WEBVTT - Planting the Seeds 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:14.800 Good morning, keeps, and welcome to WIKF Daily with Meet 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:19.320 your Girl. Danielle Moody recording from the home bunker, Folks. 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:24.599 I am very happy, I guess happy ish to report 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:31.920 that the white woman, Susan Luis Lorinsk, who murdered isjk Owens, 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:36.480 the black mother of four in Florida, has been arrested 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:42.559 and charged with manslaughter. Susan Luis Lrinsk, according to The 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:45.960 New York Times, was charged with manslaughter with a firearm 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:50.120 in the shooting death of ijk Owens, and she has 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:54.920 also been charged with culpable negligence, battery, and two counts 0:00:54.960 --> 0:01:00.880 of assault. This shooting happened on Friday night, and it 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:06.200 has taken until this week, with the family of aj 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:10.399 Owens giving a press conference going on cable news networks 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:15.080 retaining counsel to get this arrest to take place. Now. 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:19.240 One of the reasons why it takes so very long, 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:23.399 aside from the obvious, you know, racism, but one of 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.600 the reasons why it takes so long is because of 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:31.959 the absolutely heinous law that we know as stand your ground. 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.880 And this is what stand your ground states, is that 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:39.960 the law allows for the person to have a right 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:43.080 to meet force with force if they believe it's necessary 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:47.040 to prevent death or great bodily harm. And this is 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:51.279 what the sheriff said with regard to this particular case. 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:56.680 Anytime that we think or perceive or believe that that 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:59.440 might come into play, meaning stand your ground, we cannot 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:03.320 make an arrest. The law specifically says that, and what 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.000 we have to rule out is whether the deadly force 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:11.480 was justified or not before we can even make the arrest. 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:14.440 Can you guys just think about this with me for 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:19.640 a fucking moment. That somebody can commit murder in the 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:22.239 state of Florida, in the state of Minnesota and other 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:26.880 places right that have standing ground laws, and that murderer 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:31.600 just get to walk free until it can be determined 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:34.160 because the burden of proof is on the police to 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:37.520 determine whether or not the person who was still alive 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:42.600 and well was justified in committing murder. So now we 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:47.080 have instances where people one cannot make wrong u turns 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:51.120 right into a driveway, cannot knock on a neighbor's door, 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:56.600 cannot have a conversation with somebody because what by virtue 0:02:56.600 --> 0:03:01.960 of somebody else's skin, right, they're melanin They fear for 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:05.280 their lives and can use that refrain that we've heard 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:09.200 from police officers who are trained and have guns against black, 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:13.359 unarmed black people, and now you can't go to your 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:20.760 neighbor's home. It is absolutely obscene where we are and 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:26.239 how our society has been rapidly crumbling under these anti 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:33.440 neighbor right, anti civility laws that are placed on the books. 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:37.840 You know, the Second Amendment is not the only fucking 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:43.160 amendment as a part of our constitution. The only reason 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:46.720 why guns were written into the constitution is because it 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:53.160 was a burgeoning country that did not have police departments 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:55.160 in the way that we have them now all over 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.440 the place where you could call for help it could 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:01.920 take days, So the ability to protect your land actually 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:08.080 mattered when we were still using horses and buggies. The 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:12.040 fact that we our laws and our thinking have not evolved, 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:15.160 and it feels to me like we're still just operating 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:22.440 with this reptilian brain in America is wild. This story 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:26.720 has captivated, you know, the hearts and minds of people 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:31.279 across the country because how many parents have had to 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:35.799 go and knock on neighbors doors, right, how many parents 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:40.520 have had to have conversations. This is a normal act 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:46.040 of parenting, and now four children are without a mother. 