WEBVTT - The Reticence of Racism 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:14.760 Good morning, Peepsen. Welcome to WIKA F Daily with Me 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:21.799 your Girl Danielle Moody recording on location. Folks. Today, I 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:25.759 get into a conversation with our good, good friend, doctor 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:30.120 Jonathan Metzel, and I get into a conversation with him 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:38.640 about how the gun laws and the gutting of states 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:42.600 rights as it pertains to creating their own safe gun 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:46.000 law measures like New York are a part of the 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:51.919 larger Republican strategy to destabilize Blue states, blue cities in 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:57.120 their quest one the gun labby for greed for increased sales, 0:00:57.760 --> 0:01:00.080 but for the Republican Party to be able to and 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:04.720 point to these cities that they have destabilized and say, oh, yeah, 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:06.600 this is why you need to have us in power. 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:08.920 This is why we need to be the ones in control, 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:12.560 because these cities are raging out of control. Well, they're 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:15.360 raging out of control, and they're not because I live 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:17.679 in New York City and it is not raging out 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:21.039 of control. Yes, there is crime that is happening and 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:24.839 has always happened, But what I get into with Jonathan 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:28.680 is about the narrative that is used to discuss crime 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:33.679 and why Democrats haven't found a retort to their message 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:36.760 to the Republicans message of a law and order You know, 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.839 we know that it's steeped in bullshit, right, they don't care. 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:42.760 If we actually cared about law and order, then we 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:46.360 would invest in public schools, we would invest in communities, 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:51.360 we would create jobs, we would do things that don't 0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:55.120 have people use crime as a last resort. Now, look, 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:59.840 I am not creating sob stories for violence. But what 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:02.880 I'm saying is that if putting more cops on the 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:06.960 streets doesn't actually change anything, then what are at some 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:10.480 of the alternatives that are not just get rich quick 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:14.800 schemes for the police budgets? Right, So, Jonathan will weave 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:18.800 together the dots very clearly on you know, the issue 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.200 that I have been talking about a lot, which is 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:25.000 the rise of white domestic terrorism, the rise in this 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:28.720 quote unquote appeal to white anxiety and how it is 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:33.560 affecting not only the upcoming midterm elections, but frankly the 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:36.760 way in which we're developing policies and how those how 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:41.160 and why certain policies are developed. I got to say 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:45.840 this as we only have but five days until midterm elections. 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:50.320 One of the things that is consistently pissing me off, 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:53.320 as I know that it is pissing off many of you. 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:58.800 Is this consistent narrative around the fact that all of 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:03.000 the polls are shifting to Republicans. Once again, let me 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:07.200 say this, I don't give a fuck about the polls. 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:10.080 I really don't. I never have. And I know that 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.680 there are polsters out there that are like, no, there's 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:15.800 a science to this, in a nuance to this, No, 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:18.800 there is not. In all honesty. What it is is 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.920 being able to ask questions in a certain type of 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:24.560 way to be able to conjure out the outcome that 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:28.080 you want. The only things that matter right now with 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.920 five days left until the election until polls close is 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:36.560 what I should say. Five days until polls close is 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:39.680 how many people actually fucking show up. So if you 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:42.400 are listening to the media right now and allowing them 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:45.520 to conjure up a state of anxiety or make you 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:49.400 feel like your vote doesn't matter, then the Republicans are succeeding. 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:54.280 Right then the media is succeeding. The only polls that 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:57.800 matter right now are the ones that people are going 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:00.880 to that they are putting their physical bodies in, or 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:06.400 that they are mailing their ballots into That's what matters, folks. 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:10.560 So don't allow this conversations to deter you or make 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:12.760 you feel like, all hope it's lost, because I'll tell 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:16.200 you this, regardless of if Democrats win or lose, we're 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:19.960 still fighting. This shit is not over. Just like how 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:22.000 we thought that, oh my god, we line up and 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:24.400 we bring Biden into office and then we can go 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:28.320 back to sleeping well and taking deep breaths. No, because 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:30.240 what we know to be true is that the Republicans 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:34.159 are coming, and they are unrelenting, and they are not stopping. 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:39.160 They don't give a fuck about these elections, right, So, 0:04:39.400 --> 0:04:41.640 regardless of the outcome, what we know to be true 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:45.400 is that we have work to continue to do. I 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:49.599 am a big proponent in rest and rage, right. I 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:52.640 rest so that I have the energy and the focus 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:55.640 to be able to think ahead, to be able to 0:04:55.680 --> 0:05:01.000 create strategies, have conversations, We've narratives that get people bill activated. 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.800 But what we all have learned since two thousand and 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:08.320 sixteen is that the work is not done. Saving our 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:13.279 democracy doesn't just happen on election day. It is a 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:17.600 daily practice. And so if we are not moving in 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:22.920 that way if we are not recognizing that not one 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.360 election alone is going to save us. It is going 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:28.760 to be a series of elections at the state, local, 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:32.720 and federal level over the course of years and decades 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:37.160 that are going to save us. Right it's the layered 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:42.960 strategic approach that is going to ultimately save us. But 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:47.599 if there's nothing else that we need to hold right now, 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:57.360 it is this without vigilance. Without vigilance, our democracy dies. 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:01.120 It is not enough to just tweet, It is not 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:05.760 enough to just talk. We have got to vote, and 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.680 then we have got to continue to stay vigilant to 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:13.760 make sure that the people that we vote for continue 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:19.880 to make decisions based on our best interests and not 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:22.520 the interest that is accruing on their accounts. Do you 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:27.080 know what I'm saying? It is time that we recognize 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.600 and we own our own power, because guess what, folks, 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:33.479 they are getting ready to wield these gavels and wield 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:37.240 these batons, and they are coming after every single one 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:41.159 of our rights. So understand, election day is not when 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:45.839 the work is done, it is when it truly truly begins. 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:51.200 Coming up next, my conversation with our friend doctor Jonathan Metzo. 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:57.200 It's no secret that the news is horsepill hard to swallow. Thankfully, 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:01.120 there's The Bituation Room podcast hosted by comitian and commentator 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:05.120 Francesca free Erantini for a lighter take on the heavy stuff. 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:08.960 Each week, the Bituation Room brings you progressive comedians, experts, 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:11.120 and activists to break down the issues in a way 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:13.880 that won't just leave you crying under a weighted blanket. 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:17.600 Get the Bituation Room on Apple Podcasts, Scottify, Stitcher and 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:25.640 streaming on YouTube and Twitch friends. You know that whenever 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:28.640 we have the opportunity to speak with our in house doctor, 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:31.720 doctor Jonathan Metzel, to talk about all the things from 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:35.920 guns to COVID, the rise of white resentment, it is 0:07:35.960 --> 0:07:39.239 a treat. And Jonathan, today I want to talk about 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:41.480 one thing. You want to talk about another. So it's 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:44.400 going to be dealer's choice. Which you are going to 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:50.040 be the dealer today? So let's begin with guns and 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:54.320 New York. Tell us the latest on the wild wild 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:57.200 West that is becoming America. Well, this is the you're 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.880 actually the same topic, but you you'll only realize it 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:02.960 of price start talking. So the issue is this, I've 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:05.440 been living here in Tennessee. That's why I am today 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.880 down in the South studying gun culture, and there's been 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:13.320 a particular playbook that the NRA and other gun dealers 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:16.040 have used to basically spread. I mean, if you went 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:19.000 twenty years ago in Nashville, for example, if you told 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:22.200 anybody you could carry a loaded gun into a park 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:25.200 or into a bar, or in the trunk of your 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:29.600 car into a government building, they'd be like, that's frigging preposterous. 