Ep. 278: "Felix"
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this episode of Roderick online was
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recorded on Tuesday January 23rd 2018
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I'm Merlin how's it going how did you
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missing yeah all right in a week no I I
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feel like we should come clean no no no
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I never come clean the dentist I should
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have done it today it's okay it's all
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right it's all right be fine I'm sure
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it'll be fine - it's a it's a big
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rainstorm today here big rainstorm yeah
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you know in the morning it it was it was
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clear and and almost almost sunny and
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now the big storms coming in a storm and
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I have a I don't know if you are
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interested in the weather my family
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really cares about the weather your
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memory serves your mom goes pretty deep
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on weather oh my sister's even worse oh
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yeah just all they want to talk about is
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the freakin weather and I thought I
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thought that Susan was more like looking
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at the stars kind of situation oh she
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loves looking at the stars - yeah yep
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stars stars are kind of weather
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stars are yab that stars are like or
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what we call old web we're seeing we're
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seeing we're seeing a star what a star
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look like millions of years ago is that
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you know the entire universe could be
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just a molecule in the end of your
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so what's oh wait a minute so you're
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saying could be in my finger I'm saying
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it could be in your finger universe does
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not know where that thing has been MGM
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cr-v we could we could right now be a
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molecule in the thumb Oh some giant
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being who has his thumb up do you think
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kids still get tripped out when they
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think about things like that when you go
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through that like stony like first time
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you really contemplate the idea of
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infinity the first time you wonder if
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we're all seeing this
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color green you think kids these
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millenniums you think they still have
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those kinds of reveries oh yeah I worry
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that they don't you have to you know I
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bet you get Netflix and you got the
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snapchat you know they don't have to
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contemplate things that are that are
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recursive and hurtful to the brain it's
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not you know I think that we didn't have
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them in the popular culture and so when
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you heard when you heard something like
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that in in Animal House
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well when Donald Sutherland is passing
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adjoin around and they're like you know
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it actually had the force of novelty
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sure and I think if you grew up you know
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soaked in stuff it would be a little bit
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harder to get to that place but
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absolutely the moment it actually occurs
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to you I think it still got to be like I
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have a terrible time blowin my
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daughter's mind I've tried so many times
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I've been I've been trying to get her
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freaked out about infinity for years and
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she still she still hasn't freaked out
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by it by infinity
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I mean I still struggle with with string
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theory think about it all the time and I
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just can't there's just some things I
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can't resolve yeah I mean does does P
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equal NP is a big question let's check
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reddit but we I mean you know multiple
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universes I mean you could sit and think
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about it at great length
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still still mind-blowing I think it's
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one reason I was so attracted I had very
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little exposure to philosophy before
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college and then I read up I read some
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existentialist stuff in my my gap year
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and I got very interested in philosophy
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because it seemed like kind of like you
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know universe in a finger with a
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graduate degree kind of thing like idea
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of epistemology was very fascinating to
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me like how do we know what we know but
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that would just turn my brain maybe I'm
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just a simple farm boy from Cincinnati
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but like that kind of thing would just
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bend my brain you you think therefore
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you are I did a paper on Descartes I
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remember had then the final paragraph is
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maybe second less paragraph it had this
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very memorable line
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so who is this guy we call God that's
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kind of work I was doing that you need
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you know don't put Descartes before day
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horse oh come on
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Oh God dad I really put that I put that
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in a paper oh no because so I had a
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professor who allowed us to be creative
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hmm and and I did eh this is in the
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history of ideas history of ideas and I
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did a song about Descartes like the
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style like Jonathan Richmond I think I
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could really get into it it was pretty
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good yeah we the the the other students
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were like yeah that's fun yeah yeah oh
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yeah you know there are a lot of things
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that that that constitute an education
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aren't there oh yeah don't don't let
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your school get in the way of your
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education oh thank you thank you don't
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let your ontology recapitulate your
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philosophy said the 30 year old guy the
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30 year old townie with the bong things
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change lessons that went here they my
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tape guy hey you want to buy my CD
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let me guess is it almost all reggae
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yeah I went to the I went to the women's
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March the other day and one of the great
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things about big marches I mean this is
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a while back sure this is a how many
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weeks ago at this point but uh but one
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of the great things about those rallies
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is that there is always a kind of
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there's always a sort of a gray area I
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don't I wouldn't personally consider it
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a gray area but some people clearly do
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where they want to use that opportunity
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to also pitch their their big program oh
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yes and every demonstration whatever is
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of any size I've ever been to you could
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maybe call them fringe characters but
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you can get you got people with a very
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important message and they're gonna use
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that as a platform yeah like you know in
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a big rally like that like of course the
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labor unions are there and they're
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saying you know we want you to support
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the labor union because we have a lot of
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women in the Union yes you know and and
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you can make a case like oh okay right
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this is a you know absolutely absolutely
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right it's still a co-optation of the
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idea but you can kind of go with them
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but there was there were a group of guys
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standing there all men by the way
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holding a banner that said support the
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freedom struggle of Palestinian women
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and then they had a bunch of material
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about how Israel was committing a
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genocide okay and it was like boom all
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right I mean maybe if there were some
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women that were holding that banner it
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might go a little bit further but it
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seems like he just tacked the word woman
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on to the end of that right sure yeah
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but they slather not some woman sauce
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they put some woman sauce on there and
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then there was a group that was like
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protecting the elephants especially the
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women voices like that's a that's a
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that's another iteration and then at a
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certain point oh my god I really just
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wanted to because there was a certain
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kind of corner where the March was
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turning that a lot of these people had
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had a raid and I just wanted I wanted to
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be in a kind of like knee-length
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leather car coat from Costco standing
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there going you want to check out my CD
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I'm so much respect for women I can only
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get it out on the Philips Compact this
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format it's all in there
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respect women women women are somebody
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sometimes they confuse but they know the
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news women break my heart and make me
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fight their women this episode of
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Roderick on the line is brought to you
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thanks to Casper for supporting Roderick
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on the line and all the great shows yeah
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yeah you know it's it's true it shows
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you how fractured things are things are
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fractured things feel very fractured
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so fractured a very fractured you
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remember a few problem with the
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Cochran's I remember how long ago it was
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and I was telling you I was telling you
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in the after show in the dark dark show
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show yeah through tour yeah you can't
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you can't you can't listen to dark
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Roderick on the line Roderick on the
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line after dark because it's only
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available to subscribers but but I was
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counseling you not to not to not to fret
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not to fret about the Congress not to
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fall not even to follow that story yeah
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but I know it's hard I know it's hard
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it's hard it's hard yeah what did you
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know okay so you went to this mark did
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you go to the big one last year last
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year I have a little bit of a
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complication that kept me out of the
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March okay but you went this year what
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are your impressions of the of the March
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once the March got going I was you know
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it's it's really exciting like there's a
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lot there's a lot about that March
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moving forward that felt exactly how you
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would hope it would feel empowered
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little girls with signs their dad made
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for them well you know there are those
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there's the there's the comedic aspect
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of it which is kind of fun is marching
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behind like several women that were
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wearing hardhats and they all had
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jackets on from the Carpenters Union and
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they weren't marching as part of a union
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they were just carpenters you had their
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hard hats on were like here we you know
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like fuck yeah this is exactly kind of
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the story that they're telling a story
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by their presence and that story is a
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story that that often gets neglected
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like you don't we don't as a we don't
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typically look at a construction site
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and and see into it it's just a
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buildings are getting built and we don't
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see who's there and we don't see the
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inner politics and when we talk about
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equal pay for equal work or we talk
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about the workplace we kind of typically
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picture of an office environment yeah
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but I mean also I mean at first I want
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to stipulate I am NOT making fun of
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these movements or of this March I mean
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merely groaning about the situation in
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life but you know you think about go
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back to Flashdance and was like oh it's
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a sexy lady with long hair who's a
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welder it was my back that kind of story
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you know I mean part of the part of the
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stop your story but part of it is that
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like it feels like so many of the
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amazing and wonderful and overdue
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changes that have happened in the last
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five to 15 years are widely adopted and
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loved by 90% of the people on our side
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of the aisle and so many of those
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changes are are so threatening as to be
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deniable to people on the other side of
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the aisle but this is a good example of
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one that I feel like there's no one in
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America on either side of the aisle
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ninety-eight percent of the people in
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America I think would look at one of