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:52.080 It's absurd and it's sick, but that is the reality 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:57.800 here in America. You know. My other story before we 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:03.040 get to our guests today, is that of CNNs now 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:08.640 fired CEO Chris Lickt and the fact that Chris Lickt, 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:11.719 I think, lasted about four hundred days so a little 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:16.080 over a year as the CEO of CNN, where he 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:20.279 greenlighted the town hall and celebrated the town hall of 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.880 Donald Trump and has ushered in, you know, just like 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:33.719 his predecessor bullshit theory of both sides right, and has enacted, 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:40.440 you know, the failure of journalism, the failure of journalism 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:45.280 to provide context, to provide analysis, to provide information to 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:50.480 the viewer that is needed. I believe that the media 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:53.680 is also part, a large part on top of the 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:57.600 policies that are being created in the denigration of our 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:02.800 society with the fear mongering, with the lies, with the 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:07.080 both sides is we don't trust the people down the street. 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:11.359 And so I'm glad that Chris lick is out, but 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:13.760 I'm sure that he will just be replaced with another 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:18.240 You know, person that will do the bidding of Zaslov 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:21.920 and you know, and bring in more Republicans, more liars, 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:25.960 and more stories that don't allow us as a country 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:32.200 to come together right, that continue the fracture. What I 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:37.600 am happy to talk about today though, is with Representative 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:44.440 Lee Finke, who is the first out trans representative in 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:50.600 the state of Minnesota. And we get into a conversation 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:58.440 because Minnesota has done, you know, the unthinkable. The Democrats 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:02.400 have taken back the governorship, the State Senate, and the 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:06.800 State House, and in this last session passed some of 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:12.360 the most progressive policies that we've ever seen, from gun 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:19.720 reform to minimum wage, to cannabis to aid for children. 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:24.400 It is remarkable, and so it's incredible to finally get 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:27.840 to tell a good story of what happens when people 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:30.880 give power to the party that is actually aligned with 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:35.280 the people. So coming up next my conversation with Representative 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:42.440 Lee Finkey, Folks, I am very excited to welcome to 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:47.600 Woke f Daily Representative Lee Finkey, who is a representative 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:53.160 in the Minnesota Legislature that just wrapped up an extraordinary 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:58.400 and significant term, passing some of the most progressive and 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:02.160 thoughtful pieces of legisl that we have seen in quite 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.920 some time since Democrats have been able to take over 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:11.480 the State House, the Senate, and the governorship. So Representative 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:16.680 Thinkee tell us about this session that just ended and 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:19.200 why it's making headlines. 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:23.240 Yeah, so, I mean, the thing, thank you very much 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:26.480 for the invitation. I'm so glad to be here. The 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:28.560 thing about our session, right, we have what we call 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:32.240 the trifecta, right, the three power in the three chambers, 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:38.080 and we had that before in twenty twelve and twenty thirteen. 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:40.080 Long this is my first session, so this is my 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:42.439 first experience. But when we had it in twenty twelve 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:46.920 twenty thirteen, there was a lot of caution about how 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:50.960 we can keep those things rather than a lot of 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:55.880 aggressive desire to govern. And I think that coming out 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:59.160 of that experience, our leadership wanted to make it clear 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:02.480 that we were going to win our re elections by 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.640 doing as much good stuff for the people of Minnesota 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:09.400 as we can, and truly we held to that. I mean, 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:12.800 we passed every single priority bill that we had in 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:15.160 the House dfl up on the wall. We had our 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:19.839 thirty priority bills. Every single one of them is now 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.440 signed into law. And I mean massive important things that 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:27.720 have been waiting to get done in Minnesota, gun control legislation, 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:33.559 driver's license for everyone, paid family medical leave, right down, 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:40.000 cannabis legalization, expungements. And I mean the word historic gets 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.079 thrown around a lot, and it kind of has lost 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:44.440 its meaning and the past of the conversation. But it 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:48.200 truly is historic. Every single bill we passed was historic 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:51.480 and transformational. The housing bill is the hot was a 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:54.839 billion dollar housing bill, the biggest by at least seven 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:58.840 hundred million, right like the education bill, All of the bills, 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:04.000 the tax bill, just hugely, significantly progressive bills. 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:07.040 So one of the things, you know, it's funny because 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:14.280 a in a headline story it says, Minnesota legislature wraps 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:19.120 up seventy two billion dollars state budget and ends legislative 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:22.600 session with far reaching impact. Right. And one of the 0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:26.360 things that was harped on, of course by Republicans in 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:29.480 your state was the fact that this was I think 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:35.480 that they said very disappointing. You know, every and that 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:39.200 there was let's see quote even a little bit of 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:41.640 tax relief that is in some of the bills is 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:44.920 not going to be recognized because of all the expenses 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:48.720 from our car tab fees and taxes and delivery fees, 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:52.560 increases costs all the way around, said the House Minority 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:57.760 Leader Lisa de Muk. What do you say to that 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:03.200 kind of reaction to this history to actually, in my 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:06.000 humble opinion, which is what I say nationally all the time, 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:10.839 tax payers actually getting back their tax dollars in ways 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:13.160 that make sense for them. So what do you make 0:11:13.200 --> 0:11:15.120 of those comments by the minority leader? 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:19.439 Yeah, I mean I think that they misunderstand the work 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:21.640 that we have done, right. I mean, we came into 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:25.680 the session with, as Lisa Damuth, Minority Leader. Damuth said 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:29.520 many times, we came in with a historic budget surplus, 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:33.720 but most of that was left over from the federal 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:36.160 COVID money that was not ongoing money, and it was 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:40.160 not surplus tax payments. We use that money to build 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:43.120 a budget for the people of Minnesota that is going 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:46.480 to transform what it means to live in Minnesota in 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:49.360 a progressive way, in a way that's going to improve 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:52.000 the lives of people. And we have I mean, I 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:56.320 have no problem saying, you know, we did increase taxes 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:59.280 in places to better the lives of everyone in Minnesota, 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:04.120 but we we'd also pass a historic middle class tax cut, 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:10.240 just tremendously powerful tax bill from Representative Gomez, our tax chair, 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:13.760 that is going to really help people. So we have 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:17.320 to have ongoing services. But we also recognize that this 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.239 is a time when people need support in their pocketbooks, 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:24.160 but they also need better access to healthcare. They also 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:27.280 need better access to the services that their lives depend upon. 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:29.960 That's going to take money, and we are going to 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.640 make sure that's not going to stop in two years 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:34.959 when we have to do this all again. We are 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:37.000 going to fund these programs into the future. 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:41.200 How do you think that we need to be using 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:48.560 your state as a symbol, right, as an example for 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:52.280 how government is supposed to work form by the people. Like, 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:56.440 what is the conversation because we're seeing, right, we saw 0:12:56.520 --> 0:13:00.000 pushback in Wisconsin. We've seen pushback with people in terms 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.560 of how they are voting and what they are doing 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:07.280 in trying to fight against these Republican supermajorities that aren't 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:10.120 offering the people anything, They're just taking things away. So 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:14.640 what is it that other states can take at this 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:19.079 moment that we're seeing when we're seeing the opposite happen 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:20.360 in these red states? 0:13:21.000 --> 0:13:25.959 I mean, I think that what Minnesota saw one. Minnesota 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:28.760 has just the DFL party here. We have a dog 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:31.280 at ground game that has made sure that we are 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:35.640 at least running in every district and everybody's hearing from us. 