Protesting is a Privilege

have had in place since the pandemic began. Now in our minds, we experienced a fraction of what it is that the Chinese have been experiencing every day for the last three years, which is that there is no normal day to day life. There is rapid testing on a regular basis. There is quarantine to the point where you are removed physically removed from your home, from your apartment building,

put into a government housing area. Children have been taken away from their families, Schools have been shut down, and this continues as they move to enforce their zero COVID policy in a country that has literally billions of people. Well, protests have broken out in multiple cities simultaneously against the Chinese government. Why is this such a big deal? Because the Chinese are not allowed to protest because protest and

protesting without violence from the government is a privilege. It is a privilege that we have in this country that still hangs onto democracy by a thread. But it is not something that is experienced in other nations, namely a communist country like China. But these people are taking to the streets because they have had fucking enough. They've had enough,

they've had enough, and they want their lives back. They want the ability to see people, they want the ability to shop, they want the ability to go out right again, all of the things that we've taken for granted because this country, at you, after the vaccines rolled out, we kind of threw up our hands and said, COVID is done,

so we're over it. We know that COVID is still an issue, but it is not a raging issue that it was because of the vaccine push and roll out that the Biden administration did, thankfully right with the ability to save people's lives. But we also know that more than a quarter of the population in the United States still is not vaccinated, and that even the third or fourth boosters where we are right now are very low in terms of the folks that have received them. So

it is not to say at all. I'm not looking at the Chinese and saying well, you should be like America, because no. But at the same time, it's when is enough enough? Right, Like when will they relax restrictions? When will people be able to have their lives back? And so these demonstrations that are taking place are really one brave right, but also show the breaking point that the Chinese people have gotten to. And right now, unfortunately the police are on the hunt for protesters who you know,

they will serve considerable jail time, if not worse. So as this continues and we continue to follow this story, I send out like my thoughts and solidarity to the people of China who are at their wits end. Switching gears now to a place that we have been covering on this show and that I have written about, which is Iran and Iran's continuing crackdown on the youth led and women led protests for freedom for women in Iran have been going on now for over well over a month.

Protesters have been sentenced to death, people have been shot killed right because they women in this country no longer want to live under this authoritarian regime where even the slightest slip in a hey job, or wearing a hey job that people don't like, or showing a little bit of skin that the morality police have driven women following the death of Manz Mahisma in that country, the young twenty three year old woman who was stopped by morality police was detained and then ended up in a coma

and then dead, all because they did not like the way at her head. Job was set on her head and she twenty three years old just killed and to women in that country and their allies have taken to the streets and have been taking to the streets four weeks now, you know. And now Iran is center stage again because of the World Cup. Now at the time that I am recording this, we don't know who will have won the game, the Men's World Cup game, which is going to decide who goes on further in the

match and who goes home. But this has become like a geopolitical moment because of the men's soccer team speaking out on behalf of the women of Iran and the men's soccer team of Iran not singing the national anthem in solidarity with the people of Iran who have been protesting.

But get this because again, folks like, we can say whatever the fuck it is that we want to say about other countries and their treatment of women and their treatment of marginalized people, but like, I'm kind of wondering when other countries they're going to start protesting the United States because while we want to look at Ibron and say, oh, my goodness, I can't believe that the cops are doing, you know, are beating these people, are killing them or

jailing them and torturing them, which is atrocious. We also live in a country that has just overturned women's ability and people with uterus is to have an abortion right, Like, who's who's pedestal? Are we standing on to say that one country's treatment of women is wrong while I'm looking around and I'm saying, and women in this country are

also treated as second class citizens. Yeah, we're able to currently wear what it is that we want, right, but black women have had to fight to be able to wear their natural hair in a professional setting, particularly at the army, which brought that to center stage. In the military, women have had to fight for the ability to be in the workforce. We're still fighting for equal pay, which is not the law of the land in this country now, we're fighting to hang on to the patchwork of protections

for abortion that we have. So it's like, sure, you want to show solidarity with these authoritarian regimes, but we're supposedly living in a fucking democracy and women and people of color in this country are treated like trash, right, So when when are people going to decide like, oh, we're not coming to the United States to play in your games or to you know, we're going to show solidarity with black people in this country, with women in

this country. They don't, right, because America has the best kind of fucking pr ever, Oh, we're a democracy kind of. It's why my other show is called democracy Ish because it kind of isn't. So what has been brought to the attention right now is these two teams are going

to take center stage. Is this I just want to lift this up because it's being reported from CNN and it's something that people need to pay attention to because you we look at these games and we think to ourselves, well, why won't these athletes you know, take a position, and then when we do, we applaud them. But I also want us to think about what happens to their families at home. What happens to them when they go home? Right,

So CNN is reporting this. The families of Iran's World Cup soccer team have been threatened with imprisonment and torture if the players fail to quote unquote behave ahead of the match against the USA on Tuesday, a source involved in this security of the game set Following the refusal of Iranian players to sing the nation's national anthem in their opening match against England on November twenty first, the source said that the players were called to the meeting

with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC. The source said that they were told that their families would face violence and torture if they did not sing the national anthem or if they joined in any political protest against the Tehran regime. The players sang the anthem before their second game against Wales last Friday, which saw two

to one victory for Iran. The source, who was closely monitoring Iran's security agencies operating in cutter over the World Cup periods, said that dozens of officers from the IRGC have been drafted in to monitor the Iranian players, who are not allowed to mingle outside the squad or meet with foreigners. There are a large number of Iranian security

officers and cutter collecting information and monitoring the players. So I just, you know, again, want to make it really clear that protesting is a privilege, and we should not place our privilege and our values in this country on other countries and other people because we have no idea, no idea what the fuck they face when they go

back home and what their families face. Because you see, when you are on the world stage and you put on the uniform of your country, you are representing that country. And while for all of these athletes this is the culmination of career goals right for us, it's a game that we like to watch. For them, it's everything that they've been working for their entire lives, and it's also the ability to protect to safeguard their families, right, to

protect them financially, to protect them with their fame. So a misstep by this Iranian men's soccer team shouldn't be looked at as oh, they don't support women. They would love to, but what does that mean for their safety and the safety of their family that is not even

there on the field. So just want people to understand that these countries, these authoritarian regimes, these dictatorships, these you know, communist nations that have zero, zero tolerance whatsoever for dissent, that when we see these brave and courageous people taking to the streets, it is worth our time, our commentary, right, and our solidarity to uplift these stories, particularly when we

know the danger that they are facing. In our minds, we can't even grapple with what happens to people that are caught in places like Russia, like Iran, like China for speaking out against their government and just know that in doing so here right like the ability for me to have shows where I can wag a finger and talk about this country's inability to live up to its

creative liberty and justice for all. It is a privilege for us to be able to be on social media and share our anger and our rage and our frustration. It is a privilege that can easily be taken away because that is what the Republican Party as they look at these authoritarian regimes, that's what they want. They don't want democracy and the ability to vote and the ability

to organize and protest and demand better. They want us just to shut the fuck up, keep our heads down, work right, and just be concerned with our little peace right of the scraps that they give us. So when we protest, when we are fighting, it is so that we preserve our ability to have liberty ish in this country, and doing so when we know that other people would be killed for it. I couldn't be in Russia or China or Iran because I am black, because I am queer,

and because I am a political commentator. That is a privilege I have in this country that I would not have in other places. So I just I don't want us to look at these games and to look at what is happening in China, and look at what is happening on the streets of Iran and not recognize the power and the courage and the bravery that these women, these people are showing. It is worth our time and attention to continue to lift it up on whatever platforms

it is that we have. Coming up next, folks, on my continued conversations with young queer people. Again, you know, I say this because in other countries, in other countries, it is not okay to be gay, it is not okay to be non binary. It's not okay to be

trans It's barely okay here. But here we've come to a place where schools still have GSAs, where there are clubs and organizations and safe spaces that are created for young queer people not to feel alone, and It Gets Better project continues to lift up LGBTQ youth so that we don't see the rash of suicides that we did in the early two thousands that sparked that It Gets

Better project. And so I'm just so grateful for these young people to come on to woke a F to talk about what it is like to be in high school right now, what it is like to be out in Red States as a young person, and the support that they get or don't get, and what they think about being used as a political football. So today I sit down with ray Sweet Sandoval to discuss more on why It Gets Better project is important, why it is necessary, and why it is something that we should not take

for granted. Ever, that conversation is coming up next, folks. I'm really excited to welcome to will Gate f for the first time to round out our conversations that we've been having with a youth, Queer youth that attended the Youth Summit that is hosted by the It Gets Better Project, and so now I have the delightful pleasure of speaking with Ray Sweet Sandoval, who is the education coordinator at the It Gets Better Project and heads the It Gets

Better Youth Voices Program. Ray, um one, thank you so much for for making the time to join woke. Ass Um. The first question I want to ask you is about the Youth Summit, and UM, you know, give us a little bit of background about the summit, about how the young people come together, UM, and what what happens while they're that they're all together. Yeah. Absolutely, and thank you so much for having me, Um, for having us, UM, I'm really excited. UM. Yeah, the the this was the

first youth summit that we've had. UM. The Youth Voice program is actually fairly new. UM. We started in during Pride of twenty twenty and UM it's really like grown since then. UM. And we've been working with you know, a group of anywhere between like five to thirteen kids for a full year, really just working with them to help share their voice on issues and topics that are

important to them. And we just knew we wanted to bring them all together because they're from all across the US and they, like some of them, have never met another queer young person or a queer adult, and there's so much we can do online, and there's so much that we've been doing online, but there's also only so much that you can do online, and so it was just really exciting for us to bring them all into

the same space. And really the goal was to there's this quote by ed Adrian Marie Brown that I love and we love them, but this quote that it goes something like, there's a conversation in the room that only these people can have right now. Find it And that was like kind of my mindset going into the summit and creating these summit was, let's create a space where

it is so unique and it is so special. That is like centering and uplifting and focusing on these queer young people and having them find the conversations that they that they need to have, And it was really it was really special, and I think we did that. What are some of the conversations that the young people were

having together? What was top of mind? I mean, there was a lot, there was a lot of conversations that we had um but some of the ones that really like stood out to me were we had a lot of conversations around shared identities and shared passions and shared experiences, but in a way that like, some of them have these shared identities or there's these shared experiences, but they have very different perspectives on them or very different experiences

within those. One of the conversations that I found really interesting was the conversations around religion, because a lot of them grew up in very religious households and some of them are religious, some of them aren't, And that was just a really I don't know, just such an interesting conversation for these young people to have and just to

be so open and vulnerable about. We also talked a lot about perceptions, especially as like trans young people, like how they're perceived in the world and how they navigate that. And a lot of them are non binary or trans, and they just have so many different experiences even though they share that identity. So I just, yeah, a lot of really interesting conversations around identities and their different experiences

within those identities. You know, I often Ray talk about on Woke a f being black and queer myself and but recognizing what a challenge is now nowadays. When I was growing up, you know, while don't ask, don't tell was considered a celebration, I was considered something good that was happening. It's just like, great gay people exist, just don't talk about it, don't say anything. And now we're back in that space as you you know, know about legislation that has rolled out in Florida and in Texas.

How do the young people that you work with, how do they internalize that? What do they think about these don't say gay bills and books being banned? I'll say what, from what I've noticed, there's two reactions. One is, well, that's a generalization, but what has stood out is rage, just complete anger and yeah, just being fed up and

like rightfully so. And then the other reaction is exhaustion, Like these kids just want to be kids and the fact that they are put in these positions to have to think about, you know, all of these politics and all of like being used as political pawns, and they just want to live and they just want to live authentically, and they just want to love who they want to love, and they want to be who they want to be.

And it's honestly, just like it's not that like it's not like I think, um, one of these voices mentioned like it's not that out there, like it's not wild to like be this, But the way that society and the politics treats them, it's difficult to navigate, and they're exhausted and they just they just want to they just want to be and there's a lot of burnout, especially

as young activists. I mean, they're very, very involved in a lot of activist spaces and it can just be so exhausting, especially you're just trying to be a young person. You're just trying to you're just trying to exist. Yeah, and so those are kind of the ways that they've been internalizing it. One of the things that I talk to a lot of people about is the emotional and spiritual safety of young people in this time. And so, as the education coordinator, how do you talk about mental health?

What kind of tools and advice you know, do give the young people that are a part of the It Gets Better project, but also just in general who may be listening, you know to this episode. Now, what advice do you have for them in order to take care of them themselves in the face of so much vitriol? Yeah,

That's a really good question. It's something that we're always trying to navigate, UM, because so much of this work is deeply personal and you give a lot of yourself to this work of sharing your story and being vulnerable with a large audience. That's that's a huge part of

this work. And the biggest thing that we really like stick to is like it's it's it comes down to consent, Like what are you consenting to give to this platform, Like what do you UM, what energy do you have, and just checking in and like being human about it and just saying like if you are exhausted and you don't have the energy to like speak on this topic,

you don't have to. And just but if you are energized and you're and you're either feeling very passionate or or full of rage or whatever it is, if you're feeling those emotions and you need a place to let it out, like we want this to be a space for that. UM. But really like really leaning into UM giving what you want to give, and also just like leaning into the community of it all UM. You know, the youth voices We meet twice a month over zoom UM and a part of it is a collaborative space

of how can we better amplify their voices? And then another part of it is just checking in how are you doing? How is school? How are called applications? Going?

Um and just being in community together. UM. Another resource that it Gets Better has actually um been been a part of is imy um i am I, which is a digital mental health tool where young people can you know, just kind of go through it, spend like five minutes or something in there and um they you know, you can go through these activities of like you know, breaking down your gender identity or like exploring pronouns or you

know doing breath breath breathwork for for anxiety or stress. UM. So imy is like the best resource that I can shout out when it comes to mental health. Definitely, Oh well, I'll definitely have to put that in the notes of the of the show so that people can check that out right just with the you know, a couple of that with the minute that we have left for people that want to get involved in the It Gets Better project. Because you all have done such amazing work, you continue

to do such amazing work. How can either lgbtq I A adults or allies get involved. It Gets Better is really all about storytelling and so engaging with those stories, like that's the best way to get involved is going into our our YouTube channel, our Twitch channel and watching these stories, sharing these stories. But we've also have a

lot of resources around the stories. As the education coordinator, I'm really excited about our EEDU Guides, which is like fully fleshed out lesson plans that educators or GSA leads can like bring into a classroom, bring into a club, and it gives you, you know, a guide on how to introduce these stories in those settings. There's a lot

of like fun activities to do around them. There's discussions that you can have around them, so like just taking it that step further, and it's also just a way to open up a space to have those conversations to begin with. So yeah, definitely just engaging in the stories and UM and talking to young people about the stories and how they feel and what they resonate with. Ray, thank you so much for making the time to join woke app and thank you for the work that you're

doing with it Better it Gets Better projects. I always have such issues saying that, UM, and just thank you for introducing us to these wonderful youth voices that we've had the opportunity to share with our audience. Really appreciate you. Thank you so much for having us. It was an honor and I'm just I am so appreciative of you giving your platform to the young people that we work with. I'm excited for people to hear what they had to say. Absolutely,

thank you. That is it for me today. Dear friends on Woke app as always, power to the people and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck.