WEBVTT - My RNC Grindr Adventure 0:00:01.760 --> 0:00:09.600 Cool zone media grinder. I hardly this is it could 0:00:09.600 --> 0:00:12.879 happen here where today the it is gay flirting and 0:00:13.080 --> 0:00:17.119 or harassment, and the here is Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During the 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:22.000 twenty twenty four Republican National Convention. I'm gare also known 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:26.720 by my undercover alias Garrison Davis, and I was lucky 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:31.120 enough to be one of our on the ground RNZ correspondence. 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:34.120 A few weeks ago. We provided daily coverage of the 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:38.560 GOP Coronation festival based on our conversations with delegates, lobbyists, 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:42.160 and think tank ghoules, and reported on the general trends 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:45.880 in rhetoric used by popular speakers at the event. We'll 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:48.199 have some more in depth episodes about those topics in 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:50.800 the weeks to come, using more of our recorded interviews 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:53.559 we collected at the convention. But on top of our 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:57.560 regular coverage, I also had a special assignment that I'm 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:01.280 more or less assigned to myself. On this show, we 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:05.000 often talk about right wing extremism and issues facing gay 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:07.960 and trans people, including the various ways conservatives and Christian 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:10.680 nationalists are trying to make life harder for queer people, 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:15.880 whether through legislation, online harassment, and physical violence as These 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:19.040 are two of our most frequently covered topics. Being at 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:22.640 the Republican National Convention provided me with the perfect opportunity 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:29.600 to investigate the intersection between conservatism and homosexuality. For years, 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:33.640 I've heard rumors and urban legends about a massive influx 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:37.600 of Republicans flocking to the gay hookup app Grinder to 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:40.760 get laid during the R and C. Whether they be 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:44.479 twenty year old Republican twinks from Miami or fifty three 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:47.960 year old self hating, closeted gay men from Idaho trapped 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:52.640 in loveless marriages, curiosity has often gotten the better of me, 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:57.080 and I needed to know how many homosexual Republicans were 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:02.360 actually logging onto Grinder You're unfamiliar. Grinder is technically a 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:06.840 dating app that serves the LGBTQ community, but in actuality, 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:09.560 it is a mediocre hookup app that mostly serves as 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:12.480 a way for strangers in their forties to completely unprompted 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:16.800 send you unflattering pictures of their penis. Grinder was launched 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:19.760 in two thousand and nine and is arguably the largest 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:23.440 and most popular gay dating app, especially among men. Grinder 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:27.080 has only been around for two in person RNCs prior 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:29.919 to this point twenty twelve and twenty sixteen, since all 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:33.480 convention activities moved online during twenty twenty for the pandemic. 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:37.080 So this July, for the first time in eight years, 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:40.440 Republicans from all around the country could gather in one 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:43.400 city and once their wives fell asleep, log on to 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:47.080 Grinder and this episode, I'm going to tell you about 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:52.760 my RNC Grinder experience. Before traveling to the city that 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:54.640 was about to be invaded by all of the weirdest 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:58.000 Republicans in the country, I needed to do some prep 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:01.800 to help ensure safety and success in my investigative endeavor. 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:05.640 I hope you queers liked that terrible punt. Based on 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:09.480 the massive increase in violent anti trans rhetoric coming from 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:11.799 the GOP, I already knew that I would be dusting 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:14.959 off my old boy motor skills and going undercover as 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.320 a cisgender male. Although my ability to pass as a 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:21.760 straight mail is debatable, I can at least easily pass 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:26.520 as a not quite straight male. My trans feminine fashion 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.360 taste has been skewing more mask lesbian in recent years, 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:32.560 so clothing wasn't really an issue. I packed up basically 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:36.000 all my button up collared shirts, three ties, two black suits, 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:39.440 and a beige London fog trench coat. Basically, the vibe 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:43.120 I was going for was half young Republican, half Roman 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:46.680 towel boy dressed as a nineteen fifties FBI agent. I 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:50.560 refer to this as Dale Cooper Moting. I was unwilling 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:52.800 to cut my hair to match most of the young 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.680 Republican frat boys, so I settled on styling my wavy 0:03:56.680 --> 0:04:00.480 blonde locks like Baron Trump meets Total Swinton. In Constantine. 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:03.960 I was kind of Gabriel maxing for most of the convention, 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:07.520 and though most attendees were unable to pick up on 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:11.320 my diikish undertones, the one day I wasn't wearing a tie, 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.760 I did get she heard by the Secret Service when 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:17.479 entering the convention through a security checkpoint. They're going woke. 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:21.400 So that was my general look for the convention. I 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:25.279 also completely remade my Grinder profile for the RNZ For 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:28.240 simplicity's sake, I got to emphasize my twinkish past and 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:32.720 removed the explicitly non binary transgender aspects of my profile, 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:37.120 replacing some of my more trans coded photos with pictures 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:41.520 of my light yagami and Dale Cooper cosplay. Perhaps next 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.640 rn C I can experiment with discovering how many of 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:47.719 the RNC attendees are chasers. But for safety's at sake, 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.679 I went to more stealth, both online and in person 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:54.960 at RNC related events. For my main profile picture, I 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:57.880 chose a pretty basic photo of me with disheveled hair, 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:00.920 wearing a light gray shirt and thin blackes I looking 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:05.400 just frankly exhausted. I chose the simple yet elegant user 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:09.839 name Twink, and for my bio wrote gen z in 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:13.640 town for Convention, which I thought was pretty funny and 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:16.520 signals to people that yes, I am here for the RNC, 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:21.320 but leaves the exact reason why still a bit mysterious. 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:25.240 So this was my bait. On my way to the airport, 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:27.960 I was already dressed for the part, as I suspected 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.839 the flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee would be part of 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:34.800 the whole RNC experience. I arrived at the gate and 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:39.080 the vibe shift was immediate. Older white men with even 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.680 whiter hair wearing a mix of poorly tailored suits and 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:46.520 country club polo shirts fit for the driving range. They 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:50.839 all kind of looked like my Republican grandfather. The women, meanwhile, 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:54.320 regardless of age, were all cause playing their favorite female 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.800 Fox and News anchor with bleached blonde hair. There were 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:01.440 a handful of delegates as well as Republican super fans 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:05.080 wearing Trump buttons and mega hats, just really excited to 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:07.480 be going to the convention, the way a NERD would 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:10.560 be excited to go to San Diego Comic Con. Others 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.000 at the gate were more subdued, perhaps not wanting to 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:16.719 attract too much attention in the Atlanta airport, but I 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:19.880 could still overhear them getting into quiet small talk about 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:24.320 their RNC expectations and in hushed tones, asking others at 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:28.520 the gate if they were going to the convention. And 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:31.400 that's what everyone called it, not the Republican Convention, not 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:36.599 the GOP convention or the RNC the convention. As I 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:39.400 was borning the plane, an older woman with straw like 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:41.919 blonde hair, sitting a few rows in front of me 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:45.520 waved me and asked, young man, are you going to 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:50.599 the convention? I gave my best yes, ma'am, took my seat, 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.280 and then heard her remark to her friend about how 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:56.680 happy she was that more young people are attending the convention. 0:06:57.240 --> 0:06:59.800 And I would suspect she would be quite disappointed to 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:02.760 learn why I was attending the convention and what I 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:06.000 was doing there, mainly trying to collect as much information 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:10.920 about these weird RNC Grinder Republicans as I can. And 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:14.360 you will hear more about those weird Grinder RNC Republicans 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.360 after the break. This episode is brought to you in 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:20.880 part by the top Gun soundtrack, which I was listening 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:23.480 to as I was coming down from adderall while writing 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.720 the second half of this episode, as well as these 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:41.800 products and sponsors. Okay, back to the Grind. Most convention 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:45.640 activities took place in the Peiser Forum, which it took 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:49.080 about four days to learn how to pronounce. This venue 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:52.400 is usually home to the NBA team, the Milwaukee Bucks, 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:54.600 and this is where I would do most of my 0:07:54.680 --> 0:07:57.760 Grinder cruising so I could see other profiles within the 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:01.320 radius of the convention area. Every time I walked into 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:03.680 the Pfiser Forum, which was multiple times a day for 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:06.040 four days in a row, I would find a little 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.320 corner or a place to sit and discreetly boot up 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:10.920 Grinder and refresh my feed to see what profiles were 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:15.000 in my proximity. Now, if you're unfamiliar with Grinder. One 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:20.720 of its more terrifying features is the proximity detector, telling 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:23.800 you what users are near you, whether that be five 0:08:23.840 --> 0:08:27.520 miles away or five feet away. Every night, when I 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:30.720 got back to the hotel after recording with Robert and Sophie, 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:33.080 I would once again check a Grinder to see if 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:35.920 any unlucky delegates were put up in the hotels by 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:38.840 the airport. The hotel we were staying at was also 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:42.680 home to the Idaho and North Dakota delegates, and though 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:45.480 I don't believe anyone from our hotel was on Grinder, 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:49.520 save for maybe an anonymous profile or two, there definitely 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:53.000 were RNC attendees at some of the nearby hotels roughly 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:57.040 fifteen hundred feet away from my bed. The Grinder proximity 0:08:57.080 --> 0:09:00.240 detector was quite useful to me and locating profiles active 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.600 around the footprint of the r and C, as well 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.560 as when sorting through all my messages back home to 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:08.280 confirm who attended the rn C from out of state. 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.920 Because Milwaukee is about six hundred and fifty miles away 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:15.840 from Atlanta, if someone's distance marker was substantially different from that, 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:17.880 I could assume that they were in Milwaukee for the 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:19.800 r and C from out of state, even if I 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:23.559 wasn't able to confirm through any brief text exchange. I've 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:25.880 also done my best to follow up with certain profiles 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:29.840 to rule out possibilities of secondary traveling or other random 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:32.959 reasons for why their distance markers might not line up exactly. 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:36.800 And I think they have it narrowed down pretty well. Okay, 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:39.199 you've been very patient, and now I think it's time 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:43.200 to read through the highlights from my grinder in box. 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:45.840 And I gotta say I think I started off pretty strong. 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.480 While attending the RNC kickoff party the night before the 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:52.320 convention officially started, I got one of the very first 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.679 messages I received from a twenty one year old Republican 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:58.360 with the profile picture that's just a close up picture 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:02.120 of a dark suit with a dark blue shirt and 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:06.120 magenta tie, already horrendous vibes. He asked me if I 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:10.120 was quote unquote with the GOP and I said I 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:12.960 was attending with friends, and then I got no further response. 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:16.160 I saw this guy online throughout the convention, and then 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:19.320 after the convention was over, he moved like three hundred 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:21.720 miles away, so I'm pretty sure he was there for 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:25.440 the RNC. I got a message from someone who identified 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:29.719 himself as a local conservative quote but not a hardcore 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:33.560 Republican unquote, and he was excited the convention was in town, 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:37.920 hopeful that he would quote meet my future husband unquote. 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:43.040 The first chaser I encountered with the bio looking for 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:46.640 some lady dick to feel in my ass, saw through 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:51.720 my cisgender disguise and messaged me cock question mark. I 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:54.640 got one other message from a chaser who was pretending 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:56.680 to be Tea for Tea, who asked me if I 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:00.880 was in town for Kitsu Khan an Anima in Green Bay. 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:05.040 A nice local messaged me, quote hope you're finding what 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:08.120 you're looking for, smiley face, which was very nice and 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:10.840 just kind of amusing if you consider that he thought 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:13.440 I was just a gay Republican looking for some other 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:18.440 gay Republican. Another local with the name older for young 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:22.160 sent me the message quote boomer, who will talk politics 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:26.360 with you or we can just fuck. I asked him 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:30.800 if the quote unquote talk politics pickup line works very often, 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.160 and he replied quote less often than I would hope. 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:38.959 For On here zero unquote, he mentioned that he had 0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:42.199 noticed some convention attendees on the app telling me that 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:46.079 they have infiltrated Grinder. He then asked me what exact 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:47.760 hotel I was staying at. So that was the end 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:51.360 of that conversation. A minority of the Milwaukee locals who 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:56.120 messaged me identified themselves as conservatives and were largely excited 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:59.880 that the RNC was in town. They vicariously questioned me 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:02.719 about how the convention was going, as most were disappointed 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:06.480 that they themselves cannot attend. One such fellaw who described 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:11.440 Trump's first RNC entrance as electric and a very emotional 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:15.520 moment for him and the entire crowd unquote, would have 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:17.880 liked to attend, but he was busy working at the 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:25.040 hospital because they needed quote extra staffing just in case unquote. Now, 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:28.680 the worst profile picture I found was an older guy 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:31.560 wearing a baseball camp and one of those half faced 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.840 skull masks like Adam Offfen used to wear. He said 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:37.120 he was from Florida and claimed to be in town 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:40.960 not for the RNC but to visit family, and mentioned 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:44.400 that Vance had completely sold out his morals for the 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:48.360 VP spot. This guy's politics were impenetrable. Maybe this was 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:53.760 just like your average Florida Independent. Very baffling fella. A 0:12:53.800 --> 0:12:57.760 younger guy messaged me, asking you're a Republican and I said, 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.400 not really putting it lightly, and he never got to me. 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:03.439 I did find a thirty one year old chaser named 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.000 Greg who I do believe was attending the convention, and 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:11.559 his bio read quote Anon, come drain me trans CD 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:15.720 as crossdresser sissy fem to the front of the line. 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:20.640 I asked, you like trans and he responded yes. We 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:24.000 had no further conversation. I did talk with two other 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:26.800 people who happened to be covering the convention, including one 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.160 guy who thought I was with CNN because the Grinder 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:32.320 proximity sensor put me near the CNN area when I 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:37.000 was actually using Grinder at the Heritage Foundation party. And lastly, 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:41.360 really the only guy I saw who openly claims to 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.679 be attending the RNC in his public bio was a 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:48.440 thirty two year old from Shreveport, Louisiana with the user 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:53.400 name suck me Off one Word. He described the convention 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:57.480 as exhausting but awesome and told me he was quote 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:02.240 proud to support President Trump unquote and called Trump's speech 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:06.600 on the final day amazing. A lot of the RNC speakers, 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.839 including Trump, talked about Corey Compretour, the man who was 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:13.679 killed at the Trump rally during the attempted assassination. So 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:17.560 after mister suck me Off talked about how awesome Trump's 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:22.240 speech was, I just replied to him, poor Corey, and 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:26.400 he messaged me back Corey Who, and that he told 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:29.440 me what exact hotel he was staying at. Now, part 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:32.720 of the danger of trying to use Grinder directly in 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:36.520 the middle of the RNC, even discreetly, is that even 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:39.120 if I'm hunched over on my phone, there is a 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:42.240 non zero chance that some passer by or persons sitting 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:45.239 right above me might catch a glimpse of an unsolicited 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:47.760 dick pic that fills my phone screen as I try 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:50.640 to check my messages. And this is simply a non 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:55.840 negotiable part of the Grinder experience. Whatever you do, grainy, unflattering, 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:59.240 bizarrely angled photos of some balding, forty three year old 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:03.840 married man will appear in your inbox. Ordinarily, I would 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.360 check the profile first to see who might be sending 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.880 me a photo, to weed out the undesirable prospects before 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:14.160 even considering to open up a DM. Unfortunately, multiple factors 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:16.720 prevented me from doing this. For one, this was research, 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.200 so I needed to collect the most amount of data possible. 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.800 But moreover, even if I still wanted to vet for 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:27.600 applicable profiles in my dms, this was impossible without opening 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:30.880 up each DM individually and clicking through to their profile 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.080 from the chat log. Due to one of the many 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:38.040 glitches I experienced using Grinder at the RNC, about halfway 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:41.080 through the week, the app started crashing pretty frequently. But 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:42.880 the main glitch I had to deal with, which has 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:46.280 since been fixed, is that I could not access anyone's 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:49.040 profile from the DM's page. I had to click into 0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:52.840 each individual chat log to open up a user profile, 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:55.560 which meant I had to look at a lot more 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:59.960 unsolicited dick pics before even being able to check anyone's profile. 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:03.760 So there I was watching Ted Cruise's speech, sitting underneath 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:07.200 about fifty Republicans and right next to both of my bosses, 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:10.720 scrolling through an endless stream of dick picks to see 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:12.400 who was local and who was here for the R 0:16:12.440 --> 0:16:17.000 and C, hoping that whatever Republican voter from Alabama wasn't 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:21.360 looking over my shoulder at the plethora of dimly lit hog, 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:25.040 but I was far from the only one reporting issues 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.960 with the app during the r and C. Around midday 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.560 on Tuesday, the second day of the convention, over a 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:34.080 thousand users reported a Grinder outage in the Milwaukee area 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.880 on the website down Detector. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:40.640 on the final day of the r and C that quote, 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:43.680 reports of the Grinder app crashing increased by more than 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:46.520 ninety percent in the past forty eight hours across the 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:50.560 country unquote. The down detector heat map showed Grinder outages 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:53.800 in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:56.760 a hot spot of outages in Milwaukee near the end 0:16:56.760 --> 0:17:00.640 of the convention, indicating users were experience and sing issues 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:04.400 with the app, possibly due to an increase in activity, 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:08.280 and you will hear more about that activity after this 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.199 ad break. This episode of It Could Happen Here is 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:15.080 brought to you in part by the Challenger's soundtrack remix 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:18.879 by Boys Noise, which I was listening to as I 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:21.840 wrote most of this episode while on the plane back 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:25.040 to Atlanta. This episode is also brought to you by 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:38.920 these products and services. We once again return to the grind. 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:41.960 We gotta keep on grinding. We're almost done, but we 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:44.479 got to grind a little more. Just one more grind 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:46.800 bro I swear about addictors on more grind broachs one 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:50.840 more grind. During the influx of reports about the Grinder 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:54.320 app breaking during the RNC, a post from the Twitter 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:58.760 account for the Halfway Post went extremely viral, bolstering claims 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:03.080 of a massive increase in activity. Quote breaking, an executive 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:06.800 of the gay dating app Grinder says the Republican National 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:12.560 Convention is quote basically Grinder's super Bowl unquote. This quote 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:15.879 from a Grinder executive went super viral, prompting discussions all 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:19.760 over the Internet about five different articles and even disgraced 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:23.320 former New York Congressman George Sentos commented on the phenomenon 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:26.440 content warning, gay Republican, so. 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:36.040 Grinder executives are calling the RNC convention the Grinder super Bowl. Folks. Look, 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:42.240 I'm openly gay, no qualms about it. Proud conservative Republican. 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:45.520 I met my husband on Grinder and we've been together 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:48.600 for six years going on seven, married. 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:49.360 For almost three. 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:50.760 Let me tell you something. 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:55.520 Just come out the closet. Boys, Come on, it's fun. 0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:59.879 You can be gay and conservative, but look, Grinder's already 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:02.760 anyway based on the hits, and guess who's in town. 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:04.440 It's all you conservatives. 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:09.359 By now, I certainly did observe a lot of blank 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:12.320 or anonymous profiles, at least more than I'm used to. 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:16.640 I also received messages containing variations of hey sexy from 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:20.159 at least five accounts that have since been deactivated. And 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:22.720 this does line up with a report from a Milwaukee 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:25.800 area Grinder user who spoke with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:29.560 saying that he noticed a major bump in anonymous users. Quote. 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:31.840 On any given day, you'll go on there and see 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:34.760 a headless torso or a blank profile, said the source, 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:37.320 who did not want to be named. The Grinder user said, 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:40.040 on a normal day, you'll encounter maybe ten users with 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:43.119 no public profile. But Thursday, when he checked the app, 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:48.560 he said he stopped counting at fifty blank profile photos unquote. Now, 0:19:48.600 --> 0:19:51.480 we don't have any official data yet on Grinder usage 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:53.960 near the twenty twenty four R and C only the 0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:57.640 down detector reports which our user submitted, but we do 0:19:57.760 --> 0:20:01.160 at least have data from the last in person convention 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:04.440 in Cleveland, Ohio. All the Way Back in twenty sixteen, 0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:08.000 a Vice article by Candice Brian spoke with sources from 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:11.360 Grinder and wrote that quote, Grinder usage near the Quick 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:14.600 and Loans Arena showed a sixty six percent increase during 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:19.400 the RNC. Other active destinations including Times Square, Capitol Hill, Disneyland, 0:20:19.480 --> 0:20:23.000 South Beach, and Trump Tower showed no comparable increase in 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:27.639 active users. Unquote. Many of the local twinks and trans 0:20:27.680 --> 0:20:31.960 folks certainly were concerned about possible RNC freaks hiding on 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:35.000 the app. People would often first ask me if I 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:37.440 was a Republican or why I was in town before 0:20:37.480 --> 0:20:40.760 trying to hit on me. One such twink told me, quote, 0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:43.320 I would be surprised if you were a delegate or something, 0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:47.600 but I had to check. As the week progressed, more 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:49.879 locals told me that they had found a handful of 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:54.320 out and proud patriots online, but really not many. In fact, 0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:58.000 multiple Milwaukee locals I chatted with on Grinder did claim 0:20:58.040 --> 0:21:02.040 to notice an uptick in users, but mostly recognizable local 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:04.800 users who were online for the same reason I was 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:08.080 to see if there was an influx of closet Republicans. 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:11.480 Someone told me, quote, for the record, it's like three 0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:14.640 times busier here than normal. Everyone is out to see 0:21:14.640 --> 0:21:17.359 what the Republicans are up to, and the chasers have 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:20.879 come out of the woodwork unquote. Far from being the 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:24.879 app's super Bowl. According to Weis, the twenty sixteen rnc's 0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:28.600 sixty six percent bump in activity is less than one 0:21:28.760 --> 0:21:31.960 half of the increase in Grinder activity that was seen 0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:35.840 at the last in person DNC, an event which was 0:21:35.880 --> 0:21:40.680 also a whole day shorter I'll rage from Wece quote. However, 0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:43.919 from Sunday to Monday, the week of the Democratic National Convention, 0:21:44.240 --> 0:21:47.280 there was an even higher one hundred and forty eight 0:21:47.280 --> 0:21:52.480 percent increase in activity around the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. Quote. 0:21:53.280 --> 0:21:56.560 It's also worth noting that of that sixty six percent 0:21:56.600 --> 0:21:58.639 increase in activity around the twenty sixteen r and C, 0:21:59.359 --> 0:22:02.879 only about forty percent of those users were visiting Cleveland, 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:07.280 most were locals. Meanwhile, sixty percent of Grinder users active 0:22:07.320 --> 0:22:11.600 near the DNC in Philadelphia were visiting the city. Oh, 0:22:11.680 --> 0:22:14.679 and that quote from a Grinder executive calling the RNZ 0:22:15.119 --> 0:22:18.359 Grinder's super Bowl, as well as George Sandos's other claim 0:22:18.359 --> 0:22:22.360 about Grinder purposely outing gay conservatives. Both of those claims 0:22:22.480 --> 0:22:26.560 originate from Twitter satire accounts. It is totally made up, 0:22:26.800 --> 0:22:29.520 pure fiction. It's fiction. It's fiction. 0:22:30.000 --> 0:22:31.720 We made it up. We made this one up. 0:22:31.840 --> 0:22:34.600 It's a made up tail. It's a total fabrication. It 0:22:34.760 --> 0:22:39.399 never happened. It's an urban legend that never happened. So no, 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:43.200 the RNZ is not Grinder's a super Bowl. I got 0:22:43.200 --> 0:22:46.480 messages from over one hundred and fifty different people. Over 0:22:46.560 --> 0:22:50.400 ninety percent of the messages I received and profiles visible 0:22:50.440 --> 0:22:54.680 online even while inside the Pfizer forum were from locals 0:22:54.680 --> 0:22:58.800 completely unaffiliated with the rn Z, and any boost activity 0:22:58.800 --> 0:23:01.639 that can be attributed to people for the RNC is 0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:04.960 a minuscule drop in the bucket compared to the proverbial 0:23:05.160 --> 0:23:08.959 orgy festival of out of town gay Democrats who travel 0:23:09.040 --> 0:23:12.960 to the DNC and like, if you think about this logically, 0:23:13.640 --> 0:23:16.760 this shouldn't at all be surprising. The Republican Party has 0:23:16.760 --> 0:23:19.520 spent the past two years screaming about how all drag 0:23:19.600 --> 0:23:22.680 queens are child groomers, and though this was the first 0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:25.719 year the GOP has removed opposition to gay marriage from 0:23:25.760 --> 0:23:29.560 their party platform, they have massively increased their opposition to 0:23:29.720 --> 0:23:32.920 and attacks against trans people, and really any display of 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:36.359 a visible queerness, like come on, this is the Republican Party. 0:23:36.960 --> 0:23:41.200 There's this kind of fucked up cultural conception that homophobic 0:23:41.240 --> 0:23:45.479 politicians must be so because they are secretly gay. And 0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:49.240 while there is the occasional like Lindsey Graham or repressed 0:23:49.400 --> 0:23:54.000 homosexual preacher, this is not the norm and all Republicans 0:23:54.040 --> 0:23:58.680 being secretly gay is not the driving force of legislative homophobia. 0:23:59.119 --> 0:24:02.119 It is an ideal logical drive, largely in furtherance of 0:24:02.119 --> 0:24:05.919 hegemonic Christian nationalism, and now for people like Elon Musk 0:24:05.960 --> 0:24:10.399 and more, young Republicans of fascistic notion of reproductive futurism 0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:14.160 built on fears that young people white people aren't having 0:24:14.320 --> 0:24:18.439