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:38.800 We don't leave districts that we can't win and say 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:41.080 we're not going to put resources there. We want everybody 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:46.400 to hear our message. And then the thing that we 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:50.480 had a one vote majority in the Senate, right, we 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:53.480 have senators in the state of Minnesota who are not progressive. Right, 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:56.600 I'm in a safe blue urban district. I'm the first 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.480 trans person in this place. I have my own world 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:03.520 that I opper in. But we have rural senators and 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:05.640 we brought them along with us, and we said we 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:09.959 are going to focus on transformational policies that we can 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:13.160 all get behind, and then we passed them. We said 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:14.520 we were going to do them, and we did it. 0:14:14.840 --> 0:14:17.360 We didn't say we weren't going to do things. We didn't. 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.280 I mean, I can't stress enough how important it was 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:24.720 that our leadership sat together across the entire spectrum and said, 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:28.120 what can we get done, what do we need to 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:30.960 do to get that done? And then they actually followed 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:33.240 it all the way through and held people to say 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:35.520 and you said you would support this, and now we're 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.040 here and we're going to support it. And you know, 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:40.080 I mean, I don't know states that are in a 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:44.040 trifecta Republican. I mean, that's an extremely different circumstance when 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:48.280 you're in zero power. But I do think that the 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:55.160 idea that Democrats nationally are getting their message to everyone 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:57.120 in every part of the country and every part of 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:02.680 their state really has a value, even if not right now. Right, 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:05.920 that work that was being done, the reason this got 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:09.440 done in Minnesota was because of you know, projects that 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:15.680 got started five ten years ago. There's an MVP project, right, 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:17.680 that was something that was started to build what does 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:20.680 a state like statewide agenda for the state of Minnesota 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.200 that's run by progressives look like. And that that work 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:25.680 was going on for years and years and years, so 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.520 that when this moment came, it was just teed up. 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:31.000 They knew exactly what they wanted to do. They've worked 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:32.920 it through the whole state. Right, you got to do 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:36.080 that work so that when your moment comes, you can 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:37.240 do what we just did. 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:40.680 You know, and what you're talking about really is planting 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:44.520 the seeds right, and not giving up or seating different 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:46.560 parts of your state. And when we look at it 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:50.600 at a macro level, the Democratic Party seating different states 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:53.000 altogether and just saying oh, we're not going to put 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:56.480 people on the ground in places like Texas or Florida 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:58.520 is a foregone conclusion and we're not going to bother 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.520 wasting time in Mississippi. And I think that what we 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:05.160 see is that, yes, planting those seeds is not going 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:07.800 to bear fruit the day that you planned, right, that 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:11.600 you have to have more of a long term on 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:16.000 top of a short term strategy. Is that your opinion. 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:19.000 That is my opinion, right, and that's based in my work. 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:23.920 You know, I come from activism. I come from LGBTQ 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:27.680 and abortion activism, right. Those are areas that I've worked 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:30.760 in for a long time. And when you are doing 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:34.240 work on behalf of the queer community, you don't leave people, right. 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:37.560 We can't say let's everybody leave Florida. We got to 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:40.400 abandon Florida, right, because there are trans people in Florida, 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:43.480 and we don't just leave them behind. We continue to 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:45.720 work there and we continue to make sure that the 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:48.320 people who live there are being heard and having their 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.520 needs met, and then we recognize that when the opportunity comes, 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:54.480 we are going to be ready to make sure those 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:57.520 people are getting the representation they need. Right and it's 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:00.120 the same with the people who are doing reproductive work 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:02.240 all over the country. You don't just walk away from 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:05.840 people who need access to your services. I mean the Democrats, 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:10.600 the DFL in Minnesota were the DFL. You know we 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:13.280 need to make What we did was say we may 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:15.400 not have your county right now, we may not have 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:19.000 your seat, but we're going to make sure you know 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:22.560 that when we legalize cannabis, this is still going to 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:26.720 benefit you. And here's how. When we pass paid family medically, 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:30.000 here's how that's going to benefit the workers in your town. 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:32.320 Even though you probably aren't going to vote for the 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:34.680 people who are going to pass this, we still are 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:36.120 going to pass it and we're going to make sure 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:37.480 you know that it benefits you. 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:40.520 And I think that that, you know, education is a 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:44.199 huge part of campaigning. Education is a huge part of 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:47.600 I think party responsibility is not just asking people for 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:50.840 their votes when you need it, but also showing them 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:54.800 how their vote is actually benefiting them, showing them the 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:58.520 policies that you're creating and why they are necessary. Right. 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:02.359 You know, I want to switch gears for a moment 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:06.000 to ask you your thoughts on what is happening outside 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:11.720 of your state with attacks towards transgender Americans, particularly trans youth. 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:16.159 And you know, we just saw, you know, there have 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:18.640 been a series of town halls that CNN is doing 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:22.240 with Republicans and Nikki Haley being one of those Republicans 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:27.879 that decided to use her prime time to well wage 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:31.840 an attack on trans girls and saying that it's trans 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:36.680 girls are the reason that CIS girls are committing suicide. 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:40.560 And it was disgusting. It wasn't pushed back against by 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:43.359 the quote unquote journalists that was there. I want to 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:47.240 get your thoughts on how the Republican Party is weaponizing 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:48.840 fear against the trans community. 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:53.399 Yeah, I mean I have a lot of thoughts on that. 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:55.879 I mean, that's that's the reason that I ended up 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:58.920 running for office, right, I mean, even in our decid 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:02.040 dividing government two years ago, we started to hear this, 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.520 We started to have this debate happening in our house, 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:07.560 in our Senate, and I started to get it just 0:19:07.680 --> 0:19:10.160 was getting closer and closer to home, and I thought 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:12.879 somebody has to be there, right, we need trans people 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:17.520 in these spaces. That ended up being me, and we 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:19.600 ended up with a trifecta, so I was able to 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.120 do some aggressive pro trans work. At the same time, 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:28.320 we saw the national discourse become just truly dystopian. The 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:33.959 situation for trans people in this landscape that the Republicans 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:40.000 are creating is it's almost beyond my ability to describe 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:42.800 it as to people who are not trans, right, I 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:47.919 mean young people and adults now, and adults in some 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:51.440 of these states are facing D transition, forcable D transition. 0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:55.480 They are being forced to decide whether to move or 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:58.760 to lose medications that they have been taking, sometimes for years. 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:03.400 What that means to our community is just that's such 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:07.760 a violence, such a disgusting and cruel violence against our 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:12.520 community that it really is about eradication, right. 0:20:12.760 --> 0:20:13.920 Yeah, yea yeah. 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:17.000 It's like taking someone's medication away from them that they 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:20.760 use to be who they are is a way to 0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:22.480 try to say, we don't want you to be here, 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:26.520 so you're either going to change, or you're gonna coffin 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:28.679 or the closet, is what I say, right, Like you 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:31.719 can either you can either find a way to your 0:20:31.720 --> 0:20:33.600 coffin or we're going to take away who you are. 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:38.879 And I mean, what is being done. That Nikky Haley 0:20:38.960 --> 0:20:44.040 quote that you're referring to is just it's just such 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:48.000 a blatant one. It's disconnected from any reality that exists 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:52.560 anywhere whatsoever. And two, mentally, you know, the problem of 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:55.920 teenage mental health among CIS girls is a real problem 0:20:55.960 --> 0:20:58.240 and it deserves to be taken seriously and talked about 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:01.439 into Not only is it defense have been discussing to 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:05.240 our community, but it also is offensive to young people 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:07.840 who are having real mental health challenges and are looking 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:10.760 at a world that doesn't seem to be offering them 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:15.080 a future. And then to blame it on a minority 0:21:15.160 --> 0:21:19.119 community of you know, one percent of the population. I mean, 0:21:19.119 --> 0:21:22.040 it's it's abysmal to me. I mean, it makes me 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:26.880 so angry and so frustrated that people keep doing this, 0:21:27.720 --> 0:21:30.439 even as we see polls that show Republicans don't support this. 0:21:33.320 --> 0:21:36.639 It's so sickening. And I found Nikki Haley, you know, 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:39.600 I find Republicans in general to be reprehensible, like just 0:21:39.680 --> 0:21:43.800 absolutely abominal human beings. And I say, that and blanket 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:46.040 it because if you support the Republican Party at this 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:48.920 stage in life, then I know who you are, right, 0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:52.280 and you're showing the world who you are. But when 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:54.720 I look at this, when I look at the trans population, 0:21:54.920 --> 0:21:58.560 and I think, and maybe you know better than me, representative, 0:21:58.560 --> 0:22:01.720 But when I understand it to be, what about a 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:05.960 million people in the country out of three hundred and 0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:11.879 thirty million people. So you're having, in our two party system, 0:22:12.200 --> 0:22:17.159 one party wage war on a million people, a minority 0:22:17.200 --> 0:22:20.600 of a minority of a minority. How do you think 0:22:20.640 --> 0:22:28.040 that we shift change, create new messaging that shows exactly 0:22:28.119 --> 0:22:30.080 what it is that they're doing, because it's not enough 0:22:30.119 --> 0:22:32.560 to try and shame people that can't be shamed. It's 0:22:32.560 --> 0:22:35.919 not enough to just call them bigots or transphobes. It's like, 0:22:36.520 --> 0:22:39.960 I feel like I want to showcase the number that 0:22:40.000 --> 0:22:43.560 they're talking about that is the cause of all your 0:22:43.600 --> 0:22:44.679 problems in the world. 0:22:45.119 --> 0:22:48.399 Yeah, I mean the number is really interesting to me 0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:51.320 because you know, I as I get into these spaces, 0:22:51.359 --> 0:22:55.400 it's it's often like there is this idea that Republican, 0:22:56.560 --> 0:23:00.000 this political messaging wants people to think that trans people 0:23:00.119 --> 0:23:03.879 are like it's a disease, right, and it's spreading. Tons 0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:07.600 of people are becoming trans, they are turning trans kids 0:23:07.680 --> 0:23:10.480 trans as. That's not a thing, but like that's what 0:23:10.560 --> 0:23:13.800 the idea is. And they're everywhere and they're spreading. And 0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:16.439 then but then once you start trying to do resources 0:23:16.480 --> 0:23:18.960 for trans people like we are doing in Minnesota, the 0:23:19.840 --> 0:23:22.840 story flips right, and Republicans say, like, there's not enough 0:23:22.840 --> 0:23:25.399 trans people us to really worry about this, you know, 0:23:25.800 --> 0:23:27.719 we don't need to pay so much attention to this 0:23:27.760 --> 0:23:31.159 one little group. And so you can't have it both ways, right, 0:23:31.280 --> 0:23:34.440 Either we're a menace and we're everywhere or a very 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:37.920 tiny minority population and we just deserve rights to have 0:23:38.200 --> 0:23:41.760 resources and respect and pay and housing like everybody else. 0:23:43.000 --> 0:23:45.320 And I mean, I think that it is it is 0:23:45.400 --> 0:23:49.440 hard to be in that walking that fine line, because 0:23:49.440 --> 0:23:51.640 I don't want our community to seem like. 0:23:53.880 --> 0:23:55.720 Or who whoa are we. 0:23:55.680 --> 0:23:58.879 Who must like de brand upon everybody, you know, like 0:23:58.960 --> 0:24:01.440 we are just parts of the community, like every other 0:24:01.480 --> 0:24:04.760 part of the human experience. Right, Queer people of any 0:24:06.560 --> 0:24:10.320 identity interact in the same way. I think that the 0:24:10.400 --> 0:24:14.480 thing that we are facing now is very deliberate. It's 0:24:14.480 --> 0:24:17.160 a choice right. Leaders of this movement has said they 0:24:17.240 --> 0:24:20.600 chose this issue because this issue resonated. They threw everything 0:24:20.600 --> 0:24:23.240 at the wall, and trans kids stuck. Right. That's a 0:24:23.320 --> 0:24:25.399 direct quote from one of the leaders of this movement. 0:24:27.440 --> 0:24:29.760 So it's really hard to figure out how to message 0:24:29.800 --> 0:24:35.159 against strategic hatred. But I do think we continue to 0:24:35.240 --> 0:24:38.600 just exist in the world. Data shows us that less 0:24:38.600 --> 0:24:41.960 than half of the country knows a trans person, and 0:24:42.000 --> 0:24:45.200 that's partially because there aren't that many trans people. I mean, 0:24:45.720 --> 0:24:49.320 there's a lot in terms of raw numbers, but comparatively 0:24:49.359 --> 0:24:54.000 percentage wise, there just aren't. And more people have access 0:24:54.040 --> 0:24:56.439 to what it means to be trans and how people 0:24:56.480 --> 0:24:59.960 who are trans are just everyday members of our community. 0:25:00.080 --> 0:25:03.199 These that to me, is the strongest message that we have. 0:25:03.320 --> 0:25:05.600 It's just going to take time because there aren't there 0:25:05.640 --> 0:25:09.080 just aren't that many of us, and especially in those 0:25:09.119 --> 0:25:12.399 states and in those communities that have been the most 0:25:12.440 --> 0:25:16.040 hostile to us. Right, people are fleeing. We passed the 0:25:16.040 --> 0:25:19.680 trans Refuge bill in Minnesota and people are coming. People 0:25:19.720 --> 0:25:22.360 are coming fast, right, So that that's going to leave 0:25:22.440 --> 0:25:26.439 more vacuum in areas where there aren't trans people, where 0:25:26.760 --> 0:25:30.040 festering anti trans sentiment continues to. 0:25:30.000 --> 0:25:33.520 Grow, right because those people won't will no longer be 0:25:33.560 --> 0:25:40.240 there for their own safety. You know, I feel like 0:25:40.920 --> 0:25:48.160