Bottomless Benefit of the Doubt

that sycophant trash Tim Scott. Tim Scott is the reason, folks, if you remember why we don't have the George Floyd Legislation right because he, along with Republicans, won't get rid of qualified immunity that allows us the ability to you know, whole old police officers accountable for killing unarmed, innocent people. Tim Scott is one of those black folks who believe that racism doesn't exist because look where he is. So apparently the rest of us are just making shit up

in our heads. It's just laughable, Like it's laughable who the Republican Party has to put out, as you know, their potential candidates from Donald Trump, a man who is indicted on thirty four felon accounts, Ron de Santis, who is just you know, Cruella de Ville in a suit, Nicky Haley, who has anybody heard a peep from her since her announcement. These people are ridiculous and they're nobodies, and they have no policies to offer the American people.

But that's why it is so important for us to pay attention to what is happening at the states and what is happening at the local level. Like we have all eyes on Tennessee right now, and I just want to lift up for you that Missouri, the state legislature there,

the Republican Party voted to defund all public libraries. Can you imagine being a part of a political party that is championing banning books and defunding libraries at a time when children are being killed in their classrooms by AAR fifteens, the same party where their federal representatives replace flag pins with pins of AAR fifteens their weapon of mass murdering choice.

And so you know, for me, it's like, yes, are we going to be paying attention to the presidential twenty twenty four, But I also want us to be paying attention to what Republicans and the fascist regimes that they are backing or doing at every step and in every place, because it is wildly fucking dangerous. And while folks, while we are continuing to have our eyes on Tennessee, we know that at some point in time we will move

on to the next catastrophe, to the next disaster. We're still trying to figure out what has gone awry in Kentucky. But I can tell you that with regard to what's gone awry in Kentucky, I want you to check out if you have not, check out my Instagram because I posted two headlines, two front page articles from the New York Post, one with regard to the killing of Trayvon Martin and the other to the mass murdering killer in Kentucky.

And it is just you will never see a person get more humanized than a white mass shooter in the United States. These articles, even including from The Daily Beasts, where I write and host another podcast, have headlines that are elevating this guy's connection to sports and what he did in college. I don't give a fuck. Do you think I give a fuck about his resume? I think

I care what activities he participated in. He walked into a conference room and killed his coworkers within a R fifteen, So shouldn't we be having that conversation not trying to humanize him. But at the same time, these same media outlets that claim their bullshit neutrality work overtime to dehumanize and look for any element to make it justifiable to murder unarmed children, like the New York posted with Trayvon Martin.

I just, you know, there are times when I get so fucking disgusted, and this week was one of them as I looked at headline after line about this fucking white male mass shooting murderer. Right, It's just, you know, I'm telling you, it's like the benefit of the doubt has no bottom when it comes to mainstream media and

white murderers. It's really amazing. Coming up today on this episode, I'm really excited to welcome to woka F for the first time Natalie Thompson, who is the co president of InterPride, And in this conversation, Natalie and I talk about the attacks that have been happening on the lgbt QIA plus community, not only in this country but around the globe, and how the legislation horrific, horrific legislation that has been put forward in Uganda that would not only criminalize the queer

community but also sentenced them to death. Where these ideas and these pieces of legislation come from. So that conversation with Natalie Thompson is coming up next, folks. I am very happy to welcome to woke f a daily for the very first time, Natalie Thompson, who is co president for InterPride. Natalie, before we jump into I mean, my goodness, the attacks both globally and at home that are happening against LGBTQ plus community, please tell us about InterPride and

your mission. Yeah. So, Enterpride as an organization that was founded forty years ago. We're actually celebrating our fortieth this year, Congress. Thank you and thank you for having me. By the way, So Enterprise as an organization that was really founded on bringing people together around a common goal of Q meeting prior organizers and the goal is to share best practices. The goal is to talk about what are the issues that our communities are facing and how do we continue

