The Silent Pandemic

It is really challenging right now, and I want folks to like, really understand how and challenging isn't even the right word. It is so dehumanizing, so cruel, so hateful. So discuss what is happening in the state of Florida at the hands of Rond de Santis, who is doing his best to try and show what an alpha dog he is by attacking the most vulnerable community among us. Within the LGBTQ community, which I am a proud member of,

have been out for a very, very long time. But your status of being out or in is not about anything other than safety, right. I have fortunately been able to live and existence in environments and communities and family that have been supportive and loving I have never had any adverse treatment for being queer that I know of, and that is so not the case for a majority

of people. My experience is not the majority of LGBTQ people's experience, and it's certainly not the majority of trans people's experience, particularly black trans people and trans people of color. And when I think about the attacks, when I think about how hard it is just in general right to come out, to live your truth, to live inside of your body, right, And all you're asking for, all you're asking for is dignity, right, All you're asking for is

to be treated with dignity and respect. Like, and I continue to ask, like, why is that so fucking hard? And the thing that I want from reporters? Right? But of course Ronda Santis is too much of chicken shit to actually take any questions from reporters, right. He only he only creates a comfortable environment for himself where he surrounds himself with people that are just yes, men and women and who not in small and he can't take

any any adverse comments or treatment. Like right now, that motherfucker finds himself on a tour de fource, apparently in New Hampshire and NBC News has reported that guess who's not taking any questions from reporters, just going up and shaking the hands of people who already like him and are excited to see him, but won't take questions from reporters. Right.

And the funny thing is is that Ron DeSantis has been able to govern inside of this hateful bubble that he has created in Florida, but he has no idea about how the rest of the country actually feels about what is happening in Florida, those that aren't part of

the LGBTQ community, those that aren't black, or Jewish or Asian. Right, And you know, when I see the fact that he is making all of these cruel, vicious, hateful policies and just passing them one right after the other, even if reporters aren't able to ask him the direct question, they should be writing about it. What is the trans community

ever done except ask for dignity and respect? Why are you so afraid of people who don't want to exist inside of this false, fictional binary that was created only to really ultimately control women and give men sis men the ability to continually dominate. That's all this is about. It's about power. And so what does the trans community offer and represent. It is bodily autonomy, right, That's what

it is. And you can already see with the Republican policies to roll back abortion in this country that they want total and absolute control over womb, right over people. It isn't about the fucking kids. They could give a fuck about kids, because if they actually, if the Republican Party actually cared about kids, then maybe they would care about ar fifteens that turn their bodies into Swiss cheese.

Maybe they would care about those parents that have to go and identify their children after mass shootings with dental records because their bodies are unrecognizable. If they cared, then maybe they would care about the growing mental health crisis that young people are in in this country, the silent pandemic that we're actually not talking about, because they're being faced with a world and an environment that is unsafe for them. The other day, I mentioned this on the show,

and I'll just bring it back up again. I had the wonderful honor of being inducted into my high school's Hall of Honors, where they celebrate and provide awards to those who have reached you know, exceptional heights in their career, and I was super honored. But one of the real honors was being able to be in a gymnasium filled

with nine through twelfth graders. Right when was the last time I was around Generation Z and Generation Alpha in a way that I'm just like in conversation, And I was talking to these young people right about, you know, what are their fears? What are their interests? And I got to tell you that my sister had joined me at the at the gymnasium at the you know, the

like the mini assembly that was held. And these kids are like, we're fourteen, fifteen years old, sixteen years old, and they're talking about fear of fresh water running out. They're talking about fear of not being able to support themselves or their families, like real economic anxiety, not that couched in racism. They're talking about climate change, they're talking about gun violence, right wanting to be successful but not

really understanding what that success looks like. I asked what path these young people wanted to take, you know, were they interested in going to college show me your hands, you know, or were they interested in a vocation? And I'll tell you that, you know, damn near thirty close to thirty over twenty five years ago, when I was in high school, if somebody had asked, if an adult had asked how many of you were going to college right or interested in going to college, every single hand

would have gone up. Not even half of the hands went up. And when I asked, you know, just interested judging, but like why, they're like, why the debt? You know, when we could get out and start making money now, because it was like this real attachment to wanting to make money and needing to make money. Why Because they're listening to how their families are struggling right now, how

expensive everything has become. And so when I'm in this room filled with these kids, I'm thinking myself, Wow, older generations have really fucking failed. It's like absolutely spectacularly failed. When fifteen year olds today are going to be so much worse off than fifteen year olds of ten and twenty years ago. So for the first time, right, younger generations are worse off than the generations that preceded them.

They're in more debt, they're going to experience write all of the repercussions of climate denial, They're going to experience the economic severe economic disparities right on top of you know, are crumbling democracy and the fact that there are people that are running for the presidency right now and the Republican Party that want to take away their right to vote until they're twenty five years old because they don't want to have to answer to this younger generation that

is so much more equipped and educated and technologically advanced than any other generation that preceded them. And So when I think about why Ron DeSantis is making the kind of attacks that he is against trans youth and the LGBTQ community, why because they we represent free thinking and Generation Z and Generation Alpha don't really give a fuck right about people's sexual orientation or gender identity. More of them identify with they then pronouns than any other generation.

And that scares the hell out of Republicans. And so what do right, what do they do? They turn their fear into hateful policy to try and silence a generation of people that has critical thought right, that has questions about why we have all just been going along for the get along when it comes to capitalism, Why we've all been going along for the get along when it comes to patriarchy and misogyny, Why you go into different stores and there aren't just clothes, but they are clothes

that are specific genders. And if you move outside of that, then there are headlines and conversations and bands and this, that and the other thing. This younger generation Gen Z, they and Gen Alpha they are probably the most queer. And I don't mean queer necessarily in their sexual orientation or identity. I mean queer in terms of queering the norm,

moving and thinking outside of the box. Right, not proceeding in this linear way of being and not right, not connecting with bullshit hierarchy just for the sake of hierarchy. You know. There are so many memes and I have posted them, and some of them are really and TikTok

videos about the real difference in ideological makeup of the generations. Right, if you go on TikTok and you look at like, you know, the boomers versus you know, Gen X versus millennials versus Gen Z and so on and so forth, and how older people really view Gen Z is like, oh, they don't want to work, right, And I've said it. I've said it too. Oh they don't want to work. No, no, no, they don't want to work, Like we did like we do right. They want their work to be of purpose.

They don't want to just succumb and fall in line to hierarchical thinking just for the sake of somebody said because I told you so. They're the ones that are going to continually ask why why are we doing things this way? Why is this functioning like this, and then decide whether or not they actually want to take part

or just op the fuck out. You See, when I was entering into the workforce, as I'm sure many of you were, it was, you know, you kiss the ring, You keep your head down, you keep quiet, you soak up as much information as you can. If your bosses are abusive, you just deal with it, because that's part of what it means to quote unquote grow up. If you get screamed at, if you get demeaned, right like,

that's all just par for the course. Except these younger generations are now growing up in a way where we have created laws and policies around mistreatment right where we have openly discussed and you have entire departments in companies and organizations that are created about having inclusivity and diversity.

And that is what the rond Descantis is of the world fucking hate because they want the ability to demean, to discriminate, to create fearful environments, to push people back into the closets, to make people fearful to speak up and exist. So he's going to defund leftist ideology. Oh, you mean progress. And the question that I want reporters to ask is, so, what is it about progress that you hate? Right? What is it about people all being able to have a voice, whether it is in their

company or their organization or in government. Why is that such a problem If each generation's job is about perfecting this union, why are you trying to roll back the clock. Why at a time when we need to be ensuring that young people who do decide to go into higher education are globally competitive. Why are you changing curriculum and only qu focusing on the quote unquote basics. The basics aren't going to get them into the middle class, let alone anything above that. So is your goal to create

just and solidify an indentured class, right? Like, these are the real questions, because you see, we get very distracted with the hate, right, We get very distracted with the banning of drag shows and the banning of trans youth from participating in sports, right, and all of these things, but we're not getting to the they're there, and that they're there is about control, because so long as you can create an environment of fear and hopelessness and despair,

those people are easier to control. Because you see what's happening in Florida is that those that can actually afford right to pick up their entire lives are leaving the state. Right. Those that are left behind are going to be the ones that are the most endangered. What kind of education

are they going to receive? And this is why I appreciate and I have lifted this up Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, and what he is pushing back against with the textbooks, the textbook publishing companies that are folding to Ron de Santis and to Greg Abbott and changing curriculum. Well, guess what, there isn't a plethora of fucking textbook publishers

in the country. So if Florida decides that, oh, we're not going to talk about slavery, we're not going to talk about the suffragist movement, we're not going to talk about unions, and we're going to take all of that out of the history books. Well, that isn't just about the lack of education that is going to be happening in Florida because those books are sent all around the country.

And what Gavin Newsom is saying, and frankly, what the fuck Kathy Hopel should be saying in New York the governors of the two most populous states, is like, yeah, no, we're not doing that. So when I think about this Pride Month, when I think about what a difficult situation, what a dangerous situation. So many queer people are in around this country. And look, you know, folks, I know that it's very easy for those of us who live currently in safe zones to say, well, people should just move.

How would you feel having to pick up your entire life and just move and start over again when generations of your family have lived in one state in area where that's where your family is, that's where you went to school, that's where you've laid down roots, and now you're just going to uproot yourself and go and start

over again. And look, we've seen this happen in this country with the great migration over the course of a decade plus, with black people fleeing Black Americans fleeing the South and spreading out into the North and Midwest where there was just a little less racism. You know, maybe they wouldn't have a burning cross on their lawn, maybe they wouldn't have to be fearful of being lynched each

and every day that they left their homes. We saw it with the Holocaust and people fleeing, spreading out all over Europe and coming to the United States. So there have absolutely been so many situations where you're talking about Syrian refugees, Ukrainian refugees, right. There have always been times in political climates and moments that have forced people from their homes. To think about the fact that that is happening inside of the United States, with people needing to

flee Florida. I want us to wrap our minds around that reality because that is where we are. So this Friday, I say fuck it to all of the inhumane, horrendous, cruel policies that are becoming law all over this country. And the fact is that we cannot wait until we are the ones that are affected before we actually do something about it, because there are young people that are depending on us, frankly, because they don't have the right to vote yet, and yet the decisions that are being

made right now are going to affect their futures. So the question is what are we all going to do about that? That is it for me today, dear friends, on wokef and as always, on this fucket Friday. If you are a Patreon member, do tell me in the comment section who and what you are saying fucking to this Friday, and for everyone else, hit me up in the socials at D two cent D E two c E n T S. As always, power to the people and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck.