38.400 Because whenever I bring shit up to people these days, 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:41.240 they're telling me you're just trying to scare me into 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.160 my vote, and I'm just like, well, I've tried to 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:46.480 love you into your vote and that doesn't seem to 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:49.880 fucking work. So I don't really know what the alternative 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:52.840 is then to lay out the scenarios in the way 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:56.680 that you did. So how does that how is that 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:57.840 laid out? 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:00.960 Well? I mean, you know, I don't know how to 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:02.560 lay it out. And I'm not trying to convince you 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:05.520 and I are voting for the same guessing, so it's 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.080 not like we're convincing each of their votes. But I mean, 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:10.360 just think about it, Like if a country totally cuts 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:12.600 off immigration like Trump, what's to do and deports all 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:16.120 the immigrants, Who's going to do the work? You know 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:18.040 what I mean? Like the country still the economy depends 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:20.040 on people working, So there's going to be a bunch 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:22.960 of people now who are low income who are going 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:27.760 to become it's going to be really shitty. It's going 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:30.480 to be really shitty. And so it's just going to 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:30.760 do the. 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:34.960 Work according to the governors of Red State's children, you know, 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:37.320 because they're rolling back all of the child labor laws, 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:38.040 so children are. 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:39.800 Going to do just saying like and all of a sudden, 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.960 like the decision we're going to we're facing now. To me, 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:49.200 just the decision we're making facing now is it'll pair 0:16:49.560 --> 0:16:51.640 pale in comparison to the decision that we have to 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:56.280 make two years from now, five years from now if 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:58.840 we don't get our shit together right now. And so 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:01.640 you no know, for me, like my problem is when people 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:03.440 say the democracy is going to fall. That just sounds 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:07.159 really abstract to people, But I think we need to 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:09.240 do what I just did here, which is to lay 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:15.560 it out in very very very very concrete terms, and 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:18.760 because I think that's that's what it means. I mean healthcare. 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:20.879 You know, we know that it's going to be the 0:17:20.920 --> 0:17:23.200 end of the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins. A 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:25.160 lot of people are going to lose their healthcare. 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.840 Which is going to which is going to create essentially 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:29.920 where you were talking about, which is a new level 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:34.440 of like indentured servitude into places that will abuse right 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:38.199 their workers because there won't be any standards right in 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.080 terms of how people are treated. Because they're in Kentucky 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:43.720 right now, there's a piece of legislation that has been 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:47.399 rolled out to get rid of lunch breaks and rest breaks. 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:50.159 Yeah, and this is this is a small sample of 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:53.080 what's coming, you know, with this kind of power. And 0:17:53.119 --> 0:17:55.680 so I just think people need to get real honestly. 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:59.280 I mean I understand very deeply. I mean in a 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:03.240 way on all sides, I personally feel it like I've 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:06.120 had the weirdest shit happen where I'm like. 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:08.520 Some of the weird stuff that has happened. 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:11.560 Oh sure. I was on a book tour this last month. 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:13.879 I was on a book tour this last week. I 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:17.600 was sitting at the book table signing books. The person 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:22.200 from the bookstore who brought the books, it was like 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:25.520 the bookseller, not somebody associated with this the talk I 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:28.160 gave or the interview, which was wonderful, amazing, I've done 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:32.920 incredible stuff. The person was wearing a kN ninety five 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:36.639 mask was a trans person who was great. I'm like, 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:38.439 oh so great, you're here all this kind of stuff. 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:43.959 As I'm signing the books is a trans woman started 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:46.439 telling me, you know, I just want you to know. 0:18:46.480 --> 0:18:49.160 I know you're talking about power in your book and 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:53.800 our I'm with Democratic Socialists of America and our goal 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:58.520 is to collapse the Democratic Party because if the Democrats fall, 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:00.600 were going to arise in the Act says, we already 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:02.200 have a plan. We're going to sit out this election 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:08.879 and then and then we're going to take over all 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:14.240 the local elections and we're gonna stop funding the Zionist 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:18.480 something Zionist something or other. And like I'm trying to 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:20.199 sign books and be nice to the crowd and all 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:24.399 this kind of stuff, but I'm just like I said, dude, 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:27.960 you know, not in any gender way. But I'm like, 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:31.120 who do you think is going to get whacked first? 