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these women in her heart hat with her
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Union jacket on and go yeah fuck yeah
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right there's no one in America anymore
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that thinks there shouldn't be female
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carpenters right and I think that
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everyone in you know the most
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conservative voter in Alabama is not
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going to I mean there there are gonna be
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people they're gonna be dicks and and
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like they're gonna be dicks who no
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matter what their political affiliation
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when a when a woman shows up to do the
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work on their kitchen they're gonna go
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oh a woman's doing this job you know
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they're and and they're gonna be dicks
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that are both men and women that do that
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I mean I'm sure that there are women
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that opened the door to their house and
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there's a woman carpenter standing there
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and they say oh I expected a man mm-hmm
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you know that kind of thing is just a
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sort of cultural like ignorant or not
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ignorance it's just a like a culture so
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probably the lack of exposure I mean
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like if you've got if you've got some
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Richard Scarry idea in your head from
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the late 1960s it's understandable that
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that's a little bit shocking it doesn't
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mean that you hate it but it's certainly
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at least be shocking
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Yeah right it's like lowly worm yeah
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shows up to do your kitchen work and
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you're like you're a girl worm whoo
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that's that mr. frumble drive she's got
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a lot of problems there are plenty of
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cops in Richards Gary's world I don't
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know why they don't but sergeant Murphy
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chases careless he literally rides a
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motorcycle onto a Plane full of people
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you're right you're right but but the
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other thing that I saw in this rally
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that I'm talking about just people that
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were marching very close to me there
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were two women in their 60s and they
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were both about five feet tall and they
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were at first not clearly a couple they
[TS]
◼
►
were just too diminutive ladies in their
[TS]
◼
►
60s but one of them is holding a small
[TS]
◼
►
hand lettered sign that said that wasn't
[TS]
◼
►
like us it wasn't even a sign it was
[TS]
◼
►
just kind of like a piece of notebook
[TS]
◼
►
paper that she had written on and
[TS]
◼
►
laminated and it said we're not going
[TS]
◼
►
back and as the as the March progressed
[TS]
◼
►
I realized oh my god they're they're
[TS]
◼
►
married and they give every indication
[TS]
◼
►
of having been together for 40 years you
[TS]
◼
►
know they're they have the comfort with
[TS]
◼
►
one another that just is like it seems
[TS]
◼
►
like they've probably been together for
[TS]
◼
►
a long long time and they're not
[TS]
◼
►
demonstrative they're not even really
[TS]
◼
►
holding hands they're just walking
[TS]
◼
►
together with this sign we're not going
[TS]
◼
►
back and it was you know so so powerful
[TS]
◼
►
and I and I honestly believe having
[TS]
◼
►
traveled as much as I've been lucky to
[TS]
◼
►
do in America and around the world that
[TS]
◼
►
most people on either side of the
[TS]
◼
►
political aisle confronted with these
[TS]
◼
►
two actual human beings are not going to
[TS]
◼
►
be against it the people that are
[TS]
◼
►
against gay marriage are against it
[TS]
◼
►
because they're against an idea that
[TS]
◼
►
they think and they're against a notion
[TS]
◼
►
that we're trying to cram it down their
[TS]
◼
►
throats or I feel it feels like a like a
[TS]
◼
►
idea of what a family is which which
[TS]
◼
►
they would say d legitimizes there it's
[TS]
◼
►
again it's like Ghostbusters it's like
[TS]
◼
►
you're ruining my childhood by being
[TS]
◼
►
married right but if they were living in
[TS]
◼
►
a place where they knew these two and
[TS]
◼
►
there are couples like this in Alabama
[TS]
◼
►
just like there are in Seattle a hundred
[TS]
◼
►
percent when confronted with actual
[TS]
◼
►
people pretty much everybody with the
[TS]
◼
►
exception of a few crazy zealots is
[TS]
◼
►
gonna look at them and go oh well I mean
[TS]
◼
►
I make an exception for my for my aunt
[TS]
◼
►
and her friend you know like and it's
[TS]
◼
►
not especially because they're they're
[TS]
◼
►
not too vocal about it maybe yeah sort
[TS]
◼
►
of like well there's well there's this
[TS]
◼
►
one guy I work with who's really nice
[TS]
◼
►
and he's nearing retirement age and I'm
[TS]
◼
►
pretty sure he's you know special but he
[TS]
◼
►
could he gets a pass because he's real
[TS]
◼
►
low-key about it it's not in my face
[TS]
◼
►
about it and it's not the perfect world
[TS]
◼
►
that we would that we I in the left like
[TS]
◼
►
idealize where everyone is absolutely
[TS]
◼
►
like completely forward-facing about who
[TS]
◼
►
they are and accepted broadly by
[TS]
◼
►
everyone you know it it is a kind of on
[TS]
◼
►
the right side of the aisle there is
[TS]
◼
►
this there's all this tremendous kind of
[TS]
◼
►
like what we what we think of as a
[TS]
◼
►
prehistoric social thinking but
[TS]
◼
►
confronted by actual people yeah pretty
[TS]
◼
►
much everybody is like you cannot deny a
[TS]
◼
►
thing like that you can't look at them
[TS]
◼
►
and say to their face like no you're not
[TS]
◼
►
you should not be entitled to this you
[TS]
◼
►
should not be entitled to this happiness
[TS]
◼
►
you do it's nobody would ever stand in
[TS]
◼
►
front of those people I mean the way you
[TS]
◼
►
get the idea some kind of Richard
[TS]
◼
►
Spencer type like yelling at them but
[TS]
◼
►
like after having a ten minute fifteen
[TS]
◼
►
minute conversation maybe you're on a
[TS]
◼
►
plane or something like that you would
[TS]
◼
►
never you would it would be a hard
[TS]
◼
►
harder person to turn to them and say
[TS]
◼
►
well I understand what you're trying to
[TS]
◼
►
do here but this is antithetical to
[TS]
◼
►
everything that America is and I think
[TS]
◼
►
you're evil yeah I mean and you do see
[TS]
◼
►
that I mean there are definitely parents
[TS]
◼
►
that reject their own children fewer and
[TS]
◼
►
I think what's I think what's crazy
[TS]
◼
►
about Trump I know we never talk about
[TS]
◼
►
I think what's crazy is that he has
[TS]
◼
►
finally given the lie to the idea that
[TS]
◼
►
the that conservative politically
[TS]
◼
►
conservative people are the scolds and
[TS]
◼
►
the moralizing like finger wag they're
[TS]
◼
►
gonna hold privately and publicly
[TS]
◼
►
they're gonna they have a standard that
[TS]
◼
►
they will hold people to for a long time
[TS]
◼
►
you would see that played out in terms
[TS]
◼
►
of like what you have to make this cake
[TS]
◼
►
you know you know you don't have to make
[TS]
◼
►
this cake for gay people or you do not
[TS]
◼
►
have to provide women's health care
[TS]
◼
►
services because right I mean there's
[TS]
◼
►
there's those sorts of things but then
[TS]
◼
►
when you see what's happening with the
[TS]
◼
►
fairly well documented allegations
[TS]
◼
►
against the president it just doesn't
[TS]
◼
►
seem to matter and Mike Pence is totally
[TS]
◼
►
cool with it it just doesn't matter
[TS]
◼
►
right I mean it's not like it's not even
[TS]
◼
►
that I had that Trump had relationships
[TS]
◼
►
with sex workers while he while his wife
[TS]
◼
►
was pregnant we had a four month old son
[TS]
◼
►
duh Trump is famous for for riding on
[TS]
◼
►
that private jet
[TS]
◼
►
but with that pedophile guy yeah who you
[TS]
◼
►
know would like teenagers like and I
[TS]
◼
►
mean he was the source of a lot of the
[TS]
◼
►
New York Post stories about Marla maples
[TS]
◼
►
I mean he was the one that encouraged
[TS]
◼
►
her to go on say was the best best sex
[TS]
◼
►
I've ever had he drives in that
[TS]
◼
►
environment of people thinking he's a
[TS]
◼
►
very competent horndog but I think it's
[TS]
◼
►
really interesting because during the
[TS]
◼
►
Clinton years when when Bill Clinton was
[TS]
◼
►
being pounded for his for his like
[TS]
◼
►
dalliance ah's and his indiscretions and
[TS]
◼
►
his predatory behavior we I think
[TS]
◼
►
assumed that that was being motivated by
[TS]
◼
►
this religious right that we've been
[TS]
◼
►
talking about for for 40 years and that
[TS]
◼
►
they were that they were pretty and they
[TS]
◼
►
were pursuing this out of a sense of
[TS]
◼
►
this sort of moral like overactive moral
[TS]
◼
►
indignation about post moral majority
[TS]
◼
►
whether you agreed with them or not and
[TS]
◼
►
I happened very much not to agree with
[TS]
◼
►
them you'd at least given the creditors
[TS]
◼
►
well you know whether or not this is
[TS]
◼
►
something that they enjoy doing they
[TS]
◼
►
feel by their faith and ethics they are
[TS]
◼
►
obligated to call these things out on
[TS]
◼
►
anybody where they see it right right
[TS]
◼
►
it's a good it's a mr. kind of mission
[TS]
◼
►
and that gave some clarity to the
[TS]
◼
►
division between left and right because
[TS]
◼
►
we on the left could look at them and
[TS]
◼
►
say and see like okay they are bound by
[TS]
◼
►
a code that includes their religion it
[TS]
◼
►
includes their culture and it is
[TS]
◼
►
internally consistent so they are they
[TS]
◼
►
are an understandable and worthy
[TS]
◼
►
adversary even if we don't agree I mean
[TS]
◼
►
we don't agree with a lot of the
[TS]
◼
►
fundamental premises but they are acting
[TS]
◼
►
at least they're not inconsistent as far
[TS]
◼
►
as we can see I'm avoiding the word
[TS]
◼
►
hypothetical but but at least at least
[TS]
◼
►
on the face of it they may be in prison
[TS]
◼
►
I utterly disagree with them but there
[TS]
◼
►
was an internal consistency to their
[TS]
◼
►
their mass hattery
[TS]
◼
►
but it also contextualized us right
[TS]
◼
►
because as live liberals we were
[TS]
◼
►
progressive we were it
[TS]
◼
►
empathetic we were we were the ones that
[TS]
◼
►
were open minded and now or maybe
[TS]
◼
►
relativistic there's another word
[TS]
◼
►
relativistic sure you can see you would
[TS]
◼
►
see the context in something and this
[TS]
◼
►
liberal arts II thing of saying like
[TS]
◼
►
well yes but yes but so we wouldn't
[TS]
◼
►
necessarily see it as a zero no one
[TS]
◼
►
right and we were multicultural we were
[TS]
◼
►
able to say like well we you know we
[TS]
◼
►
need to incorporate things from around
[TS]
◼
►
the world and sometimes these cultural
[TS]
◼
►
differences can be advantageous you know
[TS]
◼
►
it was a kind of m'as how we saw the
[TS]
◼
►
social aspect of left and right and that
[TS]
◼
►
wasn't always the case you know back in
[TS]
◼
►
the back before World War two back
[TS]
◼
►
before the civil rights movement the
[TS]
◼
►
Republican Party was mostly focused on
[TS]
◼
►
economics and they had a pretty liberal
[TS]
◼
►
view about what a person should be able
[TS]
◼
►
to their own home I'm from a certain
[TS]
◼
►
libertarian standpoint it was a temple
[TS]
◼
►
yeah and it was the Democrats that were
[TS]
◼
►
all about segregation and they were all
[TS]
◼
►
about you know the Democrats before
[TS]
◼
►
World War two were not like socially
[TS]
◼
►
progressive looks sort of the opposite
[TS]
◼
►
mm-hmm but now we're in a situation
[TS]
◼
►
where the where the right side of the
[TS]
◼
►
aisle has pretty much for the most part
[TS]
◼
►
said you know although we're Christians
[TS]
◼
►
and although we you know we believe in
[TS]
◼
►
God and country we think Trump's doing a
[TS]
◼
►
great job and although he is like a
[TS]
◼
►
coke-fueled like prostitute abusing like
[TS]
◼
►
I mean he's basically he personifies
[TS]
◼
►
everything that we would normally hate
[TS]
◼
►
disparity at the late 80s yeah we just
[TS]
◼
►
love what he's doing he's just sticking
[TS]
◼
►
it he's sticking it to the Liberals and
[TS]
◼
►
that's what we love but what's crazy is
[TS]
◼
►
the Left have become the scolds like we
[TS]
◼
►
are we are in an era right now where the
[TS]
◼
►
left is extremely moralizing and very
[TS]
◼
►
very much like driven by a by a kind of
[TS]
◼
►
collective energy that is you know
[TS]
◼
►
that's using shame and using a lot of
[TS]
◼
►
the sort of things that we would have 40
[TS]
◼
►
years ago called moral majority tactics
[TS]
◼
►
I guess in service of a different
[TS]
◼
►
ideology but but but it's it's a very
[TS]
◼
►
strange role reversal because that's the
[TS]
◼
►
thing when I went back to my high school
[TS]
◼
►
reunion in Anchorage right before the
[TS]
◼
►
election and I talked to a bunch of my
[TS]
◼
►
pals who were all golf pros and
[TS]
◼
►
snowmobile salesmen and and diehard sort
[TS]
◼
►
of Trump people yeah they were like you
[TS]
◼
►
don't you don't see what's coming bro
[TS]
◼
►
and I was like yeah I see what's coming
[TS]
◼
►
a Hillary Clinton administration where
[TS]
◼
►
the world moves into the future and they
[TS]
◼
►
were like no no no that's not what's
[TS]
◼
►
gonna happen Trump's gonna win and I was
[TS]
◼
►
like there's no way in a million years
[TS]
◼
►
Trump's gonna win he didn't accuse
[TS]
◼
►
anyone yeah and they were like no no you
[TS]
◼
►
don't see you don't get it you don't see
[TS]
◼
►
what's happening and in talking to them
[TS]
◼
►
over the course of a long reunion
[TS]
◼
►
weekend I realized oh they think they're
[TS]
◼
►
the fun ones they think they think
[TS]
◼
►
they're hilarious they think they're the
[TS]
◼
►
ones that know how to party they think
[TS]
◼
►
they are the ones who have the real
[TS]
◼
►
temperature of what America is all about
[TS]
◼
►
the sort of Ted Nugent version of what's
[TS]
◼
►
fun and cool and they looked at me and
[TS]
◼
►
my culture I mean they know I'm fun
[TS]
◼
►
right but they look at that liberalism
[TS]
◼
►
and they think you guys aren't fun you
[TS]
◼
►
don't have fun anymore you just are so
[TS]
◼
►
uptight and you're so you know this this
[TS]
◼
►
careless caricature of the left as being
[TS]
◼
►
sort of what we used to say about the
[TS]
◼
►
moral majority just like no fun and
[TS]
◼
►
caught up in in our cane and archaic
[TS]
◼
►
ideas about what people are and I was
[TS]
◼
►
just like that was kind of that was kind
[TS]
◼
►
of when I got off Twitter I realized
[TS]
◼
►
like oh shit I don't know anything
[TS]
◼
►
I'm in the upside down now yeah I heard
[TS]
◼
►
something on a political podcast I was
[TS]
◼
►
listening to you this morning and guy
[TS]
◼
►
said something that I thought was it's
[TS]
◼
►
one of those things where once you you
[TS]
◼
►
can't can't unhear it get such a useful
[TS]
◼
►
paradigm is there are certain kinds of
[TS]
◼
►
issues where people rarely go back to
[TS]
◼
►
their original feeling people tend to
[TS]
◼
►
only go one way and he said he was
[TS]
◼
►
talking in particular about daca and how
[TS]
◼
►
like once you know these people who are
[TS]
◼
►
daca recipients and like once you've
[TS]
◼
►
once you've met them once you've talked
[TS]
◼
►
you're very rarely going to become more
[TS]
◼
►
strident about thinking they should be
[TS]
◼
►
thrown out of the country you know I
[TS]
◼
►
he also used the example of gay marriage
[TS]
◼
►
where honestly if a big part of it and
[TS]
◼
►
in addition to certainly obviously I
[TS]
◼
►
mean this is sounds so stupid but stuff
[TS]
◼
►
like you know maybe Ellen DeGeneres but
[TS]
◼
►
stuff like seeing more gay people like
[TS]
◼
►
on TV and knowing more gay people were
[TS]
◼
►
out there that weren't dangerous
[TS]
◼
►
pedophiles that was certainly a part of
[TS]
◼
►
it but another part of it was like once
[TS]
◼
►
you it isn't like you know once you meet
[TS]
◼
►
two women who've been together since the
[TS]
◼
►
1960s yeah and it can be and are very
[TS]
◼
►
smart and charming you don't go oh boy
[TS]
◼
►
you know this makes me even madder about
[TS]
◼
►
this you know I mean there aren't that
[TS]
◼
►
many people who start out Pro gay
[TS]
◼
►
marriage and then go the other way
[TS]
◼
►
there aren't them people who start out
[TS]
◼
►
Pro daca and go back the other way I
[TS]
◼
►
don't I don't have a huge filter for
[TS]
◼
►
this it's a two-hour old idea to me but
[TS]
◼
►
I'm really interested of this idea like
[TS]
◼
►
how many issues are there like that
[TS]
◼
►
we're once people get enough exposure to
[TS]
◼
►
the actual people they look at the thing
[TS]
◼
►
really differently I'm reminded of that
[TS]
◼
►
peanuts comic where Linus is arguing
[TS]
◼
►
with Lucy and he says I love humanity
[TS]
◼
►
it's people that I hate I I think I
[TS]
◼
►
think that's absolutely true and I think
[TS]
◼
►
it is about abstract thinking you know
[TS]
◼
►
the once you are once you're capable of
[TS]
◼
►
seeing things at one abstraction which
[TS]
◼
►
by which I mean like not the people
[TS]
◼
►
immediately in front of you but you meet
[TS]
◼
►
you meet that couple that's been
[TS]
◼
►
together since the 60s and then
[TS]
◼
►
extrapolate that to imagine that there
[TS]
◼
►
are more of those that level of
[TS]
◼
►
abstraction because we here in southern
[TS]
◼
►
Washington you know that there was that
[TS]
◼
►
McSweeney's article the other day that
[TS]
◼
►
that parodied the the journalists that
[TS]
◼
►
are like going around talking to Trump
[TS]
◼
►
was just literally the next thing I was
[TS]
◼
►
going to say yes but there was one of
[TS]
◼
►
those here in Washington where some
[TS]
◼
►
reporter went down to the conservative
[TS]
◼
►
like southwestern corner of Washington
[TS]
◼
►
where they grow a lot of cranberries and
[TS]
◼
►
said like you know how does it feel down
[TS]
◼
►
here now that you know now that we're
[TS]
◼
►
cracking down on immigrants and the
[TS]
◼
►
sheriff and almost everybody they talked
[TS]
◼
►
like well we want to crack down on
[TS]
◼
►
immigrants because they are their
[TS]
◼
►
rapists and criminals coming into the
[TS]
◼
►
country but what that law has done is it
[TS]
◼
►
like they came and got my neighbor Pablo
[TS]
◼
►
who's a great dude and he's he's gonna
[TS]
◼
►
raper he's been here four years he was
[TS]
◼
►
like he was invaluable to the community
[TS]
◼
►
and then they came and got those guys
[TS]
◼
►
that have been working on them but they
[TS]
◼
►
might say every single talking point
[TS]
◼
►
that everybody on the Left has been
[TS]
◼
►
saying right I mean right down to like
[TS]
◼
►
like this like this polish doctor in
[TS]
◼
►
Michigan who doesn't know polish because
[TS]
◼
►
he's been here since he was three right
[TS]
◼
►
that's like you how could you send it
[TS]
◼
►
back there there's not even any place to
[TS]
◼
►
send him back to he's never been there
[TS]
◼
►
and you're like yeah that's that sucks
[TS]
◼
►
that's kind of why we think this is a
[TS]
◼
►
bad idea they know but everybody has
[TS]
◼
►
their Pablo right but they don't extend
[TS]
◼
►
it right they don't extend it to the
[TS]
◼
►
abstraction of of and that's why
[TS]
◼
►
statistics are so interesting like I I
[TS]
◼
►
follow this guy on Twitter named Max
[TS]
◼
►
roser ro ser who is a statistician and
[TS]
◼
►
he really stays kind of above politics
[TS]
◼
►
he just puts in numbers
[TS]
◼
►
I think he's German and he you know not
[TS]
◼
►
to not to stereotype no but he's a
[TS]
◼
►
German statistician mm-hmm and and he is
[TS]
◼
►
you know he's always posting these
[TS]
◼
►
graphs and sort of very interesting
[TS]
◼
►
takes on on things just just crunching
[TS]
◼
►
the numbers but you look at the numbers
[TS]
◼
►
and it's like well I mean my mom sent me
[TS]
◼
►
something the other day that was like
[TS]
◼
►
immigrants from sub-saharan Africa have
[TS]
◼
►
such a greater percentage of graduate
[TS]
◼
►
degrees I mean they're like a moderator
[TS]
◼
►
college graduation rate then people who
[TS]
◼
►
are born in the United States yeah and
[TS]
◼
►
it's just impossible to argue with the
[TS]
◼
►
statistics but it is but again that is
[TS]
◼
►
an abstraction that it's I think much
[TS]
◼
►
easier for people to
[TS]
◼
►
- to see the abstraction in the other
[TS]
◼
►
direction which is well I watch cops
[TS]
◼
►
every week and every single person they
[TS]
◼
►
pull over an arrest is black used to
[TS]
◼
►
watch that show therefore every criminal
[TS]
◼
►
in America is black right because that's
[TS]
◼
►
what's on cops and that's that's much
[TS]
◼
►
easier to apprehend then wait a minute
[TS]
◼
►
the people that are immigrating to the
[TS]
◼
►
United States from other countries are
[TS]
◼
►
the best educated and best qualified
[TS]
◼
►
people because it's really hard to
[TS]
◼
►
immigrate to America you have to put up
[TS]
◼
►
with so much shit
[TS]
◼
►
it's insane yeah and you know and even
[TS]
◼
►
people that are entering the country
[TS]
◼
►
illegally are people who are aspiring
[TS]
◼
►
you know they are people that are
[TS]
◼
►
seeking something great and not people
[TS]
◼
►
that are complacent or lazy or dumb you
[TS]
◼
►
nobody makes it all the way to America
[TS]
◼
►
and gets a shitty job from wherever
[TS]
◼
►
they're coming from because they are
[TS]
◼
►
just lazy you know they're enterprising
[TS]
◼
►
but it's you know I don't know speaking
[TS]
◼
►
as someone who's a liberal it's very
[TS]
◼
►
hard for me not to feel like it's not
[TS]
◼
►
just that my views are better it's that
[TS]
◼
►
my views are more accurate and that's
[TS]
◼
►
all maybe that at least in your own head
[TS]
◼
►
is slightly better tested well or I mean
[TS]
◼
►
just just there's so much there's just
[TS]
◼
►
so much reckoning going on about
[TS]
◼
►
strangers there's just so much reckoning
[TS]
◼
►
going on about millions of people who
[TS]
◼
►
are disadvantaged culturally in a way
[TS]
◼
►
that so many of that 32% are 36% are not
[TS]
◼
►
and yet they have found some way to find
[TS]
◼
►
a grievant in every cultural improvement
[TS]
◼
►
in the last 50 years every every time
[TS]
◼
►
somebody who's not them gets something
[TS]
◼
►
it's a zero-sum game like everything
[TS]
◼
►
everything that somebody who has always
[TS]
◼
►
been treated like shit for their and
[TS]
◼
►
our life gets is necessarily one less
[TS]
◼
►
thing that they get in their mind that
[TS]
◼
►
tends to be the yeah it tends to be the
[TS]
◼
►
feeling but then like today oh sorry
[TS]
◼
►
a couple couple weeks ago the president
[TS]
◼
►
has decided you know because he's saving
[TS]
◼
►
coal so now he's gonna put a tariff on
[TS]
◼
►
imports of solar energy things so energy
[TS]
◼
►
one of the one of the bright spots if
[TS]
◼
►
you like to coin a pun
[TS]
◼
►
one of the bright spots in growth like
[TS]
◼
►
one in five new jobs suppose something
[TS]
◼
►
like that as it is in solar it's going
[TS]
◼
►
way way up while Cole's was going way
[TS]
◼
►
way down and now they're making it more
[TS]
◼
►
costly to have this this huge exploding
[TS]
◼
►
growth growth area that actually could
[TS]
◼
►
benefit the people who still think
[TS]
◼
►
they're gonna be back in the mind any
[TS]
◼
►
day now but and that's an example of a
[TS]
◼
►
band I think is really intriguing about
[TS]
◼
►
the cultural divide that we're
[TS]
◼
►
experiencing right now which is that I
[TS]
◼
►
think that there are a lot of people in
[TS]
◼
►
America that will celebrate that event
[TS]
◼
►
based exclusively on this idea that it's
[TS]
◼
►
a it's a big middle finger to the
[TS]
◼
►
hippies and I mean I drove across the
[TS]
◼
►
country a couple of years ago when I
[TS]
◼
►
bought my suburban which admittedly is a
[TS]
◼
►
hilariously like old janky American
[TS]
◼
►
truck and through the whole center of
[TS]
◼
►
the country I encountered many many
[TS]
◼
►
times those guys who are burning coal
[TS]
◼
►
which is they they put a giant
[TS]
◼
►
smokestack on their diesel truck and
[TS]
◼
►
they adjust B the mixture so that when
[TS]
◼
►
they slam on the gas it just sends huge
[TS]
◼
►
black clouds of smoke out of their
[TS]
◼
►
tailpipes with no purpose other than to
[TS]
◼
►
give you that Ted Nugent fuck you and
[TS]
◼
►
they're not driving those trucks in the
[TS]
◼
►
middle of San Francisco they're driving
[TS]
◼
►
them in Nebraska they're saying fuck you
[TS]
◼
►
to the idea of a liberal
[TS]
◼
►
there aren't any around them they're
[TS]
◼
►
just doing it as like as a middle finger
[TS]
◼
►
to people who aren't even watching and
[TS]
◼
►
that that conviction that that strong
[TS]
◼
►
strong feeling that the real enemy is is
[TS]
◼
►
this caricature of someone kind of not
[TS]
◼
►
unlike you or I but certainly like we're
[TS]
◼
►
we are closer or more adjacent to this
[TS]
◼
►
caricature than we are to the to to like
[TS]
◼
►
the audience and a Darius Rucker concert
[TS]
◼
►
but but this idea of someone with a
[TS]
◼
►
college degree who thinks they're
[TS]
◼
►
smarter than you who wants to quote
[TS]
◼
►
unquote ram down your throats these
[TS]
◼
►
ideas that that really have nothing to
[TS]
◼
►
do with the fact that you get along
[TS]
◼
►
pretty well with your gay neighbors but
[TS]
◼
►
have everything to do with the idea that
[TS]
◼
►
we are we have a vision which is of this
[TS]
◼
►
to this future universe where where
[TS]
◼
►
there's no manufacturing in America
[TS]
◼
►
anymore that it's all been outsourced
[TS]
◼
►
and the government is in charge of
[TS]
◼
►
everything take your guns away take your
[TS]
◼
►
guns away except that the government
[TS]
◼
►
allows you to do whatever you want
[TS]
◼
►
include including be a pedophile or a or
[TS]
◼
►
like sex with animals or whatever it is
[TS]
◼
►
that they extend this this criticism out
[TS]
◼
►
to you know like this weird this weird
[TS]
◼
►
idea of a liberal as someone who both
[TS]
◼
►
wants to have complete like lawlessness
[TS]
◼
►
on one side what they considered
[TS]
◼
►
lawlessness on one side of the world
[TS]
◼
►
they want to be this like Caligula n--
[TS]
◼
►
Bacchanalia on the one side even as
[TS]
◼
►
they're taking away everything that
[TS]
◼
►
gives your life meaning enjoy
[TS]
◼
►
right so you're no longer allowed to
[TS]
◼
►
worship your god you're no longer
[TS]
◼
►
allowed to salute your flag we don't
[TS]
◼
►
support the troops we don't allow you to
[TS]
◼
►
have guns we tax all your money away to
[TS]
◼
►
give it to undeserving poor people the
[TS]
◼
►
abortion having trans people abortion
[TS]
◼
►
having trans people who are just living
[TS]
◼
►
on welfare and this is the vision of the
[TS]
◼
►
world that we that that that they
[TS]
◼
►
perceive us desiring and a lot of us are
[TS]
◼
►
dupes right we are leftist dupes of we
[TS]
◼
►
have taken the red pill we haven't taken
[TS]
◼
►
the red pill that's right the Jews are
[TS]
◼
►
controlling our government and and we
[TS]
◼
►
are just like enthrall we're in this
[TS]
◼
►
kind of days of of almost like romantic
[TS]
◼
►
thrall to the idea of inclusiveness that
[TS]
◼
►
is going to create a world where we're
[TS]
◼
►
under Sharia law so it's almost like
[TS]
◼
►
some kind of like a 50s movie where
[TS]
◼
►
there's a there's a working ranch and
[TS]
◼
►
some sissy dandy in a suit comes to
[TS]
◼
►
visit and then wants to tell them how to
[TS]
◼
►
run a ranch mm-hmm right or like yeah is
[TS]
◼
►
sitting in the sitting in the scenic
[TS]
◼
►
carriage Fanning himself with that with
[TS]
◼
►
a lace hanky and then telling you how to
[TS]
◼
►
run the ranch while he's sitting on his
[TS]
◼
►
ass mining Bitcoin well you know in a
[TS]
◼
►
way it's almost it's closer to the
[TS]
◼
►
character of the environmental
[TS]
◼
►
protection guy in Ghostbusters movie
[TS]
◼
►
that movie you know yeah he's the only
[TS]
◼
►
good guy this man has no dick when you
[TS]
◼
►
watch that film you hear everything
[TS]
◼
►
about it is like this guy is the worst
[TS]
◼
►
version of a Carter Administration
[TS]
◼
►
bureaucrat mm-hm and the the only way he
[TS]
◼
►
makes money is by causing trouble and
[TS]
◼
►
hardship for hardworking Americans for
[TS]
◼
►
hardworking Americans who are just
[TS]
◼
►
trying to bust just trying to
[TS]
◼
►
to go so it makes them feel good and
[TS]
◼
►
it's a politically a weird movie because
[TS]
◼
►
though because the Ghostbusters are our
[TS]
◼
►
academics and they're like
[TS]
◼
►
devil-may-care but they're really I mean
[TS]
◼
►
when you look at it now sure there they
[TS]
◼
►
are you know they're kind of politically
[TS]
◼
►
pretty Trumpy in terms of of how they
[TS]
◼
►
approach dealing you know dealing with
[TS]
◼
►
government people I'm watching almost
[TS]
◼
►
any thriller from the last 30 years so
[TS]
◼
►
the bad guys always the administrator
[TS]
◼
►
right well no but also just the good
[TS]
◼
►
guys I mean certainly you go would you
[TS]
◼
►
go back to something like Charles
[TS]
◼
►
Bronson Klee nice wait but I'm talking
[TS]
◼
►
even like I rewatched taken which is a
[TS]
◼
►
movie that I like a lot I hadn't watched
[TS]
◼
►
it since the last election and I just
[TS]
◼
►
watched it the other night and I was
[TS]
◼
►
like wow this is really it's kind of a
[TS]
◼
►
testament to how dads are right and and
[TS]
◼
►
by any means necessary we do what we
[TS]
◼
►
need to do because daughter it's like I
[TS]
◼
►
mean it's really it is it is in some
[TS]
◼
►
ways very much like a death wish
[TS]
◼
►
kind of moving in a lot of ways I mean
[TS]
◼
►
you mean just like that they're just
[TS]
◼
►
like the the non authoritarian what's
[TS]
◼
►
the word I'm looking for
[TS]
◼
►
but like oh like in that movies just
[TS]
◼
►
like he keeps worn everything taken no
[TS]
◼
►
is this is this retired like ops guy is
[TS]
◼
►
you know now he's away from his his wife
[TS]
◼
►
and daughter the daughters gonna go to
[TS]
◼
►
Europe and he's like no no you can't go
[TS]
◼
►
and if you go you got to take this phone
[TS]
◼
►
and answer my calls a spoiler alert she
[TS]
◼
►
gets abducted he has to go and find her
[TS]
◼
►
they've now drugged her and turned her
[TS]
◼
►
into a prostitute she and her friend and
[TS]
◼
►
he's got to go rescue her from all these
[TS]
◼
►
Eastern European baddies and of course
[TS]
◼
►
he just beats it's great movie he beats
[TS]
◼
►
the shit out of everybody kills
[TS]
◼
►
everybody and saves them and then like
[TS]
◼
►
you were shown that once a fraud dad
[TS]
◼
►
always knew what was right and finally
[TS]
◼
►
that violence that he has had inside of
[TS]
◼
►
him all that time was there for a good
[TS]
◼
►
yeah yeah I mean that's the best lesson
[TS]
◼
►
to be gleaned that's the cookie cutter
[TS]
◼
►
thriller lesson right the yeah the this
[TS]
◼
►
the the quiet Stern dad has just been
[TS]
◼
►
pushed a little too far yeah had had the
[TS]
◼
►
truth about the world the whole time
[TS]
◼
►
and I bet that libertarianism combined
[TS]
◼
►
with that sort of I guess what what now
[TS]
◼
►
we would just describe with with no
[TS]
◼
►
other with no other conditions we would
[TS]
◼
►
just call it patriarchy or patriarchal
[TS]
◼
►
mentality I mean that's like it's a
[TS]
◼
►
ribbon through everything yeah and there
[TS]
◼
►
there was a time until recently where
[TS]
◼
►
where our take on that was a lot more
[TS]
◼
►
complex than it is now and it doesn't
[TS]
◼
►
feel like this is a time when we can
[TS]
◼
►
afford to be complex this is another
[TS]
◼
►
thing that has caused me to to feel
[TS]
◼
►
personally like it this is just a time
[TS]
◼
►
for me to sit out and and it's because
[TS]
◼
►
it's very hard for me to look at things
[TS]
◼
►
and not look at them and try to see the
[TS]
◼
►
complexity in them and when you want to
[TS]
◼
►
talk at least publicly now about ideas
[TS]
◼
►
that are complex you're immediately
[TS]
◼
►
challenged because it doesn't because
[TS]
◼
►
complexity just doesn't want a
[TS]
◼
►
revolutionary yeah that's right if we're
[TS]
◼
►
living in a bicameral world now that
[TS]
◼
►
feels very black and white and so you
[TS]
◼
►
can't say like you can't really approach
[TS]
◼
►
anything at least publicly at least in a
[TS]
◼
►
public-facing way without taking a
[TS]
◼
►
pretty dogmatic side and I just can't I
[TS]
◼
►
just can't swallow it but yeah but you
[TS]
◼
►
know in in our history a lot of the
[TS]
◼
►
things that we look at and say that's
[TS]
◼
►
what is American you know that's what
[TS]
◼
►
made made us exceptional that is what we
[TS]
◼
►
have always talked about as the American
[TS]
◼
►
spirit and it isn't it isn't
[TS]
◼
►
inextricably connected to white
[TS]
◼
►
supremacy or to patriarchy there there
[TS]
◼
►
are attitudes that are distinctively
[TS]
◼
►
American that we have made us proud for
[TS]
◼
►
200 years and that those ideas are like
[TS]
◼
►
individuality individualism I guess more
[TS]
◼
►
than individuality and that can-do
[TS]
◼
►
I mean all that all that sort of go
[TS]
◼
►
get'em USA rah-rah stuff but there's a
[TS]
◼
►
lot of there's a lot interesting about
[TS]
◼
►
it there's a lot that's true about it
[TS]
◼
►
and and I think on the right side of the
[TS]
◼
►
aisle they feel like they are the ob
[TS]
◼
►
inheritors or the protectors of some of
[TS]
◼
►
those enshrined ideas and and on the
[TS]
◼
►
Left I mean the you know there are a lot
[TS]
◼
►
of liberal Patriots and I and I include
[TS]
◼
►
myself like when I see people on the
[TS]
◼
►
left say America is a garbage country
[TS]
◼
►
and always has been I'm like I'm sorry
[TS]
◼
►
you're wrong like you're just deeply
[TS]
◼
►
profoundly wrong and that might feel
[TS]
◼
►
good to say and that might feel like a
[TS]
◼
►
like year on their side of the room I
[TS]
◼
►
mean Jimmy but it was an evolving
[TS]
◼
►
garbage fire like the the strides were
[TS]
◼
►
taken every few years where things got a
[TS]
◼
►
little better in one way no they were
[TS]
◼
►
not always good and sometimes it does
[TS]
◼
►
take a miniature revolution but that's
[TS]
◼
►
that's what is it the long arc of
[TS]
◼
►
history right is that like things really
[TS]
◼
►
have gotten better in many quantifiable
[TS]
◼
►
ways for a lot of people and it's taken
[TS]
◼
►
a long time to get around to other
[TS]
◼
►
people who need that and that progress
[TS]
◼
►
was being made for a time it's it's that
[TS]
◼
►
progress is still being it's weirdly
[TS]
◼
►
Puttanesca though to find this both
[TS]
◼
►
sides ISM and going oh well you know
[TS]
◼
►
unless you were this kind of person so
[TS]
◼
►
yeah that was true but like we're
[TS]
◼
►
working on that that actually is that
[TS]
◼
►
actually is getting better it's yeah
[TS]
◼
►
it's I mean I know that's super easy for
[TS]
◼
►
me to say but I think there's evidence
[TS]
◼
►
out there that until fairly recently
[TS]
◼
►
things really were on a pretty
[TS]
◼
►
interesting upward incline and now now I
[TS]
◼
►
think it's just a waiting I mean hate to
[TS]
◼
►
cut to the chase but a lot of there's
[TS]
◼
►
just no demographics King demographics
[TS]
◼
►
game it's just a matter of waiting to
[TS]
◼
►
age out the assholes well it is but I
[TS]
◼
►
mean I don't think it's easy for you to
[TS]
◼
►
say I think it is I think it's a
[TS]
◼
►
challenge to remind ourselves that if
[TS]
◼
►
you watch the news every day and if you
[TS]
◼
►
see you know if you see the bad things
[TS]
◼
►
that are being reported in the way that
[TS]
◼
►
the in the way that they are like yeah
[TS]
◼
►
this feels like a time where we're
[TS]
◼
►
falling back or whether it
[TS]
◼
►
evil is ascendant but actually things
[TS]
◼
►
are getting better everyday in everyway
[TS]
◼
►
and the you know the rule of law is
[TS]
◼
►
gonna triumph and I mean what you don't
[TS]
◼
►
think of is ten years ago all the things
[TS]
◼
►
that all the terrible things that were
[TS]
◼
►
happening all the people that were
[TS]
◼
►
getting deported all survived 1968 we
[TS]
◼
►
can survive almost anything well sure
[TS]
◼
►
would survive 1985 but I mean I think
[TS]
◼
►
yeah good you're breaking up a little
[TS]
◼
►
bit oh I'm sorry
[TS]
◼
►
hello hey are you BitTorrent hello hello
[TS]
◼
►
I hear you do you know I'm I hear you I
[TS]
◼
►
think you fire me yeah keep going I'll
[TS]
◼
►
put a marker here and take this out okay
[TS]
◼
►
I think you're all right
[TS]
◼
►
I just I mean I believe in the American
[TS]
◼
►
experiment I don't believe that the
[TS]
◼
►
United States is a trash fire I think if
[TS]
◼
►
you go back to 1780
[TS]
◼
►
and you look at every other nation on
[TS]
◼
►
earth and compare our founding to theirs
[TS]
◼
►
or to their status then and if you go
[TS]
◼
►
back to 1900 if you go back to 1865 if
[TS]
◼
►
you go anywhere in history and do a line
[TS]
◼
►
by line comparison to what was happening
[TS]
◼
►
in the United States you're gonna find
[TS]
◼
►
that there aren't very many places that
[TS]
◼
►
you can look at and say oh wow the US
[TS]
◼
►
was really evil compared to right I mean
[TS]
◼
►
the United Kingdom abolished slavery a
[TS]
◼
►
lot sooner than America did but sooner
[TS]
◼
►
by a factor of 40 years like it's not
[TS]
◼
►
like it's not like Britain had outlawed
[TS]
◼
►
slavery in 1500 and we were some kind of
[TS]
◼
►
South Africa that persisted like it was
[TS]
◼
►
an evolving process and you know to look
[TS]
◼
►
back at the history of American say that
[TS]
◼
►
we're we have blood on our hands is only
[TS]
◼
►
to fail to look back at the history of
[TS]
◼
►
the world and see that everyone has
[TS]
◼
►
blood on their hands that no one there's
[TS]
◼
►
no nation on earth that is absolved if
[TS]
◼
►
the nation of Belgium continued to
[TS]
◼
►
exploit their colonies in Africa until
[TS]
◼
►
the fifties and exploit them in ways
[TS]
◼
►
that would would you know burn your
[TS]
◼
►
eyebrows oh is that like Congo yeah it's
[TS]
◼
►
a dozen colony yeah the Congo which is
[TS]
◼
►
an enormous the the entire Central
[TS]
◼
►
Africa and they you know they were I
[TS]
◼
►
mean they were brutal there but nobody
[TS]
◼
►
looks at Belgium and says like oh what a
[TS]
◼
►
knee I mean I guess the Belgians do and
[TS]
◼
►
people in Europe that know that story
[TS]
◼
►
but the whole idea that like America is
[TS]
◼
►
a terrible place it's just it's just
[TS]
◼
►
wrong we have been in we have been
[TS]
◼
►
setting the tempo for 200 years for the
[TS]
◼
►
extension and expansion of rights to the
[TS]
◼
►
greatest number of people and political
[TS]
◼
►
rights and social evolution like it's
[TS]
◼
►
been happening here and other people
[TS]
◼
►
have other countries have been following
[TS]
◼
►
in our wake and I know there are a lot
[TS]
◼
►
of Europeans who want to who want to
[TS]
◼
►
point to their their own country's
[TS]
◼
►
contributions to that but I think you
[TS]
◼
►
would have a hard time making a case
[TS]
◼
►
that certainly that that many countries
[TS]
◼
►
in Western Europe have been working on
[TS]
◼
►
that project any earlier than about 1960
[TS]
◼
►
you know what I mean like I mean so and
[TS]
◼
►
and the United Kingdom obviously like a
[TS]
◼
►
separate they have a sort of separate
[TS]
◼
►
dispensation but they're it's not like
[TS]
◼
►
they've been a liberal democracy this
[TS]
◼
►
whole time but you know it's I'm just
[TS]
◼
►
I'm rehashing something that everybody
[TS]
◼
►
has said every day for over a year now
[TS]
◼
►
but the part the part and why I've read
[TS]
◼
►
about Congress in particular is that you
[TS]
◼
►
know whether or not what James Buchanan
[TS]
◼
►
you know Herbert Hoover warren g harding
[TS]
◼
►
you know you got you got these
[TS]
◼
►
characters that you run into the maybe
[TS]
◼
►
aren't the best example of American
[TS]
◼
►
exceptionalism but like by and large
[TS]
◼
►
most people who were in the White House
[TS]
◼
►
at least bought the best lies about you
[TS]
◼
►
got it you got to bring Harding into
[TS]
◼
►
this at least most most people whether
[TS]
◼
►
or not Bill Clinton is the best human
[TS]
◼
►
you know George I mean I'm not here to
[TS]
◼
►
rehabilitate the reputation of george w
[TS]
◼
►
bush but boy by comparison but i mean at
[TS]
◼
►
least i mean george w bush may have been
[TS]
◼
►
a not very bright dry drunk but i think
[TS]
◼
►
in his heart he probably believed a lot
[TS]
◼
►
of the better truths and and some of the
[TS]
◼
►
more interesting lies about america that
[TS]
◼
►
let's we'll be able to get through it
[TS]
◼
►
from week to week and certainly think
[TS]
◼
►
brock obama believed it big time do you
[TS]
◼
►
remember two years ago we still said
[TS]
◼
►
things like george bush was the worst
[TS]
◼
►
president i know i know two years and
[TS]
◼
►
now he just seems like uh if we could
[TS]
◼
►
only go back to to a day when the
[TS]
◼
►
president knew which side of his body
[TS]
◼
►
his heart was on right right but but
[TS]
◼
►
that's on the one hand though you've got
[TS]
◼
►
somebody in there who clearly i mean
[TS]
◼
►
setting aside all the narcissism and all
[TS]
◼
►
that kind of stuff but it's somebody who
[TS]
◼
►
clearly does not like the actual the
[TS]
◼
►
real stuff that has made America great
[TS]
◼
►
and has no respect for the agreed upon
[TS]
◼
►
lies that made America pretty good he
[TS]
◼
►
just doesn't care he's fine to burn it
[TS]
◼
►
all down I'm even gonna set aside the
[TS]
◼
►
mental stuff for now but just even just
[TS]
◼
►
the ability to like as they say you know
[TS]
◼
►
he's gonna be persuaded by the last you
[TS]
◼
►
know general that he talked to as far as
[TS]
◼
►
what he thinks from now on that's not
[TS]
◼
►
bad enough like I actually think we
[TS]
◼
►
could survive that fine if the check on
[TS]
◼
►
that should be people who know better in
[TS]
◼
►
Congress never side you're on and the
[TS]
◼
►
fact that this is I mean I understand
[TS]
◼
►
the whole basis of there's a reason they
[TS]
◼
►
call it politics it's not Paul a friend
[TS]
◼
►
like I get that but like there's just
[TS]
◼
►
there's something so upsetting to me
[TS]
◼
►
about how you brought to you in part by
[TS]
◼
►
squarespace you can learn more about
[TS]
◼
►
Squarespace right now by going to
[TS]
◼
►
squarespace.com I'm a huge fan of
[TS]
◼
►
Squarespace as a listener of this show
[TS]
◼
►
you are using Squarespace right now
[TS]
◼
►
because that is where we host the
[TS]
◼
►
Roderick on the line podcast thank you
[TS]
◼
►
to Squarespace it's not just for podcast
[TS]
◼
►
there are so many things you can do with
[TS]
◼
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Squarespace you can create a beautiful
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website to turn your cool idea into a
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new website you can showcase your work
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◼
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you can have a blog or publish other
[TS]
◼
►
kinds of text content you can even sell
[TS]
◼
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◼
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can promote your physical or online
[TS]
◼
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business you can announce an upcoming
[TS]
◼
►
event or projects so much more it's
[TS]
◼
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all part of Squarespace Squarespace
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that's all this by giving you beautiful
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designers they have powerful ecommerce
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[TS]
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anything online the ability to customize
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the look and feel of your site the
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◼
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of the box they have a new way to buy
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it you make it yourself you can easily
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stand out with creating a beautiful
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website all by yourself it's beautiful
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you make it yourself it's all in there
[TS]
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you don't need another person you can
[TS]
◼
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just do it all take it dreaming make it
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◼
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with Squarespace so please right now go
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to Squarespace comm for a free trial and
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when you're ready to launch use the
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offer code supertrain to save 10% off
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your first purchase of a website or
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◼
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domain our thanks to Squarespace for
[TS]
◼
►
supporting roderick on the line and all
[TS]
◼
►
the great shows you know you just keep
[TS]
◼
►
hoping you know you guys you know what
[TS]
◼
►
is it I posted up I posted a really cool
[TS]
◼
►
painting of Cthulhu the other day with
[TS]
◼
►
two guys in a rowboat running away from
[TS]
◼
►
it and the New Yorker stock caption I
[TS]
◼
►
gave to it was well that's not diagnosed
[TS]
◼
►
from a distance it's like how how how
[TS]
◼
►
far is it gonna go before we say this is
[TS]
◼
►
I mean is it gives it gives it the worst
[TS]
◼
►
thing that keeps us all up but is it
[TS]
◼
►
gonna be little Rocket Man shooting at
[TS]
◼
►
us what's it gonna be before people go
[TS]
◼
►
dude you got a fucking toilet down like
[TS]
◼
►
you've got away please learn to pretend
[TS]
◼
►
like you're the fucking president and
[TS]
◼
►
like whoo there's just nobody doing that
[TS]
◼
►
and and that and so I guess what I'm
[TS]
◼
►
trying to say is it like I am NOT here
[TS]
◼
►
to whitewash and I choose that word
[TS]
◼
►
carefully whitewash over the very
[TS]
◼
►
problematic history of the United States
[TS]
◼
►
but like there is us there is a self
[TS]
◼
►
fixing nature to America that takes a
[TS]
◼
►
long time that I do believe in I don't
[TS]
◼
►
know if I'm always right but I do at
[TS]
◼
►
least believe in that it's just that I
[TS]
◼
►
don't believe that's happening right now
[TS]
◼
►
and just even just look at the EPA
[TS]
◼
►
people are saying it might take 30 years
[TS]
◼
►
to undo what's already happened to the
[TS]
◼
►
EPA there's stuff like that that is just
[TS]
◼
►
like at a time when everything's just
[TS]
◼
►
the environment is just crumbling and
[TS]
◼
►
the numbers are there for all of this
[TS]
◼
►
stuff and nobody's standing up I'm sorry
[TS]
◼
►
I'm just screaming into the wind that's
[TS]
◼
►
like it's so maddening to me that there
[TS]
◼
►
are not the everybo keeps talk about the
[TS]
◼
►
grown-ups in the room well you know you
[TS]
◼
►
got 100 grown-ups over here and over 400
[TS]
◼
►
on this other side like why why aren't
[TS]
◼
►
they being the grown-ups why aren't they
[TS]
◼
►
it's because well some of them some of
[TS]
◼
►
them benefit greatly by being able to
[TS]
◼
►
not get this guy mad at them on the
[TS]
◼
►
internet and then there are other people
[TS]
◼
►
I guess they just they just don't have
[TS]
◼
►
the political will or votes to be able
[TS]
◼
►
to do anything of substance but like
[TS]
◼
►
seriously like what does it gonna take
[TS]
◼
►
you know to get anywhere to with near
[TS]
◼
►
back to where we could be to just even
[TS]
◼
►
even get back there's stuff that is as
[TS]
◼
►
bad as the 50s and 60s right now
[TS]
◼
►
happening that's like we lost like 50
[TS]
◼
►
years somewhere the thing is that all
[TS]
◼
►
any of us have is the news and and one
[TS]
◼
►
of the things that we always said about
[TS]
◼
►
the Internet from the very beginning was
[TS]
◼
►
that I mean and this was all this was
[TS]
◼
►
often talked about as a strength in the
[TS]
◼
►
early days you would be able to tailor
[TS]
◼
►
your news feed so that it fit your
[TS]
◼
►
interests you have met your interests
[TS]
◼
►
and now we are living in a world where
[TS]
◼
►
you can tailor your news feed and
[TS]
◼
►
everybody's watching their own
[TS]
◼
►
individual news feed and the one that
[TS]
◼
►
that people like us are watching is in
[TS]
◼
►
full-on panic mode all the time and so
[TS]
◼
►
it looks like a doomsday scenario that
[TS]
◼
►
isn't an accurate picture right this
[TS]
◼
►
whole like the EPA or the the damage to
[TS]
◼
►
the environment is going to take 30
[TS]
◼
►
years to correct well no it's it's it
[TS]
◼
►
depends on how you read what's going on
[TS]
◼
►
like there is damage being done yes but
[TS]
◼
►
there has been there have been a lot of
[TS]
◼
►
improvements the the damage even during
[TS]
◼
►
the Obama administration we were still
[TS]
◼
►
doing a ton of damage it's not like we
[TS]
◼
►
went from from Avatar to
[TS]
◼
►
to Bladerunner in two weeks and then
[TS]
◼
►
we'll never get back to avatar like it's
[TS]
◼
►
a continuum and and progress is being
[TS]
◼
►
made so on the one hand I just I always
[TS]
◼
►
caution like you get into a new cycle
[TS]
◼
►
and it news is built on creating panic
[TS]
◼
►
people mm-hmm it's very very hard to
[TS]
◼
►
take one big step back and not be in a
[TS]
◼
►
state of panic because in fact panicking
[TS]
◼
►
feels like action you know it feels like
[TS]
◼
►
you're engaged it feels like you're
[TS]
◼
►
doing something to be in a state of like
[TS]
◼
►
anxious like but like anxious stress all
[TS]
◼
►
the time yeah but like my I do believe
[TS]
◼
►
that with Trump there there is no
[TS]
◼
►
putting that genie back into the bottle
[TS]
◼
►
like something has changed like
[TS]
◼
►
irrevocably but what Trump and the
[TS]
◼
►
Congress are I think is a product of
[TS]
◼
►
basically 50 years of ground game that
[TS]
◼
►
the Conservatives have been playing that
[TS]
◼
►
the Liberals have failed at and it
[TS]
◼
►
partly it is in the nature of the two
[TS]
◼
►
animals like liberalism thinks of itself
[TS]
◼
►
as an over arching worldview that we are
[TS]
◼
►
the people that believe in the
[TS]
◼
►
philosopher-king we believe in the idea
[TS]
◼
►
that if people are educated they will
[TS]
◼
►
make good choices and that we need to
[TS]
◼
►
bring education to places if people only
[TS]
◼
►
were educated if they could only see
[TS]
◼
►
then they would naturally be liberals
[TS]
◼
►
and so that's been our focus for ever
[TS]
◼
►
since the civil rights movement we need
[TS]
◼
►
to for instance busing is an example of
[TS]
◼
►
a program where we just wanted people to
[TS]
◼
►
to interact with each other we were we
[TS]
◼
►
were attempting to combat the the kind
[TS]
◼
►
of the separatism of the races bite like
[TS]
◼
►
almost force wedging them together and
[TS]
◼
►
this was based on an idealistic
[TS]
◼
►
that we could educate people by showing
[TS]
◼
►
them and that that was going to create
[TS]
◼
►
this world and on the right they had a
[TS]
◼
►
very much more pragmatic approach to
[TS]
◼
►
American politics which was they said
[TS]
◼
►
we're going to get people elected to the
[TS]
◼
►
local school board and to the County
[TS]
◼
►
Council and once we get somebody in
[TS]
◼
►
there then we're going to Gerry manned
[TS]
◼
►
the districts so that the district okay
[TS]
◼
►
once you get into the tree house we're
[TS]
◼
►
gonna pull up the ladder that's right
[TS]
◼
►
we're gonna draw the line now so that
[TS]
◼
►
this district and no longer includes any
[TS]
◼
►
black neighborhoods and the district is
[TS]
◼
►
going to look like a like a paint
[TS]
◼
►
splotch but that doesn't matter because
[TS]
◼
►
we're not trying to create a world of
[TS]
◼
►
egalitarianism we're not trying to work
[TS]
◼
►
according to a premise that all people
[TS]
◼
►
aspire to their highest selves we're
[TS]
◼
►
trying to get political power in the
[TS]
◼
►
Congress and we're gonna do that
[TS]
◼
►
methodically we're gonna do that with a
[TS]
◼
►
kind of military like strategy and when
[TS]
◼
►
people were getting you know this is 25
[TS]
◼
►
years ago we started talking about like
[TS]
◼
►
wait a minute all these school boards
[TS]
◼
►
are denying evolution who are these
[TS]
◼
►
ding-a-lings but from the leftist
[TS]
◼
►
perspective we were like well that's
[TS]
◼
►
just some small-town dumb little
[TS]
◼
►
Oklahoma problem and evolution is a
[TS]
◼
►
widely accepted theory any smart person
[TS]
◼
►
believes in it and so we're not gonna
[TS]
◼
►
worry about it we're not gonna go try
[TS]
◼
►
and put our own people on those school
[TS]
◼
►
boards we're going to assume that things
[TS]
◼
►
are you know that that our higher selves
[TS]
◼
►
will win and now we're living in a world
[TS]
◼
►
where the the Congress is not made up of
[TS]
◼
►
people who you know who went to college
[TS]
◼
►
started a successful business had an
[TS]
◼
►
sense of American political process
[TS]
◼
►
fought in the good war you know and go
[TS]
◼
►
to go to Washington trying to make a
[TS]
◼
►
difference we're looking at a Congress
[TS]
◼
►
that is full of people that were
[TS]
◼
►
strategically sent there to accomplish a
[TS]
◼
►
pretty narrow mission which is basically
[TS]
◼
►
hamstrung the government limit its power
[TS]
◼
►
and return the right to decide whether
[TS]
◼
►
evolution is true or not to the local
[TS]
◼
►
school board which we've already stacked
[TS]
◼
►
with people and that's the that has been
[TS]
◼
►
the Republican game for 50 years and
[TS]
◼
►
they it's just it's just a strategy and
[TS]
◼
►
on the Left we considered ourselves
[TS]
◼
►
above that kind of of like college
[TS]
◼
►
football like ground game and we had
[TS]
◼
►
none our ground game was all devoted to
[TS]
◼
►
to to again this this basically long
[TS]
◼
►
history premise which is the more
[TS]
◼
►
educated people are the more affluent
[TS]
◼
►
they are and educated they are the more
[TS]
◼
►
they will take an interest in civics the
[TS]
◼
►
more they will as you were saying you
[TS]
◼
►
know once you have a complex idea you
[TS]
◼
►
very seldom go back to a simple one
[TS]
◼
►
but what we didn't understand was you
[TS]
◼
►
can't just go in someplace hand them a
[TS]
◼
►
complex idea handsome kid a complex idea
[TS]
◼
►
and all of a sudden that idea Trump's
[TS]
◼
►
his parents and his grandparents and his
[TS]
◼
►
church yeah yeah yeah so anyway we've
[TS]
◼
►
done a very bad job of playing football
[TS]
◼
►
and the political situation we're in
[TS]
◼
►
right now is is a product of that and I
[TS]
◼
►
think that and the Republicans have done
[TS]
◼
►
or the I'm sorry the conservative side
[TS]
◼
►
of the country has done a very good job
[TS]
◼
►
of characterizing us as shrill out of
[TS]
◼
►
touch because because every time we've
[TS]
◼
►
advanced a really great fairy we also
[TS]
◼
►
it's very easy to pick and choose among
[TS]
◼
►
the theories promulgated by the left and
[TS]
◼
►
find one that seems bonkers to a
[TS]
◼
►
church-going person in Ohio mm-hmm and
[TS]
◼
►
then all you have to do is put that on
[TS]
◼
►
your brochure and say look what the
[TS]
◼
►
Liberals want us to do you know they
[TS]
◼
►
believe that they believe that all kids
[TS]
◼
►
should have sex change operations it's
[TS]
◼
►
like what's what where did you get that
[TS]
◼
►
you know but that but there are a lot of
[TS]
◼
►
grandmother's in Ohio that that's all
[TS]
◼
►
they need to hear yeah so how do we get
[TS]
◼
►
our ground game back I don't think that
[TS]
◼
►
it's in the nature of liberals to have a
[TS]
◼
►
ground game because we're because we
[TS]
◼
►
that's not how we think but weird we
[TS]
◼
►
have to acknowledge that we're losing in
[TS]
◼
►
a battle between like you know in a
[TS]
◼
►
battle between a team that has a ground
[TS]
◼
►
game we're not doing a good job of
[TS]
◼
►
convincing and I don't know how to
[TS]
◼
►
improve on that I don't know how to how
[TS]
◼
►
to get Neil deGrasse Tyson out to the
[TS]
◼
►
world and and I don't think that an
[TS]
◼
►
Oprah presidency is the way but like I
[TS]
◼
►
do like how many women are running for
[TS]
◼
►
office oh it's fantastic Seattle has our
[TS]
◼
►
first female mayor in a hundred years
[TS]
◼
►
basically yeah I mean I could just think
[TS]
◼
►
of half a dozen reasons why that is a
[TS]
◼
►
good and encouraging sign even in
[TS]
◼
►
conservative places I mean you can't you
[TS]
◼
►
can't argue with
[TS]
◼
►
female legislators I think they
[TS]
◼
►
particularly in Congress I think a
[TS]
◼
►
majority female Congress would be such a
[TS]
◼
►
different animal oh my god yeah
[TS]
◼
►
wouldn't matter whether they were all
[TS]
◼
►
Anita Bryant's I think you would see I
[TS]
◼
►
think you would see a justice just a
[TS]
◼
►
different mentality yeah but I don't I
[TS]
◼
►
don't know what to I don't know what the
[TS]
◼
►
antidote to the present moment and the
[TS]
◼
►
feeling that we are on the constant
[TS]
◼
►
verge of war famine catastrophe signing
[TS]
◼
►
our government for three weeks at a time
[TS]
◼
►
I mean that's it's it's insane but you
[TS]
◼
►
know again it's not unprecedented and as
[TS]
◼
►
you were saying it's not just in 68 in
[TS]
◼
►
72 in 1972 George Wallace ran for the US
[TS]
◼
►
presidency on a recent like a struggling
[TS]
◼
►
like a racism but I mean you see I've
[TS]
◼
►
been silvered through the 90s Strom
[TS]
◼
►
Thurmond right it's bananas right I mean
[TS]
◼
►
there's there's there have there have
[TS]
◼
►
been crazy crazy crazy times before and
[TS]
◼
►
I mean obviously like I was talking to
[TS]
◼
►
somebody the other day like movies in
[TS]
◼
►
the future who want to cast someone in
[TS]
◼
►
the role of the President of the United
[TS]
◼
►
States what are they gonna do now like
[TS]
◼
►
it used to be that if you wanted the
[TS]
◼
►
president even if it was like a science
[TS]
◼
►
fiction movie or a future movie he found
[TS]
◼
►
someone that seemed serious and now how
[TS]
◼
►
do you cast the president it could be it
[TS]
◼
►
could be Bobcat Goldthwait ghost like
[TS]
◼
►
you could have anybody straight so that
[TS]
◼
►
definitely is like a that's a trip but I
[TS]
◼
►
I mean every time I every time I see a
[TS]
◼
►
bunch of young lawyers sitting
[TS]
◼
►
indian-style on the floor at an
[TS]
◼
►
immigration building like frantically
[TS]
◼
►
doing pro bono work to file injunctions
[TS]
◼
►
I'm reminded that this is a fucking
[TS]
◼
►
oh yeah look at what happened the at the
[TS]
◼
►
airports when the travel ban came down
[TS]
◼
►
yeah I mean that's as horrible as
[TS]
◼
►
everybody felt about that that was that
[TS]
◼
►
was an amazing moment that hadn't
[TS]
◼
►
imagine if the presence of that kind of
[TS]
◼
►
pushback had not been in evidence at
[TS]
◼
►
that time where we might even be now
[TS]
◼
►
well and that if it hadn't happened
[TS]
◼
►
that's where you look at your country
[TS]
◼
►
and say this this place is full of decay
[TS]
◼
►
and rot but it did happen and you and
[TS]
◼
►
then you're able to say like I have
[TS]
◼
►
faith in this I have faith in in who we
[TS]
◼
►
are and what we're doing I need to not
[TS]
◼
►
be sad we went to see um you know an
[TS]
◼
►
okay movie who is not a fantastic movie
[TS]
◼
►
although it's a movie my daughter has
[TS]
◼
►
now declared it was definitely her
[TS]
◼
►
favorite musical and might be here
[TS]
◼
►
all-time favorite movie which is the
[TS]
◼
►
greatest showmen starring wolverine and
[TS]
◼
►
it's the very very heavily fictionalized
[TS]
◼
►
story of PT Barnum but long story short
[TS]
◼
►
one of the kind of goofy narratives in
[TS]
◼
►
this is like how good he was in some
[TS]
◼
►
ways too like kooky Barnum yeah giving
[TS]
◼
►
like humanity to his oddities and like
[TS]
◼
►
how they made this family out of the
[TS]
◼
►
bearded lady and General Tom Thumb and
[TS]
◼
►
and I swear to god this is an actual
[TS]
◼
►
thing that happened that made me feel so
[TS]
◼
►
good and I don't know I can't tell she's
[TS]
◼
►
just doing this to make me feel good but
[TS]
◼
►
there's this moment where like they're
[TS]
◼
►
they so they're outside the Barnum
[TS]
◼
►
theater and they're being confronted and
[TS]
◼
►
like menaced it's like something out of
[TS]
◼
►
x-men it's all these little you know all
[TS]
◼
►
these local hoods with Donegal caps in
[TS]
◼
►
dirt on their face I'll kick their ass
[TS]
◼
►
for being creaks and it's like a shot of
[TS]
◼
►
like bearded lady Chang and Eng bunker
[TS]
◼
►
or the Siamese twins it's you know it's
[TS]
◼
►
in the bearded lady and then it's like
[TS]
◼
►
Zac Efron and zendaya the the beautiful
[TS]
◼
►
slender actress and and she's kind of
[TS]
◼
►
like what what is what is what why is
[TS]
◼
►
that a problem and I was like well you
[TS]
◼
►
know what do you think she's like I
[TS]
◼
►
don't I don't understand because he's
[TS]
◼
►
rich I was like no no because they're of
[TS]
◼
►
different races and she she actually
[TS]
◼
►
made this face like hmm and I said up
[TS]
◼
►
was illegal to marry somebody of a
[TS]
◼
►
different race she looked like I just
[TS]
◼
►
told her that like you know that there
[TS]
◼
►
was a secret chocolate fountain in a
[TS]
◼
►
room she didn't know about like she's
[TS]
◼
►
like you've got to be kidding me like
[TS]
◼
►
yeah I loved it for her and I really
[TS]
◼
►
admitted Lee I'm looking for my happy
[TS]
◼
►
place in this sad story but this is such
[TS]
◼
►
a real thing it's not a perfect thing
[TS]
◼
►
their kids are still dicks but like it
[TS]
◼
►
is just it's pretty fucking cool to me
[TS]
◼
►
that she's never had a thought that
[TS]
◼
►
anybody regardless of their race or
[TS]
◼
►
sexual orientation or gender is they're
[TS]
◼
►
all cool to her and that feels
[TS]
◼
►
encouraging that feels and I wonder if
[TS]
◼
►
you have similar stories like that where
[TS]
◼
►
it's no longer a case where like you
[TS]
◼
►
know when I was in first grade my black
[TS]
◼
►
friend was skipper because there's one
[TS]
◼
►
black friend at my school I had a black
[TS]
◼
►
friend I was like Stephen Colbert
[TS]
◼
►
hey there's my african-american you know
[TS]
◼
►
and that's not the case anymore
[TS]
◼
►
there's not one kid from Africa there's
[TS]
◼
►
not like that one kid there's not even
[TS]
◼
►
that one development developmentally
[TS]
◼
►
disabled kid like he's just a whole
[TS]
◼
►
bunch of different kids and like if they
[TS]
◼
►
want kissed that's gonna be okay
[TS]
◼
►
and that feels like a pretty big move
[TS]
◼
►
over Cincinnati Ohio in 1976 to me I
[TS]
◼
►
mean in my dad's elementary school there
[TS]
◼
►
was a black kid whose name was John and
[TS]
◼
►
there was a white kid whose name was
[TS]
◼
►
John Oh God and so the teacher said well
[TS]
◼
►
okay from now on you're Felix as in
[TS]
◼
►
Felix the Cat Oh God and I mean this is
[TS]
◼
►
1927 and my dad ran into him I mean they
[TS]
◼
►
were friend you know they were like
[TS]
◼
►
black John white John no no it was
[TS]
◼
►
feeling they were they were my dad and
[TS]
◼
►
he were tight throughout school and then
[TS]
◼
►
they hadn't seen each other and in 40
[TS]
◼
►
years or something and they ran into
[TS]
◼
►
each other on the street when they were
[TS]
◼
►
both in their 70s why my dad said John
[TS]
◼
►
and he said it's Felix Davis well and he
[TS]
◼
►
had been Felix he'd been Felix his whole
[TS]
◼
►
life until he finally just accepted it
[TS]
◼
►
because that's what everybody called him
[TS]
◼
►
no he didn't finally accept it I mean
[TS]
◼
►
that from the time he was 7 years old he
[TS]
◼
►
was Felix and he just I mean it
[TS]
◼
►
never occurred to him to not be Felix
[TS]
◼
►
but I mean he was my dad knew him and
[TS]
◼
►
had known him as John but hit the the
[TS]
◼
►
Felix identity he had taken over him at
[TS]
◼
►
probably when he went to high school and
[TS]
◼
►
he was just like you know let's just not
[TS]
◼
►
I was about to say let's call a spade a
[TS]
◼
►
spade but that white issue I don't think
[TS]
◼
►
it's encouraging that your daughter
[TS]
◼
►
doesn't can't comprehend it I think it
[TS]
◼
►
is the truth of the matter yeah like my
[TS]
◼
►
daughter has never and she's almost
[TS]
◼
►
seven now she has never referred to
[TS]
◼
►
someone by their color did you imagine
[TS]
◼
►
that I mean not maybe maybe not people
[TS]
◼
►
were twenty they here they go oh gosh no
[TS]
◼
►
I mean just how you would talk about
[TS]
◼
►
people sure and partly it is because we
[TS]
◼
►
have because we're modern people also
[TS]
◼
►
yeah I have never said oh it's the black
[TS]
◼
►
guy over there or yeah yeah well you
[TS]
◼
►
know the reason that they you know the
[TS]
◼
►
reason that they're using chopsticks is
[TS]
◼
►
because they're Asian well yeah I mean
[TS]
◼
►
everybody I mean to just put up put a
[TS]
◼
►
big cherry on it we were raised to
[TS]
◼
►
believe that the easiest way to identify
[TS]
◼
►
people was how they were different from
[TS]
◼
►
the normal thing which is me my equals
[TS]
◼
►
equals normal and and and my daughter
[TS]
◼
►
does cannot classify people and her
[TS]
◼
►
primary way is boy-girl but then within
[TS]
◼
►
girls like she has two little friends
[TS]
◼
►
and one of them is almost albino she's
[TS]
◼
►
so light and one of them is from India
[TS]
◼
►
and the two of them are very close
[TS]
◼
►
friends and Marlo sees them as
[TS]
◼
►
indistinguishable from one
[TS]
◼
►
they're almost because they're both the
[TS]
◼
►
same size they're both small mm-hmm and
[TS]
◼
►
although you know to me they look like
[TS]
◼
►
the black and white chess queens of a
[TS]
◼
►
very small and interesting chess game -
[TS]
◼
►
to my kid they are classed the same
[TS]
◼
►
because they're both littler than her
[TS]
◼
►
but so she has never even come to me and
[TS]
◼
►
said what's weird about this situation
[TS]
◼
►
like she doesn't when so much credit
[TS]
◼
►
must also go to the teachers staff
[TS]
◼
►
faculty but it but it is this is the
[TS]
◼
►
thing where I don't I think like I don't
[TS]
◼
►
find it encouraging I find it fait
[TS]
◼
►
accompli like we are better and that can
[TS]
◼
►
only produce they're they're better well
[TS]
◼
►
no we are too but I mean but I still
[TS]
◼
►
have I still have the memories and
[TS]
◼
►
knowing my even my own behavior
[TS]
◼
►
Cincinnati was very I'm going to use the
[TS]
◼
►
code word conservative town is a very
[TS]
◼
►
nice word for wet wet honest and said
[TS]
◼
►
more than Larry Flynt but glam
[TS]
◼
►
headquarters oh we had all kinds of
[TS]
◼
►
things going on you cross the border
[TS]
◼
►
over Nene Indiana and it's like whoo
[TS]
◼
►
it's it ain't no Berkeley over there
[TS]
◼
►
but yeah yeah I don't know it's it's
[TS]
◼
►
it's strange though it's getting back to
[TS]
◼
►
the Descartes and the fingernails I mean
[TS]
◼
►
it is it's super interesting for like
[TS]
◼
►
I'm not saying that they can't see that
[TS]
◼
►
difference but I mean how different
[TS]
◼
►
would that be from like deciding who
[TS]
◼
►
your friends are based on like what
[TS]
◼
►
color their hair is or like the length
[TS]
◼
►
of their hair or like which backpack
[TS]
◼
►
they have it's like it would seem so
[TS]
◼
►
arbitrary well but that mean kids are
[TS]
◼
►
assholes like you see they're such
[TS]
◼
►
assholes yeah but you know my dad's
[TS]
◼
►
teacher called the black kid Felix but
[TS]
◼
►
my dad didn't did my dad had friends of
[TS]
◼
►
all races my dad's friends the best of
[TS]
◼
►
all the Japanese guys that's right you
[TS]
◼
►
play basketball the Japanese and his
[TS]
◼
►
best friend was black his whole life but
[TS]
◼
►
my dad didn't the it would never have
[TS]
◼
►
occurred to my dad to say about somebody
[TS]
◼
►
to describe somebody without describing
[TS]
◼
►
them by their primary characteristic
[TS]
◼
►
which was their skin color
[TS]
◼
►
race huh you know he would never have
[TS]
◼
►
said like oh it's the tall guy over
[TS]
◼
►
there it's like you mean which one well
[TS]
◼
►
the one over there in the red shirt you
[TS]
◼
►
know he would have been like it's a
[TS]
◼
►
black guy well so that then then to you
[TS]
◼
►
and I who grew up in her - you and me -
[TS]
◼
►
you and me mm-hmm the object the object
[TS]
◼
►
of the preposition to me who grew up in
[TS]
◼
►
in that world like now when we're
[TS]
◼
►
teaching our kids we don't talk like
[TS]
◼
►
and they don't that's just not how they
[TS]
◼
►
order the universe so when they talk to
[TS]
◼
►
their kids they're gonna figure out a
[TS]
◼
►
new ordering that somehow register got
[TS]
◼
►
by the color of his backpack yeah the
[TS]
◼
►
incredible mistakes that you and I make
[TS]
◼
►
every day when saying whatever terrible
[TS]
◼
►
thing you know that that they're gonna
[TS]
◼
►
roll their eyes at us at my terrible
[TS]
◼
►
debt what I'm gonna say don't put the
[TS]
◼
►
cart before the horse they're gonna say
[TS]
◼
►
I'm never gonna say that to my child
[TS]
◼
►
it's so racist I really want to create a
[TS]
◼
►
new world for them
[TS]