October 1, 2024 • 56 mins
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Ep #74 - As we gear up for another contentious election cycle, it's prudent to ask: why do we keep voting against our own best interests? Angela Chavez, Communications and Public Affairs Director for Courage California and a childfree Latina, explains it very plainly: because you're being manipulated by immensely well-funded propaganda, all day and every day.
The 2020 Proposition 22 campaign is a prime example of this!
So how do we find out the truth behind the constant disinformation crusades that play on our emotions about crime and homelessness, swaying us to vote against the greater good? Angela educates us about the tools that Courage California provides for CA citizens to make those informed choices (these tools exist in all states too!), like the Courage Score legislators receive on their voting records.
Angela also challenges conventional narratives about political success—emphasizing that elections are less about "winning" and more about "moving the needle" toward meaningful progress. And how much of that work is done down ballot, not at the federal level.
Finally, Angela shares actionable steps for young voters (and all of us) to take so we can overcome election apathy to create real change.
Voting for change is a group project, and the very least all of us can do on November 5th is show up to vote. Groups like Courage California have already done all the homework for us. So if we all want to get an A+, get out the vote and encourage everyone around you to send in their ballots, too.
The childless cat ladies are watching!🧙♀️🐈⬛
To get the full show notes, tools mentioned guest bio, and an episode transcript, go to PauletteErato.com/shownotes. This is episode 74.
About Angela:
I'm the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Courage California, the Founding Director of Chicas Latinas de Sacramento from 2009 to 2024. I oversee the strategic communications for Courage California’s 501(c)(4), 501(c)(3), and PACs, on progressive statewide and regional legislation, electoral, and issue-based campaigns. I have my BA in Journalism and was a reporter in the central valley for a bit.
Find her full bio and all the tools mentioned at https://pauletteerato.com/74-why-are-we-voting-against-our-best-interests-angela-chavez-on-manipulation-and-political-power/
Like what you hear? Reach out to send your thoughts, and don't forget to grab a limited edition LVMC baseball t-shirt. Check it out at pauletteerato.com/shop.
How to reach me:
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Buen día, mi gente, and welcometo La Vida Más Chévere de
Childfree Latinas, the onlySpanglish podcast for childfree
Latinas y Latines, helping usliberate ourselves from the
toxic cultural brainwashing weall grew up with so that we can
design our best lives instead.
I'm your host andresident childfree
Latina, Paulette Erato.
(00:24):
The toxic cultural brainwashingwe're examining today is
how we vote against our ownbest interests, regularly,
without even realizing it.
Because it's that time of year.
I already made an episode onwhat childless cat ladies have
to do in November, and todayI have another childless cat
lady, or dog lady, as she calledherself, to talk about it.
(00:47):
Because not only is sheone of us, she literally
works in this field.
Before I introduce her,though, note that this is
a long episode with lots ofclaims, all of which are backed
by links to the show notes.
So if in doubt, check those out.
Angela Chavez is the Directorof Communications and Public
Affairs at Courage California,and also the founding director
(01:09):
of Chicas Latinas de Sacramento,which she ran from 2009 to 2024.
She just recently stepped down.
She oversees the strategiccommunications for Courage
California's 501c4, 501c3,and PACS on progressive,
statewide, and regionallegislation, electoral,
and issue based campaigns.
(01:30):
She has a BA in journalismand was a reporter in the
Central Valley for a bit.
When this episode airs, we'll bemere days away from the ballots
dropping for the 2024 election.
Courage California willhave endorsed candidates and
propositions, and will belaunching their statewide
and customizable voter guide.
We're at the end of thelegislative calendar, and
(01:50):
they've been paying attentionto who the bad actors were in
the legislature this year, sothey could update their Annual
Courage Score for next year.
But users can look at it nowto see how our legislators
voted last year when fillingout their ballot now.
Her organization works toeducate via their C3, which
provides tools to help votersvote their values and help
(02:12):
Californians hold theirrepresentatives accountable
via their Courage Score.
In addition to all this funstuff, Angela will be paying
close attention to differentissues in both the legislative
and election spaces, includingpublic safety, abortion
access, campaign finance,voter suppression, and
mis / disinformation and AI.
If anyone can explain to uswhy we vote against our own
(02:35):
best interests, it's Angela.
Because she sees it everyday, the way that propaganda
so easily manipulatespeople by telling them a
story they want to hear.
It's basic marketing 101.
It's basic psychology 101.
A problem is presented, asolution is offered, and all you
have to do is this one thing.
(02:56):
Which in this case,is vote a certain way.
What motivates us, peoplelike me and Angela, is that
we see this so clearly andwant that for you as well.
Angela told me she wants theGen Z and Gen Alpha kids who she
sees in her social media feeds,drowning in despair about the
bankrupt futures that they can'teven vote on yet, to have hope.
(03:19):
So while this is a veryfrank discussion, we're
also being realistic.
We're gonna talk statistics thatmatter and how they prove that
the ads we're being served upare just scaremongering tactics.
It's revolting.
And Angela is going toexplain to us how and
why it's come to this.
And even though we're focusedon what's happening here
in California, that doesn'tmean it doesn't apply to
(03:40):
you if you don't live here.
I guarantee this ishappening where you are too.
And there are resourcesand organizations just like
Angela's where you live,so please seek them out.
When we're done here, Ihope that you too start to
see the clear agenda andare even more fired up to
vote to not only protectyourself, but your community.
(04:03):
Show us the true meaningof family values.
Okay, let's hang up ourcynicism for a moment
and go talk to Angela.
Oh wait, real quick.
A trigger warning.
This interview tookplace the same week as
the shooting in Georgia.
We mention it very quickly,but I did want to give you the
heads up that it's in there.
(04:24):
Angela, hi, how are you today?
I'm doing okay.
As we said before we startedrecording, this is going
to be an episode full oflegislative truths, truth
about how elections happenin this country, but we want
people to walk away withhope more than anything.
(04:44):
Absolutely.
Since we're both childlesscat ladies, we got a
lot at stake here too,despite what the narrative
would have you believe.
Let's just jump in.
What are we doing?
How can we win this election?
Winning is a weirdword, I would say.
Like, I'm just notingthe weird words here.
We're not in a winning time.
(05:05):
We are in a movingthe needle time.
So, when you mentionedhaving hope, there is hope.
We just need to kind of lookat our timeline as a nation, as
a state, as moving the needle.
Passing the baton generationto generation to generation.
(05:27):
Looking at the bigger pictureand knowing that things have
gotten progressively better.
Labor, housing, so many spaces,women's rights, and it took
fights and we're still fightingand that fight isn't over.
We're still a very new state.
We're still a very new country.
We are working through somegrowing pains, if you will.
(05:51):
But we're justpassing the baton.
So we're doing what we have todo now for the next generation
and so on and so forth.
So just remember that thisisn't over and history has
taught us that we can fightand we can push for progress.
So it may not be a clear out winin all the ways you want it, we
may not wake up next year andhave like this magical nation
(06:14):
that we've been dreaming of.
Little wins are still wins.
Little movementsare still movements.
So we just need toacknowledge that as we go
into this election season.
So as the person in chargeof communications and public
affairs for Courage California,what is your organization's
mission for Californians?
Let's start there.
(06:35):
We're really here to providetools to voters, mainly
Californians, but a lotof our tools can be used
outside of our state as well.
They're tools so thatCalifornians can vote, vote
their values, vote down ballot.
Understand the wayprocesses work and also
take action to help moveprogressive values forward.
(06:55):
So we are an organization thatunites Californians with tools
to push for a more equitableand just state and nation.
So we work on a lot ofdifferent progressive issues.
We go legislativehere in the state.
We go electoral.
We've endorsed for apresidential candidate
(07:15):
this year, which is thefirst time we've ever
went to the federal level.
We have endorsed forCongress members.
We take on ballot propositions.
We take on issues throughoutthis state that we've worked
for progress for that may nothave a piece of legislation
up, but we're still pushingthat issue forward in hopes
that there will be change.
So we take action,bring people together.
(07:37):
And we also work to holdour electeds accountable.
So we have a lot of tools thatwork to hold them accountable
because the first thing isunderstanding how the process
works, making your voice heardin that process, but then
making sure that what we arevoting for, who we are voting
for, is held to account.
And that is not easy forany voter, any state.
(07:59):
Our process is so complicated.
Our ballots are so complicated.
So we try our best to make surethat Californians have the tools
that we need so that they canvote their conscience, vote
their values, and hold theirrepresentatives accountable.
Have you, in your timethere, seen a candidate
(08:19):
receive consequences fornot adhering to the values
that they were elected for?
Oh, sure.
We work, as I said, likethere's federal, there's
congressional, there's state,there's regional candidates, and
there's also county city elect.
We get down to the nitty gritty.
So there have been a lot of DAs,you know, district attorneys.
(08:43):
There's been a lot of citycouncil members, mayors, state
legislature is full of folksthat need to be held to account.
And I would say one ofthe best tools that we
have in our organizationis called CourageScore.
So CourageScore.
org.
And you can go, put inyour zip code, you can put
(09:04):
in the legislator's name.
You can enter that andit will show you how
your legislator scored.
Whether the Senate,the Assembly, you
can see their score.
You can see their votes,how they voted in the last
year's legislative cycle.
So you can see on differentissue areas how they vote.
(09:25):
You can also see wheretheir campaign money comes
from, what industries arebasically funding them.
So, it's a really helpfultool, and it has been
instrumental in holdingthese members accountable.
And it's multi issue,so if there's one issue
you care about, youcan see how they vote.
You can see their no votes,their yes votes, and you
can see, if they've been inthe legislature for a while,
(09:47):
you can see their history ofall their votes throughout
history, and how it has changedsince they've been serving.
So it's a really wonderfultool and there's also a space
there where you can contactyour legislator directly
and say, Hey, I saw youvoted this way last year.
I really need you toimprove this year.
I'm a resident in your communityand I'm holding you to account.
(10:09):
I'm watching you.
This is such an awesometool and I, until you
mentioned it, wasn't aware.
And I've been voting since I was18, so that's nearly 30 years.
So, the fact that this exists,at least for Californians,
and I'm sure, as you weresaying, there's tools
like this for all states.
I just clicked overto the website and
(10:30):
there's a hall of shame.
People with F scores.
There's a lot of Dsunder the parties here.
Oh, absolutely.
There's a lot of Democrats.
You know, everybody who listensto this show knows I prefer
the progressive policies.
I'm never gonna vote for someonewho wants to take away my
rights as a woman and the rightsof people who come after me.
(10:53):
So that's really eye opening,but also shouldn't be surprising
at all because there's,like the kids say, there's
bad actors on both sides.
And that's 100 percent true.
I love that you are holding allof these people accountable.
And there is a long, long list.
I'll have a link in the shownotes for people listening
to go check this out.
(11:14):
That's incredible.
Because when you feellike a voter, like you are
completely powerless becauseit comes down to candidate
A versus candidate B.
And it's more like holdingyour nose to vote for the less
bad one, but you can see thatthere are other ways to look
at each individual office.
(11:34):
Not just, not just thepresidential office, which
I've talked about before, getsall of the media attention.
But what really affects usis, as you were saying, down
ballot, The nitty gritty, thestate level, at the city level.
I live in LA County, butI don't live in LA City.
We have our own mayor andour own city council that
(11:55):
we have to contend with.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
And they're not greatat what they do either.
So what else?
What else can we do?
There's those progressivevoting cards that will come
out in the next month or so.
I'm sure Courage Californiais going to put one out as
well, where you're like,this is who our choice is.
This is who we're endorsing.
These are the people whoare going to move the needle
(12:18):
forward for at least thenext four to six years.
There's still an overwhelmingsense of, is that enough?
It's enough for the moment.
It's enough to helpus vote down ballot.
It's enough to feel likewe're somewhat supported.
Because as I mentioned,voting in California is hard.
(12:39):
It's hard to stay informed.
It's hard to stayon top of the news.
It's impossible toresearch everything.
It's impossible to see whereall the funding's coming for
these different propositions,these different candidates.
So having organizations thatyou trust, whether it be
multi issue, single issueorganizations that can put out
(12:59):
these voter guides, they helpjust giving you a trusted source
for something you care about.
And, you know, there maybe people on there that you
don't necessarily agree with.
But if it's a single issue one,they're saying this person can
at least move the needle for us.
This person will at least getus to the next generation so
(13:20):
that we can make better change.
So just using them isso important and it's
such a great resource.
So, if you have multipleissues, regardless of what
state you're in, you can findany organizations that work
on issues that you care aboutdeeply, and likely they'll
put out some type of voterguide to help move those
particular issues forward.
(13:41):
So, if it's housing, if it'swages, worker rights, you
can find those organizations,they'll likely put out voter
guides, and they'll help kindof guide you on how to vote.
And you can have multipleissues you care about, and
they might not look the same,and that's kind of where you
need to figure out, do a littlebit of research on your own
to see which one you reallysee as the person that can
(14:03):
move the greater good forward.
Use them as a resource.
If you're able to researcheverything and make
your own voter guide, gofor it, that's awesome!
But at the same time, takeadvantage of what those
organizations are puttingout, because they are
fighting against money.
They're providing scorecardsand voter guides to the people,
(14:27):
and those are their resources.
They don't have the resources toshove ads in front of your face
every five minutes on YouTube.
They don't have the resources,you know, to have billboards
and TV ads and just tellyou whatever sounds good.
All they have are these guidesand they're trying to get them
out and they're trying to getthem through the communities.
(14:49):
So, do utilize them.
I would say they're definitelygoing to be more trusted than
those ads that you're seeing.
I know California getsbombarded with ads around
the election time, especiallyaround the propositions, and
those are just a hot mess.
So, I would say,ignore the ads fully.
Ooh, yeah.
Oh, yeah, because thoseads are so misleading.
(15:10):
The mailers you get.
So misleading.
It's ridiculous.
And if you actually lookback and like do the research
to see who's funding them,you'll find out all these
"crimes is horrible" ads, butthey're paid for by like real
estate and land developers.
Like it's not evenpolice are saying that.
(15:31):
I love that you brought thatup because my next point was
going to be that we have to seewhere the money's going, right?
Where it's coming from.
And like you mentioned way earlyis that that can be obfuscated.
It's very easy to hide wherethe money's coming from, but
all of those mailers and allof those ads have to have that
little fine print that will zipby on the TV or on the podcast
(15:53):
or whatever, but it's there,legally required to be there.
Remember Prop 22 from 2020?
Oh, yeah.
How could we forget it?
To bring everyone up to speed,the state of California had a
proposition about gig workers.
So the Uber drivers,the DoorDash drivers,
all of those people.
Millions of dollars werespent in convincing people
(16:14):
that they were better off notbeing W-2 employees because
that would cost the companiesmore money than the millions
and millions of dollars theyspent fighting against it.
So they took alleged gigworkers, like an Uber driver,
in their car, driving saying,"Oh no, I prefer it this
way, this is better for me,"which were outright lies.
(16:35):
They were outright lies,and if you watched to the
end of those ads, you sawwho was paying for them.
Uber, Lyft, all of thosecompanies that supposedly
started in order to filla gap in our economy.
But now they're big fat pigswho want to continue to hoard
their wealth and not give itto the people who've earned it.
(16:55):
Yeah.
And now there's a big movementby those gig workers to
push back and reverse itbecause it was so horrible.
And we fought against it,but the resources we had
versus the resources theyhad, it was incomparable.
Oh yeah.
We could not fight againstthat no matter what we put out.
It was just everywhere, and themisinformation, disinformation
(17:17):
that was put out by thosethat were pushing it was
just too loud, too much.
It was.
When we look back athistory and are thinking,
how can people vote againsttheir own best interests?
This is how.
This right hereis what happened.
People were convincedthat they were better off
in this situation thanwhat could have been.
(17:38):
I mean, let's look atwhat's happening with the
overturn of Roe versus Wade.
People were convinced thatthis was going to be better
for women and babies and yet wehave all of these women dying
because their doctor's medicaldecisions are being questioned
at every turn and they'renot sure if things that are
medically necessary are legal.
(17:58):
That's one.
And two, I read this week thatbabies are being abandoned.
A lot of babies have beenabandoned in one specific
county in Texas because thepeople who gave birth to
them couldn't care for them.
So that is the effect ofoverturning Roe versus Wade.
We had people telling usfrom the very beginning,
(18:18):
this is a likely outcome.
And other people were like,la, la, la, la, not listening.
No, it sounds better.
These guys told me this.
And look at what happens.
So again, we vote againstour own best interests
because we are duped bythe people with money.
So back to your point aboutthose ads drowning out all of
the other correct information.
(18:40):
I want the listener totake all of those ads
with a grain of salt.
But also use thoseads as awareness.
We may not know all of theballot issues that are going
to be on our state ballots.
Right?
There's so many.
There's so many.
And we're just talking aboutCalifornia here because those
are the ones we know intimately.
But Mm-Hmm.
all states across the nationwill have a similar situation.
(19:01):
So when those ads run in themiddle of Sunday football,
when they run in the middle ofKrapopolis or whatever you're
watching on Hulu with ads, takeit all with a grain of salt and
make sure that you are awarethat that ballot issue exists.
But then go find outwhether or not it's
actually worth it for you.
Because I watched many, many,many of those ads during
(19:24):
that election cycle, duringfootball season saying, I
love being a gig worker.
Or, you know, that wasn't theexact commercial, obviously,
but that effect that people werebeing paid to lie to all of us.
And maybe that individualdid enjoy being a gig worker.
Maybe they did, maybe theydon't want to be tied down
(19:45):
by a W-2, but for the vastmajority of people in that
situation, they would havebenefited more from that change.
Oh yeah, and itaffected so much.
It even affected Amazondrivers, because they were
separate contractors, likethe warehouses, the drivers,
they contracted them out, sothey weren't Amazon employees.
(20:06):
So they didn't getAmazon benefits.
They were contractdrivers that worked out
of this warehouse company.
Whoo.
But guess what?
Believe was the last year orthe year before in Palmdale,
Amazon workers started striking.
They got unions.
Unions are coming up allover the country now.
And Yeah.
Fight back.
(20:27):
Absolutely.
Prop 22 was wrong.
Prop 22 was wrong and itdid light the fire for
more unification, unioni-It really did.
How do I say that?
Unification?
Unionizing.
It lit the fire for unionizing.
Yeah, it did.
Which we need.
Which we need.
Let's talk aboutunions for a second.
Despite what you may have heard,because we're all surrounded by
(20:49):
propaganda all the time, unionsare a net good for society.
Without them, we wouldn't haveweekends for crying out loud.
But not every organizationthat calls itself a
union actually is.
Angela and I started talkingabout unions and I used the
police unions as an example ofwhat happens when corrupt humans
start running organizations.
Oh my god, it's evenworse than I realized.
(21:13):
Here, Angela schools is onthe history of police unions.
It's appalling and alsonot surprising given the
current state of affairs.
While according to the articleI'll post in the show notes
from the LA Times saying thatthere's no legal difference
between unions and associations,there is a distinction.
It comes down to what activitiesa professional association
can and cannot engage in,like collective bargaining.
(21:38):
So let's hear moreabout the police.
The fun part about police unionsare not all of them are unions.
So they started as theFraternal Order of the
Brothers, like back in the daywhen policing was blatantly
used for racist purposes.
So it was a fraternity ofbrothers and a lot progressed
(21:59):
into becoming associations andare not technically unions.
But yet they have tonsand tons of money.
So, yeah, that's thefirst thing about unions.
Alright, I want to tread thisone carefully because just
because you have money doesn'tmake you an evil person,
it's how you use the money.
(22:20):
Money is a tool.
Money is influencein politics, 100%.
Money is donating tocandidates, getting them
elected to push your agenda.
It is putting propositionson the ballot.
It is influencing the voters.
It is freedom to influence.
(22:42):
And the only thing we,the voters, have to combat
that is literally our vote.
Because I promise you, everyperson in the legislature,
every candidate is hearing fromunions, associations, chambers.
All the different bigindustries, big corporations,
they're hearing from themall the time, I promise
(23:04):
you, and they're hearingfrom their checkbooks, too.
The only thing we have tocombat that is to make sure
that we are showing up to vote.
Because if they know theirconstituents are paying
attention, if they know theirconstituents also have the power
to put them in or keep themout of office, that's when they
start listening to constituents.
(23:26):
They start listening to thevoters, but if you don't vote,
if your community doesn't vote,why would they listen to you?
Right.
You're not going to doanything for their career.
Apathy is the best tool thathas ever been used against
the will of the people.
Well, it's not going tomake a difference, but
that doesn't mean you stop.
(23:48):
After we were done recording,Angela sent me the correct
numbers for CaliforniaProp 36 that she's going
to tell us about now.
According to the LegislativeAnalyst's Office's Fiscal
Impact Estimate Statement,Prop 36 will cost taxpayers
more than 26 billion, witha B, 26 billion in prison
(24:08):
costs over the next decade.
The biggest prison spendingincrease in California history.
Prop 36 also cuts 850 millionin the next decade from
dedicated funding for themental health, drug treatment,
victim services, re-entry,and crime prevention programs.
(24:30):
So keep those figures in mindgoing into this next part.
And if you're not in California,don't skip this because I
bet dollars to donuts thatsomething similar to this is
happening in your own state.
And you should beaware of that too.
We do after all have a federalprison system that also relies
on private prisons and thosemight be in your state too.
(24:51):
Let's change gears a little bit.
Is there anything comingup on the California ballot
or any state's ballots,that we should be aware of?
Or is there like anysurprise that we might
encounter come November?
I think the biggest thing thatwe as Californians are going
to be combating is going tobe a lot of the propositions.
(25:13):
There's a lot of moneybehind some of them that are
really bad for California.
A lot of the organizersthroughout the state, whether
they're regional, statewide,they're really working together
to push back and strategize.
And fundraise againstcampaigns that are running
(25:33):
billion dollar campaigns.
So these like non profitorganizations are collecting 5
donations here and there, right?
So they have maybe a fewthousand dollars in their
budget, whereas they'regoing up against some
big funded propositionsthat are just so bad.
And the one that comestop of mind was Prop 36.
(25:55):
And that's the one thatis looking to overturn
pieces of Prop 47.
If you don't remember, Prop47 was passed in 2014, and
that was the one that wasput on the ballot to help
reduce over incarcerationand overcrowding in prisons.
Because California'sprison system, people
were on top of each other.
There was the threestrikes, there was the low
(26:18):
threshold for, like, theft.
It was tough oncrime, 100 percent.
Since COVID and just theway our economy, housing is,
homelessness is, fentanyl, allthese pieces coming together,
there's been this big push tokind of convince Californians
that crime is up, but inreality it's still like the
(26:39):
lowest it's been in decades.
It just might look a littledifferent due to COVID.
We're actually returning topre COVID numbers of crime,
like violent crime hasbeen down this whole time.
It never increased.
But yet, you look on thenews, or it's just, crime
is up, crime is up, howto keep your family safe.
(27:00):
And it was allbecause of Prop 47.
Prop 47 has just beendrilled into the public's
head for over a year now.
It's been blamed becausethey knew they were going
to put this on the ballot.
So Prop 36 reversespieces of Prop 47.
So Prop 47, because wereduced the overpopulation,
(27:21):
those funds for used, I thinkit was like 800 million.
Oh my god.
It was huge.
It was used to fundprograms that help with
mental health services,rehabilitation, homelessness.
Like there were so manypieces that Prop 47 funded.
(27:42):
All that money saved was putinto resources that actually
do keep communities safe.
And those programswere successful.
The recidivism rate for thoseprograms were so much lower
than all other Californiaplaces that didn't have it.
So much lower than the nation.
That worked.
(28:02):
Our population went downand people were getting
the services they neededand it was successful.
Drug treatment, all that.
If you look at the numbers, itwas so successful and it's only
been implemented for 10 years.
What's going to happen with Prop36, is they're going to lower
the threshold for retail theft.
So it's now will be instead of900, it would be like 900 over
(28:28):
three years of felony charge.
So they're trying to stopthese mob retail thefts
at malls and stuff, right?
Right.
So it would be over three years.
So if someone stealsenough over three years
and hits that 900, felon.
You're getting locked up.
Because we're locking up morepeople, cause there's also
like fentanyl charges on there.
(28:49):
There's a lot more charges.
So we're going backto over incarceration.
We're going back to fillingup the jails and the prisons.
That's essentially what it does.
You know, getting criminalsoff the street because
it's just big crime wave.
But what that's going to dois going to take away that
prop 47 funding from thoseprograms and put it back
into our prison systems.
(29:09):
So we're losing that fundingbecause now we're putting
that money back into prisons.
