1 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: Good morning, keeps, and welcome to wok F Daily with 2 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: me your girl, Danielle Moody recording from the Brooklyn Silarium. Folks, 3 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: you know I have you can see here my notepad 4 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: and my computer on my lap because I have been 5 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:32,239 Speaker 1: struggling with what to cover and how to kind of 6 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:36,879 Speaker 1: maneuver us into this holiday week when there is just 7 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:41,279 Speaker 1: so much wrong that continues to happen. And I'm like, 8 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,480 Speaker 1: do we talk about the news of the day, which 9 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: is the fact that listening let me just say this, 10 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: listening to the McDaniel's trial, the trial of the three 11 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: murderers that killed Ahmad Aubrey because he had the audacity 12 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: to jog while black in his own nigh Hoodum, listening 13 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: to that trial, which I cannot stomach, and I think 14 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: that my tolerance for white fuckery and rage has reached 15 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: a all time high. Like I just don't. I no 16 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: longer have what used to be like an iron stomach 17 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: to be able to listen to the to the defense 18 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: talk about how these white men were well within their 19 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: right to have a citizen's arrest, even though Georgia wiped 20 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: that rule right, that law off the books because it 21 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: was inherently racist right, and it was installed like a 22 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: century ago. It's hard for me to listen to the 23 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: justification of murder of black people anymore. I know the story, 24 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: I know the song, the I feared from my life, 25 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: the um they were doing something and saying, oh, we 26 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: were protecting our property. It's always the same fucking story. 27 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 1: So it's like, if you've heard it once, you've heard 28 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 1: it a million times, and there's really no need to 29 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: continue to relive these stories with each and every single murder. 30 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: So I haven't wanted to dive into that. And there 31 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: are other people who know that you can listen to, 32 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: like our friend Mark Thompson who's been covering the trial 33 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: on his show Make It Plain. So there are plenty 34 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: of people that can walk you through the intricacies of that. 35 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:35,839 Speaker 1: I am just not going to be one of them 36 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: because I care too much about my mental health. But 37 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: there's another story that has really taken hold over me, 38 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: and it's kind of how I feel, and I know 39 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: that many of you feel this way as well, because 40 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: you're messaging me and dming me about how to deal 41 00:02:55,280 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: with this sense of despair. Michelle Goldberg, who has joined 42 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: Woke af a couple of times over the years. Is 43 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: a writer for The New York Times, and this week 44 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: she wrote a piece called the Problem of Political Despair. 45 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: And before I delve into the piece, you know, I 46 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: want to share with you my own feelings over the 47 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:25,559 Speaker 1: past couple of weeks. Right, Usually, I get super excited 48 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: for the holidays. You know, I'm not one of those 49 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: people that decorates everything, you know, but I love spending 50 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: time with my family. I love taking a break. But 51 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: over the past couple of years, I feel like it's 52 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: like there's a dread that kind of follows along with 53 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: the holidays. And so before I delve into the political despair, 54 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: I kind of want to talk about like this holiday 55 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: feeling and get a sense like if other people feel 56 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: this way. I kind of miss And let me preface 57 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: this by saying that I'm not a cheap person, right, 58 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: but I miss the holidays really being about spending time 59 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: with family and friends that you don't get to readily see. 60 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: I miss the idea of, you know, it being about 61 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: the time and the quality of that time and the 62 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: games and the cooking together as opposed to the overconsumption. Right, So, 63 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: for the past couple of days, I've been kind of 64 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: deciding do I really want to do a show on 65 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: like capitalism and Black Friday every year? Right? You see 66 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: the videos. Media loves it. They love to show, you know, 67 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: middle income or lower income people with these mad dashes 68 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: into the store to get the latest gadget right that 69 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: they can only afford frankly when the prices are slash. 70 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: But we know that capitalism is about breeding this feeling 71 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:09,159 Speaker 1: that you need material goods in order to feel good 72 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,600 Speaker 1: about yourself, that in order to stay in competition with 73 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: your family and friends, like, you just have to accumulate 74 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 1: more stuff. And you know, the fact is that we 75 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: know that that companies inflate prices right so that they 76 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: can then cut them in a way that makes us think, 77 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: oh my god, I'm getting these things for seventy percent off, 78 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: when in fact they're still recouping a huge, huge, fucking profit. 79 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: And these are the same companies that have poor labor practices, 80 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,720 Speaker 1: that don't pay their people, that have folks coming in 81 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:49,919 Speaker 1: now on Thanksgiving Day, right, like you can barely finish 82 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: a turkey before folks are either called into work if 83 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,799 Speaker 1: they work in retail, or your family is like, well, 84 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: we got to you know, finish this all up so 85 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: that we can go accumulate more shit, right, and then 86 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 1: show you how much we love you by giving you 87 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: a bunch of shit that is only going to add 88 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: to the clutter and take up space in your homes. Right, 89 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: this is how I feel these days. And I know 90 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,720 Speaker 1: that I sound like a grinch, but the reality is 91 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: is that I feel like capitalism. The desire to accumulate 92 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: more stuff, the goal of keeping up with your neighbors 93 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: so that you have the latest iPhone, you have the 94 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 1: latest pair of sneakers, you have the latest whatever, really 95 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: has us devoid of what the holidays actually were about. Now, 96 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: let's be clear that Thanksgiving, much like the celebration of 97 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,160 Speaker 1: Columbus Day, is a fucked up holiday. Right. We have 98 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: tried to move it just to being you know, the 99 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,479 Speaker 1: holiday that is about gratitude, the holiday that is about 100 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: really giving thanks But you know, when we understand the origins, right, 101 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 1: as we've been talking about America's origin story, we know 102 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 1: that this right Thanksgiving is based on the massacre of 103 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: indigenous people and the colonization thereof by a bunch of 104 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: white religious zealots who decided to leave their homeland so 105 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: that they can pursue their religious fanaticism right unencumbered by taxes. 106 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 1: That that's just such like the story in a nutshell. 107 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: And then they come across the Wampanogue tribe who greets them, 108 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: who then they rape and pillage and colonize, and then 109 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: so begins their story of despair. Right, So that's this 110 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: in a fucking nutshell. And I got to tell you 111 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: that whenever I see still in the twenty first century, 112 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: still in twenty twenty one, when I see young elementary 113 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: school kids coming home, you know, off of the bus 114 00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: with the Pilgrim hats on and still like doing this 115 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: performative racism, I'm disgusted, right, And I'm like, oh, see, 116 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: if I had kids, they would need to be homeschooled 117 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: because I cannot believe that we're still doing this bullshit 118 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: about the Pilgrims and the Indians and like, oh the 119 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: coming together and the sharing of food involved, blah, and 120 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: you know, totally whitewashing over the reality of what has happened, right, 121 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: and where those Native American and Indigenous populations are today, 122 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: that they are on small plots of land referred to 123 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: as the reservations, where they have they are over indexed 124 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: in alcoholism, drug abuse, joblessness, depression, anxiety, all of these 125 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:49,079 Speaker 1: things that come from this thanksgiving right, that come from 126 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:53,079 Speaker 1: the treatment of indigenous people in this country and why 127 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: slavery was born because you couldn't enslave a group of 128 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: people that knew the land better than you did, so 129 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: best to just massacred them and put them on a 130 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: small plot of land and then ship in actual human 131 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: beings that you refer to as chattel in order to 132 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: build up the economy so that you could continue your 133 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: religious fanaticism right unencumbered. So that's the story of America 134 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 1: in a fucking nutshell. And so when I come to 135 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: this holiday season and begin to take stock, you know, 136 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: as we only have a couple of more weeks left 137 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: of the year, and you know, everyone is frantically moving 138 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 1: because you want to end the year, you know, as 139 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: well and as thoughtful as you started it. I was 140 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: just in a conversation with one of my cousins and 141 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 1: she's like, oh, you're looking forward to the holidays, and 142 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: I'm like, not really, I'm kind of looking forward to 143 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 1: them being done. I'm and it's not because I don't 144 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: want to spend time with my family because I do 145 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,559 Speaker 1: and I spend you know, plenty of time with them 146 00:09:54,559 --> 00:10:01,680 Speaker 1: throughout the year. But it's the over like consumption, consumer driven, 147 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: capitalistic nature of Thanksgiving and the speed through you know, 148 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 1: Hanukkah and Christmas and you know, and then the rush 149 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: to the new year. It's disgusting because we don't actually 150 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 1: I mean, you would think, right, And a lot of 151 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: people said this that last year, and I'll speak for myself. 152 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: Last year, I think that more people, and you tell 153 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: me in the comments section, I think that more people 154 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 1: took stock of what the holidays meant because it was 155 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: the first time in many of our lives right where 156 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: we were not able at all to join with family 157 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 1: because of the coronavirus. We all needed to stay within 158 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 1: our pods. And even though that was recommended by the 159 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: CDC and recommended you know by many health officials and 160 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: scientists and doctors, many people did gather and then they 161 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,960 Speaker 1: had these mini COVID you know, cluster events right where 162 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: where a lot of people ended up getting sick. But 163 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: it was really a time to take stock for me 164 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 1: and many people into what really matters, like do you 165 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: need the pile up of presence underneath the tree. Do 166 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: you need to you know, exit out of Thanksgiving dinner 167 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:32,199 Speaker 1: so that you can get you know, a new microwave. 168 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:37,439 Speaker 1: And again, I don't say that to shame people who 169 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: this is their opportunity to shop during the year because 170 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: the prices, you know, meet what they are able to 171 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:50,319 Speaker 1: bring home. So I'm not shaming them, but I'm shaming business, 172 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:55,959 Speaker 1: big business. I'm shaming capitalism and how it has deteriorated, 173 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:01,319 Speaker 1: like our sense of connectedness, right, our sense of joy 174 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,480 Speaker 1: from just being able to be in each other's presence 175 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 1: and break bread and share a meal, right and actually 176 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: really truly think about what you are grateful for, right 177 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: to have this moment, have this time in our very 178 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 1: fast paced lives, even though we may not be back 179 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: up to full speed in a lot of senses, which 180 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:25,440 Speaker 1: I will talk about what's transpiring in Europe and why 181 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: we need to really pay attention to how we are 182 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:34,680 Speaker 1: still being mindful living in a global health pandemic. But 183 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:39,320 Speaker 1: you know this coincides this feeling, this desire to kind 184 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:42,599 Speaker 1: of just for me anyway to speed through the holiday, 185 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 1: is that I just don't want to see the commercials. 186 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: I don't want to be concerned with what amount of 187 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: stuff I need to buy people that are able to 188 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:54,960 Speaker 1: buy all of this shit for themselves, right, Like I 189 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: struggle every year to think about, like, what is the 190 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:05,959 Speaker 1: gift that isn't about you know, just adding to the stuff, right, 191 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: that is thoughtful, that is you know, one that is 192 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: indicative of the relationship that I have with the person 193 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: that I'm gifting, and is indicative of the thoughtfulness that 194 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: I want to have and the space I want to 195 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:26,160 Speaker 1: hold for that person in my life. And you feel 196 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: this force, right Like if you were to say like, no, no, no, 197 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,839 Speaker 1: we don't need to exchange gifts, then you seem like 198 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 1: the cheap bastard, right that doesn't want to you know, 199 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 1: buy presence for people. And that's not what I'm saying. 200 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:45,640 Speaker 1: It's just, you know, the desire to consume so much, 201 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: to buy so much, to fill this void that we 202 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: all feel. In many ways, I realize that it cannot 203 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: be filled with things, right, and that if we were 204 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 1: to just take a at back and reimagine what we 205 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 1: want this season to be, that it isn't just the 206 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: season of giving and the season of rapping and the 207 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:14,679 Speaker 1: season of you know, going into increased debt because you 208 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 1: want to be able to tell people what you bought 209 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: for them, or you want to be able to show 210 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 1: it off. For the fucking Graham, that we could just 211 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 1: have a season of honesty, one that isn't about how 212 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: much we can get how much we can give, but 213 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: like about how grateful we really are. And I know 214 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 1: that that sounds corny, but it's where I am. It's 215 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,960 Speaker 1: where I've been really for the last couple of years. 216 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: But the pandemic put things into perspective. Right, to be 217 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: appreciative for health, to be appreciative for the health and 218 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: wellness of your family and friends, the ability to having 219 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: create pods, right, Like I a couple of pods of people, 220 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 1: and I'm still really active in those pods, even though 221 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:07,920 Speaker 1: you can see more people now now that I'm vaccinated, 222 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,720 Speaker 1: now that I've had the booster shot, and feel a 223 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: lot more comfortable doing so. But just you know, taking 224 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: a step back and thinking about when we were at 225 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: the height of the pandemic, why you surrounded yourself with 226 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 1: the people that you did. Right, The sense of calm, 227 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: and again I don't mean to minimize, right, the trauma, 228 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 1: the exhaustion, the fear that we were all living in 229 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:38,320 Speaker 1: and many of us you know, still are, but it's 230 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:44,880 Speaker 1: shifting into being fearful right and grief written about other 231 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:49,280 Speaker 1: things that are transpiring in our society. But for those 232 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: of us that had the privilege to slow down, for 233 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: those of us that had the privilege and the ability 234 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: to work remote and still do right, I just I 235 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: don't want to lose sight of what I was truly 236 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: grateful for and happy about and had deep gratitude about 237 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 1: during the height of the pandemic. And I feel like 238 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,880 Speaker 1: in this rush to go back to normal, it is 239 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 1: the rush to purchase all of the things that we 240 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: didn't purchase, right, to go to all of the places 241 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: that we didn't go to in twenty twenty. And it's 242 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: like the makeup that we're trying to do in this 243 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: year is not really about, oh, how do I want 244 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: to show the people who I miss so dearly how 245 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 1: much I love and appreciate them? Right, It's like how 246 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: hard can I flex on the Graham, you know? And 247 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: how hard can I, you know, go and recoup all 248 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: of the things that I weren't that I wasn't able 249 00:16:54,920 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 1: to purchase and spend. It just makes me feel gross 250 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 1: and you know, in my family, as we're like you know, 251 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,199 Speaker 1: looking ahead, Christmas comes and then it's Black Friday, then 252 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:12,959 Speaker 1: it's you know, all of these things, we've put like 253 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:17,520 Speaker 1: limits on what we are spending, like here's a budget, 254 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,360 Speaker 1: or we just want stocking stuffers because in my family 255 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:25,720 Speaker 1: they're funny and you know, and we get more joy 256 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,640 Speaker 1: out of unpacking our stockings than we do with like 257 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,199 Speaker 1: the gift that we're getting. And maybe it's because we 258 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,960 Speaker 1: don't have a ton of little kids in our family, 259 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,919 Speaker 1: and so people have moved to believe that Christmas is 260 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 1: really for them or the holidays in that sense, and 261 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,920 Speaker 1: gift giving is really for them. But I just want, 262 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:50,440 Speaker 1: as we embark on the second holiday season in a pandemic, 263 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: at a time when there is such despair, that we 264 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:02,920 Speaker 1: stop and pause and really think about how we want 265 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 1: to show up right, like how we want to be 266 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 1: in community and what that looks like and how that feels. 