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:32.520 That's like anarchy. And now all those things are like 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:35.640 second nature, and anybody who says I'm gonna we should 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:39.880 have restrictions on guns is run out of town, like 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:42.200 there's no university of the allegation. How did they get that? 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.880 How did they do that? They started this narrative that basically, 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:50.240 your stuff isn't safe and your liberties aren't safe, and 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.800 guns are the ways that you can protect yourself. And 0:08:54.240 --> 0:08:56.760 it's not just about like because of course, the main 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:59.600 cause of gun death is gun suicide or partner violence, 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:05.040 but the sin of subtle messages in conservative newspapers, for example, 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:08.440 saying black people might come take your stuff, or you 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:11.200 might get mugged, or you might get you a gang 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:13.400 banger might come, or a card Jacker, this is all 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:17.440 the NA language, and it made people really anxious, and 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:20.520 it was overt and covert, and it was also really over. 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:23.080 If you look at like NRA advertisements, they show black, 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:27.920 angry black protesters. And what happened was because Tennessee was 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:35.239 run by very NRA friendly judges and politicians and governors, 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:38.040 they were just like, yep, the white people want guns 0:09:38.320 --> 0:09:40.440 because they don't make it mugged by the black people. 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:42.840 And it led to what we have now, which is, 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:46.120 you know, many more guns than people, out of control 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:50.960 gun everything, ridiculous situation. But as you know, half my 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:53.200 life's in New York, and I always thought like, well, 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:55.400 that'll never happen in New York because we're safe in 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.640 New York. New York has reasonable gun laws. New York 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:02.360 has common sense, and people just know the importance of 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:05.000 living collaboratively in New York because you've got to take 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:09.080 the subway to work. But there was a Supreme Court 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:10.599 case that we've talked about a million times in the 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:14.880 show called Group, and it overturned New york S gun 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:18.480 laws really in a very fundamental ways, and so New 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:21.240 York does not have that safety lever anymore. That it's 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:24.040 had for over one hundred years, which is a background 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:28.600 of like common sense gun laws, which dramatically, dramatically opens 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.360 the market for the n RA. All of a sudden, 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:32.079 New York is open for business for the n RA. 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.160 And what does that mean. That means that a governor 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:40.160 who's running for New York, for New York governor can 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:42.360 use the n RA playbook that I've seen here in 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:45.559 the South a million times over, which is crime is 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:49.160 out of control. Black people are doing property destruction. Look 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:51.160 at this thing on the subway. Don't you read the 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:54.760 New York Post. You we need guns here. And so 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:57.720 it's just crazy to me that the Zelden campaign New 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:01.400 York is running an NRA style campaign which would have 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:03.680 been laughed out of New York even a year ago, 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.840 even a year ago, But now because he has the 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:09.840 backing of the Supreme Court, New York actually doesn't have 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:11.920 the fallback anymore. And so the point I want to 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:14.319 make him, though this is a long pre emplom is 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:16.160 that New York is actually in a lot of danger 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:18.559 right now and doesn't realize it. That New York doesn't 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:23.000 realize it because this narrative of white racial resentment leading 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:26.880 to fears about crime and property crime, leading to the 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:29.280 same kind of shit I've seen happen in Kansas City 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:33.040 and in Nashville and all these places, a dramatic exhalation 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:36.199 and arms race. And they're saying, oh, we want to 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:39.000 stop crying. But what happens is you see much more 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:44.040 of every kind of crime, homicide, theft of guns, partner violence, suicide, 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:45.880 accidental shooting. It all goes up when there are a 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:48.400 million times more guns. So New York is fertile ground. 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:51.440 And every time I try to tell people that, they're like, oh, no, 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:53.839 that would never happen in New York, and I'm like, yeah, 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:55.920 that's where every place else that's tried to resist this 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:58.120 is said. And again, the safety New York has had, 0:11:58.160 --> 0:12:01.680 always has been, has been its gun laws, which it 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.360 doesn't have anymore thanks to the shitty as Supreme Court. 