And at the end of the day,that program, the LOB, the
legislative office, the budgetoffice, estimated it's going
to cost taxpayers an extra26 million over 10 years.
So not only does it takeaway funding from services
(29:30):
that actually keep us safe,it's going to cost taxpayers
additionally to bring back theover policing, bring back the
over incarceration, becauseit costs more to incarcerate.
But you know who's behindthe funding for this?
I think we can all guess.
California Corrections.
Of course it is.
Which is a private group, right?
(29:51):
Yes.
We have private prisons.
Yes.
It's a business.
It's a business.
Which is gross.
It's super gross.
The entire concept of a forprofit prison is disgusting.
I think that's one of, notthe worst, but it is one
of the worst concepts we aspeople have ever come up with.
(30:13):
We as human beings.
Oh yeah.
It's so disgusting.
And I'll also mention it'salso funded by, I'm going
to say names of names, HomeDepot, Target, Walmart.
That's going to hit us whereit hurts, because how many
of us don't shop at Target?
You choose Target over Walmart.
(30:34):
Absolutely.
But now, yeah, so they'refunding it and really
what this comes downto is brick and mortar.
These shops havebeen losing money.
It's not just retail theft.
Like that isn't even as bigas the amount that they're
losing because of onlinespaces such as Amazon.
That's why they'relosing so much money.
(30:57):
They can't take on that,but they can take on this.
So, let's recap here.
A false narrative was createdabout the level of crime
we are experiencing becausecrime is actually down.
But for the last severalyears, a disinformation
campaign has been ongoing toconvince us just people who
(31:20):
live here, that crime is up.
So in order to take back controlof all of this crime— which
isn't true, crime is happening,but not to the levels that we
are being led to believe theyare— we're going to remove the
programs that work to avoidrecidivism, to avoid crime,
(31:42):
period, to end crime and theoverpopulation problem, in order
for prisons that make profits toallow them to make more profits.
Am I getting that right?
Yeah, so they're essentiallysaying, don't you want to walk
down the street and feel safe?
Let's get thosecriminals off the street.
Throw them in.
(32:03):
Let's not help them.
Let's not do things for thecommunity and for the people in
those communities that actuallybring safer communities.
Let's just toss them.
Let's make money off of them.
Let's put them in the system.
Yikes.
That actually justturned my stomach.
The realization thatthis is what's happening.
Yeah.
Again, I am 46 years old.
I have voted in everysingle election since 1998.
(32:27):
I misspoke.
I'm at 1996.
That's when I graduatedfrom high school, 1996.
And I am now coming togrips with the fact that
this is how it's done.
This is how we vote againstour own best interests.
Oh, yeah.
And it's very misleading.
And it's so hard to pushback against that narrative
(32:48):
because a lot of this narrativeis being pushed by media.
And I wouldn't say likeit's media's fault.
I would say thosetype of stories sell.
Those type ofstories get eyeballs.
Media is also a business.
It's a business.
And now with social media,anyone can record anything
(33:08):
that's happening and put it on.
Look what's happening.
Look at this.
Look at that.
And the things spread.
We had phones back in ourdays, when we were like
younger, the amount ofcrime we could have put up.
Yeah.
But you know what?
At the end of theday, does that help?
We all watched RodneyKing get beaten.
(33:28):
Oh yeah.
And then we all watched thosepeople walk away scot free.
And that's something we'retalking about from the 90s.
Yeah.
It goes back to the peoplethat have the power to
create the narrative.
Right.
And unfortunately,perception is reality.
I mean, you can put outthe statistics, you can
(33:48):
put out the actual numbers,you can put out the budgets
and say, look at this.
But if they perceive thattheir world is unsafe, if our
communities perceive that,if that's what they're being
fed, that is their reality.
That's what they carry becausethat's what they're digesting.
So I mean, you could putwhatever statistics you want
about any issue But if that'snot what they see as their
(34:11):
reality, it's, no, it's wrong.
It's hard to pushback against that.
And yet you show upevery day and do it.
Every freaking day.
You and all of your colleaguesacross the country doing this
work, you're still doing it.
So much applause to youand your organizations for
picking up this fight for us.
For us, right?
(34:32):
Taxpayers don't payyour salary, right?
No, you have grant funding.
Mm hmm.
We work for our funding.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, no Home Depot andWalmart wants to fund us.
I'll tell you that much.
Man.
Once again, I want to remind youto be careful what you consume.
Make informed choicesabout where you're getting
(34:54):
your news and don't relysolely on social media.
Because the algorithmsare built on outrage.
We've seen what has happenedwith some stupid post a
woman made on Facebook aboutHaitians eating your pets.
Again, they're built on outrage.
That's what gets traction.
So that's what getsserved up to you.
We should all be outragedthat the prison systems that
(35:15):
are working are ready to bedismantled so that Target and
Walmart can eke out a few extrabucks that they lost to Amazon.
Not theft.
Amazon.
That's what Prop 36 is about.
Not keeping you safer.
But so that the fat pigsthat own retail corporations
and for profit prisons canrake in even more money.
(35:37):
That's not the only propositionon our ballots that will confuse
you about their real intentions.
And if you want to know moreabout how media, all media,
social and traditional,creates and trades in harmful
stereotypes, check out theepisode lists in the show notes.
I have a few.
Alright, the big takeawayhere is to follow the money.
Oh, absolutely.
(35:57):
Because that revealswhat the real agenda is.
So, it's funny thatearlier you brought up
real estate developers.
So much money comes fromreal estate developers for
things that are againstthe better interests of all
of us as a whole, right?
Like, for example Palos Verdesis falling into the water.
(36:21):
And yet developers decided,no, we can sell this to people,
knowing full well that alandslide was, like, it was
eventually going to happen.
And it's happening.
Now it is happening.
So the utilitieshave pulled out.
And people can't leave becausethey have nowhere to go.
And these aren'tnecessarily rich people
living on the oceanfront.
(36:43):
They were just regular schmoeslike us and now their, their
homes are valued at millionsof dollars or they were until
about a week ago, or by the timethis airs, until about a month
ago, and yet they're stuck.
So this entire scenariowas created because someone
thought they could dupea buck out of someone.
And they were passingthat responsibility off
(37:05):
to a future generation.
So what Angela and I are heretalking about is how we can
pass on a better generation.
How we can, instead of lookingto win, move the needle
in the right direction.
And that's incremental.
Every election is anotherattempt at this, right?
It's never ending.
That's what I think you weresaying about we're not winning
(37:27):
a fight because it's constant.
We have to stay vigilant.
We have to continue to lookat what we're being fed, what
our, our consumption is onthe medias, the social media,
the TV media, the print media.
What are we beingfed to believe?
Are we being duped?
(37:48):
Where is the money coming from?
Who profits from thingschanging in this way?
I'm really glad thatyou educated us on Prop
36 because that's huge.
That is really huge.
And it's heartbreakingand it's scary to think
that it might really pass.
Just because of the billionsof dollars that's behind that
(38:09):
campaign and the amount of timethey've been working on it.
We didn't really get towork on it until it became
official on the ballot,which was like a month ago.
So, the time, the runway wehave is much shorter than
the runway they've beenworking on because this has
been their plan all along.
Similarly to Roe v.
(38:30):
Wade, that's been a longrunway that folks have been
working on since Once thedecision came out, there was
already people working topush back and get it reversed,
and that was a long runway.
So by the time we saw itcoming, we had a short runway
to combat that, but thepieces were already in place.
The Supreme Courtwas already built.
(38:51):
There was like very littlewe could do with that, and
now we're fighting back.
Let's suppose I'm a new voter.
I am 18 years old.
This is the firstelection I get to vote in.
I'm super excited.
You know, the, theapathy of years of doing
this hasn't hit yet.
There's still enthusiasm there.
I still believe I can changethe world, which by the way,
(39:11):
you should never let go of.
You can still change the world.
Even if your world isn'tas large as you originally
thought, we can change it.
Okay.
What are we trying totell the brand new voter?
And maybe the voter that'scoming right behind them,
the 14 year old rightnow, the 10 year old.
What do we want them totake away so that when it's
their turn, hopefully we'velaid a foundation where the
(39:34):
Supreme Court looks different.
We've now given them arunway that's a little
bit more optimistic.
I would tell them to find thoseorganizations that are doing
the work that they care about.
Use them to learn, becauselikely they will be
pushing for legislation.
Likely they will be pushingfor federal level candidates.
(39:59):
Likely they'll be pushingfor certain ballot measures.
And likely they're alsogoing to be the ones to
bring to light the money.
Because they are the ones thatare going to do the research
to find out what's reallythe motive here and where
the money is coming from.
So find those organizationsthat are doing the work
that you care about.
(40:19):
Organizations that you trust.
Go start in your community.
There are regionalorganizations.
Find out what organizationsare working to pass good
policy at the city level,at the state level.
Learn from them.
And if you're ready, go tothe state level, go to the
congressional level, andjust start paying attention.
(40:40):
Because even though this isa presidential election, the
president can only do so muchwith the Congress they're given.
And the Congress we have rightnow, this particular week, we
just saw a lot of congressionalmembers not say anything about
gun violence, gun regulation.
(41:01):
Silence.
We're back to the thoughtsand prayers conversation.
Those do nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
They do less than nothing.
They do less than nothing.
I think they do damage.
I don't want yourthoughts and prayers.
I want action.
So pay attention to thosethat are going in Congress
because they're the onesrepresenting you when they
(41:21):
go to the White House.
Those are yourcongressional members.
And remember that even ifyou send them to the White
House, they have in districtoffices that you can go to.
You can make appointments andvisit your state legislature.
They have in district officesprobably down the street from
you, you don't even know it.
You can make appointments,you can call them, you can
(41:42):
ask them what they're doing.
You can go tell them like,Hey, what's happening here?
I voted for you.
What's happening here?
Sit with your city council.
City council is evenmore accessible.
You can get right in front ofthe person and be like, I'm
going to come in your office.
I'd like to meet withmy council member.
You know what?
What I'm realizing as we'retalking, the thing that I really
(42:03):
wish that I had recognizedwhen I was the new voter, when
I was 18 and, you know, BillClinton came to my school.
That's how long agowe're talking about kids.
He was cool.
He had a saxophone.
Right?
Oh, life was...different then.
What I wish I had recognizedwas that I hadn't gotten
wrapped up in the mediacircus, because this is what
(42:25):
we're being sold again, ofthe federal level elections.
Because what makes the mostimpact is who's mayor, like
you were saying, who's citycouncil, who's representing
your district, the onethat you live in every day.
And the culture that shapes thatdistrict, your neighborhood, all
of these offices are even moreimportant than who's president,
(42:47):
because that has a directimpact on your day to day.
And so I, that's what Iwould want new voters to
take away that yes, who'spresident is important.
It is sexy to talk aboutand debate, and we can
go round and round andround on the president.
But what affects your lifedirectly, is everything down
(43:08):
ballot in your city, in yourneighborhood, in your county.
And those aren't sexy.
We don't talk about them.
We don't talk about them aroundthe dinner table because the
media isn't paying attention.
And so it's our job ascitizens to pay attention.
Yeah.
And to find that info.
And that's the reasonthat organizations
like Courage Californiaexists to make us aware.
(43:30):
And give you the resourceslike Courage Score,
like voter guides.
We're going to have our voterguide that's going to come out.
So we even have our CourageCalifornia Institute, which
is our C3, so it doesn'tpush legislation, it only
educates, which has breakdownsof all the different
counties in California, howto vote in those counties.
It has breakdowns oflike the Supreme Court,
(43:52):
campaign money, councilmeetings, like everything.
All the differentstuff you need to know.
Or if you want to know,if you're a nerd like me,
about how our country worksand how people can actually
make change with thissystem that we've inherited.
So, the C3 exists, CourageCalifornia Institute, but then
if you actually, like, if youwant to be in the action and
(44:15):
push for progressive values,that's Courage California,
and those are where we havemore resources to really
help move that needle.
So, we have the resources,the organizations that are in
your community have resources.
They want to support you,they want to help you, they
want new voters to come out.
And just make sure you findthe ones that you trust, and
(44:38):
that are pushing the things youcare about, and that are being
transparent about where they'regetting their information from.
It's so important becausewe are being fed propaganda
from the moment we wake upto the moment we go to bed.
100%.
And it is so hard tonavigate elections with
or without propaganda.
(44:59):
So, yes.
Find those trusted messengersthat you can rely on.
It's very clear in this electionwhat we're fighting against
in the presidential campaign.
You know, it's, it's veryclear, it's very clear
where the money's going.
The Elon Musks of the worldare endorsing one candidate
and the rest of us areendorsing another one.
Great.
So we see that money.
That, that transparency is therebecause again, the media circus,
(45:21):
the media turned it into acircus and just covers it 24 7.
But like Angela is saying, thestuff that directly affects
you, the stuff that tomorrowyou're going to have to deal
with, that is either going tomake your life better or worse,
that's not getting the coverage.
And you have to seek it outand it's our job, again, as
(45:42):
citizens of where we live, todo that for ourselves and for
the betterment of our familiesand our spheres of influence
and everybody around us.
And so it's great thateverybody is wearing their
pearls and their Chucks, Icall them lifting shoes because
that's what they are for me.
That's wonderful.
But at the end of theday, what's happening
in your own backyard?
(46:03):
So the organizationslike Courage California
are transparent aboutstuff like that.
So the transparency needsto be more obvious and
like we were talking about,Prop 22, four years ago.
Prop 36, this election cycle.
The money behind them isn'tnecessarily obvious like it is
for the presidential campaign.
(46:24):
So when we get down to thenitty gritty level where we
live, us people who aren'tbillionaires, and are being
shoved information from thepeople who are billionaires,
it will only better theirlives if we vote this way.
We have to be very aware.
And it sucks.
It sucks to have todo more homework, but It sucks.
(46:45):
You know, the school ofhard knocks has taught us
that if we don't do thishomework, we get screwed.
Yes, it is hard and youjust have to remind yourself
that those who are inpower want to keep power.
The ones that have been inpower for decades, they are
clinging on to that power andthey're going to cling on as
(47:07):
hard as they can and they'regoing to do what they can.
For this generation, probablyeven next generation, it's
going to take a few generations.
Yeah, yeah.
That's why the fightis so important.
That's why we still show up.
As disillusioned andas exhausted as we all
are, we still show up.
And we trust.
And we work for thebetterment of the future.
(47:31):
We work for thenext generations.
Cause, you know, I know thisis a childless cat lady show.
I'm a childless dog lady.
So I don't have a lot ofstake in this next generation.
But I'll tell you what.
I love my state.
I love my community.
I want to see it thrive.
I want to see that my neighbor'skids have a path to success.
(47:52):
I want to see justicein my community.
I want to see equityin my community.
Because I live hereregardless if I have kids,
regardless if I have stake,this is my community.
I want to see it healthy.
I want to see it strive.
I want to see it have access toparks, clean air, clean water.
I want to see actualfamily values.
(48:14):
I do.
No, I'm only laughingbecause that is such a
buzzword for the other side.
Yeah.
They claim to be the sideof family values when no,
everything they do, includingcreating prisons for profit,
are diametrically opposedto true family values.
Yeah, I want the black maternitymortality rate to go down.
(48:35):
I want people to be able toafford to go to the doctor.
I want people to be ableto afford child care, to
have healthy meals, to havehealthy meals in school.
I don't want our kidsbeing fed shit and having
diabetes later in life.
That is only gonna benefitthe diabetes industry.
Like, come on.
Again, it all comesdown to money.
(48:55):
I don't want kids goingto school where the only
fruit they get is thetomato sauce on the pizza.
That's not a vegetable.
It's not.
It's sugar.
I'm not saying pizza isn't good.
Pizza is fantastic.
Just like, we want kids tohave fiber and nutrients.
And again, we don'thave kids, Angela and I.
And the whole childless catlady trope that's very, very
(49:18):
popular right now, we'regoing to lean into because
fine, if that's how you wantto see us, but the truth of
the matter is, we do care.
about other people's kids.
Oh, absolutely.
Because we have somethingthat is apparently in very
short supply in certaincircles in this country,
and that's called empathy.
So we are very much awarethat even though we don't
have kids, what we domatters after we're gone.
(49:41):
I say, I'm too busy mothering mycommunity, mothering the future.
I care, I invest, and I'mputting my all in this because
I really do want to seethe next generation thrive.
I want to see my people thrive.
We deserve to, as much asanybody else, but we've
had a long fight, and I saywe as a Mexican American.
(50:04):
California, it was Mexico.
We don't have the same historyas the East Coast, we have
a very different history.
I see this as our land.
I see this as our resourcesthat was taken from us.
That were in this system thatwe need to push back every day.
Because this is our land, ourfuture generations deserve to
(50:27):
be on this land and thrive.
And I believe that 100%.
We're here to be stewardsof the land and the people
and better, better forpeople who come after us.
Just better.
One of the ways to do that isto get out there and vote for
our interests, not against them.
The way we can do that isto rely on organizations
like Courage Californiaand people like Angela who
(50:48):
are doing the work for us.
They are doing the homework.
It's a group project, y'all.
It is a group project.
So let's reap the benefits oftheir work and all get an A+
Yes.
You're not alone in this.
It is very hard.
It is very messy.
There are so many levels tounderstand, but just know
there are organizationsthat are out there.
There's people thatare out there and we're
(51:10):
doing the good work.
We're putting in the good fight.
So seek those people out.
Find the helpers.
Find the helpers.
Yes, Mr.
Rogers was a gift to humanity.
Yeah.
All right, Angela, we have,I think we've made our point.
We will have to repeat thispoint over and over and over.
Obviously once isn't enough.
(51:30):
But is there anything elsethat you would like people to
know either about this electionor about Angela herself?
I founded a non profit herein my hometown in 2009.
Ran it for 15 years.
And our organization reallyworked to funnel Latinas
into volunteering in ourcommunities and civic
(51:52):
engagement, civic involvement.
Our community, we're not abig volunteering community.
I'm just going toput that out there.
But there's a lot ofpeople who want to
volunteer and want to give.
And I just felt like I neededto create this space for
Latinas to come together.
Cause I've always been a bigvolunteer and I've always
been involved with a lot ofdifferent organizations that
serve our people and theyjust didn't have the ability
(52:13):
to serve cultures adequately.
Regardless of language,just understanding
different cultures.
And a lot of the population theywere serving were the Latinx
community here in my County.
It's a huge population, butthe services themselves, the
organizations, it was verystaffed by white people.
The volunteers, white people.
(52:35):
So to adequately reach andserve, really help the people
that were going there forhelp, there needed to be
folks that had the know how.