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:34.240 If everything falls? It's not like you're going to like 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:37.480 have another election to like have the Democratic Socialists of America. 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:41.040 But it's not like I would naturally be on the 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:43.400 same team as somebody who's like going full on anti 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:46.239 Zionist on me, even somebody who would like have been 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:48.560 on my team before. But I thought, like, you know, 0:19:48.680 --> 0:19:50.000 you and I have to get it to a place 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:52.399 where like we're on the same team, we're under the 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:54.959 same umbrella, even though like what you're telling me right 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:57.440 now is like really upsetting for a number of reasons 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:00.840 and telling me like the Zionist entity all this shit, 0:20:01.400 --> 0:20:04.399 you know. But but also I have to remember that, 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:07.159 like in a bigger strategic sense, if you and I 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:09.280 are not on the same team, if we're fractured, to 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:12.600 use the Jason Stanley formulation, I have much bigger problems. 0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:15.600 So I've got to imagine myself allied with you. And 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:16.920 that's how you know. That's sure, this happened for a 0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:19.040 lot of people. It's happened around Gaza, it's happened around 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:22.600 climate it's happened around a bunch of stuff. But if 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:25.480 we don't see each other on the same team, I mean, 0:20:25.640 --> 0:20:27.879 I personally think it's inappropriate for somebody to go like 0:20:27.920 --> 0:20:30.800 full on anti Zionist on me as a Jewish author 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:33.040 out there. But you know, this is how it is 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:38.160 right now whatever. But I would say, but I would say, 0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:41.280 I don't know. There's just like what we're up against. 0:20:41.600 --> 0:20:43.399 We have to think that we're on the same team 0:20:43.680 --> 0:20:45.240 and that will work this out in a way that 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:48.680 is viable. I don't But I think the scary part 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:50.880 for me, honestly, what I was thinking about this instance 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:55.080 was that Trump, like one thing he promises is like retribution, 0:20:55.640 --> 0:20:57.199 like I'm going to win and your enemies are going 0:20:57.280 --> 0:21:00.240 to get it. And it's not just like conservative who 0:21:00.240 --> 0:21:01.840 think that, like a lot of liberals are thinking, Man, 0:21:01.880 --> 0:21:04.560 if I win, I can knock off all these other 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:06.439 centrists out of the Democratic Party and I can take 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:09.400 over the party, like there's this fantasy or vice versa 0:21:09.600 --> 0:21:13.000 or something like that. But it doesn't work that way. 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:15.119 If Trump wins, this is the last time you're going 0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:15.960 to get that chance. 0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:22.000 And so yeah, I mean, so how because now I'm fascinated. 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:23.840 How did the conversation end. 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:29.520 Well, I had to keep signing books, and I didn't 0:21:29.520 --> 0:21:33.960 feel like getting in an argument with the bookseller while 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:36.240 I was doing it, and so the bookseller just kept 0:21:36.280 --> 0:21:38.640 talking about democratic socialists. And then I said, well, look, 0:21:39.240 --> 0:21:41.679 I said to her what I would say to you, 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:44.080 which is, I think ultimately you and I have to 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:46.480 imagine ourselves. I didn't go into my views because like, hey, 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:51.840 by the book, you know, but I said, ultimately we 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:53.600 need a big tent, because I think if any part 0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:56.480 of the coalition collapses, it's bad for all of us. 0:21:56.480 --> 0:22:00.800 And I also said, you know, I thinks Americans would 0:22:00.800 --> 0:22:03.800 be among yeah, at least the safe group. And so 0:22:04.080 --> 0:22:07.480 I would just urge you to like think about not 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:12.280 thinking of this election as an opportunity to retake power, 0:22:12.400 --> 0:22:13.240 you know, something like that. 0:22:13.280 --> 0:22:16.560 So I mean, like, look, I think that that was 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:19.879 a valid way to have to end that conversation, but 0:22:19.920 --> 0:22:25.439 also to have that conversation, because like, the goal is 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:28.639 not to topple the I mean, at least, like my 0:22:28.800 --> 0:22:31.959 goal is not to topple the Democratic Party, right, Like, 0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:35.600 my goal is to strengthen democracy and to strengthen people's 0:22:36.119 --> 0:22:39.880 like power and understanding, like they have power that can 0:22:39.920 --> 0:22:42.960 be exercised. But to say that your goal is to 0:22:42.960 --> 0:22:45.679 bring down the Democratic Party, well then you've just turned 0:22:45.720 --> 0:22:49.720 the Republican Party into a super party, right because now 0:22:49.760 --> 0:22:52.879 you're citing because you all have shared values. And to 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:55.520 your point, if like, if that is the shared value, 0:22:55.560 --> 0:22:59.679 which it is of the of the Republican Party, Like, 0:22:59.760 --> 0:23:03.320 how do you think that that benefits the most marginalized 0:23:03.840 --> 0:23:05.400 of the marginalized groups. 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:07.280 I just think we live in this moment. It's funny 0:23:07.280 --> 0:23:08.639 because I was sucking to my brother about this the 0:23:08.640 --> 0:23:11.320 other day because I'm like, I called him after this happened, 0:23:11.320 --> 0:23:13.959 and I'm like, holy crap, people are at each other 0:23:14.040 --> 0:23:17.359 right now, and I just think it feels very like 0:23:17.400 --> 0:23:20.520 if we see AOC as our enemy right now, we 0:23:20.640 --> 0:23:22.800 really have big problems, you know what I mean. Like, 0:23:23.080 --> 0:23:25.480