to push this global pride movement. The goal is to share, convene. The goal is to talk about human rights. The goal is to uplift the needs and concerns of individuals who are part of our LGBTQ plus community. And with that, we have solidarity funds, we have scholarship funds. We are looking to distribute money to communities that need it in order to continue convening, who needed to fund housing opportunities, who are looking to advance training, education, anything that you

could possibly think of. Our goal is to be a source of support number one, uplifting issues on a global scale. Number two, really having support in these local communities, really being able to pride opportunities for solidarity, really being able to pride opportunities for funding. And our goal is also to raise the profile of why pride is important. When people look at Pride, they're just like, oh, it's a it's a party, it's a march. But Pride is very

different around the world. So I think sometimes people come from it with a very US centric view and it's just those parties and marches. But really Pride looks like a picnic and like South Africa where folks have a safe space to build community and to not be in isolation, or it looks like a dinner. It looks very different around the world. And our goal is to be able to provide opportunities and be able to uplift that Pride

is about community. Pride is about solidarity, and pride is about building chosen family when sometimes folks don't have that. And so for us, that's the most important thing, is not only to uplift these issues, but to also recognize that somebody is coming out for the first time and they're looking for community. And I think many of us who are part of this community remember that moment. We're like, I found my people, and that's really important, you know.

It's I think that over the last couple of years, we've been dealing as a community with some horrific tragedies, horrific rollbacks of rights representation that I couldn't have foresaw in twenty fifteen when the White House turned rainbow for the very first time, couldn't have foresaw when I was able to attend my very first Pride event at the

White House in the Obama years. And I think that it is important for folks listening, whether you are Allies or a part of the LGBTQ plus community, to recognize that and remember that Pride in the United States, for example, started as a riot, right started as a pushback against over policing and police violence directed at the queer community. And it was black trans women that fought back, that initially fought back against having to deal with not only

the racism, but the homophobia and the transphobia. And so you know, before we dig in, Natalie, with what has been transpiring in the United States over the last seven years, I want to talk about what is happening in Uganda.

And like I said to you before we started recording, I remember the first criminalization of the queer community in Uganda, which I believe you said, was back in twenty fourteen, and I remember it because I was covering it and I remember reading about what was happening there and my heart truly breaking for queer people who were not only going to be thrown in jail, but put to death right if their neighbors or their family, if anyone in

their community knew who they were. They have since now nine years later, doubled down and are doing things that are even worse. So can you paint the picture as to why Enterpride felt the need to issue a statement recently with regard to what is happening in Uganda. Absolutely so to just talk about why we issue this statement. So we are a global organization. We recognize that we

are a global pride movement. So what happens in Uganda, or what happens in the United States, or what happens in Russia or what happens anywhere around the world has an impact on our global movement. And so what's happening and the reasons why we felt the need to issue a statement about what's happening in Uganda is because of number one, solidarity with lgbt plus folks, but also to pinpoint that individuals are at risk of being put to death for being who they are. There is nothing about

that that is okay. And so I think we can sit here and say, oh, but that's what's happening in Uganda like that, that doesn't mean anything about here. But what happens here and what happens there, they're all interrelated. They're all interconnected. If you come for one of us, you come for all of us. And we need to be really clear that if we're not standing with our lgbt plus community members around the world, and what are we standing for? And so the fact that you can

be outed by family or by a neighbor. The fact that you could potentially be sentenced to twenty years in prison just for who you are is a human rights violation. And so for us there is this is some of the most strict and abrasive and outrageous laws against LGBT plus people, and as an organization, silence would be we would be complicit to not say something to elevate that

this is not okay. And you see that there have been recent protests in South Africa and folks really standing up for people, and you've gone to to say this is not right. As of right now, it was passed by lawmakers there, but it's sitting with the president right now.