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:07.600 And so the point is New York is in danger 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:10.240 right now, and it's in danger because of the Zelden campaign, 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:12.280 and it's in danger in a way that it does 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:15.400 not realize. It doesn't realize that the NRA is running 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.000 the NRA game on New York. And even like people 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:23.880 I know, like relatives of mine, have said, holy crap, 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.200 there's way too much I'm voting for law and order. 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:28.680 There's way too much crime in the subway, or what 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:31.800 if there's another riot where they smash the windows of 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:36.440 CBS and steal all the you know, antihistamine or whatever like. 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:39.120 So it's the same thing, but New York, New York. 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:41.000 Because New York has no history with this, they don't 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:43.920 realize what's happening. And so this is the narrative of 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:47.000 racial resentment, this is the narrative of guns, and it's 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:49.400 being done to New York right now, and I feel 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:51.360 like people don't see it. And the fact that zelden 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.760 Like is even in this guy is so mediocre. The 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:57.840 fact that he's even in the room right now, I 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.880 think is because people are too late to figure this out. 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:03.800 So that's my rant, But I want people to realist. 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:09.240 So one, Jonathan, thank you for laying the foundation for 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:12.720 the conversation that I did want to have on white 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:15.280 racial resentment and how all of these things are connected, 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:19.800 because I think that I don't think anyone is really 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:22.800 getting what is happening, let alone folks that are in 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:25.520 New York that don't recognize that one hundred year old 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:29.559 gun law was struck down in the last session of 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:33.480 the Supreme Court. Let alone, what the Republican Party is 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:36.600 doing all across the country is that they are creating 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:39.079 an environment where nowhere is going to be safe. There 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:41.920 is going to be no understanding or real borders between 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:45.360 quote unquote blue states and red states, right, because the 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:49.200 reality here is that if everywhere, if we can stoke 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:52.160 fear so much in everyone, if one of the things 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.080 that went along with toilet paper during the beginning of 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:58.320 the pandemic was also the rising gun sales, if you 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:02.080 can stoke so much fear, like everywhere is unsafe, and 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:04.560 if everyone has a gun, that means that I have 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:07.160 to have a gun, even though I'm against guns, because 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.120 if my neighbor has a gun and the people across 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.200 the street have a gun and they you know, and 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:13.880 everyone is a criminal and no one can be trusted, 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:16.840 right then, like then I have to be packing as well. 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:19.240 And so I wonder, you know, one of my one 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:20.920 of my first questions for you, and I know that 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:23.760 we we we often volley back and forth on this 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:27.280 is what is the end game here? Right? Because what 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:30.280 what what happens? And this is this was part and 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:33.360 parcel of your entire book around dying of whiteness, right, 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:36.680 which is the idea that here you have healthcare trying 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:39.120 to be brought in, nationalized healthcare in a way that 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:43.960 other industrialized nations have nationalized healthcare, but because of America's 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:50.360 legacy and fucking you know, in the renaiscence of racism, 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:53.120 that they're willing to vote against their own best interests 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:56.080 and literally die. Right that, I'm looking at articles that 0:14:56.120 --> 0:15:00.720 are talking about you know, Trumpism and these objector districts 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:06.240 and places where their mortality rate is sky high. All 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:10.200 of these people are literally dying. And so I ask, 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.240 what is the end result? Because when everyone is living 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:16.720 in fear, when there is no safe place to be, 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:21.120 what is the hope on the side of the far right, 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:24.360 on the side of these gun zealots that this country 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:27.440 turns into. Because not only are they not making it 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:31.960 safe for themselves for everyone else, it's also not going 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:35.120 to be safe for them. So I'm trying to understand, 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:40.040 like the right, what their rationale is. Well, I think 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:43.440 there are two main things to think about. First, of course, 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:46.480 is that if you are a gun manufacturer New York 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:50.920 in Los Angeles, and other places are huge markets. So 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:54.080 the minute there's a mess shooting in New York and 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:56.040 everybody rushes out to get a gun in New York, 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.200 your stock goes through the route, right, So these are 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:03.120 untapped mark So certainly you're doing the bidding of the 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:06.760 gun companies, which are of course then in turn feeding 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:10.400 back and supporting campaigns like the Zelden campaign. Zelden has 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.480 had an A rating from the NRA since twenty sixteen, 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:15.840 and he's on record saying that if he's governor, he 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:19.480 will overturn the Safe Act, which is the assault weapons 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:22.440 ban and magazine capacity band in New York. So it's 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:25.680 financially a windfall. If people in New York all start 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:29.000 buying guns. It is a it's like it's like the 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:31.880 you know, mona from heaven for the gun sellers. And 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:35.080 so their agenda is very clear, which is that the 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:39.200 minute people in New York start getting afraid and barting guns, 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:42.440 it's like the one place in the country where their 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:46.000 market is not saturated. So they have a very clear 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:50.480 financial interest. And then the other thing, of course is 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:54.040 I think I can give you five hundred examples of 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:59.440 destabilizing diverse blue cities and states from fighting over ventilators 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:03.760 in the beginning of the pandemic to trying to overturn Obamacare, 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:07.320 which would really only impact places that adopted Obamacare, which 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:11.120 is like New York. You know, the idea to destabilize 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:14.320 blue cities and states and show that black people and 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:19.359 woke prosecutors, you know, they're just living like whatever, is 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.000 actually really good for red states, right because it makes 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.399 them prove like, oh, we're the true leaders and stuff 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:27.040 like that. So two really kind of dystopian. But I 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:30.640 have to say, quite real agendas that are served by this, 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:33.920 And again I just don't think people realize, like, look 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:36.680 at Zelden. Anybody can look it up. Look at Zelden's 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.080 twenty sixteen A rating from the NRA, Like the support 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:43.160 is very clear right there. But give me a break 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:45.399 that that dude is going to make New York safer 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:49.760 his agenda that he's fronting it actually benefits from destroying you, 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.439 making it much less safe to prove a point. And 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:55.280 so I just think right now, I don't know, to 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:57.800 be honest, I'm really fucking pissed at the excuse me, 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:02.959 at the Democratic Well, the Democratic response has not been 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:06.680 highlighting the stakes here in any way, shape or form, 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.560 And I just think it's like a pants on fire moment. 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:11.840 Like New York places like that have to hold on 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:16.680 because you don't have the backing. I mean, the Bruin 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:20.640 case in the Surfing Court said, you have. Any gun 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:24.800 law has to justify its rationale based on the intent 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:29.080 of the framers and ratifiers of the Constitution, which, hey, 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:32.800 guess what, there were no R fifteens then, And so 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:35.480 New York's gun laws are really in danger right now. 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:37.720 And actually, how we think about New York is really 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:40.080 in danger right now. And so I just don't think 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:43.520 we've been sounding the alarm in any way. And the 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:46.320 fact that the Zelden has been allowed to get away 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:49.239 with these safety claims I just think is a kind 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:53.120 of failure of leadership right now. Hey there, I want 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.440 to tell you about another podcast I think you'll love. 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:58.760 The Brown Girl's Guide to Politics, hosted by a Shanty Gooler, 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:02.040 the president of a Merge. BGG, is the one stop 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:04.040 shop for women of color who want to hear and 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:07.160 talk about the world of politics. Join Ashanti this season 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:09.520 as she talks to incredible women of color who are 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:11.840 changing the face of politics. And tackling some of the 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:15.720 most important issues basing the United States, from reproductive justice 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:18.399 to voting rights, to climate change and more. Tune in 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:23.680 every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. Here's the thing. 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:27.120 Twenty to thirty three percent of the country is lost. Right, 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:32.760 and we continually talk about the messaging dysfunction on the 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:35.920 side of Democrats on a whole host of issues. Right, 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:40.240 whenever Republicans claim law and order, our rebuttal is like, oh, 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:42.359 but we too are about law and order. And here's 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:45.120 a billion dollars to the police forces that kill black 0:19:45.160 --> 0:19:49.240 and brown people unrelentingly. Right, And so you know, in 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:52.720 your research, I'm not trying to convince the twenty five 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:55.919 and thirty and thirty percent of the population that is 0:19:56.000 --> 0:19:58.000 never going to fall in line with what it is 0:19:58.080 --> 0:20:01.359 that rational people want to think about. So if we're 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:05.560 looking at you know, I guess like the sixty five 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:08.919 to seventy five percent of the population that is less 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:11.959 that is left and these two are people that are 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:16.480 susceptible to fear and anxiety. What is the messaging that 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:18.760 democrats need to be What is it? What is the 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:22.280 rebuttal for law and order? Well, the thing is you 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:24.520 can co opt the crime narrative. In other words, I 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:27.480 think we've we've had a reason with a very deep 0:20:27.520 --> 0:20:31.080 emotion that's being manipulated on the other side, which we've 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:33.879 done all on like the right does all this stuff 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:37.280 with critical race theory and instead of like fighting back 0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:41.320 with emotion, emotion that is equally evocative. I mean, that's 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:43.240 kind of the field you got to play on right now. 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:46.639 We went on TV and said, well, critical race theory 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:49.480 is just an obscure legal theory taught in the law 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:52.040 schools from the nineteen seventies, Like we actually tried to 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:54.879 reason it. And now they're saying crime, crime, crime, and 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:57.040 we're saying, well, crime is actually much lower than it 0:20:57.160 --> 0:20:59.600 was in the nineteen nineties. Like that's not the right answer. 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:02.520 You have to acknowledge people's fear. Right now, people are 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:05.000 afraid of crime and crime is on the rise, and we, 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:08.600 you know, we don't. So I think saying you know, 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:11.320 I just think that co opting the crime narrative and 0:21:11.440 --> 0:21:14.160 drowning them out by saying, you know, here's our big 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:16.520 crime initiative and aren't you on board, like make them 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:19.320 respond to us. That's kind of the only card you 0:21:19.320 --> 0:21:22.200 can have right now is to co opt the narrative 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:24.600 and then turn it in your I mean again, And 0:21:25.160 --> 0:21:27.080 let me be clear, I think the Democrats have done 0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:29.680 a shitty job. Oh my god, I'm so bad today. 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:32.840 I think the Democrats have done a bad job of 0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:36.480 responding to people's emotional concern about crime. Like people are 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:38.639 afraid on the subway. Now it's just an objective fact. 0:21:39.840 --> 0:21:41.680 And so I think, you know, it's like, we're taking 0:21:41.680 --> 0:21:44.560 your concerns seriously, and here's what we're doing about it. 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:46.600 And why aren't the Republicans on board with it? And 0:21:46.640 --> 0:21:49.760 here's our ten part plan? I don't know. Unfortunately, that's 0:21:49.800 --> 0:21:51.960 the terrain we've got to be on. It's not telling 0:21:51.960 --> 0:21:53.720 people that crime is lower now than it was in 0:21:53.760 --> 0:21:56.360 the eighties, because hey, we're not in the eighties right now, 0:21:56.400 --> 0:21:59.159 and so and so I just think we've had to 0:21:59.240 --> 0:22:01.719 reason our way out of it. And I can tell you, like, 0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:06.399 their construction of crime is ridiculous because it doesn't like 0:22:06.440 --> 0:22:08.879 the most gun death has gunn suicide. It doesn't account 0:22:08.920 --> 0:22:13.000 for mass shootings, even it's you know, it's all property 0:22:13.160 --> 0:22:15.560 crime and shootings by black people. That's kind of what 0:22:15.640 --> 0:22:17.680 they're saying, but you've got to see the field they're 0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:20.280 playing on and then amplify it and co opt it. 0:22:20.320 --> 0:22:22.600 I mean, that's that's really what you have to do. 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:25.359 And so we should have been saying, we take your 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:28.200 concerns seriously. The crime is the most important thing to ask, 0:22:28.200 --> 0:22:30.199 which the Governor's kind of tried to do, but not 0:22:30.280 --> 0:22:33.280 in a way that it was believable, but make them 0:22:33.400 --> 0:22:36.479 respond to you by co opting that narrative and then 0:22:36.520 --> 0:22:38.920 saying we're doing this like in a way people can see, 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:41.480 and I just don't. I think they thought it was like, 0:22:42.240 --> 0:22:44.760 you know, it's something that people care about in their 0:22:44.760 --> 0:22:47.199 really daily lives. So you need to be the one 0:22:47.240 --> 0:22:50.480 to set the terms of the debate, which means taking 0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:52.840