[SPEAKER_00]: I told a lot of lights about a cheap man Is it because you when they got you to believe in I'm a finger held to the forehead and an hell show Trapped in a cover on the sales game Let's fight back in I've seen talks about class in the past Cost of the disaster's brought to fresh It's not spanked at the box It's a thousand natural shocks I've been with money podcast [SPEAKER_04]: Hello and welcome to a thousand natural shocks about with money podcast.
[SPEAKER_04]: We are here once again with Taylor Smith coming to us from an international from an international perspective. [SPEAKER_04]: Taylor's the person who has been being the drum about the general strike pretty much since the beginning, even before I even really understood what a general strike was, or before I even [SPEAKER_04]: felt like it was something that could work, but it was primarily because I didn't understand how it worked.
[SPEAKER_04]: That's becoming more and more of a thing now. [SPEAKER_04]: People are are super jumping on it, because in the wake of the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretty for us in LA, Keith Porter. [SPEAKER_04]: And so can you, what made you start saying way back in the beginning, general strike? [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, good question. [SPEAKER_01]: It's it's the thing that they care about. [SPEAKER_01]: It's money. [SPEAKER_01]: That's all [SPEAKER_01]: these people care about.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's all this is. [SPEAKER_01]: It's just how can we make as much money off of the backs of the American people and give them just enough bread and circuses for them not to revolt. [SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine and I was like the only thing I can think would be a financial boycott of some and I didn't know what general strike was at that time. [SPEAKER_01]: This was probably back in like December of 2024.
[SPEAKER_01]: I was like I think some sort of financial boycott or strike [SPEAKER_01]: Is the only thing that would stop this is the only thing that these people would understand, but it wasn't until the ice rates really started hitting Los Angeles and then the big beautiful bill went through. [SPEAKER_01]: And that's when I was like, okay, what's a general strike, how do we shut this down, how do we stop this immediately?
[SPEAKER_01]: So it was just knowing what these guys care about and knowing the peaceful like option to go against that is a general strike and boycotting as heavily as we can. [SPEAKER_04]: So now in the wake of white people being killed, there has been a huge uptick. [SPEAKER_04]: I've been saying to our friends, you know, I've been called crazy for eight months. [SPEAKER_04]: All of a sudden, those people are now messaging me saying, what do we do? [SPEAKER_04]: What do we do?
[SPEAKER_04]: And I'm still being met with resistance to the idea of a general strike. [SPEAKER_04]: And can you explain what it is? [SPEAKER_04]: Because people are confused and they keep saying, well, is it long? [SPEAKER_04]: Is it short? [SPEAKER_04]: Is it one day? [SPEAKER_04]: Is it a whole, like, can you break down, like, I guess the what it is exactly? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: So I guess the short answer is a general strike.
[SPEAKER_01]: is when the working people refuse their labor until they demand on that. [SPEAKER_01]: That's the story answer. [SPEAKER_01]: I think a lot of people are getting kind of confused and muddied by these one-day strikes, these sick day, like take the day off. [SPEAKER_01]: It's us doing a warning shot to the powers that the would also us flexing that muscle of, oh, I'm going to have to call off of work. [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not going to co-chella. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like, oh, I have to take a sick day, but I'm not [SPEAKER_01]: sick. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not hung over, but okay, I'll I'll take a stick day. [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, Oh, well, I can't go to the grocery store this day. [SPEAKER_01]: I don't have any groceries, but I guess I'll wait till Saturday.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of it's kind of flexing that muscle and getting and having these conversations and getting people thinking, you know, what is a general strike, what is it, what is a, what is a, what is a, [SPEAKER_01]: uh, an economic blackout, an economic boycott. [SPEAKER_01]: And as I was doing research and as I, you know, this is all I think about. [SPEAKER_04]: I know. [SPEAKER_01]: I know. [SPEAKER_01]: I know. [SPEAKER_01]: I saw some thinking about it.
[SPEAKER_01]: It kind of dawned on me. [SPEAKER_01]: It's like the world still turns in a perfect world. [SPEAKER_01]: Everyone would strike, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Landlord's bosses, you know, people in the White House, you know, the police, like everyone would strike. [SPEAKER_01]: But that's not the world that we live in. [SPEAKER_01]: It's going to be, you know, 3.5% of the population. [SPEAKER_01]: So the world is still turning and people are still living their lives.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we'd have to, too. [SPEAKER_01]: It's not like grandma's, don't get aid. [SPEAKER_01]: It's not like kids don't get taught. [SPEAKER_01]: It's not like people go hungry. [SPEAKER_01]: It's just we as a community. [SPEAKER_01]: We as strikers have to kind of figure out how to take care of each other. [SPEAKER_01]: and what our communities need, what our cities need, and what that looks like.
[SPEAKER_01]: But it might be uncomfortable, and it might not be the most ideal thing on the world, but I do think it will be kind of fun. [SPEAKER_01]: Like I do think, you know? [SPEAKER_04]: But yeah, I think people don't, they think that nothing is happening. [SPEAKER_04]: And it's not that nothing is happening. [SPEAKER_04]: It's that if you're a doctor and somebody is sick, you may be see them without charging them.
[SPEAKER_04]: Or if you're a teacher and you're on strike, maybe you teach your students on Zoom from home or you teach your students at the park or something at the library. [SPEAKER_04]: You know, there's there's it's going to look different for every single person and so you can't there's no one size fits all you can't just be like well I'm this job so X Y and Z even if you're like well but wait I'm on a deadline for a project ask if the whole company can strike.
[SPEAKER_04]: ask your co-workers hate because I would you know I would feel guilty sometimes like um oh if I call out it's going to screw over this person but if you talk to them and say like what if we all call out on this day and you know made clear that that's what we were doing that it was first strike and then and then try to work it's not against
[SPEAKER_04]: the people that you work with day to day bring them in talk to your manager say what do you think about being in this general strike on this day or what do you think about the idea of striking like we've talked about trying to get unions involved because that is, you know, people who work in specific fields like trucking would be amazing. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: for hospitality. [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, care for hospitality.
[SPEAKER_04]: If trucks shut down for like a day, we would be so screwed. [SPEAKER_04]: I almost feel that people are coming to me now, looking for me to absolve them of their sins. [SPEAKER_04]: Like they'll come to me and they'll be like, Gabe, no, I, so I want to participate in the strike, but I'm on a really tight deadline on a project. [SPEAKER_04]: And I just feel like it's going to make trouble for the, for the, my company. [SPEAKER_04]: And so I don't know if I can do it.
[SPEAKER_04]: my sweet baby angel making trouble for your company is what a strike is. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to say that's the point. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, going back to that it's that's the point. [SPEAKER_01]: We are stopping means of production. [SPEAKER_01]: We are the means of production. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: May their system and our world turn way more than people realize like the number one what funds United States number one thing is consumerism. [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's our labor. [SPEAKER_01]: It's our money. [SPEAKER_01]: It's it's our tax dollars too. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: So stopping their means [SPEAKER_01]: of production is the goal. [SPEAKER_01]: Our little eco-productive [SPEAKER_01]: ecosystem is still going. [SPEAKER_01]: It's their big ecosystem is going to come to a grinding call, and that's what we want. [SPEAKER_01]: But we're still filing.
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, we're still making sure people are taking care of. [SPEAKER_04]: You can shop local. [SPEAKER_04]: You can do local. [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, look, this, this has been a source of frustration for me is how willing the city of Los Angeles was to support the WGA and sad strikes where people were helping each other. [SPEAKER_04]: There was a sense of community. [SPEAKER_04]: People brought food and snacks like we've done it before. [SPEAKER_04]: It's been successful before.
[SPEAKER_04]: swingers diner, the whole W.A. [SPEAKER_04]: strike, swingers diner. [SPEAKER_04]: If you showed your WDWJ card, you ate for free. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I was going to say, and it's that. [SPEAKER_01]: It's, it's okay. [SPEAKER_01]: So I know, you know, these three diners are striking with us. [SPEAKER_01]: And it's always like they have our backs. [SPEAKER_01]: And so yeah, maybe maybe we all get strike cards and we walk in flash our strike card and we eat for free.
[SPEAKER_01]: But we'll be understanding that [SPEAKER_01]: next Saturday, I'm going to help them paint the back room or I'm going to work to our shift. [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, double tip next time or only pay tip, you know, do a tip, a cash tip to the way that it's not said. [SPEAKER_01]: That's also a great idea. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: There's so many different ways for a strike to look like, especially a general one.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: In every city and every town is going to be different. [SPEAKER_04]: It's going to look different, even just in your neighborhood. [SPEAKER_01]: But we are neighborhood versus my neighborhood. [SPEAKER_01]: We have versus K-town completely different ecosystems. [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, different setup, different. [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, look, even during WGA, people drove up with water. [SPEAKER_04]: They brought snacks.
[SPEAKER_04]: They brought some, like, people were donating places we're donating ice cream sandwiches. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, people were making sure people had stuff. [SPEAKER_04]: And so it's not crazy. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, it's, you did it during the strike. [SPEAKER_04]: It's been done before during the WGA strike. [SPEAKER_01]: And we did it in COVID, and COVID we took every other during the fires and LA.
[SPEAKER_01]: We took care of each other, and it's just now that there's a political pressure on it. [SPEAKER_01]: I think people could again, I would take off work to go to a concert. [SPEAKER_01]: Sorry, boss. [SPEAKER_01]: You're like, I've taken off work for much less, you know? [SPEAKER_01]: And I feel like this is so important that it's like, it might not be Taylor Swift, but you've got to take off work.
[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, that's the thing that's so interesting to me is when I talk about people coming to me to be absolved of their sins. [SPEAKER_04]: It feels like they want to come to me. [SPEAKER_04]: They want to tell me why they can't strike and then they want me to say it's okay. [SPEAKER_04]: And I've been trying to explain to you and some of the other activists who are not white. [SPEAKER_04]: And last night it was like you guys were like, what?
[SPEAKER_04]: Everything you were saying back to me like I totally understand and I've playing doubles at the kip. [SPEAKER_04]: Like there is this pervasive problem.
[SPEAKER_04]: Among liberals left wing white people where they don't want to be embarrassed for even a second They don't want to be the people who made a stink They don't want anyone to say something weird behind their back They don't want to be the person that everyone is like remember one like so and so called called for us to like help with the general strike What a fucking weirdo like that's their fear if I'm like oh, why don't you just go to your boss and pitch that everybody strike
[SPEAKER_04]: The idea of talking to their boss like that. [SPEAKER_04]: They would throw up like they These are grown grown people people. [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, they don't want it.
[SPEAKER_04]: They they don't want to seem like they tried about anything It's very like cringe culture like if they're like, oh, I'm actually going to inconvenience the whole team by being like Let's all strike and then everyone's going to be mad at me quote unquote or whatever it is You know, there's like a thing of not wanting to be the face of anything and being so [SPEAKER_04]: scared to be connected to something. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, I don't know how to explain it.
[SPEAKER_04]: They just, there's this thing that all of us, I think, lack, which is good, which is some elements of shame, I think. [SPEAKER_04]: Because when I tell you like, the stuff that comes back to me is, it's two things.
[SPEAKER_04]: It's either people being like, it's just like they don't wanna have to do the work, they don't wanna have to do extra work, they don't wanna have to be like, now I'm talking to my coworkers, not what if they tell me that they don't understand this aspect, but I don't understand it either, [SPEAKER_04]: how am I supposed to explain it to them? [SPEAKER_04]: Like all this kind of stuff.
[SPEAKER_04]: Then there's the people that are flat out just to me like a strike isn't going to work. [SPEAKER_04]: And me and Eric who is in on this show, we were talking about the people who say a strike isn't going to work. [SPEAKER_04]: It's quite interesting because it'll be people that'll say, well, a strike isn't going to work. [SPEAKER_04]: Let it out. [SPEAKER_04]: And it's like, just because you don't understand how something would work doesn't mean. [SPEAKER_04]: It doesn't work.
[SPEAKER_04]: You not understand what I just said read a book. [SPEAKER_04]: Look online. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, they strike in the Bible. [SPEAKER_01]: Like there's like you can read people's thoughts on it and how it goes Yeah, like that's what's frustrating nothing about the evolutionary nothing about this is new people have done this before Yep, like it's and I've and I've spoken to revolutionaries who've done it before Yeah, it's the only way we want to demonstrate [SPEAKER_04]: mm-hmm.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm some capacity. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, that's the thing is like Eric put it yesterday. [SPEAKER_04]: He said when people though, oh, so we're just going to abolish prisons, what's going to happen to all the criminals. [SPEAKER_04]: And he's like, babe, just because you haven't thought it through, there have been people working on this as their only thing they think about and work on for decades. [SPEAKER_04]: that part.
[SPEAKER_04]: Is there a possibility that someone may have done that work? [SPEAKER_04]: And so with striking, there's just so much, there's so much information out about it. [SPEAKER_04]: And there's also just fear too, I think Taylor because it's like, now it's like, wait, but other people were going to take care of this for me. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: I thought other people were going to take care of this for me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: So I was going to say, I want to touch on all of that, but please. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, please. [SPEAKER_01]: So going back to the top about, I don't want [SPEAKER_01]: inconvenience. [SPEAKER_01]: My co-workers, my boss, you know, whatever it is. [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's it's kind of like flirting. [SPEAKER_01]: It's like you you slowly shoot your shot. [SPEAKER_01]: You don't go. [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, let's get dinner on Friday.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like, hey, how are you? [SPEAKER_01]: How is your weekend? [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, good. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, cool. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, and then, you know, maybe it's Wednesday. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, hey, happy Wednesday. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, do anything this weekend? [SPEAKER_01]: No, okay, cool. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, the weekend goes by again, it's like, did you find anything to do this weekend? [SPEAKER_01]: No, okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, if you have no plans next weekend, maybe we'll get them. [SPEAKER_01]: You wanted to watch that movie that you mentioned, maybe maybe we'll do it. [SPEAKER_01]: It's it's just like that. [SPEAKER_01]: So it's like, hey, I just a little have control or, you know, this administration is not as it's not the first go around. [SPEAKER_01]: It's not what we thought it was going to be like, this is kind of nutty, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay. [SPEAKER_01]: Cool.
[SPEAKER_01]: Or maybe you leave like a we made general strike scenes. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, so maybe you leave a little gem was like a general strike zeme by the water cooler or in the bathroom and who picks it up, who who's talking about it, who circles back to you and it's like, okay, I have my, my work team and then you go to your, your apartment complex or the neighborhood and you do kind of the same thing put the general strike flyers out.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that too, we're like, hey, I was around the corner, you know, this is getting kind of controlled don't you think. [SPEAKER_01]: And you kind of like those seats down and cycle in and yes, no one's going to be perfect and we're going to have questions and we're going to problem solve as we go like we're doing right now, but I think it's worth at least the flirting aspect of having the conversation. [SPEAKER_01]: but maybe Todd and HR has been waiting.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're still wanting to ask him about his thoughts. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_01]: And Trump and John will strike or whatever. [SPEAKER_01]: And maybe it's not you going to your boss, but maybe it's Todd and HR and all the other people that Todd knows are down in the company. [SPEAKER_01]: And you can chill in the back. [SPEAKER_01]: You can still be up front, but you can chill in the back. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: I started this conversation.
[SPEAKER_01]: Todd from HR is going to run with it, God bless Todd. [SPEAKER_01]: And but that would have happened if you didn't have the conversation. [SPEAKER_01]: And then going back to a strict won't work. [SPEAKER_01]: I've heard that all last year. [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm going to tell people what I've been saying now that traders is back on the air. [SPEAKER_01]: My goal is to get a trader out. [SPEAKER_01]: And if it's not this person, banished me tomorrow.
[SPEAKER_01]: If it doesn't work. [SPEAKER_01]: And to be a take me off the island, I won't [SPEAKER_01]: Let's try it before we poo poo anything. [SPEAKER_01]: And then people think they're going to be the only ones. [SPEAKER_01]: Straight. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And so that is something that was brought up recently. [SPEAKER_01]: And I want to shamelessly plug General Strike US just because on their website, they have a strike card counter.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the point of that is the 3.5% rule. [SPEAKER_01]: So basically we need 3.5% of the population in America. [SPEAKER_01]: That's 11 million Americans. [SPEAKER_01]: for any movement to be successful, especially an economic movement. [SPEAKER_01]: It's not about picking a date. [SPEAKER_01]: I know blackout the system is pushing for April 15th and we will do the backbeat cam with that. [SPEAKER_01]: But it's not about picking a date and hoping for the best.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's we need the numbers. [SPEAKER_01]: Numbers are the only thing that that matter. [SPEAKER_01]: And so again, a perfect world, everyone is striking. [SPEAKER_01]: Or at least half the people in your office are striking, half the people in your apartment building are striking, half the people in your neighbor who are striking.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so if you have all those people, you kind of know who your allies are, and then we're going to protect you, your landlord's not perfect for all your landlord will be striking. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe that's where you get what your tends you in. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe you talk to your landlord about what's going on. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe your landlord feels the exact same way. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe your landlord's like, hell yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, don't actually don't worry about it.
[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, you can be honest with people about what's going on. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, really the news. [SPEAKER_04]: But you can say like, you don't have to, it's not adversarial in the way. [SPEAKER_04]: I think people think it is. [SPEAKER_04]: They think it's like, you have to go to your landlord and be like, fuck you. [SPEAKER_04]: No, you could be like, well, hey, look, this thing is going on or like go to your boss. [SPEAKER_04]: Like it's not like a sticking it to this person.
[SPEAKER_04]: No, it's a collaborative effort where you're like, what do we think about this going on? [SPEAKER_04]: I'd love to discuss it. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, and it's, and it's that it's a conversation. [SPEAKER_01]: It's not, you're not going in their guns blazing. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I guess I'll share kind of a personal story, but it's a podcast. [SPEAKER_01]: Let's get into it. [SPEAKER_01]: I think it was after the MacArthur Park raid.
[SPEAKER_01]: What was that July 7th, or July 11th? [SPEAKER_04]: where we ever so young. [SPEAKER_01]: I know. [SPEAKER_01]: We were honestly in the grand scheme of things. [SPEAKER_01]: We were babies. [SPEAKER_04]: I know. [SPEAKER_04]: I know. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh my gosh. [SPEAKER_01]: But that really affected me. [SPEAKER_01]: MacArthur Park is not far from me. [SPEAKER_01]: Inactive, a friend of ours lives right by there.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I still think about MacArthur Park that giant show of force. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think it was that week. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe they'll be afterwards. [SPEAKER_01]: I went to my boss and I was like,
[SPEAKER_01]: And I close the door and I was like, hey, I don't know could before I was like, I can do it, I can do it, I can work, I can do it, I can work, I can put it, I can do it, but it got to the point where it was like, I need to focus on this, like this is really bad and I went to her and I was like, hey, I don't know how far it is to you if I still work here in my head, just like not in it or I'm constantly growing in and out for city council, LAPDs, you know, arresting someone when they shouldn't be meeting or whatever, but at the same time, I know this is really, really important and
[SPEAKER_01]: I think I'm gonna have to sit back and at the time I meet my boss and I were we're friends on a personal level But we've also worked together on a professional level. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: So we've had that and we've no respect on on those two Basic human grounds And she was like, can you afford that and I was like no no. [SPEAKER_01]: No, no, no, no, I think I just know I can't be in this office And she was like work from home as long as the work it's done.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't care but work from home. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah [SPEAKER_01]: And that was our contribution to the cost, yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: Exactly. [SPEAKER_04]: That's beautiful. [SPEAKER_01]: And so it's it's having those open on its conversations of like, hey, people are pushing for this.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's a really good idea because of, you know, all these reasons of what's happening, you know, whether locally on a federal level, whatever it may be, I would really like to have a proper conversation about what this is, what this will look like. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, and Todd from HR is down to so.
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, people in the company are already kind of open to it, but obviously we need our unenviabs or our boss or a manager or someone to really solidify and make us feel comfortable striking. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: And if your boss says no, fuck them. [SPEAKER_04]: But no, I'm just saying it's not about like people think it's about like, you [SPEAKER_04]: cutting off your arm or something. [SPEAKER_04]: Like they think it's about like, and it's so not.
[SPEAKER_04]: Even if it's a small thing where you go to your boss and you guys typically use Amazon and you're like, look, this whole strike thing is happening. [SPEAKER_04]: Is there another way we could get our supplies delivered? [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: You know what I mean? [SPEAKER_04]: Like, whatever. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, like, oh, can we just order? [SPEAKER_04]: Can we start ordering lunch for the company from small businesses?
[SPEAKER_04]: You know, whatever it is, like people act like you have to come in there with like like you said guns blazing and it's just not like that.
[SPEAKER_04]: It's not it's it's and also the thing to about can't afford to are getting to know each other, you know, I've been doing this show over 10 years began as a financial show and the show began because [SPEAKER_04]: I was not doing well financially, and I started the show because I wanted to ask questions, and I didn't understand a lot of things. [SPEAKER_04]: And I always say, this show is an incredible 10-year trajectory.
[SPEAKER_04]: I started out as a woman being like, what do banks do? [SPEAKER_04]: And I end up as like the angriest trans, trans tifa radical. [SPEAKER_04]: Like you really did not see that coming. [SPEAKER_04]: And if you listen to the first season, you'll be like, wow, she doesn't even know what's about to happen.
[SPEAKER_04]: again they were baby's back then they had no idea they're the first like two months of episodes aired before Trump won the first time wow I know I know there's a very cursed episode where where the election is the next day and the episode is me being like well hopefully Hillary went [SPEAKER_04]: Anyway, cursed, so I have grown very much away from this fear. [SPEAKER_04]: I still, the only thing I really cry about is money, still. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm deeply afraid all the time.
[SPEAKER_04]: I'm very, like, it's all, like, a lot of the times that I've wanted to kill myself, it has been about money. [SPEAKER_04]: So it's interesting to talk to some of the activists among us who are suffering financially because of the work that they're doing, because of having to [SPEAKER_04]: free the country because of leaving corporate jobs because like they put their lives on the line for the cause and they are suffering.
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: It's been interesting because I, there's so much emotion attached to it. [SPEAKER_04]: And I know you've been present for conversations where I've been like the person has been upset and for better words. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm like, we got to be value neutral. [SPEAKER_04]: Like I know you're upset you're judging yourself.
[SPEAKER_04]: You think you're a failure because you, [SPEAKER_04]: you did all this stuff for the cause and you whatever, like whatever you were regretting right now is irrelevant. [SPEAKER_04]: You cannot be regretting this. [SPEAKER_04]: It doesn't matter. [SPEAKER_04]: It happened already. [SPEAKER_04]: It's gone. [SPEAKER_04]: You know, like people, and I do this too. [SPEAKER_04]: People amongst me, like I used to have all this money and then everything went to ship politically.
[SPEAKER_04]: Now I don't have it anymore and they're judging themselves and I'm like, babe, we're past it. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, I need you to now just tell us what you need and we'll get it for you. [SPEAKER_04]: And I want to speedrun everyone to that. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, I want to speedrun everyone from where I was 10 years ago to now. [SPEAKER_04]: So I can be like, guys, put it away. [SPEAKER_04]: Doesn't matter. [SPEAKER_04]: Just tell it. [SPEAKER_04]: Don't be embarrassed.
[SPEAKER_04]: Don't feel guilty. [SPEAKER_04]: Don't like, come at me with like reasons why. [SPEAKER_04]: I don't care why you don't have any money. [SPEAKER_04]: What do you need? [SPEAKER_04]: And I'll get it for you. [SPEAKER_04]: And I found that that's been like, even yesterday, one of the people that does activism with us, we were like, and seen him in a while, he came by and then Katie and I were like, what's going on?
[SPEAKER_04]: And he was like, oh, and he's just like straight, he's like unhoused, he's just straight forward was like, I need a sleeping bag. [SPEAKER_04]: And I was like, dope, I was sleeping bag. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, it's just like, there's so much, because there was like, had some, the shelters and stuff are not. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, when people are like, just go to a shelter, I wanna be like, you go to a shelter. [SPEAKER_04]: that part.
[SPEAKER_04]: But so there's just just a lot of community stuff that I feel like people are not plugged into and it's confusing to me, but I also am still white, so I also do get it in some ways. [SPEAKER_04]: There's so much fear in propaganda, like there's so much, like [SPEAKER_04]: like there's this there's just like don't want to be involved in anything that they can't 100% predict what's going to happen.
[SPEAKER_04]: They don't want to say anything that could that they could be made fun of at all. [SPEAKER_04]: Like the way that you go and speak to the police, you personally Taylor, if you've listened to prior episodes with Taylor, like these are people that won't even like send their soup back if it's cold. [SPEAKER_04]: Like we are holding and like, yeah, that's what people are like.
[SPEAKER_04]: But until this week, until Alex Preddy was killed, people that I was insane have started DMing me, asking me for help and thanking me for what I've been doing. [SPEAKER_04]: up until he was killed, all of a sudden people are like, what is a general strike? [SPEAKER_04]: And the question of, well, I just think we need more time to prepare. [SPEAKER_04]: My initial resentful answer was like, I have been preparing for eight months. [SPEAKER_04]: I've been preparing.
[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: I have friends. [SPEAKER_04]: I got these people together. [SPEAKER_04]: I like I know you guys a year ago at all. [SPEAKER_04]: No. [SPEAKER_04]: And now like, I would trust, you know, the group of us, I would trust even the, there's people that I don't know their last names. [SPEAKER_04]: We just organized with them couldn't tell you what their last names were.
[SPEAKER_04]: Honestly, don't really know what they look like without a mask on to be fair, but I, but I know that if we got into a Tussle downtown, they would, they would protect me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And you know, there's there's always going to be infighting and that picking and you don't love everyone, but yeah, you don't like everyone, but you love everyone and you work with everyone, so it's whatever, you know, things were getting kind of crazy one, one night down there, one of the guys that we were not friends like that, but he came over to me, it was like, I got you.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I was like, and I was like, do you like that you have to go like, let's go. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, because they recognize, like, they'll see, you know, they recognize you from going to stuff and from being part of the community. [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm not trying to tell people it's too late. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm saying, you can build this. [SPEAKER_04]: You can build this. [SPEAKER_04]: It's easier than people think. [SPEAKER_04]: There's a weehoe rapper response.
[SPEAKER_04]: I'm going tonight. [SPEAKER_04]: A group of them were like, do you guys want to go get dinner and like chat? [SPEAKER_04]: And so it's like the weehoe Beverly Hills rapper response. [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm going. [SPEAKER_04]: How did I meet the people? [SPEAKER_04]: I went to a rapper response meeting from Unidobario. [SPEAKER_04]: They, you know what I mean? [SPEAKER_04]: Like, you just have to start going to stuff and it's, it's uncomfortable. [SPEAKER_04]: It's, it is.
[SPEAKER_04]: I mean, I'm an extrovert. [SPEAKER_04]: So a lot of times people are saying to me, like, okay, but you don't know what it's like, because I am like open to speaking to people, but it does, it did take me a good long time to get involved in this scene. [SPEAKER_04]: And I am very proud of how I, how I did it and how I committed to it. [SPEAKER_04]: I also, the whole time up until two weeks or three weeks ago, the whole time I've been working on this, I've had a day job.
[SPEAKER_04]: I wasn't just doing the podcast. [SPEAKER_04]: I wasn't just being like an entertainment person. [SPEAKER_04]: So it's like, oh, well, your job is, you know, your own time. [SPEAKER_04]: I was, I was, I was a full-time employee at a pet store. [SPEAKER_04]: And then a full-time employee at a different pet store. [SPEAKER_04]: When I would write my sub-stacks about what was going on all summer, I wrote them on the bus on my phone.
[SPEAKER_04]: Wow. [SPEAKER_04]: Yes. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, I'm not like, I think people see us or me and they think, well, this person doesn't 100%. [SPEAKER_04]: Doesn't understand what I worked overnight at a warehouse. [SPEAKER_04]: When it was our, one of our friends mothers was going to immigration court and we would go with her in the morning. [SPEAKER_04]: But no great record is Friday morning.
[SPEAKER_04]: I did this once which I deeply regretted, but I got off work at five in the morning. [SPEAKER_04]: Took the train, took the bus to the federal building for her appointment at 630. [SPEAKER_04]: I did not sleep. [SPEAKER_04]: I got there. [SPEAKER_04]: I was like, I think I'm hallucinating. [SPEAKER_04]: I hope I doesn't come and take her because I won't know what's real. [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know what to do.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And I want to touch on that too because even the activists that have quit their jobs, and this is all they do now, we're still working around the clock, right? [SPEAKER_01]: And when I was working from home, there would be times where I'm out all day, whether it's LAPD or whether it's Sleep Council, whether a fire happened or it's just back to back meetings, whatever it may be me. [SPEAKER_01]: I would have to go home and then work. [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[SPEAKER_01]: I would have to at least, you know, like whatever the goal was, finish, you know, these excellent invoices. [SPEAKER_01]: I have to make sure this thing gets paid. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: And there would be times while wake up early. [SPEAKER_01]: There would be times I would wake up at like 5 a.m. [SPEAKER_01]: You would couple things send an edit or an email to my boss, just like, hey, you should double check this or look at this.
[SPEAKER_01]: My account will feel later when I got arrested. [SPEAKER_01]: I really went after precinct because we got drinks. [SPEAKER_01]: We, I, I needed a, you got let out of jail. [SPEAKER_04]: They get you went and got drinks. [SPEAKER_04]: I needed to buy the way if you're not in Los Angeles, precinct is a bar that used to be a police station in downtown Los Angeles and it's a gay bar.
[SPEAKER_01]: I ran towards immediately with people that maybe feel safe and just like normal and all the activists people were there, which was lovely. [SPEAKER_01]: But I went home that night and I worked. [SPEAKER_01]: I did two or three hours of work that night and thought I took a long shower of my life [SPEAKER_01]: And then I crawled into bed and that was like, all right, I have to work. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, yeah.
[SPEAKER_04]: And I think, you know, I also am someone who I have fiber of my Alja, so I have a lot of struggles with, like medical stuff, too. [SPEAKER_04]: And there is always a calculation for me as well of, okay, if I go out to this March and I March and we get to the MDC, but stuff is going down or the detention center. [SPEAKER_04]: And stuff is going down, but I can't move my knees anymore. [SPEAKER_04]: I have to leave. [SPEAKER_04]: I feel guilty.
[SPEAKER_04]: I want to be, but it's like, you can't. [SPEAKER_04]: You will not, your body will not continue. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: In times where it's like, okay, I said I was going to go to City Council. [SPEAKER_04]: You rely on each other. [SPEAKER_04]: So it's like, oh, I was, you know, we divide and conquer. [SPEAKER_04]: It was like, oh, I'm going to go to City Council. [SPEAKER_04]: If I message you guys and I was like, I was going to go to City Council.
[SPEAKER_04]: I woke up. [SPEAKER_04]: My arms are shaking. [SPEAKER_04]: I, I might disability. [SPEAKER_04]: I can't do it. [SPEAKER_04]: Someone will go. [SPEAKER_01]: Like yeah, it's it's horrible tune into it, you know, it's yeah, hey, like it's, you know, it's never rains not lay out the ones going to say it's raining, but like it might be a day where we're just be ourselves. [SPEAKER_01]: And like, no one can go to say counsel, but it's like the will tune in.
[SPEAKER_04]: What I'm trying to say is there's this narrative of sacrifice, which for sure, like it is sacrifice, but I would also like to encourage people striking or thinking about striking or wanting to know more about striking to think of it as more of an opportunity. [SPEAKER_04]: And this is so what we want to do, but like an opportunity of abundance, right? [SPEAKER_04]: Like, it's won't like for me, it's lonely to only hire people to do [SPEAKER_04]: a community of people.
[SPEAKER_04]: Like, like, yeah, like if you're like, oh, I need, you know, I need groceries for this thing or something. [SPEAKER_04]: But like, just having a support system in place for, you know, oh, my, like, if I use an app to have someone walk my dog, right? [SPEAKER_04]: I, then it's where I'm striking, so I'm not using the app. [SPEAKER_04]: But luckily, I've befriended the one guy who comes, I take him off the app. [SPEAKER_04]: And I just like use him off the app Tony shout out to Tony.
[SPEAKER_04]: I've never met Tony in real life, but he's a sweetheart. [SPEAKER_04]: And so like, you know, it's it's getting unused to the third party. [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, in between. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, I was I was going to say we're taking up a mental man. [SPEAKER_01]: That's right. [SPEAKER_01]: That's all it is. [SPEAKER_04]: These things where people go, also I love the fantasies that they make up.
[SPEAKER_04]: Well, they'll be like, oh, so you think like people who are supposed to be in charge of NASA rocket launches, you think they're just supposed to call out so the rockets kill everyone. [SPEAKER_04]: Sir, what fucking Michael Cretan asks fucking John Grishamass world do you live in? [SPEAKER_04]: No, we're not, we're not saying, don't go to surgery, so people die. [SPEAKER_04]: Are you out of your mind? [SPEAKER_04]: That part.
[SPEAKER_04]: Like they jump to these like crazy, [SPEAKER_04]: Like, oh, so we're just supposed to cancel everyone's cancer surgery. [SPEAKER_04]: Baby, do you even do have you read a book? [SPEAKER_04]: Do you not even read a book? [SPEAKER_04]: Get here. [SPEAKER_04]: Listen to a podcast about striking. [SPEAKER_04]: My God. [SPEAKER_04]: Documentaries like something, please.
[SPEAKER_04]: just that you help each other and you, you, you just are not supporting the middle man and you're not supporting corporations. [SPEAKER_04]: It's not that nobody does anything and also on the day of striking or the days of striking. [SPEAKER_04]: It's not just don't, you don't do anything. [SPEAKER_04]: It's that you go out and see what people are doing and help them. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I was let's talk about that actually.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, could I see it kind of being broken up into like four different groups like because obviously people are going to be protesting right because we need people to still be in the streets. [SPEAKER_01]: We need people to still be lobbying. [SPEAKER_01]: We have all the time in the world. [SPEAKER_01]: So in theory, we have all the other offices.
[SPEAKER_01]: Hey, we have all the time in the world to protest to get more people to, you know, sign up and join their during the strike, whatever I will say that was so fun on the strike protest that. [SPEAKER_04]: We did last week, we were handing out general strike flyers to all the cars going by and people were so stoked Monday. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, people loved it. [SPEAKER_04]: Anyway, gone, yeah, giving out the flyers people were like very into it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and I hope more people do that on their own time. [SPEAKER_04]: Right, right, right. [SPEAKER_01]: So I see people lobbying and protesting and I also see people volunteering. [SPEAKER_01]: We still need that the responders kind of going back to what we're talking about kids. [SPEAKER_01]: So need to go to school. [SPEAKER_01]: Grandma still needs to get help. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, people need to go to the doctor or the dentist.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, it's not like the work stops. [SPEAKER_01]: It's just you're working for us. [SPEAKER_01]: So it's like a bartering co-op pro bono trading situation, it's maybe I walk your dog and you give me a haircut and that's just what we'll do for the entire strike. [SPEAKER_01]: Someone was was for the idea of making their own money, which I do think is a good idea like we the people make our own money. [SPEAKER_01]: We don't use like the game bugs.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, we did gave bucks. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm so vain. [SPEAKER_04]: I will print that up today. [SPEAKER_04]: It's just me with my hands under my chin like this, like an angel. [SPEAKER_01]: I was going to say, do you want the one? [SPEAKER_01]: Do you want the five? [SPEAKER_01]: Do you want the twenty? [SPEAKER_01]: What do you want? [SPEAKER_04]: All of them. [SPEAKER_04]: Every single dollar is me in a different position.
[SPEAKER_01]: Plot twist, Gabe wants a general strike, so he becomes dictator. [SPEAKER_04]: Can you now? [SPEAKER_04]: And that was my long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long.
[SPEAKER_01]: time for me to be the economy, but yeah so there's people are volunteering also I see people kind of being at home taking care of like the at home stuff so protesters are going out there they're going to be out there all night we'll make them sandwiches grow cheese sandwiches and soup and we'll just deliver it to all of them like we know they just sit in at lower freeman's office they're going to be there all day we'll give them like waters and pizza or whatever
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, like everyone has a role and I think it's just people need to think creatively and realize that like like even like when you're at work, it's like huh what job do I have like I'm in the film industry like I would be lobbying I would be protesting or or volunteering like I'm not I'm not being a part of that machine if there were to be a strike for several days, but again, I would be in the streets. [SPEAKER_01]: I would be at Laura Freeman's office.
[SPEAKER_01]: I would be making grilled cheeses and yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: I'll be dog sitting for maybe I don't want to protest on Thursday or maybe it's my turn or maybe it's my turn to watch up a dog But it's my turn to make the meal for the people downtown or whatever it is like there's [SPEAKER_01]: There's so many different ways that this could work. [SPEAKER_01]: And I just want people to think creatively.
[SPEAKER_01]: And also strikes, I mean, we're in a different state than the people listening, mishuming, or most people listening. [SPEAKER_01]: And so think about your city, think about your state, think about the things that you and your community need, what your neighbors need, and to slowly start building those infrastructure.
[SPEAKER_01]: So when it is go time, whether that's tomorrow, hopefully, [SPEAKER_01]: right or you know six months from now you have that infrastructure of okay like I know who I'm going to call on for these things it's go time
[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I wish I had a better way of conveying how white people and also wealthy people of a certain genre their brains just don't like I don't know it's it's it's very interesting like you know we talk about all helping each other and doing all this stuff for each other all the people I know that do this stuff have maybe between us five dollars like collectively
[SPEAKER_04]: And I haven't seen the same urgency or movement from people who do have money and even if they do have money, there's this reoccurring thing of, well, I can't do much, well, I can't give much, well, I can't give, like I can't do much, well, I can't give, like I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I can't do much, I
[SPEAKER_04]: It's very I don't know if there's sort of a loss of ability to to understand what their version of a drop in a bucket looks like to like they're like, well, if I'm if I'm what was one thing was like talking about striking or boycotting and the thing I would get back a lot about boycotting throughout this eight months has been well, it's like it's not going to make a difference.
[SPEAKER_04]: I'm just one person pulling pulling money out of like [SPEAKER_04]: I have money, I had money in Vanguard. [SPEAKER_04]: I pulled pulling money out of Vanguard. [SPEAKER_04]: And I was like, okay, someone else had Vanguard. [SPEAKER_04]: I said, oh, we got to pull money out of Vanguard. [SPEAKER_04]: Well, I don't think it's worth risking your financial investments because unless everybody pulls out of Vanguard, it's not going to matter.
[SPEAKER_04]: And I was like, right, but I'm everybody. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm part of everybody. [SPEAKER_04]: So I was like, well, things are getting really bad. [SPEAKER_04]: So it's like things are getting really bad out there. [SPEAKER_04]: So it's hard for, you know, whatever. [SPEAKER_04]: And the person telling me this, by the way, has like $2 million. [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm like, I'm like, yeah, yeah, sure.
[SPEAKER_04]: Well, this person was like, but there has to be, you know, you have to keep yourself safe. [SPEAKER_04]: There seems to be an overarching theme among people. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm just reach, I'm just coming to the conclusion now of, well, you have to keep yourself safe. [SPEAKER_01]: I was going to say everyone is so individualism is actually kill us. [SPEAKER_04]: It's going to kill us. [SPEAKER_04]: You're actually less safe how individually you are.
[SPEAKER_04]: If the if the power, the grid goes down and you don't have anyone who can walk your dog anybody who can bring you like the little robots are going to stop bringing us food like but also if the dollar crashes, which it will right in the economy goes right. [SPEAKER_01]: So. [SPEAKER_01]: which it will. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: That two million dollars isn't going to mean anything. [SPEAKER_01]: I know. [SPEAKER_01]: So now you're in your in your nice house.
[SPEAKER_01]: You have no one to walk your dog. [SPEAKER_01]: The power grid is down. [SPEAKER_01]: You don't have access to two million. [SPEAKER_01]: And then you don't have community to come take care of you. [SPEAKER_01]: And whatever that looks like. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: I know it's hard to explain. [SPEAKER_04]: And it's funny still after all this time. [SPEAKER_04]: I still I like I want to be to these people like I get it. [SPEAKER_04]: I get it. [SPEAKER_04]: I get it.
[SPEAKER_03]: I get it. [SPEAKER_04]: I get it. [SPEAKER_04]: I get it. [SPEAKER_03]: because we do. [SPEAKER_04]: And I guess I guess I get it. [SPEAKER_04]: And it's like the tip and point has tipped. [SPEAKER_04]: Like, so I mean, I don't know if you, let's say you're someone and you wanted to all this. [SPEAKER_04]: What would you, like you want to talk to your friends, you want to talk to your your boss and stuff? [SPEAKER_04]: What would you have them?
[SPEAKER_04]: What do you think they should say? [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, that's a good question. [SPEAKER_01]: Well, first and foremost, I would definitely link up with your local chapter. [SPEAKER_01]: I would definitely see what infrastructures I have on the ground to just, you know, it's just, you don't have to invent anything. [SPEAKER_04]: People are, you know, have it. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's kind of what I mean, it's like go to your local chapter or your local group that's like down.
[SPEAKER_01]: Do general strikes doesn't have to be general strike us, but that's just easy because they are the exist because this work has been happening forever for years. [SPEAKER_01]: Um, I would go to your local chapter and see you just what they have in for structurally and then yeah, I again just it's like flirting it's [SPEAKER_01]: It's maybe you leave a general strike flyer and the kitchen by the water cooler and maybe you play dumb. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh my god, what's this?
[SPEAKER_01]: Did you do this? [SPEAKER_01]: Did you do this? [SPEAKER_01]: No, that's so weird. [SPEAKER_01]: What's it general? [SPEAKER_01]: I was just thinking about this. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: Can you feel the QR code? [SPEAKER_04]: It's interesting because the cover of the scene is a photo of you, Taylor. [SPEAKER_04]: So you just be like, who love this here? [SPEAKER_04]: And it's just a picture of you. [SPEAKER_04]: No, I love it. [SPEAKER_04]: Oh my god.
[SPEAKER_04]: Who left this here? [SPEAKER_04]: Taylor, that's a photo of you. [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, is it? [SPEAKER_03]: Is it crazy? [SPEAKER_04]: I thought I also think I don't want to be shooting on rich people, but I am just, I just want to say that it's not fair for now. [SPEAKER_04]: I know, but I just want to say, like, you are so much better off than you think you are.
[SPEAKER_04]: And if you, if you want to just buy someone a coffee, if you want to just like the way to help, a lot of times, it's like very safe to donate to these like bigger places, but there's like people, if you see them on the ground and they have a Venmo in there in their bios and them five bucks, like send them and flip side. [SPEAKER_04]: I started touched on this with people being very emotional about talking about money. [SPEAKER_04]: You need to be able to ask.
[SPEAKER_04]: You have to like, if you like, hey, I'm $200 short on, right? [SPEAKER_04]: You need to say that to people so that they can help you. [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm something I'm bad at and gave you have come for me several times about being bad. [SPEAKER_01]: Sure, I'm full transparency. [SPEAKER_01]: It's something that I'm also working on too. [SPEAKER_01]: It's it.
[SPEAKER_01]: These are most of not used to flexing or using and it does make you feel very uncomfortable, but in this I'm here. [SPEAKER_01]: I wasn't saying the time period people losing their jobs and the time period of the things being uncertain and people not feeling comfortable leaving the house. [SPEAKER_01]: You have to ask for help. [SPEAKER_01]: You do.
[SPEAKER_04]: That's why I'm saying like, when people want to like give me a whole spiel about like how how they are so upset that did it out. [SPEAKER_04]: I'm like, yeah, what is it matter? [SPEAKER_04]: Like if you need $200 and someone has $200, okay. [SPEAKER_04]: So what, so I just saw a thing where someone was like, my friend crowd funds for her rent every month. [SPEAKER_04]: Is it, is it like rude that I just think that's so annoying?
[SPEAKER_04]: And do I have to give every time blah, and I was like, and everyone was saying like, oh, what, like, was on the side of the OP. [SPEAKER_04]: And I was like, no one's holding a gun to your head. [SPEAKER_04]: You don't have to donate. [SPEAKER_04]: She can she can do it every month. [SPEAKER_04]: You don't have to donate.
[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, and they're like, but that's she means she's like lazy and a grifter and she says like if someone wants to pay her rent every month fine, but live your life queen if you're worried that and so that's the thing right there's these hate or type people that will be like [SPEAKER_04]: You know, that will be very, be like, oh, well, what if I'm going to get judged for Dut at a, I get judged for asking for this.
[SPEAKER_04]: I get judged for like, I wish we could just live in this idea of like stoicism where it's just value neutral. [SPEAKER_04]: Everything is value neutral. [SPEAKER_04]: You need this. [SPEAKER_04]: I have this. [SPEAKER_04]: You need this. [SPEAKER_04]: I have this. [SPEAKER_04]: And then, and that's the end of the discussion. [SPEAKER_01]: Literally again, you know, going back to the, you know, you'll take off for Coachella. [SPEAKER_01]: You take off of your hungover.
[SPEAKER_01]: You'll take right for your cousin's wedding. [SPEAKER_01]: It's [SPEAKER_01]: So you don't want to pay your friends rent. [SPEAKER_01]: Find sure whatever. [SPEAKER_01]: But then you're going to buy something off of Amazon. [SPEAKER_01]: Or you're going to go to the pool food. [SPEAKER_01]: You're going to Uber eats. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to call you back at that. [SPEAKER_01]: You're going to go to Starbucks.
[UNKNOWN]: Wait. [SPEAKER_04]: Someone in the comments of making fun of us for going to Sacramento to try to talk to Newsom. [SPEAKER_04]: Right when the person, whatever, was like talking about us and was like, oh, these ladies, they weren't busy enough with Starbucks and Pilates or something. [SPEAKER_04]: And I, and I wrote under it, I went, they, we've been boy, we've been boy cutting Starbucks for two years. [SPEAKER_04]: Get, get your, get your stereotypes correct.
[SPEAKER_04]: Like, you, if you hate us, you should know exactly what our, our deal is. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, please, never, never assume I go to Starbucks. [SPEAKER_01]: Never assume. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it was like, what are you talking about? [SPEAKER_01]: It's a bad day. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: I was like, I was like, babe, we don't, you're like, making fun of liberals and leftists. [SPEAKER_04]: But you don't know that we've been boycotting Starbucks for two years.
[SPEAKER_04]: I guess this is also like an opening to when I worked at Healthy Spot, which is like a dog store. [SPEAKER_04]: The Starbucks down the road would be closed periodically because the workers were striking about things. [SPEAKER_04]: And so then my like coworkers would be like, Starbucks is closed. [SPEAKER_04]: And it would be like, yeah, they're, you know, they're striking or whatever. [SPEAKER_04]: And then I would always kind of try to be like, and good for them, right?
[SPEAKER_04]: It's good that right good for them. [SPEAKER_04]: Like trying to be like, yeah, it's annoying, but like good right good for them, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, you know, see what you want about Starbucks, but like good for them, you know, you know, yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: Well, thank you so much, Taylor. [SPEAKER_04]: Thanks. [SPEAKER_04]: I feel like this was helpful. [SPEAKER_04]: I think so too. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_04]: Where can people ask more questions. [SPEAKER_04]: You can also message me. [SPEAKER_04]: Anybody listening at Gabe S. Dunn. [SPEAKER_04]: You can also write into Gabe is bad with money at gmail.com and then general strike US on Instagram. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And then I guess the name the underscore real underscore day underscore Smith. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry. [SPEAKER_01]: I made it in COVID and I have not changed it.
[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, if you have questions get with your local chapter, hit up, gave, hit up me. [SPEAKER_01]: And it's good. [SPEAKER_01]: It's a learning curve. [SPEAKER_01]: We're all going to figure it out together. [SPEAKER_01]: And it's not about being perfect. [SPEAKER_01]: It's just about the participation. [SPEAKER_01]: We need the numbers and if we. [SPEAKER_01]: It's going to take us a minute to get it, but you know, it's about participating, it's not about being perfect.
[SPEAKER_04]: I will also say that even if you don't have the community and you haven't built the community, I guarantee you there is someone that doesn't even know you. [SPEAKER_04]: I see so many times someone being like, [SPEAKER_04]: I'm in this city, but I don't have X lines and someone will reply and be like, I live near there. [SPEAKER_04]: Let me help you. [SPEAKER_04]: You can ask for help from people you don't even know haven't even done anything for in the past.
[SPEAKER_04]: Haven't, you know what I mean? [SPEAKER_04]: People are set up. [SPEAKER_04]: You don't want to do this stuff. [SPEAKER_04]: Um, yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And I was going to say some small ask your like if you know you have a package. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, coming not from Amazon or she and our target or anything like that, but you have a package coming. [SPEAKER_01]: But let's say you might not be able to get it or maybe you will, but you want to kind of flex that asking for help.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, the community texture neighbor or or we even know like, hey, like, hey, neighbor have a package coming. [SPEAKER_01]: will you be home or do you mind getting it? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, start having those conversations. [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, but not even that.
[SPEAKER_04]: It's like it's also like if you just put in the red it for your city or like you know like if you if you are in the general strike group and somebody lives near you and you it's like there's there's tons of people that have stuff and you have stuff and and they don't and vice versa. [SPEAKER_04]: And I get that by skills or time or idol or whatever and there's a lot of free stuff at the library as well.
[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, shout out libraries and for interns with general strike another thing that comes up as people being worried about signing up for something which I can't even get into, but you could there's also if you go to general strike US, you can see that there are various different ways to sign up based on your level of comfort. [SPEAKER_04]: So. [SPEAKER_04]: Well, that to say, it's not what you think and hit us up. [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, during the party.
[SPEAKER_04]: Okay. [SPEAKER_04]: Thank you for listening to a thousand natural shocks, a bad with money podcast. [SPEAKER_04]: This is a noted by sexual production, edited by Ali Mims, logo art by Dakota Becker. [SPEAKER_04]: If you like this show, please consider subscribing to the sub-stack, a thousand natural shocks.substack.com. [SPEAKER_04]: The Sub-Stack has episodes of this show, ad-free, and also videos, and also my original writing.
[SPEAKER_04]: It would mean so much to me if you would subscribe, even as a free subscriber, but a paid subscriber really allows me to keep doing this work, and I can't do it without you guys. [SPEAKER_04]: Thank you so much. [SPEAKER_04]: Okay, love you, bye.