The president has not signed it yet, and so this sort of is one of those situations like what happened in twenty fourteen, if I'm remembering correctly, It sat there and he and they did not pass that law, like it went through the court system and they realized that this was not going to be a law that they could pass, so they're doubling down. We have not learned

from our mistakes from the past. We have not done enough to elevate the needs to really support our community, and so we're finding ourselves in this cyclical cycle of doing this all over again, and it's just not okay. You know, it really isn't okay. And I think that what troubles me about this, and through research that I have done, is that you know, Uganda has been one of those places that it has been ripe for Christian

missionary work yea. And it is evangelical Christian that have found their way into nations in Africa in order to poison the ground for LGBTQ people. And this is this is the fruit of that poisoning. And I think that it's important for folks listening. Let's say, well, I couldn't even point out you've gottena on a map. Well, I'll

tell you what you can point out. You can point out Florida, you can point out Texas, you can point out Mississippi, Arkansas, and all of the states that right now are criminalizing trans people in this country, are criminalizing the parents of trans children in this country, have created their own witch hunt. Ronda Santis asked for the medical records from universities of trans students that asked for care,

right that asked that sought care. The question that I had asked was the hell you need those records for right. You're not a doctor. What do you do if a school, if a university, an institution says that they are going to provide care for their LGBTQ plus students, what do you need those records for? Right to the bill that was passed in Texas that said that any parent that would seek gender affirming care for their child would be

investigated by their child Protective Services and face criminal charges. So, for folks who look and hear about horrific bills that will put people to death, what I want people to understand, Natalie, and what I want you to be able to explain

even more, is that death looks different in different places. Yes, it does, because you can be put to death in front of a firing squad or hung or whatever it is that these politicians in these Southern states are trying to put back on the books, like we live in the dark ages, you can also die by suicide because you're unable to actually live free in your own skin. We already know that the statistics for trans children in LGBTQ youth is I think four times higher than the

national average of queer youth. And so I want you to be able to speak to why it's important for us to make these connections, to understand that what is happening in these far off nations that people don't necessarily know and will never visit, and that's sad for them. But I'm going to go about my life here why it matters. So I think it's really important to just name that these things are distract to real issues that exist, and they become larger issues because people's lives are at

stake here. And so as we talk about let's talk about the like don't say gay bill, Let's talk about banning drag queens, let's talk about banning trans students from participating in collegiate sports. Let's talk about all of the things that folks are doing that in and of itself, people are like, oh, well, you know, it's not a huge deal, it doesn't really matter. But what's happening is

it's a distraction from what's really going on. And so when you're talking about someone who is living in a space where they're banning drag queens, there are individuals who potentially could be walking down the street who are part of our trans community that somebody could say, hey, I think that you know, you are a drag queen, and so you're breaking the law. Right now, we have people

who cannot just freely walk down the street. We have also individuals policing other individuals saying, like, I know have the right to say that your your identity, who you are as a person is either legal or illegal. I'd have the right now to say, like, we can't talk about your experience as a family, Like we don't talk about queerness, We don't talk about any of these things

that humanize individuals. And it's what the issue is. It's everything is being to humanize, and it comes down to, oh, well, I don't want my child exposed to this, or I don't understand it, or it goes against my religion, and all of these things are distractions because we forgot to see the other person who's sitting next to me as a human being. Wet we forgot to look at you know, healthcare, it's a human right. Everyone should have access to healthcare.

And so when you say that someone shouldn't be able to do whatever they want with their body, who are you to say that they shouldn't be allowed to get an abortion, they shouldn't be allowed to participate in gender affirming here they shouldn't be allowed to do all of these things. It is their health and they should have the agency over their own health. And we look at them as separate issues. But it's no different than anything

that's ever happened in our history. It's no different than I always get so emotional and worked up about it. But it's no different than like what happened with interracial relationships, somebody telling who you couldn't love. It's no different than somebody telling you couldn't use a water fountain. All of these things. It's just history repeating itself, and we just

have a new marginalized group that we're focused on. And so instead of focusing on how do we all thrive, we focus on I've got to impose my beliefs or I've got to make someone else's experience criminalized in order to elevate myself. I've got to distract somebody from what are the real issues because I don't want to deal with them. And we put it under this guise of religion. You know, it's it's belief, and at the end of

the day, that's not true. No, it's folks not seeing each other as human beings and folks not seeing each other as when when you provide care to folks, we all thrive like we don't see ourselves as a as a collective. We see ourselves as us first them, And this rhetoric won't change until we realize that I am my brother's keeper. I am here to support others just

like they're here to support me. And when we do that, when we when we don't do that and we don't support people, we end up with individuals feeling like they are they have no other recourse, they have no agency over their own life. And imagine if you weren't able to make the decisions that you wanted to make for yourself. Imagine what that would do to your mental health. Imagine what that would do to you as an individual in this world of I don't have a place, I don't

have a community, I don't have rights. And so, yes, death by suicide is very high. Homelessness is also extremely high within our community. Substance use is high within our community, and it's all because we have demonized folks for being who they are and loving who they are and creating space for us all to thrive instead of just some who fit into a cookie cutter box. So this is what this is what it's supposed to be like. And if you don't fit in, you're a deviant and we

must punish you for that deviation. And it's unacceptable. But it will continue if we if we don't speak up. It will continue if we continue to see each other as political points, or we continue to see each other as as enemies, as something to be feared, because that's all this is. We fear what we don't understand. But we also don't take the time to really truly get to know other people and get to know their experiences,

and so we're end up. We end up with I think we have like over four hundred bills now state bills that are anti LGBT plus. Right. What I want people to understand again is that you don't need to know somebody that is queer, You don't need to ever have come across somebody that is trans What you have to understand as human beings, right, and that human beings have self determination and the ability to actualize their fullness

right without harm to anyone else. And when we get into a situation where we are currently being able to box people right, to place them into categories and then to shove them back into closets and into the margins. We lose our own humanness, right, and our own connectedness. And that's the point. I think that the point is, you know, the point is to create as much fear of the other as possible. Right. The point was to say that black men are dangerous and they're coming for

your white women. The point was to say that black women are sexual deviance and they're coming for your white men. You know. The point was that, oh, their communities need to be over police because they're criminals. Right, So it is part of a larger cycle. It is part of

a larger pattern. You just pick a different victim, like you said, Natalie, with the time that we we have left, you know, tell folks how they can get involved with Inenterpride and how they can get involved with what should be a global active resistance against legislation, like what is happening in this country and what is happening abroad. Yeah.

So for Enterpride, we're a membership organization and that's made up of pride networks and local prides, and so anybody who wants to join, if you are part of a pride network, please come and sign up for a membership, and we have a sliding scale on membership or organization because our goal is to be accessible to everybody around the world, and within that we consistently have dialogue around how do we continue to support We have our Enterpride podcast,

which we really dive really deep into topics that are pressing in that moment, and so we also have a racist and an oppression and awareness program where we really talk about how racism and oppression are very much alive within LGBT plus spaces and how we can continue to

do that against that. We also have a scholarship program, and so if you a scholarship and solidarity grants program, so if you have it to give, we get We get a number of emails and phone calls from organizations in Uganta and around the world who are dealing with op oppressive systems who need support, and so we are providing funding directly to those organizations. There's a number of ways to get involved, and we just ask people to go on our website, check out all of our social

media platforms, stay connected. If you have an idea for a podcast, bring it our way. If you're somebody who wants to elevate a human rights issue, bring it to us, we will create space to really get it out there into the community, and that's part of our Pride network. And then also larger than that, our goal is to just really elevate not only what is the issues that are community faces, but also really elevate the joy and

love and community that exists. Our goal is to make sure that we can continue to grow so folks know that safe spaces do exist in their communities and if they currently don't, how can we as enterprise help you to create something where you all can be able to meet, have access to resources that you need, and continue to grow that network. Our goal is to be a support for all of these organizations and these individuals to create the community that best represents how they want to be

supported and represented in those areas. And it looks very different around the world. So yeah, that's some of the ways to get connected. And Natalie Thompson, thank you so much for making the time to join will Gate app and thank you for the work that you and Enterpride are doing. Greatly appreciate you. Thank you so much for

having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation and really talk about who Enterpride is and how people can get connected, and just continuing these conversations about human rights and how we really uplift the needs of our community around the world. That is it for me today, Dear friends on woke a app. As always, Power to the people and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck.