It Could Happen Here - Remembering Year One of The Death of Roe Part 2

Episode Date: June 23, 2023

In part 2 of Mia's interview with Crystal about the one year anniversary of Dobbs, we track how the war against abortion has spread through the healthcare sector as a whole and how the strategies and tactics the right learned were used to attack trans healthcare. Abortion Squad Abortion Funds Valley Abortion Group Fund Repro Worker Aid Fund Austin Women's Health Center FundSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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on the board of an, of a, of a Jesus Christ. You want to start over? Yeah. Okay. Sorry. Sorry. I probably shouldn't have said that. No, no, no, no, no. This is, this is entirely my fault because we've been doing so much bail fund stuff that. I mean, they're both good. Yeah. It was like, when my brain thinks fun, it just goes to, it just goes to bail fund now. All mean they're both good yeah it's like when my brain thinks fun it just goes to it just goes to bail fund now all things that are good yeah abortion funds that one you know we could just leave that in screw it you know fuck it we'll we'll leave we'll leave me doing that in yeah oh do it live uh rip in hell, if you said that. Yeah. Yeah. Crystal, welcome back. Yeah. Glad to be talking to you again. Love suffering. I love talking about pain and suffering and also the good work that we are doing to mitigate it, but also pain and suffering. Yeah. So I guess, yeah, I think we should start with sort of, I don't know if framing it as a contagion is the right way to do it. I think it's probably not. But the way that sort of the ripple – where the sort of ripples of the sort of anti-abortion movements advance have been going?

the sort of anti-Bush movement's advance have been going? Yeah, because, you know, if we're talking about, you know, it's been a year since the Dobbs decision and Roe v. Wade was overturned, you know, what does that mean? What does that imply? What have been the, what has been kind of like the aftermath of that? The one thing is that, you know, the strategies to get to that point worked. And I really hate saying like in in terms of they won or we lost because we're in America.

We're all losing. Yeah. We're all losing here except for the fascists. But we're seeing a lot of bad things happening because of the Dobbs decision. And those strategies worked in our current political environment to get us to that point. And I mentioned before, death by a thousand cuts is kind of like one of the ways in which you can describe the strategies. Like nonstop bans, nonstop restrictions, just a constant onslaught. Non-stop bans, non-stop restrictions, just a constant onslaught. Basically, bans that are – they're copycat legislation. They're being pumped out. People can just literally plug in the templates and share them, and it can be applied to a number of different things in different states and copycat legislation. So it worked. And we're where we are because that strategy worked and did not get enough resistance. Not enough was done to combat that strategy on the left with Democrats. And it immediately spread to the next autonomy-based issue.

And not saying that it didn't start before that, because these fascists have been going after all kinds of issues of autonomy for decades, abortion being one of them, prison abolition being one of them, and then also trans healthcare. And just LGBT in general, but specifically trans healthcare that we, you know, LGBT in general, but like specifically trans healthcare that we have been seeing. We are seeing a lot of the same restrictions and bans spreading to that very quickly, like faster than I, I mean, like I knew things were bad. You would think that I would just like, you know, expect the worst, but like, I, I didn't think that we would see the legislation for the anti-trans health, uh, healthcare and gender affirming services legislation move as fast as it has.

Like I should have, and I didn't, and it's been incredibly fast. Um, and, and it feels so similar and I don't even want to say it feels similar. It is. It's when I, when I'm seeing it happen, I'm like, this is the same thing. They're using trap laws, which are laws that target actual providers. I mean, I guess you can't really call them trap laws because abortion provider is in that.

There's the whole trap thing, which we're not going to get into. We've done that in other episodes. They're called trap laws in abortion services. But yeah. But it's the same like type of of restrictions and bans and we're seeing them spread to to um those kind of health care services so it's impacting other types of health care services and it's i and i'm seeing a lot of the same legal back and forth where it's like, oh, this law went into effect, like, for example, in Florida.

And, oh, now it's being challenged in court. So it's not being – it's not enforced right now. So it kind of goes back to the way it does before, which, I mean, it's always good to see a restriction temporarily paused and a ban temporarily paused because that relief is needed. I see that in abortion care. When there is a ban that is temporarily reversed by the courts, it is like, thank God. I'm so happy. We get some relief. We can see people for their healthcare services tomorrow. However, that back and forth is incredibly confusing and creates confusion and chaos on a mass scale. Because it's like, can I access these services? Can I not access these services?

Can I get these services in the state? Do I have to travel out of state? It's more than the individual can keep up with. And confusion is the point. So like when I'm seeing some of these bans related to trans health services, I'm like, okay, you know, I'm glad that I'm pretty sure, I have to admit, I have not read the news in the last couple of days. So I don't know if this has been walked back, but it seems like Florida has some relief right now. But I just know what that mass confusion looks like for individuals and i'm like this is so

similar oh my god this is this is the same type of fight this is the same fight and i and i think you know because like this is also another thing with the media is just just like active accomplices like this is this is a kind of thing where like it is really easy to look at this and go like they're doing this on purpose they can generate fucking horror stories which i don't think is why they're doing it i think they're doing it because they're transphobes but you know like one of the one of the things that's very that's just fucking awful about this stuff is that like the the people who are reporting on this don't understand how these laws work and so you know like i mean like this is my job right like i cover this for a living and i will read a report about something and i can't tell what the law does

because the person writing the fucking the there's the stupid ass journalist who they've hired who like have never talked to a trans person in their life and, like, are only tangentially aware of what the law is. Like, the concept of the law is something they were introduced to two years ago. Like, they don't fucking know what these bills do, right? So you have to, like, go actually read the bill,

but that doesn't help because, you know, this is, yeah, this is, I think, a very similar strategy of, like, there's this way in which, like, constant onslaught, constant sort of confusion, constant terror, looked like and you know we know how that ended it didn't work and it's not going to work with trans rights either and you know and I think

something that like we're going to see more of as you know because like some of these bans will be struck down but you know you're going to get the abortion thing where it's like okay so you like one ban gets struck down so they pass another one then you just keep passing them until they can find one that their fucking judges will maintain yeah they they like reintroduce bills that are like practically the same thing but like slightly different yeah and they just like retry stuff

after doing like political shenanigans and and i and we're still we're still doing the the legal back and forth approach in abortion care. It's still the same thing. It hasn't changed. And seeing that also happen, it's like, well, people need health care now. With abortion care and trans health care, it's like you need that health care when you need it. Like right now, today, tomorrow. And when there is confusion and this – because the courts take forever and it changes a lot and it's confusing when you see the news stories like you were saying. So it's interfering and lowering the quality of accessing – like lowering the quality of that healthcare and accessing that healthcare, like the experience of accessing that healthcare now, like today.

now, like today. And it's, it's cumulative because like you, you, you lose the ability to keep track of what you have the right to do and what you don't. And, and these are, these are the same, like they're issues of controlling your life and your body, um, and of privacy as well. You know, your ability, it's like your business, it's your body. Your ability, it's like your business, it's your body. And the state is getting in the way and it hurts so much to see this happening to even more people because it's hard enough watching what happens to people who need abortions and seeing what they go through and then having to see even more people who are also trying to access health care to help them have control over their lives and their bodies. Also having that impeded and taken away from them with a different type of health care and seeing that is just like, oh my God. Not only were we able, we were not able to maintain these services in this country, and we're also seeing it happen to another type of healthcare. And another thing, too, is, like, abortion providers are also trans healthcare providers. Yeah. It's, like, body stuff.

It's, like, you know, like, it's, they're, like, often the same building. Yeah, like, Planned Parenthood does both yeah people who get hormones through Planned Parenthood because and a lot of independent clinics too a lot of independent abortion providers also provide trans health care as well um and gender hormones uh gender hormone I keep saying gender hormone even though that doesn't make any sense why do i keep saying but hormone therapy services and gender for me i feel like i'm like combining those together but um um they offer both yeah but but that also means that like if you if you knock out a clinic for like for one of the reasons you've also knocked out the services for everyone else too right so like it's you know and

i think this is something that's very important about the way the right sees is that the right sees this as the same fight very clearly and that i don't know i mean i i think i think in terms of the people who actually do organizing i think it's it like it's understood that it is the same fight but i don't think it is as much in the general public even though the, for the people you're fighting against, they are, you know, incredibly, like, viscerally and disturbingly clear about, like, what they want to do and about the fact that, you know, like, destroying people's autonomies and using the state to take control of, I mean, just like literally physically take control of their bodies and define what they are, which is something they do. Like, you know what I mean?

This is the thing that's been happening in these anti-trans bills too, is like, they've been like, like legally defining what a woman is by like reproductive apparatuses and stuff like that. Yeah. And that, that's disgusting. And it makes me feel just like disgusted as like, just like seeing that.

Cause like, I feel like I don't even like fit some of the criteria that as a cis woman, I feel like it's like, and I'm just like, oh my God. And we're also like, we're punishing people for not having like perfect health and like perfect pregnancies and being born into the body that you know like people are being punished for not being the ideal because like um and i've asked i've like stupidly asked this out loud where i'm like you know i i've asked out loud, why are these bans so restrictive where people who are pregnant and, you know, like they're just not having a perfect pregnancy, like there are complications, like which, which happened and they're like being punished for

not having the perfect pregnancy by these laws, like these abortion restrictions. And I'm like, why would they do that? Like, why, like, how can you not know that pregnancies go wrong? And how would you not know that? And then somebody said to me, they were like, well, you know, like Eve was punished with the ability to, with dangerous pregnancies. Like if you look at their religion, like it was a punishment. So I'm like, yeah, like they're, they just believe we should be punished, like punished for not being born in a right body, not having the perfect pregnancy, not wanting a pregnancy. You're being punished for not inhabiting the ideal because they believe that it's a punishment.

I'm trying to think of the word, like naturally, intrinsically or something. I don't know. And I don't subscribe to that ideology, but it's being forced on us. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, I think there's this way in which people have people have this tendency to conceive of like neoliberalism, right? Specifically as this thing that's about like the retreat, the retreat of state power. And that's never been what it is.

Right. What like, you know, if you look at what neoliberalism actually looks like, it's fucking abortion bans. Right. Like the people who are pushing that are the people who pushed Reagan into office. Like, you know, if you look at what neoliberalism actually looks like, it's fucking abortion bans, right? Like, the people who are pushing that are the people who pushed Reagan into office. The actual point of the state in neoliberalism, and this is one that's incredibly compatible with the sort of religious fascists that they allied themselves with in order to come into power, right? The way that's actually manifested is just through the state directly taking control of your body because you know like people people aren't actually fucking natural market subjects they're not like a woman is not as as these like stupid assholes always insist is like oh it's someone who gives birth like no that's just like not true it's not true it's not and so and because

it's not right but people because that's the image that they have to like force you into the only way they can do that is by using state violence to physically take control of your body and shape you into the thing that they think you are. Yep. Yep. And none of this stuff is siloed. Pregnancy is related to abortion care. It's related to just like trans care is embedded in all of that as well. Trans people get pregnant and have abortions. And also in terms of hormone therapy, people besides trans people need hormone therapy as well. Like none of these things are a silo by themselves. Like they're all kind of

embedded together. And the effect of that is that it's kind of become impossible to be a doctor and a healthcare provider for a lot of these services because they're so entwined. And because like, you know, we all, we have our bodies and like our bodies aren't in separate containers. Our body parts aren't in separate containers. Like they're all like, we're like all connected, like it's all connected and you can't really have one without the other. And now we're seeing doctors who can't safely do what they have to do, like provide like the healthcare

to like appropriate medical standards within these laws that exist. So you see doctors who are like, wow, I can't actually perform the healthcare that I need to perform without potentially losing my license. So I'm just going to leave the state. So you see a lot of doctors, there's been a lot of news stories about doctors, particularly the ones that I've seen. I'm sure that there's other types of doctors too, but like obstetricians and ob-gyns who are leaving states because they cannot safely practice the medicine as it's as you know as science and medicine wants them to um you know like without risking losing

their license so they're just leaving and these are states that need those doctors i mean there's a lot that can be said about maternal and infant mortality rates in the united states so the fact that you have ob-gyn's like fleeing states and and and and i'm sure these are states that need those doctors and have low standard um like low uh or have just like low quality um uh outcomes or like bad outcomes when it comes to uh maternal and infant mortality and you're seeing this and it's like, well, this is just making all kinds of healthcare worse. Like it's becoming less safe to just be pregnant in general, even if you are carrying and delivering a pregnancy in these states. And I'm sure that you're going to see this also happen because of these trans healthcare bans,

is that you're going to see doctors fleeing in areas in which those doctors are needed because they are at risk of losing their license and not being able to practice um yeah and another thing i think that's very similar between these two things it's like there's just not that you know we've talked about this more broadly like in a lot of the in a lot of the coverage i've done on the show about labor stuff my healthcare labor is that like just everywhere even even in even in sectors where like there's no there's no sort of legal threat right there's just massive labor shortages because these these for these for-profit health care companies are you know don't want to fucking bring in another person on a shift because that costed more money and that's less money than they

can pocket and you know and yeah and and and both both abortion services and trans health care are fields with i mean there are just there's just not that many people like they're just like the the the numbers are so small that like like i can i can ask my friends and they know like every provider in the city yep oh yeah it's and it's like two providers yeah like two abortion providers like two places to get hormones it's like and this and again this is in place like i live in chicago right this is a place where it's like it's pretty easy to get hormones right compared to i mean this is this is like comparatively yeah i want to say but i mean like like genuinely like this is a this is a thing we you know this is like if you want to get like look

at other parallels right this is like chicago has always been i mean not always but for i mean like half a century probably longer than that has been a place where people like trans people from around the country particularly from the south have like uprooted their lives and fled to because it was a place where you could actually get care and you know but like but even here it's fucking hard as shit like yeah it's it's really hard and you know and a lot like the like like my one of the local clinics has been on strike for months and months and months because they're uh the place that they work for like slashed a bunch of services and so and this like this this kind of struggle is you know like this is this is the thing that's happening in places where it's – even where it's legal.

And then suddenly the state bans it. And suddenly people are leaving the field. People are leaving states. It becomes even harder. The services that already exist get just even more overtaxed. It's the exact same collapse just rippling through the entire sector. And none of these jobs pay a lot either like they pay like shit yeah like i i just in general like i'm sure like i'm not citing a

specific job but i'm sure that there are abortion providers like who are like medical assistants and hormone therapy like medical assistants that are making like 15 bucks an hour, which is ridiculous considering you're also being threatened with violence. You're also having to deal with patients who, who are also experiencing the same national health crisis that you are. Like you're, you're experiencing it together. Like this is something like, it's not like, Oh, I'm suffering by myself as a worker or oh these patients are suffering as individual i mean they are suffering as individual but you know like they're not suffering alone as individuals they're experiencing

like the same sort of like um um grief as like a lot of the other people who are accessing the same services as them and it's like while we were all in this sinking boat together. Yeah. And it's so hard to recruit into these roles. So, like, we need more abortion care and trans health providers. And it's hard to get people to commit to that when you can't live on that. And you can't sustain that like you can't stay in that job and keep doing it for years when you're literally being like you're you're you're being traumatized um you're experiencing suffering you're witnessing suffering i mean you're getting killed like that that that's a real thing that happens to and threatened yeah like

just like like violent threats are something that um both types of health services have in common now, which is so depressing. But we're all being threatened by the right and by fascists. Like I try to like – sometimes it's like the right conservatives. I'm like they're fascists. It's fascism. It's literally – like a lot of the people like to show up to this stuff. It's like literally the same groups of Proud Boys who show up to like different things over and over again and they get relabeled by the media as like concerned parents or like Christian outreach groups depending on like what thing they're at. It's like, OK, these – no.

Like these are fascists who tried to overthrow the government and seize power like this this was three years ago like come on yeah i was like these are people who are actively they are ruining the lives of my loved ones and people in my community like my neighbors like they are ruining my and my neighbor's lives like actively in ways that are just getting worse. So it is one fight. I really want everyone to realize that. I feel like it is being realized more and more now. Yeah. But, you know, the more people who learn it, the better.

The more people who learn it, the better. And the ways in which just, I just feel like the Dobbs decision and the overturn of Roe v. Wade meant more than just people couldn't get abortions. I think it's just the destruction of healthcare in general in this country. Um, and it, it, it was, it, it turned it into like, just like a mad dash to do the exact same thing to, um, health services that trans people need. Yeah. So fun. Welcome. I'm Danny Thrill. Won't you join me at the fire and dare enter?

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or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it. Hey, I'm Jacqueline Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. I'm Jack Peace Thomas, and I'm inviting you to join me and a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts dedicated to protecting and celebrating our stories. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands, for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry,

we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Together, we'll dissect classics and contemporary works while uncovering the stories of the brilliant writers behind them. Blacklit is here to amplify the voices of Black writers and to bring their words to life. Listen to Blacklit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. another one of the the parts of this fight and i think the part of this fight that is the least popular in terms of like who will actually back you which is both like health care workers both doing abortion care and twittering trans health care fighting what is essentially like a three-way war where they are,

they are under assault from the right and from the state who are trying to criminalize the healthcare that they provide and, you know, directly target them through trap laws and through, I don't, we need to figure out another name for the version of the anti-trans laws, but, you know, so they're being specifically targeted by the state. And then they're also fighting a conflict with their own employers. And whether that's whether that's private health care providers or that's NGOs who are, you know, don't want to pay them shit. all of this fucking money into paying somebody's fucking dipshit cousin like three hundred thousand dollars a year to be like the vice executive director of like policy marketing or something

and yeah and and the way the way in which you know this this is this has turned into a union struggle that is deeply like it kind of in a lot of ways deeply unpopular among liberals because they just don't they don't see like health care providers as workers yeah it it has been such a strange experience union organizing and and and contract negotiating during a national health crisis. And after the fall of Roe v. Wade, it was so like, you know, Roe v. Wade is overturned and we got to go to the bargaining table and ask for money. And it's, it's, it's definitely, it's, it's, it's really hard, um, because the stress is so compounded for all of the workers. Um, Stress is so compounded for all of the workers.

And I've had peers in the community, in the abortion providing and abortion advocacy community say things like, you expect a snake to be a snake. You know that the right is going to attack you and the fascists are going to do whatever they can to take away your right to autonomy and privacy. But it hurts a lot more. Personally, I think it hurts so much more. And it's been so painful in the last year to see the ways in which the people on our side, the people who have the same goals as us, ultimately, of like, we want people to have abortions and we want people to access healthcare and they are to have them hurt you. Yeah. Yeah. Because like, they're not supposed to be snakes and it hurts. It hurts a lot more. And a lot of the same people don't, I feel like they're the same kind of folks who didn't understand the immediacy of needing to protect because so you know lgbt i feel like we we we should have gone harder for the t you know like all these years like how long has

we have we had the acronym lgbt and like and it's like this whole time it's like we like we we could have seen this coming we we should have we it was like it clearly was like the same with roe v wade where it's like they are coming for Roe v. Wade. This is coming. We could have done so much more to prepare. And I feel like in a lot of the same way, the same people who are like devaluing the labor, who didn't do enough to protect abortion services are the same people who didn't do enough to protect just like trans people in general. Yeah, and I think there's definitely a sort of expendability thing there too, right? And I think there's definitely a sort of expendability thing there too, right? I mean, this is something that very explicitly in the 2000s, like the sort of – I don't know what the technical term for them is, but like big gay.

Big abortion and big gay. Yeah. Big gay abortion. The big sort of like LGBTQ like NGOs, right? You're like human rights campaign, like groups like that. Very explicitly made a decision in the 2000s where they were like, okay, we're going to drop our demands for stuff like trans healthcare and trans recognition in order to sort of build a broader base to get like gay marriage and shit and that was very supposed decision that they made and you know and it worked for them right like yeah like we got gay marriage right well we didn't we didn't actually we got through the fucking courts not through like the legal process right and it took ages too but like yeah but like that was you know

and like they they eventually sort of came back around and were like we're trans allies but then you know all of the shit was happening i mean this has been going on since like 20 like 2016 right is like the first bit like the first bathroom bills start and you know i mean it was over half a decade where things could have been done and they just weren't and you know like it's it's the it's the same thing like like people just get used as like like people's health just gets in their bodies get used as bargaining chips yep and i feel like in these all of these situations that we're talking about it's it's not looking out for the most vulnerable because um so if you're talking about, you know, healthcare and I don't want to say women's rights. I mean, it used to be women's rights and then now it's just like, you know, like abortion access and you're not looking like who needs this the most and you're not looking out

for the most vulnerable. And part of that, part of it in terms of abortion services is the compromising, you know, compromising on bans. like, oh, a 15 week abortion ban is reasonable. No, it's not. No abortion ban is reasonable, but so that's what the abortion services. And then with, um, with the fight for queer liberation, you know, who is the most vulnerable? Well, trans people have, have been the most vulnerable and not looking out for them. And then the frontline workers, like who is the most vulnerable when it comes to people doing the, this work, providing these services, the frontline workers, the people who, who don't, who don't make much, who, you know, the people who aren't managers or CEOs. And I mean like, you know, senior management and CEOs and things like that

are, are, they're in different situations than the people who are answering the phone and scheduling and talking to the patients and taking their blood pressure and, um, and giving them their medication. And, and, uh, yeah, it's, it's just not looking out for the people in the most vulnerable situations. It, it's killing us. It's literally killing us. You have to, it's, it's just so much focus on, on the wrong things when we really should be focused on the most vulnerable all around. And I think also the extent to which all of these struggles are labor struggles, right? I mean, this is one of the things about trans healthcare, as we've talked about it that much, is that like – I think this is sort of a product of, like, the kinds of trans people who get representation. But, you know, like, I think there's a lot of people who think that, like, the average trans person is, like, a fucking tech worker in California.

And it's like, no. Like, the actual, like, median trans person, like, works at a EPS warehouse. Yep. Or, you know, is it's like a vet tech or like you know does all of this shit that you know works like just really shitty service jobs and like you know the stuff for like like i mean struggles like we're not even having because we're we've been like kicked all the way back down to like can we legally exist but like you know things like like people getting housing right like that that kind of stuff those are labor struggles the struggle for abortion

is is also labor struggle because like again like you can't fucking have abortions without workers who do the abortions like they don't they don't just magically spring fully formed from like the mind of an NGO. And also like, I mean, you need, you need labor protections in order to access healthcare. It's just a fact. Yeah. Like, you know, cause that's just yet another obstacle that patients are experiencing is getting off work. Like, Oh,

you got kids and you got to like fly to like across the country to access healthcare services and you got to recover from those healthcare services and it's like you got to have pto and like how many people don't have that yeah and it works the other way too right we're like but but like this is the thing we've been seeing with starbucks we've been seeing this at google too people trying to unionize is like having healthcare is a is a thing that your your work uses and like hangs over your head, like to control you. And this has been an explicit thing.

Like Starbucks specifically did this thing where they're like, well, if you try to unionize, like we can't guarantee you're going to have like, we're going to like get rid of your trans healthcare. Oh Jesus. Yeah. And so like,

you know, like this kind of like, you know, that that's like the, them just like dropping the mask and saying the quiet part loud. But like, you know, like people's people's access to

health care is a an enormous union busting tactic so it's like it's literally just on like on both sides of of the struggle like it is it is it is just at all levels a labor struggle and it's not thought of like that yeah and again like I know I brought up silos before in terms of like types of healthcare, but the same silos, it's kind of like a liberal, it's like liberal siloing where you're separating the issues and you can't. They're all connected, abortion care, pregnancy care, raising your families, police violence, prison abolition, families, police violence, prison abolition, trans healthcare, labor rights, unionizing, they're all connected. And we don't connect the dots enough, I think, in this country,

at least the people who have power don't. And I think the separation of these issues has really hurt us. And we're you know, safety and solidarity and all that. So if we, if every abortion care worker and abortion volunteer, abortion advocate, and, you know, queer liberation advocate, trans health advocate, just trans liberation advocate, union organizer, or union member, even if you're like working for, if you're a plumber, you know, if we all can identify that we are, it's all one fight and it's all connected, we'll be better off for it. So if we can, yeah.

And I think something that's also is really important is that like, I mean, this is historically like, you know know if you want to look at how working class movements are defeated it's you pick people off by finding something that you know like for example like like one of the ways you can sort of be a workers movement is by like that movement not dealing with the sort of rampant patriarchy in the movements and you know you can radicalize people to the right by just sort of like resort by like doing sort of misogynist politics or you can do the thing that like the you know this is this is sort of the christian democratic strategy in uh

like in europe was you know they they they recognized that the workers movements like weren't really like organizing women in any substantive way and so they you know they were able to create this massive sort of anti-communist like like center-right bulwark against like organized labor by like actually organizing women right and you know and this is something that they they sort of do everywhere which is like yeah like if if you if you aren't fighting all of these things at the same time and conceptualizing them at the same time like you will get you will get picked apart one by one in your individual struggle and your movement will collapse and die and that's really hard

and you know like the the deck has been stacked against us but that that's that's the cards that we have and yeah we have to deal with them. And to be a little bit, to look more on the positive side, because it's like, yeah, we've had our asses kicked, and we've lost so much. We have lost so much. We've lost so many of our basic human rights in this country. But abortions are still happening,

and trans health is still being provided, and there are communities looking out for people who are in need of these services and in need of safety. Because it's not just about the basic health services, but you have to be safe. Well, if you're pregnant and you need health care, you want to be safe. And then also if you're a trans um and you don't feel safe it's helpful to have those organizations there yeah exactly that's totally what i have in mind and um on the bright side like that is like those are still being like the health care is still being provided even if it has been decimated and, and, and people are having to move mountains in

order to get there. You know, abortions are happening every day. We are, I, I'm still doing, I'm still getting people abortions. Um, there are workers who are helping people, um, get the healthcare that they need, the hormones that they need. Um, and, and there are people like, you know, teaching defense and security and security and working together. And we need to continue to do this because I, you know, I am really angry and I am really just fucked in the head now because of everything that I've experienced and had to witness. And it's soul crushing. But I just keep doing it because that, it just needs to happen. Like this, people need this healthcare.

People need this information. People need to be connected, safety and solidarity. And I just, you know, we have to keep going. Like, you know, so we have to defend the workers providing these services. We have to defend people accessing these services, whether it's abortion or trans health. And we need to just keep doing it no matter how awful we feel. And, you know, this has been an incredibly hard year and I have had conversations that I never would have wanted to have ever and that are hard to carry with me. And I'm going to carry these conversations,

you know, these memories are like in my head now and I'm going to have them for the rest of my life, maybe. And they're in my head. It's happened. And I'm just really grateful for the other people doing this work and that they're there and that I'm not the only one feeling this way and that we have each other's backs and that we do have feeling this way. And that we have each other's backs. And that we do have the same fight. Knowing that we have the same fight, I'm like, that solidarity means everything right now. Because it's more than just winning or losing. Yeah, we've lost a lot. And we're continuing to lose a lot.

But we're all still here and we all still need, we still need like care. We need to take care of ourselves and each other still. So I'm going to keep doing this work. I know that other people are going to keep doing this work. And I know that there will always be help available, whether, you know, finding it is one thing, but I know that it will always be there.. Finding it is one thing, but I know that it will always be there. And I try to take solace in that because this is a collective trauma that our generation is going to see out for the rest of our lives and it's going to bleed into the next generation. And there's a lot I hope for before I die. There's a lot I hope to see, so I hope that I see it.

Welcome, I'm Danny Thrill. Won't you join me as the fire and dare enter Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows presented by iHeart and Sonora, an anthology of modern-day horror stories inspired by the legends of Latin America. From ghastly encounters with shapeshifters to bone-chilling brushes with supernatural creatures. I know you. Take a trip and experience the horrors that have haunted Latin America

since the beginning of time. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows as part of My Cultura podcast network. Available on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts. Or wherever you get your podcasts. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly.

I am talking to a felon right now. And I cannot decide if I like him or not. Those were some callers from my call-in podcast Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show. I live with my boyfriend and I found his

piss jar in our apartment. I collect my roommate's toenails and fingernails. I have very overbearing parents. Even at the age of 29, they won't let me move out of their house. So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it. Hey, I'm Jack Peace Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series,

Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of black literature i'm jack peace thomas and i'm inviting you to join me and a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts dedicated to protecting and celebrating our stories black lit is for the page turners for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Together, we'll dissect classics and contemporary works while uncovering the stories of the brilliant writers behind them. Blacklit is here to amplify the voices of Black

writers and to bring their words to life. Listen to Blacklit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. To end this on a positive note, because I know at the very beginning, I know like when we first started talking, Mia, I said we wanted to end on a positive note. So that involves me sharing the thing that cheers me up the most and that pushes all the right buttons for me. But there have been some good things in terms of abortion access in the last six months. So I want to share that. It all starts. It starts with Partners Clinic. Partners Clinic is an all-trimester clinic in Maryland, and they opened

this year. And they were doing fundraising. And first of all, they're amazing. They're an amazing team of workers, amazing abortion providers. I love Partners Clinic. I just, I could not, I cannot praise them enough. And they were fundraising to open their clinic and have everything that they need and, you know, have money for staff and everything. they need and have money for staff and everything. And it was picked up by prison culture more commonly, or that's like her online handle. A lot of people know her as prison culture, but Mariam Acaba. And she started fundraising for them. And she was able to help so much that they surpassed their goal and they opened. And now we have another all trimester abortion

clinic in the United States staffed by the most compassionate, amazing, hardworking individuals. And that cheered me up so much because I obviously love Mary Amakaba and prison abolition. I'm a prison abolitionist. So seeing her see how the issues are connected, that they go together and organizing for that on top of the work that she is already doing for abolition, I was just so happy to see that. And on the topic of all trimester abortion clinics, there is another one opening up as well. And this cheers me up immensely as well. They're called the Valley Abortion Group. They're not open yet. They're currently fundraising. I could probably send you the link to post maybe. Yeah. So they're it open in the room. Yeah. So they're not open yet, but you know, they're getting there and they're called the Valley Abortion Group. They're going to be another all trimester clinic and they're going to be located in New Mexico.

And they're, I just want to point out that their acronym is VAJ, which I just, I think is really important to point out. Hell yeah. So, you know, we saw partners open and that was amazing. And now we're going to have another one opening up and that's amazing. So, you know, love and support for Valley Abortion Group. Cause honestly, the more we need abortion clinics, period. Like we need more of them, but especially all trimester, especially now that these bands

have been pushing people further and further, um, along into the pregnancy before they can access these services. It's so important for them to exist. And on this topic, I also want to bring up that, you know, there are stories out there of people who it takes them six months to get an abortion appointment,

six months. Jesus Christ. I just want to bring that up because that's happening. Cause I know that I've said like five weeks a lot while we were talking, but like it takes some people six months. So it's really important for these all trimester abortion clinics to exist. Um, and for us and the communities, um, that we're a part of to welcome them with open arms and like big love. And also on the same topic of good news, things that cheer me up, prison abolition, abortion, um, access,

all of these good, good topics. Prison Culture, Mary Macaba is now fundraising for another abortion practical support group. And I have to mention this up because – mention this because this fundraising is happening right now. So if you go to Prison Culture's Twitter, she's like fundraising for it every single day. But she is fundraising for the Online Abortion Resource Squad. So Online Abortion Resource Squad, or OARS for short. What they are is they are an entirely volunteer organization, which is why they need to pay them for their labor. This is really important work that daily monitors, moderates, and provides quality posts on our abortion was our slash abortion. How should I read that? So basically our slash abortion. So the Reddit, the subreddit for just abortion on Reddit,

which I think that like when I immediately say that some people might not realize how important that is, but as these bands have just spread and gotten worse and the abortion access deserts have widened, it is so important for people to be able to access quality information. And a lot of people go to Reddit. Like so many people go to Reddit to find out information. So like the daily page hits for r slash abortion is just up and up and up and up. And there's a group of volunteers that donate their hours, their free time, their energy to give people the answers that they're looking for and to walk them through a process because a lot of people, you know, they want to help. So they post links. So they're like, oh, you, you're in a band state and you can't access services. So they just post a link to, I don't know, like aid access, but it's more than,

it's not that easy. Like you can't just like give somebody a link to aid access and be like, here's your abortion. No, like you need to ask questions. You need somebody to assist you, follow up questions. If something doesn't work, like, oh my God, the payment's not working. Like you need help. And, or is the online abortion resource squad. They go into our abortion every single day and they make sure that people get help. And they've been doing this labor for free. And now prison culture is helping them basically get them, get them paid, get them money, get them, get them, make it so that way they can do that. Like, you know, they don't have to, you know,

find different options for employment. You know, they don't have to struggle to get by. Like there's money sustaining them so that way they can make sure that people have their questions answered all day. And that is so important. Like, I just, I never thought, like, if you had asked me, like, seven years ago, if I thought people posting on Reddit would be life-saving, I would have totally, like, just not taken that seriously. But now I'm like, oh my God, people are flocking to Reddit every day to try to find out how to get an abortion. And there are people volunteering their time to get them quality answers and make sure that they get the care that they're looking for. And I love that. I love that an abolitionist, like a prison abolitionist,

police and prison abolitionist has identified that this is a significant need that people in these different communities that are typically like a little bit siloed are supporting each other's causes. I think that abolition and abortion go hand in hand. Um, and, and this just cheers me up immensely. And the fact that like, there are resource hubs online that are, that are like, that are coming to bat, you know, like, oh, this horrible thing has happened. Roe v. Wade has been overturned. And what are we going to do? And it's like, well, go answer people's questions on Reddit. And yeah, so I wanted to share that because I said a lot of sad stuff about how horrifying and traumatic this all is and how there's so much human suffering.

So just because of that, I also wanted to take time to say, like, hey, there get people paid and get people funding and make it so that way this work is sustainable. Because like sustainability is its own thing. Yeah, yeah. Like it is hard to fight against fascism. Like we're having our basic human rights violated on a daily basis and we are being dehumanized. And that is incredibly difficult to fight constantly on top of having to pay your bills and deal with whatever the heck's going on in your life. So I'm just like, I'm really grateful for Maryam Akaba and everyone who has helped her. I'm really grateful for Mary Makaba and everyone who has helped her.

I'm really grateful for partners and Valley Abortion Group, VAJ. And I am really grateful for the online abortion resource squad, ORS, and all of their amazing volunteers. And I hope that if somebody is feeling helpless and feeling like they don't know what to do in these really scary times, they can look to these examples and be like, well, I can provide good information to people. I can share donation opportunities or donate myself and I can uplift this stuff and recognize how valuable even posting online can be sometimes. Because posting online, usually not a good thing. But if you are helping somebody get healthcare and you're utilizing a popular you know, a popular platform to spread that information, you're, you're, you're doing a great job and you deserve all the shout outs. So, um, yeah, so yeah, those are some really, those, that's, what's cheering me up in the year 2023 as I approach like June 24th, um, the, the anniversary, I'm like oh my god

everything's really awful but this is what's cheering me up so yeah I don't know well okay I guess I do know why this is spontaneous to my head but the thing that I the thing that I always think about is

there's a Zapatista slogan that goes the pot about is the, there's a Zapatista slogan that goes, the potter lives, the struggle continues. And yeah, I mean, I don't have anything else. It's, you know, but I mean, that's like, look, like the thing about this, right? Like there, there's a reason that it's like, they have to spend all of this effort on it because there is actually a struggle. they have to spend all of this effort on it because there is actually a struggle. And the fact that they have, they spend so much effort and so much resources, so much of their time and so much of their power on this, like is also proof of their weakness. That this is not something that they can do just sort of neutrally.

Right. And it's, it's something that can be stopped. It can be rolled back. And yeah, I mean the, the, the fact that it is a struggle,

like it, in and of itself, like implies is a struggle like it in and of itself like implies that they're wrong in and of itself demonstrates that we are also still fighting and we are going to continue fighting and one day we are going to beat these fuckers yep i believe it i mean like yeah i i'm like talking openly and honestly about the toll of the human suffering, but I believe that we can stop this if we, if we keep going. And I, I hope I see that in my lifetime. And I, and I think it's, it's a sadishakur, I think, where, what is it, where there is oppression, there is resistance. that, that, that makes me feel better, you know, like, cause which, Oh God, God, just like, I know speaking of liberals, there's, I just don't understand the, um, the take where it's like, Oh, these red States are getting what they deserve. Texas is getting what the deserves. Florida is getting what they deserve. And it's like, no, like they, they're being oppressed and they are fighting their oppression. And I love people in those

states and I love the people fighting. And I just, I don't know how you can look at that and not be filled with like love and awe. Just like in the way that like I'm filled with like love and awe when I see like how hard people are working to navigate these barriers and to access the healthcare that they need. Like, I'm just like, you are being so brave. You are, you're so strong to do this. And like, not everyone is seeing it. You know, cause like these are like, you know, private like journeys to get healthcare, but like I'm seeing it and I'm like, God, these people are so amazing and people are fighting so hard and they are continuing to struggle and they're not giving, I mean, some people are giving up because the state is forcing it on them, but a lot of people aren't

giving up. And I'm constantly in awe about that because yeah, it's a lot of witnessing human suffering and people suffer, but also it's witnessing a lot of people be really strong and really fight for what they deserve. And I'm so glad I get to witness that too, even though I wish, a lot of us aren't, but the rest of us are okay putting up a good fight. So I think we can win. I think we can win. Yeah. So I know we've talked about a few links. Do you have anything else, any other links that you want to talk about to send people to? So yeah, Jesus Christ. Do you have anything else you want to send people to so that they can help support the struggles that are going on? now. I think that the ones that I've brought up deserve all of the attention right now. So I'm just going to say them again. So I know previously I mentioned the Texas Equal Access Fund, the T Fund in Texas is doing a lot right now. And honestly, the other Texas funds are two. That was just the one that I see the most. Chicago Abortion Fund is doing amazing work right now. Partners Clinic,

which is located in Maryland, shout out to their team. I love them so much. They are like the light in the darkness right now. Valley Abortion Group, VADGE, which will hopefully be opening. I don't know when they're opening, but I'm looking forward to them opening so much in New Mexico. And then the online abortion resource squad, ORS, the saints of R slash abortion. I want to shout them out with this platform that I have right now. So Google all of them, check them out, click the links. And then of course, you know, again, your local abortion fund, like it just,

just don't get tired of hearing donate to your local abortion fund. Just like say it again, just like write it on the back of your eyeballs. It's that, that's what be getting, that's what's getting people healthcare right now, people who can't wait. So yeah, I just like uplifting all those things again. I'm sure there are a lot of amazing groups doing work. I could probably take an hour listing all of them. But right now, those are the ones where i'm like

hell yeah this is amazing so yeah uh yeah thank you thank you again so much for for coming and talking with us about this. Yeah, I love talking about all of the pain and suffering and catch me outside screaming at the sky and shaking my fist and drinking a lot of mimosas in the next couple of weeks. This is a rough month. This is a rough month. I'm not happy to be here but I'm happy about some things just this is not

it's been a hard year it's been a really hard year but I'm happy to be on this podcast yeah and I hope all of you in literally whatever way you can like do something to make this better I hope all of you in literally whatever way you can, like do,

do something to make this better because we, we, we all owe it to each other and we, we owe it to everyone who has to live under the system that, you know, like hasn't built in our name to do something and not to just sort of sit back and let this, just let the engine to suffering, keep rolling over more people.

And even small things are valuable too. I feel like a lot of, I've known a lot of people who are like, you know, like, oh, you know, I got a lot going on and I can't, I don't know how to, I just can't help that much. And it's like, even the little things you do are meaningful. Like even like $10 is like, like somebody who's traveling's lunch. That's a big deal. So don't undersell the little things that you can do. Even little things are really meaningful right now. What you have the capacity for, I'm not going to shake a stick at it. I think any contribution

is incredibly valuable no matter how small. Unless you're rich. Yeah, unless you're rich, in which case. Unless you're rich, then what are you doing? There are some people I'm like, why are they... Oh, while I'm here, while I'm actually speaking of rich, while I'm on a podcast and we can talk about things, people who can help. I I'm thinking about like Taylor Swift right now. Like Taylor Swift can probably donate so much money to abortion funds, right? Because like she's touring right now and she's having all these concerts in various parts of the world. And those hotel prices are going up like crazy.

So like I know that she had a concert in Chicago recently. crazy. So like, I know that she had a concert in Chicago recently and the Chicago abortion fund was like trying to book hotels for traveling abortion patients. So patients who are traveling from band states to get abortion services in Chicago, and they were paying like way more for the hotel costs because of the local Taylor Swift concert. And it's like, Taylor Swift, donate to abortion funds. What are you doing? You're driving up hotel prices for patients. Just donate.

Donate to abortion funds, Taylor Swift. So that's what I just wanted to add that. Or any artist who's driving up hotel prices. Come on. People need healthcare. What are you doing? Wonderful system that we live in. A wonderful opportunity in this generation to make it not be

like that i know right um like i resent having to ask but still yeah yeah so i guess that's my that's my closing message to the listeners go out into the world and make the world not fucking like this yeah yeah can we not yeah it could happen here is a production of cool zone media for more podcasts from cool zone media visit our website coolzonemedia.com or check us out on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts you can find sources for It Could Happen Here updated monthly at coolzonemedia.com slash sources. Thanks for listening. An anthology podcast of modern day horror stories inspired by the most terrifying legends and lore of Latin America. Listen to Nocturno on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The 2025 iHeart Podcast Awards are coming.

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That's iHeart.com slash podcast awards. That's iHeart.com slash podcast awards. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast. And we're kicking off our second season digging into tech's elite and how they've turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, Better Offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech brought to you by an industry veteran with nothing to lose. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app,

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