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One mayor and one woman joined forces to rid the world. What are you doing of inequality and fascism? Seriously, I'm trying. I'm trying to do a promo here for.
What are you doing?
Welcome to the Othering Podcast with my Candori.
All Right.
Today we are talking to Jermaine Greeves, the founder of Black Disabled Lives Matter. He has a creative powerhouse with skills and event planning, marketing and artist manager. While being a promoter, Germaine volunteered for the Afro Punk and Brooklyn Music Festival as well as for in store festivals. He also partnered with Not Like the Other Kids clothing line brand that gives back a portion of proceeds to kids
with disabilities. Experienced in putting together sponsorship packages, Germaine has industry contacts and was featured on Good Morning America, NBC four, Telemundo, and BuzzFeed, as well as other social media. Germaine has also performed for the Lincoln Center and a fan made music video for Beyonce Welcome Jermaine.
It's welcome you.
Hi, welcome. That was a great introduction.
You gave it to us.
Yeah, I didn't realize I did that my stuff? Wow it is. I mean yeah, I'll even tell you I've done a bit more even after that. But we're gonna get there eventually. So what's going on with me as a vlade? So as of late, for about a year now, I've developed a documentary called GERMANE Gave Documentary and it's one of few awards AESO Berlin Berlin Short Film Festival that's an international award, and I've won something in America already. We did have a deal that was offered to me.
They're still shopping the film around. That deal has not expired yet. I can't think too much on what was in it or not right now because it's not expired. But there is something. You know, people have been asking me, what's going on with the film, folks. We are shopping it around to the high Spindder. That's what's been going on. That's why you haven't seen a lot of promo for it, because I've been shopping it around.
The film so love was that like making the film being disabled, and I.
Made it with a filmmaker known as Gil Rios, and we worked together in twenty twenty four when I shot the film, and my reason for making it was because at the time, three years before this, I developed a chronic illness. I was already disabled with superb palsy, but I developed a chronic illness known as hydrotei supertiva. I was in chronic pain. Well, you couldn't touch me. I was yelling, I was screaming all the things you could
think of. I was also in a rehab on top of the CPE, which it was I was already born with. There was so much going on in my body. I became so fatigued because I had another disability I had to deal with. That was where I had open wounds and I had to like close the wounds, and I had to eat differently. I had to change my diet a whole lot of stuff. I went to thirty five rehabs. Obviously, I called some people hell because I went to so many.
You know, I did curse out some doctors. I did, you know, raise hell where I needed to be raised, just because I was tired of their bullshit. And what I have learned about Dedicaide and insurance is if you don't fight like hell, you don't get shipped exactly. So I have had to fight with insurance for something as simple as womb here. Right now, I'm getting three days of womb here, and I should really be inn seven days, but insurance can only give me three, said, winging into
my next thing. I'm currently doing a fundraiser.
Before you get Before you get there, I want to ask about that real quick. If you don't mind, you said you only get three days instead of seven. Now, does that mean that your pain is a lot worse because you're not getting to help with me throughout the week.
Oh no, no, my pain's better.
Actually, Okay, that's good.
I have to backtrack a little bit. So, so before well, in the beginning of my HS journey, I was in a lot of pain and chronic illness. Then I discovered infusions that saved my life, that control my symptoms, that reduce the pain level, that reduced the amount of infections I would get monthly or daily. It's almost non existent at this point. I barely get infections. The only two.
I feel like. I got the infection more recently because the weather was changing and like it's winter and my body in the winter time is not the best, so I think. And also, just you know, I been you know, I work, I go to school, I do a lot of things. Maybe I was very busy also just running back and forth as a New Yorker, So that may have been the reason I got my latest infection. But there's a tip that I'm going to share with everybody
on this podcast. Before I went to the hospital in the emergency room for four days, ten days before, I told my doctors I had an infection and they refused to give me medication. Guys, Wow, So I went to the emergency room for no reason though I told them I had an infection, and I told them the medication I needed. So I am I'm tempted to almost so Medicaid.
I really want to do it. Something in me really wants to do it, just because it's like, I keep hearing stories about people going to their primary care asking for meds and insurance not approving it. It's a travesty. It is bullshit. There's too many elderly and disabled people that are suffering under the system of Medicaid and Medicare
that's not really serving them. There's no reason I should have been in the emergency room in the first place, if my doctors would have just given me the meds I asked for ten days before I had to go to the emergency room.
Yeah, because, I mean, you would have been able to have the insurance pay less by getting the meds that you needed when you needed them instead of going to the er, because that just ends up costing more.
And you know, the funny thing is the doctor acts me, oh, do you have the antibiotics at home? I said, no, I haven't taken antibiotics in three years, but I know I have an infection because my body feels different, and why are you not listening to me? I literally was like, what the hell is wrong with you, lady. I have an infection and it needs to be dealt with. I was kind of you know, I always have. I always end up being the villain and a lot of my
doctor's stories because I give them hell every time. It's just for me as a disabled person. I've been disabled since before my second condition, So like when I see them, and I always tell people that adults treat people like disabilities like children not and we deserve respect, we deserve to be treated like human beings. We're not kids. Even even at my workplace, people kind of baby me and I said, tell them, no, don't do that. And I feel like remind people to it to remember I'm an
adult still and I'm not a kid. And I think for me what I have noticed, the old I've gotten, the more people try to do little things to get over on me, and it's like, no, you can't, No, I'm not gonna let you. And you know, I think for me being in business and having to do business with other people, I've cussed people out. I've ran down on people in my wheelchair for money. I am that crazy. And I do not play. It's it's I don't play a lot of games, and anybody that knows me knows
that the games will not be played with. And I'm very serious about who and what I am and what I'm trying to do. So if you think you're gonna play me, you're gonna play yourself. I don't really play like that, and I don't you know, And I know that a lot of people try to play me because I'm in the chair and I think I won't do anything. Oh honey, I'm gonna do something you won't like.
It's because of the infantile ze that we get when we become disabled, even though they it could be from birth and you know that they're adults or they're an adult that becomes disabled, and they still infantilize you, assuming that you know, all of a sudden are mental acuity lowers and you know, as well as our physical acuity, and so they want to take advantage of that. They
think that's how you do it. And unfortunately, there are a lot of people that are disabled that have been brutally taken advantage of.
I don't play that. I gave them Helen the nursing home, I gave them her in the hospital. I give them Hell at home, like anybody that knows me knows I'm going to give them hell, you know. And myself advocacy developed because of my mother, Like she's the main reason I'm such a strong self advocate because honey, she did not play with anybody when it came to me. So I learned from early on I should not play with
myself when it came to me. I am also a queer person who dates, and the men try it, but they don't get very far because I don't play either, you know, I've you know, it's a lot of get the fuck away from me if I hit you or or or I'm gonna do something before something happens to you, Like I'm so the way, I am so protected and I do not play, and I set my boundaries and I live my life. Is should be studied. I feel like more disabled people should be okay with setting boundaries.
I think there's a fear of like if I say no, or if if something's gonna happen to me. No, nothing's happened to me because I said no. I'm still here. Some people don't like it, but I'm still here though, And I think for me, I want more disabled people to stand in their bondness, and then they disability and say, you know what, I'm not going to be treated this way.
This is not okay. Whether it's in business, in life, or just in existing, You're not going to treat me like I'm just there, like that's not okay.
So yeah, yeah, that's great. And that's so hard to do, even as able bodied or non disabled however you want to word it. It's hard to do that and to fight back because there is that fear I've always had.
I feel like, I feel like, because I'm disabled, I don't have a choice but to fight back. And for me, you know, when I think about the stuff I've created, Black Disabled Lives, Mather the clothing brand, all these different things I've done, it's forced me to say, you know what, I'm here, even if you don't want me here, I'm still here. And also I've been in a couple of
museums internationally and in the United States as well. Right now, I'm in the Museum of New York City for an exhibit with you do You that's ongoing.
That's awesome, it's really cool.
No, So so it's stuff like that that's cool, and I've done. I was on PBS in twenty twenty four or COVI for long COVID stuff. Then I went to Congress in twenty twenty four as well. That was interesting. I don't know if I liked it, but it was interesting.
Was that going to Congress.
It was a lot of Hi, my name is Jermaine, this is what I do, I'm part of this, A lot of brown nosing and just getting to know congressional leaders. I don't know if they were really listening, but they know who I am now, so hey, you know, it's just you know. And I went with the advocacy group and it was interesting to be there again. I met some amazing people on that trip and it changed my life.
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Sorry I lost my train of thought, but like show our faces, show our disabilities, and show them that we're not just lumps on a log. Or something like that. Like they like to think of there that they think that we're invisible. We're very visible.
I think a lot of people don't know how amazing we are and what we bring to the table. So I think that the lack of awareness of what we bring to the table and who we are can make them feel like we don't exist. But there's you know, I was a dancer previously, I performed that place is. I still dance a little bit here and there. I'm still an actor. I've acted, I've done commercials. You know.
The visibility. You know, I can say that visibility comes at a cost because I've been hyper visible in multiple platforms spaces. I've been cyberbully multiple times. It was actually worse when I was sick because people were like, if you're so sick, why can't you do this? Or why can't you do that? And I have to explain people, you know, sickness looks different for everybody, even like for this month, I took like a month off from my
job because of the infection I just had. I was like, I'm going to go back in January and do the job and again, but I was like, this month, I'm resting I'm to bring our body because I just came out to the hospital and I want to just rush back into life and adulting and being responsible just so immediately. So I made a you know, I made a post online about you know, like nine months of won't care support guys. I could you know, there's been only coming
for three days. I have to cover four other days that they're not covering. So everyone's like, why do you need all that money for You're using it for trips. I was like, no, I'm not. I have to take care of myself.
Yes, yeah, there's nothing wrong with wanting money. I want money, and.
There's nothing wrong with earning it.
You know.
I tell people I have a job, but it's not making enough money for me to do everything I need to do. It's just it's just the job I have is part time. It's not full. It's like I'm not making enough to cover everything, Like genuinely, I'm not so. And then people get mad at me because I want to raise twenty thousand dollars to invest in my short film. It's not cheap to get my film out there. You think it's cheap to win these awards. It's expensive as hell.
I mean being disabled is expensive already, so trying to add on, you know, showing up and being a representative with the movie and having to market the movie, Yeah, that's going to be very expensive, you know.
And I don't have like an agent or a manager or anything like that. I mean, I've been signed to stuff and I had to drop from them because they weren't really helping me, right, Like I've signed with people before, but they helped me for a little bit, but it wasn't like they had like a lot of connections. A lot of stuff I found I found on my own and I had to like really work for it. So it's so funny how people like you're this and you're that,
and you don't you know. Also, you know, me being queer and like dating that it was this whole whole experience too. But you know, a lot of things I have enjoyed as a black, disabled queer person. It's so much like ables masogyny, people telling me, trying to other me. Then people trying to infantilize me, like you said earlier, maybe like this kid in their mind, when I'm a grown adult who pays bills, and then people are okay with not paying me for my services, and I'm like,
that's so weird to me. So you're okay with me being broke, That's.
Like, yeah, they would be if nobody paid.
Them, right.
So it's just like I've had to run down on people for money and they're like, you really ran down on me? Yes, I did in my chair? What so I you know? People are like, you did not play, said I never played, but you play with me. So now that you know you can't play with me, it changed. And I feel like I wish I didn't have to go to crazy to get people to respect me. But every time I have to go to crazy for them
to listen to what I got to say. I feel like being disabled is constantly having to prove to people you're not a psychopath yep, unfortunately, And it's just like every time you do something then they want to other you and make you feel like you're crazy. I am not crazy because of something you did. I am insane because you're putting me in a position that's unsafe. Exactly when people ask why, they say people don't have a lot of people around them, it's because I can't trust you. What.
Yeah, it's kind of hard to trust certain people because again, there's so many horror stories of people being taken advantage of because they assume, you know, undisabled people assume that disabled people are automatically with the lower acuity of understanding and things like that, so they insist upon trying to take advantage, you know, stealing their money, their homes and everything.
I'm pursuing my second and third degree right now, so like I'm not dumb.
Oh no, of course not. What degrees are you looking for?
I'm doing a bachelor's degree in journalism and communications and media right now at this online school. But everyone like, it's so weird how people think I'm so stupid. And then my mother are like, oh, you're really intelligent. Was I stupid before or after the thought process? Because I want to know? And then my medicaids are service service coordinators, Like You're always figuring things out because nobody in the system has helped me. So I've had out myself every time.
I wish for the day that we have a community of disabled people or just allies who step in and stop questioning us, because I feel like disabled people are constantly questioned about what they're doing with their funds, what they're doing with their money, Like last like in October into November, I had to pay background. I wasn't partying with that money. We partyization. I like, I don't think people understand disabled people are not going online asking for
help just to ask for help. We are actually struggling. We're not getting opportunities like able body folks. And when we shut up into our room, people are already sizing us up. We don't have a fair fight from the beginning, so we have to prove ourselves constantly and it's so dreading it is.
And then when you have the intersectionality of you know, being a person of color or a female or you know, gay, things like that, queer, it just compounds that impression that you know, we're not worthy or that we're less than. And then on top of being disabled, it's like a triple whammy.
True. I feel like, you know, what people don't talk about is constantly waking up every day and having to show up in the world and hoping that people see you for you. Yeah, that is something we don't talk about in disability, Like will people see me when I get up today? While people look at me and respect me without looking for a way to take advantage of me.
We don't talk about what it's like to be constantly disabled and be dismissed, like the dismissal of it all, and they're trying to like do things and people will completely ignore you. It's not fair that we have to pretend like we're okay with all this. We are not okay. The disabled community is not okay with them trying to make cuts to Medicaid, the recent government shut down, all these things. People are using GoFundMe to pay for rent
and their basic needs. It is very serious, and I don't think people understand that, Like nobody that is going on go fundme or any of the fundraising platforms is doing it because they want to. They necessarily have to. Yeah, right, So when people are talking about dissing people online who are fundraising or raising money, I don't think you should because you could be next your one paycheck away from being broke, homeless, losing your house, or not having anything.
I was not working for two and a half years before I got my job. For a year and seven months. Again, I was those people who were using go fund me to raise money for rent practically every month because I didn't have nowhere to go where was I about to go in the pandemic, and then I had to look for resources when I was sick to make sure I
stay kept my place. Luckily, I was in New York and they had a number of resources that allowed me to pay my rent months ahead and I was still in rehab and they still paid it down and they found a way to help me to stay in my place. But it was not easy. I had to do so many different applications for different stuff toesday in my place I live in now, and you know, it's not easy still, But I'm a better alone because I have my job
that has sustained me. But I also now have to look for another job that pays me enough and I could still be comfortable. I think I am, I would say this era of my life, I'm putting the pieces together, but there's days where I am in actual survival mode.
Yeah, for sure, especially when you know the wages for disabled people has not risen in probably almost a century, it seems, because you got to figure, we're still stuck at seven five across the board, and then disabled people can be paid less than that.
No, we definitely can. I mean, well, the job I have, they do allow you to go over time sometimes, but for me, because of my condition or my physical body, I can't always do that. Yeah, it would, it would, it would. It would push some symptoms that I currently having to overdrive, So I am not able to always push myself in that direction, and not do I want to.
You shouldn't have to.
We don't talk about how capitalism pushes you into places you didn't ask for, Like, yeah.
It is the bane of everyone's existence because capitalism is literally squeeze and suck every drop of money and blood out of every person until they're husks of themselves, and then it discards them and it moves on to the next person or group.
I agree, but I also think it's just you know, having to deal with you know, like this year for me, I had to deal with pain down my background, and I also now have to deal with raising enough money now to get someone to come in and do wom care for me. These are things that should be priority in our health care system. Healthcare is too expensive to
sustain the damage that we've caused. And then I don't think we've really recovered from the beginning stages of COVID because there are more sick people now than there have ever been, and then everybody doesn't know how to manage the amount of sick people that have come and gone and have gotten elderly and also became sick young as well.
So we need to also discuss the effects of COVID, the effects of chronic illness disability as we age what does that look like for a number of people, because those are conversations we are not having, and I think it harms us more because we're not discussing like the basic things that we need to move forward and as a community needs to make sure that we can see a future where disabled people don't have to suffer, where
we have the resources that we need. We don't even have enough grants for us, Like the grants that are out here for disabled people are far and few.
In between, assuming you can even find them.
And it's just like, where are the grants for us? Where are the things that will allow us? I want to be in a space in my creative life where I'm living comfortably in my gift. I don't want to have to keep running to go fundme or other platforms the fundraise but my safety that is exhausting. I've done it, and how to do it. I'm really good at it, you know. I know what to say, I know how to make the videos. I know how to make people know that I have a situation which is currently happening.
But the fact that I have to think about all of that and still live my life, it's crazy to me. Yeah.
Yeah, So you mentioned long COVID. We've talked to quite a few people that that have had long COVID, and it seems like the symptoms vary widely between people. What was that experience like for you?
For me, it was hard because I had existing disabilities. Yeah, I would imagine, so I don't I don't know how the disabilities I already had showed up fully in my long COVID moments. I got COVID three times in twenty twenty one, twice because of a nurse that came to see me for won't care, and I think a third time in the hospital.
So god, yeah, right, it's like, you.
Know, it's just just you know, as you can tell, the medical system has been helped for me based on these stories. Yeah, you know, I will say this having it. And then there was one time also too, I was so sick. I developed bronchitis like I could not speak, so they had to get me on like because this was like I think it was before my graduation, but like, I had to get on and inhaler a breathing machine to get out whatever mucus was in me. That took weeks.
Oh my goodness, my boyfriend's trying to talk to me and I could barely utter a sentence.
Yep.
My mother had to hold my hand. It was really an experience I would never forget because that was the first time where like my vocals were shut and everybody that those who those I love to talk, so having that experience was hard for me.
I've had bronchitis before many times, and it is awful when you can't really get those sentences out or communicate very well without wheezing and coughing. And I'm currently kind of I'm having a like a cold or something that's making my breathing my asthma act up lately. It might be bronchitis. I didn't actually go to the doctor fully to double check on that, but I'm on medication for it.
But it is hard to talk when you have bronchitis, and it's constantly trying to, you know, come up with your not come up with your mucus, but push up your mucus.
Yeah, I had it once. I haven't had it since. But it's just like the whole experience was like, I don't want to have this again. I hope it was so bad. I couldn't talk. I was looking at people. I was like, wait, making hand signals, just coming up with ways to communicate because that was the first time I really could not speak.
And that's where sine leg which should come in. We should be taught that from you know, early ages, so that we can always have so many different ways to communicate in the event that we can't talk, especially as disabled people, because there are times when they just can't express them. They don't have the means to get the technology that provides some a voice, and so it was it was.
My first time where I couldn't and a big thing for me. I was like, why couldn't you get me like a machine where I could type out the sentences. Nobody in the hospital offered me that, and then once my voice got better, they were like, oh my god, we're so happy to hear you. I'm like, b I could talk for like two week, fuck, you know, and I had to use the inhaler. I never usednn Hanler a day in my life, but oh that Bronhidas took me out.
It was yeah, from kindas is awful. I would have to totally agree with you. That is like the worst, especially when it's like really really bad.
I got it once and I said never again. Listen. I just it was such a crazy experience for me, and I just never you know, since that time, I've been wearing layers and not trying to get sick.
Yes, you got to protect the chest.
So it's just yeah, you know, unluckily with what I do because I work at the museum, which is the shed, So I worked there and I'm always in front of people talking, so I'm layered up a lot because I'm just like, I don't want to get anything. I want my mask. It's just safety for me because like I'm around a lot of people constantly, so it's just like a safety thing. And you know where I work where because I work near the water, so it's like always cold over there. So I'm like, oh my god, this
is not fun. But what they do have a job, you know, even there, I've had like so many instances that were crazy at work. It's just a lot, you know, I've experienced this year. For me, I've had to learn this hat like a whole lot of boundaries to help people know. I was always had in boundaries, but I think I've gotten worse. I think like I'm in my super villain era. Like I'm just like no no no no no no no no no no no no no, Like that's my favorite word now. I never think thought
that would become my word. But it's just like people have really tried me this year, and it's just like I got too much going on and I want to beat you up now. So at this point, you know, I never thought that would be me, but it's just, you know, you start to experience stuff in your life. It's just like I need to beat you up today. I'm going to fight you in my head. So tell me.
Tell me about the Beyonce video.
Oh that okay? I you know I was in rehab when that happened. So like I uploaded a video randomly that was like a few months old before I got sick and I was physically better, and it went viral row and it was like a the time that break myself came out. Oh look I'm gonna put this dance over the video. See what happened. Oh, it's gonna happen. But maybe I woke up and I went viral. It was very close to me. I was like, oh, I have half a million views? What is this? That's somebody
commenting celeverything I didn't like. I didn't even know. Big Freida commented on it. The people commented on it. They had so many comments. I couldn't keep up with the comments. Once that happened, then Parkwood reached out to me a few months later, I gave them the rights that was at the video. I'm gonna have put out something. Months later, I waited for it to come out and the camera and it was on Beyont his YouTube, which is crazy that has like a million views.
Wow. So what about your when you were featured on Good Morning America? What was that like?
Ah that I have a story about that one. Actually, I was actually fired for my job at Macy's. I went to a Manifestation event and I was like, I'm tired of not being seen. I'm tired of people ignoring me. And I wore the same mouth and I wore the Manifestation event there and I was like, I'm gonna go I don't have I don't have I know, I don't have a job right now, but like, I'm going to enjoy myself. I have these festival tickets. I'm going for two days. It was like my last few paychecks they
gave me. I'm gonna have fun. And I just decided I'm gonna enjoy myself and not let anything stop me from living. I mean, I feel like my life has shown me when I have tough times trying to have fun in there.
Well, that's how you survived. It's having those moments of like happiness and enjoy.
So I was like, I'm gonna dance, I'm gonna have a good time. I'm gonna dress my best, I'm gonna look my best because I know I just got fired, but don't I look like shit. So I was like, I'm gonna dress my best, I'm gonna feel my best, put on the best outfit, the best niggers I could find, and I just went out and had a good time.
Is that is that when Good Morning America saw you? Or did they see it?
And then a friend of mine told me the video went viral. I didn't know a viral A couple of my friends send it to me. I had to reach out to the personal posted it and I eventually like, tell her it's me, and then they tagged me in it, and then I was out of here. I was like, once they tagged me in the post, everyone that knew me in the industry and everywhere else also tagged me. It was the craziest thing. I had so many mentions.
I got so many like likes and follows and interviews, and I was on Good Morning America NBC four Me was twelve in my local community. Wow. I was just so shocked that, like, I went that viral. Then when I did like Disabled Lives Matter, I went even more viral because I was like the first person since like to the Uman, to like do a march, and I was like historic sou, I was a part of the history books.
I was like, whoa, that's awesome.
A little tea. Uh you know. So I feel like for me, you know, my goal right now is I'm trying to build out my legacy really at this point.
So since you, since you mentioned it, you want to tell us a little more about your Black Disabled Lives Matter foundation?
Yeah, I can. How did that start? My sister died of in twenty twenty s during the pandemic. She did not have COVID though, but she just died. During that time, my mother had gotten long COVID symptoms. So I was just like, I want to do something to honor them. And like, you know, my mom to me is like someone who works really hard to this day, she is amazing to me in her own way. That's a longer story for a different day, but it is. You know, She's just amazing to me. So those two women were
the reason they started it. But initially I had went to a protest in June twenty twenty and I talk about this all the time, you know. I went and it was not accessible. I didn't finish the march, and I was kind of pissed about that. I experienced some of it, but I didn't finish the whole march, and it disappointed me. And since that, I was like, you know what, I have this experience in you know, event planning background. I've been in the industry, I've thrown parties,
I've thrown all kinds of stuff. Why don't I use that experience for out here?
Yeah, And that's what I did, which is awesome, because yeah, usually when justice is being you know, talked about, the last people they ever bring up are disabled people, if they even bring them up. Usually it's about you know, undisabled, able bodied people, you know, doing the marches and doing the boycotts and things like that, and that's great and that's helpful, but you also have to include the disabled. You can't leave us out.
And the good thing about me is like my stuff is so known, it's been in museums, it's been in all these different places, so I'm not gonna get erased in history when they talk about me. And because I'm a modern day person, you could still look me up and see stuff I'm doing now. So it's it's good that I've been able to speak about long COVID and all these other things and disability that effect us, and even some things that are personally happened to me so
openly online. And everyone's like, why are you so open about the disabled experience, because like, nobody knows the modern day disabled experiencing. They have assumptions about it, but they don't know how hard it really is. Like all these stories I'm telling on these podcasts is for people to know, like what's going on and what may still be going on even after I get old and gray and like
seventy five. I don't know, But like for me, I just want to like let people know what each time period was, like, you know, living under our current regime of Orange Trump here, man, I don't know. You know, it's not easy for us right now as a country. It's not easy for us as a world. It's so much I feel like we're forwards and backwards at the same time. It's really it's a very weird time for a lot of us. They have to deal with, you know, what what America actually is and not what we think
it is. I think that's what we're all facing. I think, you know, the country has to realize what we've always been, and I think that's hard for most people to sit with, very hard. They want to be in the same comforts they've always been, and it's I think the hardest thing is for people to realize how much of a bigot they are, especially now that they're seeing in real time.
Yeah, and it's like you mentioned, it's the reason why a lot of this is going on too, is that there's a lot of people realizing sitting in their discomfort because they thought America was different, and they're realizing that they're not immune to the same horrific treatment that people, especially specifically black people and burn people, have been going through for centuries.
You know. I also think now too, just to add to that, now that you know, they thought that only black people were going to go through this, Now everybody's going through it. So I think like they only thought that black and brown and indigenous we're going to go through this. Now that they see that their food stamps are being cut, their services for farming is being cut, things that they use for agriculture is being cut in the rural areas, they're now, oh my god. I didn't
think it was going to be me. It was always going to be everybody. When you have somebody that's almost a millionaire who hangs out with billionaires in the White House, he was never for you. He was for the people that's in his tax bracket. I will never understand how America thought, you know, but also misogyny, racism and all the things. And I also think this whole idea that
a woman can't run for president is so like nineteen twenties. Yeah, ye, slapstick, you know, trying to tell women to stay in the kitchen. Women have more degrees than men now, so like we need to stop you making excuses for why women can't lead. They certainly can. I just think that men are so insecure they don't want them to. Yes, that is true, let's for real. Oh you know, I don't think that women can lead, and they'll probably do a better job
than any man. But again, I agree, you just don't give them a chance because you're insecuring, you're jealous, yes and both.
I mean that's what racism is too, is jealousy and horrible jealousy of like things that we've been able to do that without the privilege of you know, the benefit of the doubt of our skin color and things like that. True, and you know, the jealousy of we don't become lobsters normally, you know, some of us do. Some of us do, but for the most part, a lot of us don't become lobsters just going out to check the mail. And we have naturally curly hair, and you know, all of
these different things that we have in features. Like when you look at the history of how they would present black women and black men, and it's like you were jealous because you didn't have an ass in boobs and you know all that stuff. So you tortured these people because you couldn't have what they had.
And then now you're seeing people are trying to become us with cosmetic surgery. So it's just like, yeah, do you hate us or not? Because then they hate us, but then they're starting to look like us. I will never understand how somebody that hates me trying to look like me.
It's because of jealousy, and the jealousy is so rampant that it's irrational.
I agree. I think it's just you know, when I look at history, it's just it's just it's it's so sad that we are backwards and forwards at the same time as progress has been made this cycle with all of the Democrats that have stepped in and done their thing, but it's just like we're also backwards. And someone in the Supreme Court and how they're thinking and how they want to expand the core of more control over stuff,
which I think is very dangerous. So I am I am very concerned as to what America will look like in the next three years because we have so many different things going on that's not really American right now, we have to like sit through it to see what who will survive? This feels like the Hunger Games on steroids.
Yeah, it is scary good. You know, this is always how America has been. It's just now it's visible to everyone else as opposed to just the minorities, and so you know, everybody else is kind of panicking. But the thing is is that you everybody says that you have to listen to the black women because they're the one they're the least of all of us, me included because.
I am probably black, but black women have always been ahead of the curve.
Yep, yep.
I just think that people don't want to listen to you because you're a woman, and of course so much misogyny I play here, which is the worst thing in the world, you know, you know. And I also think that like we got to give black women their things. I think it's just it's the way that they disrespect the elderly, to disabled and black women on a consistent basis, like we're not people is beyond me. And even in our queer community, there's such a separation of who gets
visibility and who doesn't, and attractiveness. Lord, we can go into that for the entire day. Who's hot, who's not, who's worthy of desire? It is such a I feel like being gay as like a hierarchy.
It is everything is a hierarchy, you know, and it's annoying and it's frustrating, and it makes me want to shake the shit out of a lot of people because us worrying about you know, the hierarchy within the queer community or within the disabled community doesn't help us. It doesn't get us the car spots that we need. It doesn't get us the right care and resources that we need from whether it's you know, nurses and doctors or
just the government period. Because we're so busy fighting each other about well, who's hot or who's not, or who's allowed to be and who's not.
And then for me as a queer person, I'm always like, you know, I'm always you know, you know, And I'm going to be very honest. When I was in the hospital, had my white gay friends come up there and they were listening, you know, when they advocated for me. Oh, they were listened to, they said, or somebody that was of a lighter you they said, you know, they sat down and they listen, and I was like my mom, who's more on the dark complexion, and like myself, it
was like I was screaming into avoid it. But when my white friends came up there, oh my god, they pulled the chair out, they listened. Yeah. It was such a shock to me because I'm like, why do you listen to me? But you're listening to them as they have Okay for me, well, I told you the same thing that they're just telling you over again. Because they're lighter skinned or they're white, you're listening.
And it was just like yes, And that's why we need men, all men to speak and raise up women, because people will listen to men first before they'll ever listen to women.
There's a big difference. When I go with Dora to a doctor appointment. I can tell that the doctors listen more and are more care more or whatever, more attentive when I'm there than she tells me.
I mean, I mean, it's you know, I what toed sta with my friend, my two white friends who went with me to the appointments, or like we're with me in the emergency room, we're with me. Everything got done so fast. I was completely shocked.
Yeah, But like I was saying, though, you know, we need men to speak up for women, and we need white people to speak up for black people. We need lighter skin black people speaking up for you know, our darker complexioned black people used the hierarchy that has been built to benefit us instead of against us.
So you know, I agree with you completely for that. I think it's just when you think of just the overarching.
Even having to think of that strategy when I was in the hospital, like getting a white person to come or a lighter skin complex and person to come versus a dark skinned person, That logic is a psychologically crazy think about when you're sick. These are the things I had to jump through when I was sick with a chronic illness because they were certainly not listening to me with my with with my mom there all the.
Time, but they were listening to me when my friend Adam was there, who is white as snow like this, and my friend Nicholas was there, who's Italian and he's very loud. But you know, I just you know, I saw the difference, like like whoa they were what it was like insane to see in real time.
It is and it's heartbreaking to see in real time, and it pisses me off all the more because you know, we could be such a great nation if we actually listened to people instead of needing a white man to stand in and talk for everybody. It's just it's ridiculous. I mean, imagine, sorry, go ahead.
And also too with you know, knowing as a black person that you need another group or race to stand in for you when nobody else wants to listen makes it seem like I don't matter anyway, right.
And that's why I say it's heartbreaking, because we do matter. We matter just as much as everyone else. But because we had the nerve to be born brown or black, then we don't get listened to. And honestly, when you for instance, the environment, a lot of things could have been mitigated for the environment, if you know, speaking of the dust bowl that happened if people had listened to the indigenous people.
That's very true. I agree with that that whole.
Dust bowl situation in the thirties could have been avoided if they listened to indigenous people. And you know, it's just it's frustrating when you see all these patterns happening and nobody wants to listen because you're not a white cistette.
You know, man true, and even you know not to be you know, I would even say, like, not every white you know. And I also think there's this thing about when white man lead things are better. That's not always a case.
Oh no, look at what we have right now. There's a bunch of white men in charge right now. And you know, Tangerine Tango Group has totally decimated everything that Biden did. We're up to like over one point five one point nine million layoffs the biggest sense I think it was like twenty twenty three or twenty twenty something like that.
And we have to also think about how many jobs have been lost because of this man. Yeah, where are the jobs? What jobs? Yeah?
I mean, like I was saying, you know, one point nine million people were laid off. That's a lot of people to lay off.
No, and then there's some people that I know, somebody right now that's working three jobs to sustain Yeah, we should not be like that.
Under no circumstances should anybody in any country have to work three freaking jobs in order to make ends meet. You know, they, especially here, they talk about how they need more babies born, but yet they keep removing the care. They don't want to talk about universal paid leave, they don't want to talk about universal daycare, they don't want to talk about universal healthcare at least for women for you know, through their pregnancy and postpartum. They don't want
to do any of that shit. And so it's just like, well, you're not going to have your babies. Nobody can afford a damn house. They can't afford a car, they can't afford, you know, to have children if they're working for jobs a day.
People can barely afford rent. Listen. Yeah, Like the fact that I even have to make it go fund me to pay my rent is acerni. Yeah. And the fact that I still have to make it go fund me to get proper private wom care because they're only covering me for three days is also. Yes, that's awful and it is awful, and like like gunshots to the Medicaid and Medicare system. No one should have to be doing
more than they have to to get care. And you know, it seems like the older I get the worst insurance gets and it's insane to think that, and it is.
It is because like in the seventies, all insurance companies used to be nonprofit. But Reagan, he did so much good for us as sarcasm, So Reagan came in and decided and told them, you know, well black people benefit from this too, and they're like, oh no, we can't have that, and so they started becoming for profits. And you know, it's ridiculous that as a country, we could
have had so fucking much. When you look at the railways in Japan at how clean it is, or you know, the universal healthcare system that the majority of all industrialized nations have. We could have had that, but no, because we have to shove our heads so far up our own asses, because God forbid brown, black and indigenous people be able to breathe clean air. You've just it's literally shooting, taking off your own foot and then complaining you have no shoe for that foot that's no longer there.
True, but I would even add that, like, you know, for people that are not marginalized, they got to kick out of the suffering of others, and I just I don't think that's fair.
But the thing is is that they're suffering just is not much, is not more because you know, for centuries, they've tried to keep minorities down. And what has happened throughout every damn time, every minority has managed to find a way around those loopholes, around those you know, you can't do this and can't do that. They've created their own wall streets, they created their own money. They were millionaires, they were billionaires long before a lot of white people were.
They were performing surgeries that white people were like, Oh, it's so barbaric, and you know, that saved people. And yet the reason why you know, Tulsa, Oklahoma, not Tulsa, the Tulsa massacre in Oklahoma happened was because they were mediocre white men jealous of the fact that they couldn't, you know, pull up, pull themselves up off their bootstraps with their bootstraps and do the work. They wanted us to do it for them, and they were pissed that not only did we do it for them, but we
did it better for ourselves too. And that's what the whole damn thing is is they're fucking pissed that black people and Native American, indigenous people and Asians and all that shit can do just as much as they can. And you know what, if they put the fucking effort in it, they would be so much further ahead. But no, they have to hate us.
But again, all colonials have ever done with steel, So like, are we surprised, No, we're not.
No, it's not really surprising.
That's all they've ever done. They've stolen so much and claim it as their own, so life, I'm not. You know, what is surprising is the amount of conservatives that they are. I didn't know. There's a lot of conservatives hiding and play in sight and it's really ugly to see, like just how people think, the way that people have bent over backwards for Donald Trump. I don't know how it happened.
I don't know when it happened. It's almost like they want to make it seem like, Okay, if they've bend over for him, they're going to get something out of it.
And it's just like, no, No, the only thing that they're going to get is a carrot of the a s because we all know that Trump doesn't have a big one, so you know, it would be like a nub smacking you in the butt, and that's all there,
all of them are going to get. And the thing is is that What they also need to realize is that at the end of this regime, and it will end, because all regimes end, is that they're going to be more than likely in jail for the ship that they're pulling, and he's probably going to be, you know, sitting sipping Margarita's somewhere, having thrown all of them under the bus.
Like his last administration, they all went to jail.
We're running out of time, unfortunately. Do you want to let people know where they can find you find.
What you do? Oh? Yeah, okay, conversation really good time. Yes, we did my topics. So you can find me on my instagram at GERMANE. Grieves, where you can find my fundraisers. I'm currently doing with is a fundraiser to raise eight thousand dollars for wom Care. That is on my Instagram. You can also find me on Black Disabled Lives Matter. I also have a website which is www dot Germanegrieves dot com. Also right now, my short film is taking bookings to be shown virtually and in person all over
the country and internationally. Also that is you, That's why to find me. I also have an email Germane at germanegrieves dot com to send me your inqurees there. Yeah, so you know right now. Then the fundraiser for my short film which is also on my Instagram, trying to raise twenty thousand dollars to fundraise is for my project and get it in front of some platforms so we can win some awards and maybe get an Oscar or Grammy. I don't know.
That would be awesome.
So that's all working on right now, and as well as my Wolm Care with eight thousand dollars months so that my wolves can heal and get better. They are getting better, but this little infection set it back a little bit, but I want to really hunker down and focus and try to get a nurse to come in and help me. And everybody that's listening to me on this podcast. No, I'm not using the money to go
on a vacation. I have fun. I'm literally trying to take care of myself so I can really take care of myself.
So yeah, awesome, you welcome, and the best of luck to you with all of your future endeavors and keep in touch.
Let us know it and everybody definitely check him out.
He is awesome and when you win an Oscar, come on back, Yes, I will come on.
When I went an award that's major.
I'll be back here, definitely be back here because I want to hear about you know, all of the stars and the juicy tidbits and all that stuff too.
And the film. Yes, you know, I will say the film thing. It's not as easy as it looks going from in front of people that believe in it and want to invest in it. It's very hard.
Yes, it's definitely possible, and it's you know, it's a lot of hard work. And I commend you from that because again that's a lot of hard work to not only film it, but you know, have to worry about editing it, getting it or getting it edited and then distributed so that people can see it. How awesome it is.
Yeah, I mean, I just believe in myself, so I'm gonna always push for the best and just know that like the best is out there. So that's one thing about me. I'm gonna always try and put my best look forward and believe in myself and do what I can. You know, I'm a firm believer in that.
That's great, and thank you so much.
You're welcome Yeah, this is fun. Bye bye.
Thank you for listening to the Other End podcast by Mike and Dorry. Please like and follow us in all of your favorite social media.
The Gathering podcast is produced by loud Core Productions, graphics by Josh and music by Jeordie James me Meir