267 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: And it isn't about how much stuff we have and 268 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: how many packages we can get or you know, our 269 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:21,159 Speaker 1: table scape for the holiday, but about like who is 270 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: actually around that table and who isn't right because again, 271 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 1: we're embarking on a holiday season the second one of 272 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 1: which is in a pandemic where over seven hundred thousand 273 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 1: people have lost their lives. And so there are a 274 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: lot of missing people that are going to be you know, 275 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,640 Speaker 1: not at this holiday season. And so what does that mean? 276 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 1: And are we pausing to have like a collective moment 277 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: of grief around that and honoring that loss in the 278 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 1: rush to get back to normal? There is nothing normal 279 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: about what we've been through and what we continue to 280 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,439 Speaker 1: go through as a country and as a world. And 281 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,640 Speaker 1: so can we use you know, this week, this time 282 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 1: of you know, Thanksgiving to really think about what we 283 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 1: are grateful for. So on our Thanksgiving wok a f 284 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: I am going to go through, like what I have 285 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: learned over the past year, the things that I truly 286 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,679 Speaker 1: am grateful for, and I encourage all of you to 287 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:34,720 Speaker 1: do the same, to use this week and the rest 288 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,400 Speaker 1: of the year as an opportunity to take stock in 289 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 1: the obstacles that you overcame, the opportunities that you created 290 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 1: for yourself, and what you're most looking forward to. If 291 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:53,399 Speaker 1: we are not grounding ourselves in thinking about how we 292 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: are bettering not only ourselves, but our family, our friends, 293 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:01,240 Speaker 1: our communities, then I I feel like we are going 294 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,439 Speaker 1: to get lost in the despair of the moment, into 295 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,800 Speaker 1: this dystopia that doesn't seem to have an expiration date, 296 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: which brings me to this piece that Michelle Goldberg wrote, 297 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 1: which is called The Problem of Political Despair in the 298 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:26,679 Speaker 1: New York Times, and it starts out like this. On 299 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,360 Speaker 1: Friday morning, after a night of insomnia fueled by worries 300 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:34,119 Speaker 1: about raising children in a collapsing society, I opened my 301 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: eyes started reading about efforts by Wisconsin Republicans to seize 302 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,199 Speaker 1: control of the state's elections, then pause to let my 303 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: techiocardic heartbeat subside. Marinating in the news is part of 304 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,159 Speaker 1: my job, but doing so lately is a source of 305 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: full body horror. If this were simply my problem, i'd 306 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 1: write about it in a journal instead of The New 307 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 1: York Times. But political despair is an issue for the 308 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:08,920 Speaker 1: entire Democratic Party. It's predictable that with Donald Trump out 309 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:11,920 Speaker 1: of the White House, Democrats would pull back from constant, 310 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:17,240 Speaker 1: phrenetic political engagement. But there's a withdrawal happening now from 311 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: news conception, activism, and in some places voting that seems 312 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:27,679 Speaker 1: less a product of relief than of avoidance. Part of 313 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,679 Speaker 1: this is simply burnout and lingering trauma from COVID, but 314 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,680 Speaker 1: I suspect that part of it is about growing hopelessness 315 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,880 Speaker 1: born of a sense that dislodging Trump has bought American 316 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 1: democracy only a brief reprieve. I want to pause there 317 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:47,879 Speaker 1: because this is the kind of space that I have 318 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: found myself in. And as I was reading Michelle's opinion piece, 319 00:21:54,359 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: it struck me that it isn't just an exhaustion that 320 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: I am feeling and that we are all feeling from 321 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: the Donald Trump and Trumpism hangover, because a hangover would mean, 322 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: to be honest, that you had overconsumed the night before. 323 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:19,959 Speaker 1: And here are the lingering effects. Except the consumption of 324 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: Trumpism is continuing, right, And what we thought was going 325 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: to stop with an election and a new administration and 326 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,680 Speaker 1: a new Congress has only continued to barrol out of control. 327 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: And I say this daily on woke af and if 328 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,919 Speaker 1: you follow me on Instagram, you see the more uplifting 329 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:45,920 Speaker 1: posts that I post in the morning, my rise and 330 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: sparkles as a way to kind of set the tone 331 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:54,840 Speaker 1: for the day, right, And what I realized in the 332 00:22:54,960 --> 00:23:00,080 Speaker 1: point that she makes is that we're not feeling a 333 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:05,200 Speaker 1: sense of relief in that, you know, okay, we can 334 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 1: rest assured that the country is back in the hands 335 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: of grown ups, of patriots, of people that actually believe 336 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: in the constitution and the rule of law, and that 337 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:23,680 Speaker 1: they're busy at work patching back together our frayed society. 338 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: But the more that we look around, the more that 339 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: we read, and the more that we watch, we realize 340 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:36,640 Speaker 1: that all that was all that transpired on election Day 341 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:41,600 Speaker 1: right in twenty twenty, was that America hit pause on authoritarianism. 342 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:44,400 Speaker 1: When we talk about this all the time, but it's 343 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: this feeling that I think as a way to move 344 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:56,480 Speaker 1: through the Trump administration and get through the day after 345 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:01,680 Speaker 1: day of COVID right and the masks rules, and then 346 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,920 Speaker 1: the six feet of distance, and then quarantine, and then 347 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: the shutdowns, and then the doubling back to shutdowns, and 348 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,640 Speaker 1: then the phased reopenings, and then the insurrection and all 349 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,120 Speaker 1: of these things, right like, when you take them one 350 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:18,199 Speaker 1: after the other after the other, you're like, fuck, I 351 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: cannot believe that we have made it this far through 352 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:26,840 Speaker 1: this nightmare. But at the same time, there is this 353 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 1: collective shutdown that is happening. I talk about my mother 354 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:36,720 Speaker 1: a lot. My mother is a rabid MSNBC watcher, reads 355 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: all of the blogs, watches every show, or she did 356 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 1: rather until this last election. After the election, the television 357 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 1: and my parents home never goes on the news unless 358 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,440 Speaker 1: it is the local news, to see what is happening 359 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: in their town, what is happening around the corner. If 360 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:01,159 Speaker 1: it's even on in the background, you can sense the 361 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:06,640 Speaker 1: energy shift in the house. My mother gets a bit 362 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: more anxious. I too, if I'm there, start to get 363 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,640 Speaker 1: like a bit more prickly, not really knowing where any 364 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,400 Speaker 1: of it is coming from, until we realize, oh shit, 365 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: the TV is on and has been on for the 366 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 1: past hour, and we're just hearing the same news matriculate 367 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,000 Speaker 1: in in the back of our heads, like even subconsciously, 368 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:32,520 Speaker 1: our body is getting tighter, our you know, our lines 369 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 1: in our face are getting deeper, and this grip, right, 370 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 1: this body grip is taking over. And the moment that 371 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,080 Speaker 1: we turn it off, recognize where how the energy is 372 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: shifted and what started it, we start to evenly come 373 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,640 Speaker 1: back down. Well, when Michelle offers in her peace that 374 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:57,600 Speaker 1: there is this sense of avoidance and not just relief, 375 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: well she's one hundred percent. Right, I am in the 376 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,800 Speaker 1: news like she is on a regular day, and I 377 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:10,200 Speaker 1: avoid it. Right. I gather as much as I can 378 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 1: as quickly as I can, orienting myself around which stories 379 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,480 Speaker 1: I think are the most important, right, and they'll do 380 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 1: the least harm as a way to then analyze them 381 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:27,000 Speaker 1: and share them here. But in doing so, over the 382 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:32,920 Speaker 1: past several years, pieces of myself have been broken apart. 383 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:37,040 Speaker 1: Because it's really hard, especially if you're a person who 384 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,880 Speaker 1: wants to be of service, right, who has dedicated their 385 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,480 Speaker 1: life to public service. It's hard to be in this 386 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:47,360 Speaker 1: state of being where you're not sure if you're having 387 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,480 Speaker 1: any impact whatsoever, because the problems that we are facing 388 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 1: just seems so goddamn big and overwhelming, right, Like, there 389 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 1: was a funny meme, this like series of jokes that 390 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,160 Speaker 1: I saw the other day on Instagram that was just like, 391 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,639 Speaker 1: my god, do we have to talk about colonialism and 392 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,840 Speaker 1: white supremacy on every fucking occasion? Like can I just 393 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 1: have the salt past to me at dinner without talking 394 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: about how like it's tied to British realism of India 395 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:22,399 Speaker 1: and this? Then the other thing, it's like, can we 396 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: just go see a fucking movie without then having to 397 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:32,880 Speaker 1: dive into the inequality that you know, people of color 398 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:37,560 Speaker 1: lack representations still, right, Like, can we just take anything 399 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:44,000 Speaker 1: in without having to recognize like the injustice and embody it. 400 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,240 Speaker 1: It becomes fucking exhausting because there's nowhere to look and 401 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,160 Speaker 1: feel like, oh yeah, well, at least in this space, 402 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 1: everything is okay. So there is this active avoidance that 403 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:00,240 Speaker 1: is happening right now. The point that Michelle make in 404 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 1: our New York time piece is well, there's a serious problem. 405 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:12,959 Speaker 1: What happens if we all decide to actively avoid reality 406 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:16,880 Speaker 1: and I mean the news, right, Like, I don't mean 407 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 1: to go and create our own reality, you know, like 408 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: Republicans have, But I mean to actively disengage from the 409 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 1: news of the day, from the current political and social climate. 410 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: That avoidance has a price, right, because the fact is 411 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 1: that if we aren't paying attention, if we aren't finding 412 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: or creating tactics to allow ourselves to pay attention enough, 413 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:51,120 Speaker 1: then what happens? Right then we decide that you know, 414 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:55,040 Speaker 1: voting doesn't matter, We decide that we don't really trust 415 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 1: these agencies anyway, what difference does anything make? And we 416 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: begin right to really distance ourselves from participating actively in society, 417 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:11,960 Speaker 1: in our government. But at the same time, right, does 418 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 1: that continued active engagement in marinating and misery, what is 419 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:22,840 Speaker 1: it really doing? Is it helping to reshape or reimagine 420 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,080 Speaker 1: who we can be when the people that are in 421 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 1: power and have the ability to make real, real, thoughtful 422 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:34,120 Speaker 1: change decide that they're not going to do that. You know, 423 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:39,840 Speaker 1: I was reading most recently about the scale back, right, 424 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: the scaling back of the infrastructure bill, and how all 425 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 1: of these historic things, historic investments in childcare and elderly care, 426 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:53,600 Speaker 1: and investment in workers, how it all got scaled back, right, 427 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: because what the media wanted to focus on was the 428 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: number attached to the bill as opposed to the policies 429 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: that were in there that are desperately needed by Americans, 430 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:10,080 Speaker 1: and that need was exacerbated by the pandemic, and so 431 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,760 Speaker 1: instead of focusing on what Democrats are actually providing, we 432 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:16,880 Speaker 1: just wanted to focus on the cost. Right. Meanwhile, it's 433 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,320 Speaker 1: your fucking money. So do you want your money to 434 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 1: actually better your life or do you not? Right, Like, 435 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 1: that's the thing. Do you want your tax dollars to 436 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:30,480 Speaker 1: go into paying off CEOs and shareholders? Writing giving them 437 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 1: breaks or do you want to see real life investment 438 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:34,880 Speaker 1: into your day to day lives. I mean, these are 439 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:39,680 Speaker 1: the choices, but that's not the way that it's presented. Nonetheless, 440 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: you know, this avoidance that is happening is also coming 441 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:51,360 Speaker 1: out of self preservation. There is only so much that 442 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,720 Speaker 1: we can all take in and weather. Like I said 443 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: from the jump, I'm not following the McDaniels trial, not 444 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:04,080 Speaker 1: in any like deep investigative way that I did with Chauvin, right, 445 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:10,640 Speaker 1: because I just I can't listen to the justification of 446 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:15,600 Speaker 1: murdering unarmed black people. I just can't. This country has 447 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,720 Speaker 1: a pattern and a history of cruelty and violence and 448 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: terrorism done at the hands of enraged white men. And 449 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,640 Speaker 1: what are they enraged by, Oh, because they're taking our place, 450 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:29,880 Speaker 1: or they shouldn't be on our streets, or blah blah 451 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:34,160 Speaker 1: blah blah blah, until of course you recognize that our 452 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:38,920 Speaker 1: economy doesn't work without those that are the foundation for 453 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:46,240 Speaker 1: this capitalistic pyramid, which are people of color. Right. I 454 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:51,480 Speaker 1: say that all because it's important for us to take 455 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:59,400 Speaker 1: these breaks. And while Michelle makes a point about avoidance, 456 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:06,320 Speaker 1: but we avoid things that we can't readily handle, and 457 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 1: we need to understand that avoidance for avoidance sake is 458 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 1: not helpful, but avoidance as a way to bolster up 459 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:21,840 Speaker 1: our self care, to build our collective armor, is necessary 460 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,520 Speaker 1: so that we can get the work done. So she 461 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:33,200 Speaker 1: goes on in her peace to say this. One redeeming 462 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 1: feature of Trump's presidency in retrospect was that it was 463 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:41,880 Speaker 1: possible to look forward to the date when Americans could 464 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:46,560 Speaker 1: finish it. COVID two once seemed like something we'd be 465 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:50,880 Speaker 1: able to largely put behind us when we got vaccinated. Sure, 466 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 1: Trump is m like the virus would linger, but it 467 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:57,960 Speaker 1: was easy to imagine a much better world after the election, 468 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:04,520 Speaker 1: the inauguration, and the availability of shots. Now we're past 469 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:09,920 Speaker 1: all of that, an American life is still comprehensively awful. 470 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:18,240 Speaker 1: Dystopia no longer has an expiration date. You see, we 471 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:27,480 Speaker 1: were in many ways suspending reality right because we kept saying, 472 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:30,880 Speaker 1: if we just do this, things will get better. If 473 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: we just wear masks, if we just social distance, we'll 474 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:36,880 Speaker 1: be able to figure out how to live with COVID 475 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:41,200 Speaker 1: being is how Republicans and anti vaxers were not interested 476 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:45,400 Speaker 1: in it ever, leaving right because it could have but 477 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:49,240 Speaker 1: we were not interested as a collective right, like, we 478 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:52,040 Speaker 1: can't move forward when twenty five percent of the population 479 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:56,080 Speaker 1: is like no, fuck fuck, you know, fuck safety and 480 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:59,760 Speaker 1: health and wellbeing. We want the virus to stay. It's 481 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 1: to stay. But we kind of talked ourselves through the 482 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,720 Speaker 1: steps that we could take because what I have come 483 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:09,560 Speaker 1: to understand, and what my therapist actually alerted to me 484 00:34:09,640 --> 00:34:13,919 Speaker 1: this week, is that our sense of safety right has 485 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:19,239 Speaker 1: been completely and totally wiped away and diminished the reality 486 00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:25,840 Speaker 1: that like you can walk outside, you can touch somebody's 487 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:28,920 Speaker 1: hand or hug them, or they could cough or sneeze 488 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,560 Speaker 1: and droplets enter into the air, and now you're infected 489 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:35,840 Speaker 1: and you're infecting everybody else around us. Again, the reality 490 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: of that is still settling in with us. The safety 491 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: that we all thought that we had from you know, 492 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:47,960 Speaker 1: global health pandemics, we don't because now that this has happened, 493 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: we recognize that anything can fucking happen. And it's the 494 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:55,920 Speaker 1: same that is true with the election of Donald Trump 495 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:59,480 Speaker 1: and the rise of Trumpism and white supremacy. If Donald 496 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:04,279 Speaker 1: Trump be elected and our society can be pushed to 497 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:09,879 Speaker 1: the brank of democracy's breaking point, then anything is possible. Right, 498 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:14,719 Speaker 1: And when you start to really think about that that 499 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:17,719 Speaker 1: like this could possibly not be as bad as it 500 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:23,040 Speaker 1: could get, that things could in fact get worse, your 501 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:28,120 Speaker 1: desire to tap in to all of this fades, right, 502 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 1: because again, self preservation is going to take control, because 503 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:35,280 Speaker 1: I don't want my mind to go to the darkest 504 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,840 Speaker 1: fucking place that it can. My god, what could be 505 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,799 Speaker 1: worse than Donald Trump? Well, we're seeing that. Maybe it'll 506 00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:46,080 Speaker 1: be Writtenhouse for presidents soon, right, maybe it'll be Paul 507 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:50,040 Speaker 1: Gosser for president. Right, And dissantists and all of these 508 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:56,080 Speaker 1: people who have literally right are perpetuating violence, are celebrating it, 509 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:03,880 Speaker 1: who have either actively killed their constituencies and actively chosen 510 00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:07,400 Speaker 1: violence as a way to deal with their political opponents, 511 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:11,280 Speaker 1: as opposed to, you know, the old school way of debate, 512 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:16,240 Speaker 1: that we are a society that is completely and totally 513 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:20,600 Speaker 1: fucking unhinged, right, waiting for the other shoe to drop 514 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:22,759 Speaker 1: and not knowing where that's going to come from. And 515 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:27,640 Speaker 1: so as an act of preservation of quality of life 516 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:31,040 Speaker 1: and our mental health and wellness, we are avoiding to 517 00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:34,279 Speaker 1: a certain extent what is transpiring in front of us 518 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:41,120 Speaker 1: because it's too fucking much. It's too goddamn much. We 519 00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:46,759 Speaker 1: expected life to get better, you know. I am reminded 520 00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:51,040 Speaker 1: of the it gets Better campaign that was targeted towards 521 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:54,400 Speaker 1: LGBTQ youth in their early two thousands, when there was 522 00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:59,720 Speaker 1: a rash of suicides because of bullying right in schools 523 00:36:59,719 --> 00:37:04,600 Speaker 1: of Q youth. And so we created guidelines and campaigns 524 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:09,200 Speaker 1: in order to bring awareness right, and the idea was 525 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:13,520 Speaker 1: just hold on because it's going to get better. But 526 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:17,000 Speaker 1: look at where the fuck we are now, right? You 527 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:21,560 Speaker 1: and an entire administration come in that wiped out any 528 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:26,960 Speaker 1: advancements that we had made into creating safe, right and 529 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:32,160 Speaker 1: connected schools for all kids. Instead, we've put a target 530 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:35,160 Speaker 1: on their backs. We told them that it gets better, 531 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:39,240 Speaker 1: but actively over the last several years, things have gotten 532 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:47,799 Speaker 1: progressively worse. So how do you choose to engage at 533 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:52,239 Speaker 1: a time when nothing seems to be going right or 534 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:56,800 Speaker 1: actually better? Yet everything is going to the right even 535 00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:01,640 Speaker 1: though we supposedly won. If this is what winning looks like, 536 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:04,359 Speaker 1: I hate to think about what the next loss will 537 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:07,319 Speaker 1: bring because I don't feel like a winner at all? 538 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:18,320 Speaker 1: Do you? So she goes on to say this, what's 539 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:23,000 Speaker 1: terrifying is that even if Democrats win back public confidence, 540 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:27,560 Speaker 1: they can win more votes than Republicans and still lose. 541 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,600 Speaker 1: Jerrymandering alone is enough to tip the balance in the House. 542 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:35,120 Speaker 1: North Carolina, a state Joe Biden lost by one point 543 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:39,200 Speaker 1: three percentage points, just passed a redistricting map that would 544 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:43,359 Speaker 1: create ten Republican seats, three Democratic ones, and one competitive one. 545 00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:47,720 Speaker 1: Democrats would have to win North Carolina by eleven point 546 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:52,040 Speaker 1: four points just to win half of its congressional seats. 547 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:58,120 Speaker 1: That's according to five thirty eight. She goes on to say, Meanwhile, 548 00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:02,520 Speaker 1: Republicans are purging local effects who protected the integrity of 549 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:07,799 Speaker 1: the twenty twenty election, replacing them with appartics. It will 550 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:11,239 Speaker 1: be hard for Republicans to steal the twenty twenty four 551 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:15,880 Speaker 1: election outright, since they don't control the current administration. But 552 00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:19,440 Speaker 1: but they can throw it into the sort of chaos 553 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:24,279 Speaker 1: that will cause widespread civil unrest. So, folks, when you 554 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:30,239 Speaker 1: have this reality to look forward to, right when this right, 555 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:36,480 Speaker 1: the fact that we are watching Republicans systematically destroy voting 556 00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:41,320 Speaker 1: rights put into place those sycophants who are not going 557 00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:44,120 Speaker 1: to hold the line for our democracy right, that are 558 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:49,600 Speaker 1: instead going to thwart your voice right and your vote 559 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:57,000 Speaker 1: in a decision to have minority rule, And then you 560 00:39:57,080 --> 00:40:01,239 Speaker 1: couple that with the recent you know, verdicts in the 561 00:40:01,239 --> 00:40:04,480 Speaker 1: Written House case, and as we're watching to see after 562 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:08,680 Speaker 1: the jury deliberates in the McDaniel's case, if there will 563 00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:11,480 Speaker 1: actually be justice, and my whole thing is that even 564 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:16,600 Speaker 1: if there is justice right in that case, it doesn't 565 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:21,520 Speaker 1: signal that our justice system is fucking working. So when 566 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:24,799 Speaker 1: you take all of these things into account, who the 567 00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:29,479 Speaker 1: fuck doesn't want to bury their head someplace else? Who 568 00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:32,640 Speaker 1: the fuck doesn't want to not think about what is 569 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:35,160 Speaker 1: coming down the pike because what is sitting in front 570 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:43,400 Speaker 1: of us is just so overwhelming. You know, I looked 571 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:47,160 Speaker 1: all the way to the end of this piece for 572 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:52,560 Speaker 1: some you know, leaving the reader with something hopeful. And 573 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:54,319 Speaker 1: it's the same way that I feel at the end 574 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:57,480 Speaker 1: of every woke a f show. How can I leave people, 575 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:01,560 Speaker 1: leave you all with something that is hopeful when everything 576 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:05,600 Speaker 1: around us points to the contrary. And this is why, 577 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:11,080 Speaker 1: you know, yesterday I posted one of my quotes from 578 00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:18,120 Speaker 1: a group called Spirit Daughter, and it said something to 579 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:23,880 Speaker 1: the extent that gratitude is fucking magic, right, because having 580 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:28,520 Speaker 1: a practice of daily gratitude where I stop, you know, 581 00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:32,160 Speaker 1: in the morning, in the evening, and it parts during 582 00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:37,839 Speaker 1: the day to think about and just quietly give thanks 583 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:42,360 Speaker 1: for various moments, people, the breath that's in my body, 584 00:41:42,719 --> 00:41:47,120 Speaker 1: the ability to go walking, the ability to stretch my 585 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:50,759 Speaker 1: body and add more breath and space to it. That 586 00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:53,880 Speaker 1: I find little and big things each day to be 587 00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:58,600 Speaker 1: grateful for. Because if I were to take in every 588 00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:01,960 Speaker 1: single bad message right, if I were to look at 589 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,080 Speaker 1: every single DM where somebody is sending me yet another 590 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:09,640 Speaker 1: story that is awful, I wouldn't want to get out 591 00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:14,000 Speaker 1: of bed in the morning. And so I don't want 592 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:20,319 Speaker 1: our reaction to our current dystopia to be avoidance. For 593 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:25,080 Speaker 1: avoidance sake, I want us to develop other tactics that 594 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:30,600 Speaker 1: allow us to be able to consume the bad, but 595 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:35,040 Speaker 1: be able to let it go and at the same 596 00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:40,480 Speaker 1: time recognize and hold the good. It doesn't have to 597 00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:45,200 Speaker 1: be an either or proposition. Either I marinate in misery 598 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:48,960 Speaker 1: or in my act of avoidance, I pretend everything is okay. 599 00:42:50,120 --> 00:42:55,240 Speaker 1: It is possible to hold both, to recognize that things 600 00:42:55,320 --> 00:43:00,080 Speaker 1: are indeed really bad, and then have such gratitud to 601 00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:06,239 Speaker 1: daily for the things that aren't right. Understand what you 602 00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:11,239 Speaker 1: can control, right and let go of the things that 603 00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:16,279 Speaker 1: you cannot. We are not going to end white supremacy, 604 00:43:16,719 --> 00:43:20,759 Speaker 1: not in our lifetime. All we're going to do is 605 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:25,120 Speaker 1: be able to chip away at it so that, as 606 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:27,879 Speaker 1: Clint Smith said to me in an interview that will 607 00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:32,520 Speaker 1: air later this week, that the next generation doesn't have 608 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:36,080 Speaker 1: to chip as hard. They'll still have chipping to do, 609 00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:40,160 Speaker 1: but we will have removed a layer, making their work easier. 610 00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:46,879 Speaker 1: And that's a hard pill to swallow, because we all 611 00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:50,000 Speaker 1: want to see the fruits of our labor. We all 612 00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:53,600 Speaker 1: want to believe that we're doing this not only for 613 00:43:53,719 --> 00:43:58,400 Speaker 1: ourselves right so that we can live freer, but for 614 00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:01,760 Speaker 1: other people. But in recognize saying that we may never 615 00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:05,160 Speaker 1: see that, and we need to let go of the 616 00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:09,440 Speaker 1: expectation around it. But that doesn't mean that we stop 617 00:44:09,520 --> 00:44:12,440 Speaker 1: doing the work. It just means that, at this time 618 00:44:12,560 --> 00:44:20,640 Speaker 1: of great despair and struggle and grief and trauma, that 619 00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:25,840 Speaker 1: we need to put our energies into creating strategies and 620 00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:29,960 Speaker 1: tactics that allow us not only to survive, not just 621 00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:35,400 Speaker 1: keep our head above water, right, but allow us to thrive. 622 00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:40,320 Speaker 1: Because if you can thrive in the moments of great 623 00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:44,799 Speaker 1: despair right. And again that doesn't mean about how much 624 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:48,640 Speaker 1: stuff you can buy or sell or whatever. No, it 625 00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:53,680 Speaker 1: means how whole you can live, right, how connected you 626 00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:58,440 Speaker 1: can be to yourself right and to your community, to 627 00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:02,319 Speaker 1: your family, to your friends. If you can thrive in 628 00:45:02,360 --> 00:45:06,879 Speaker 1: these moments of despair, then just imagine what you can 629 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:11,840 Speaker 1: do when the world is a little bit more settled, 630 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:17,000 Speaker 1: a little bit less anxious. And so I offer, as 631 00:45:17,239 --> 00:45:23,240 Speaker 1: we prepare to enter into the holiday dash and prepare 632 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:28,799 Speaker 1: to once again gather with family and friends, for us 633 00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:33,200 Speaker 1: to talk out loud with each other about what each 634 00:45:33,239 --> 00:45:37,760 Speaker 1: of us is doing to thrive, not just to survive, 635 00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:41,080 Speaker 1: what each of us are grateful for, and how we 636 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:44,160 Speaker 1: show up and show gratitude so that we can share 637 00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:49,080 Speaker 1: not just in our collective grief and in our trauma, 638 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:55,160 Speaker 1: but in our desire right to create positive energy, to 639 00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:58,760 Speaker 1: put something positive out into the world, and to actually thrive. 640 00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:03,040 Speaker 1: So that is my hope as we enter into this 641 00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:12,880 Speaker 1: holiday season. That is it for me today, dear friends, 642 00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:17,840 Speaker 1: on this Woke Wednesday, as always, power to the people 643 00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:21,240 Speaker 1: and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay 644 00:46:21,600 --> 00:46:22,319 Speaker 1: woke as fuck.