Who spoke the same language,not just in terms of like
linguistics, but in culture,in history and understanding.
So I brought in these volunteersand it went from having
(52:59):
15 members to 400 memberswithin like a few years.
And we were serving inall different facets.
Some people like to volunteerwith puppies, awesome.
Some people like tovolunteer with kids, great.
We had volunteers doing somany things, but what that
really did was become apathway for civic engagement.
(53:21):
Because we were volunteeringin a lot of these organizations
and over 15 years, a lot canchange in those organizations.
A lot of funding can changein those organizations.
One moment, we're servingvictims of human trafficking.
The next year, thatprogram is cut.
The federal government cutfunds, which trickled down
(53:43):
all the way to our countyand our ability to serve
victims of human trafficking.
And that's when volunteeringled to questions.
Led to, how did this happen?
Led to more civic engagement,civic involvement.
Volunteering was really apathway to civic engagement.
(54:04):
Just understanding howthese programs don't
just live on their own.
Right.
They're impactedat so many levels.
Those federal dollars gothat we don't even realize
all the time that we don'teven question a lot of the
time and how the resources wesometimes take for granted and
just assume they will alwaysbe there, but they won't.
(54:25):
That's true.
So whether you get involvedby volunteering, whether you
get involved by just going toyour school board meetings,
go to a school board meeting,pay attention to that.
Start small and justbe willing to learn.
You don't gotta know it all.
So your pipeline tocivic engagement started
(54:45):
with volunteering?
Yeah.
Well, I started volunteeringwhen I was a kid.
So this is alwaysgoing to be your path?
Yeah.
Well, Angela, thank you somuch for your time today,
for the good work that you'redoing every day, even when I'm
sure it's just overwhelming.
And I really, really hopethat everybody listening
can take some hope away fromthis, but also the directive
(55:07):
to get involved, even in thesmallest ways, because this
does impact us directly.
Yes, we need you.
Get involved.
I need you.
I need you to show up for me.
You don't want toshow up for yourself?
Fine, show up for me, please.
Find your empathyand show up, damn it.
All right, will you wrapus up, please, Angela?
That's a burrito.
(55:29):
Hey, mira, if thisepisode made you feel
some kind of way, dígame.
Dm me on Instagram.
Or, send me a text.
You can do that rightfrom your phone.
If you want to be a gueston the show and put your
story out there too, checkout the guest form on my
website at pauletterato.
com slash guest.
Yep, just my name.
(55:51):
PauletteErato.
com slash guest.
Y no se te olvide quehay más perks when you
join the newsletter.
Todos estos links estánen los show notes.
Muchísimas gracias foryour support y hasta la
próxima vez, cuídate bien.
Buen día, mi gente, and welcometo La Vida Más Chévere de
Childfree Latinas, the onlySpanglish podcast for childfree
Latinas y Latines, helping usliberate ourselves from the
toxic cultural brainwashing weall grew up with so that we can
design our best lives instead.
I'm your host andresident childfree
Latina, Paulette Erato.
(00:24):
The toxic cultural brainwashingwe're examining today is
how we vote against our ownbest interests, regularly,
without even realizing it.
Because it's that time of year.
I already made an episode onwhat childless cat ladies have
to do in November, and todayI have another childless cat
lady, or dog lady, as she calledherself, to talk about it.
(00:47):
Because not only is sheone of us, she literally
works in this field.
Before I introduce her,though, note that this is
a long episode with lots ofclaims, all of which are backed
by links to the show notes.
So if in doubt, check those out.
Angela Chavez is the Directorof Communications and Public
Affairs at Courage California,and also the founding director
(01:09):
of Chicas Latinas de Sacramento,which she ran from 2009 to 2024.
She just recently stepped down.
She oversees the strategiccommunications for Courage
California's 501c4, 501c3,and PACS on progressive,
statewide, and regionallegislation, electoral,
and issue based campaigns.
(01:30):
She has a BA in journalismand was a reporter in the
Central Valley for a bit.
When this episode airs, we'll bemere days away from the ballots
dropping for the 2024 election.
Courage California willhave endorsed candidates and
propositions, and will belaunching their statewide
and customizable voter guide.
We're at the end of thelegislative calendar, and
(01:50):
they've been paying attentionto who the bad actors were in
the legislature this year, sothey could update their Annual
Courage Score for next year.
But users can look at it nowto see how our legislators
voted last year when fillingout their ballot now.
Her organization works toeducate via their C3, which
provides tools to help votersvote their values and help
(02:12):
Californians hold theirrepresentatives accountable
via their Courage Score.
In addition to all this funstuff, Angela will be paying
close attention to differentissues in both the legislative
and election spaces, includingpublic safety, abortion
access, campaign finance,voter suppression, and
mis / disinformation and AI.
If anyone can explain to uswhy we vote against our own
(02:35):
best interests, it's Angela.
Because she sees it everyday, the way that propaganda
so easily manipulatespeople by telling them a
story they want to hear.
It's basic marketing 101.
It's basic psychology 101.
A problem is presented, asolution is offered, and all you
have to do is this one thing.
(02:56):
Which in this case,is vote a certain way.
What motivates us, peoplelike me and Angela, is that
we see this so clearly andwant that for you as well.
Angela told me she wants theGen Z and Gen Alpha kids who she
sees in her social media feeds,drowning in despair about the
bankrupt futures that they can'teven vote on yet, to have hope.
(03:19):
So while this is a veryfrank discussion, we're
also being realistic.
We're gonna talk statistics thatmatter and how they prove that
the ads we're being served upare just scaremongering tactics.
It's revolting.
And Angela is going toexplain to us how and
why it's come to this.
And even though we're focusedon what's happening here
in California, that doesn'tmean it doesn't apply to
(03:40):
you if you don't live here.
I guarantee this ishappening where you are too.
And there are resourcesand organizations just like
Angela's where you live,so please seek them out.
When we're done here, Ihope that you too start to
see the clear agenda andare even more fired up to
vote to not only protectyourself, but your community.
(04:03):
Show us the true meaningof family values.
Okay, let's hang up ourcynicism for a moment
and go talk to Angela.
Oh wait, real quick.
A trigger warning.
This interview tookplace the same week as
the shooting in Georgia.
We mention it very quickly,but I did want to give you the
heads up that it's in there.
(04:24):
Angela, hi, how are you today?
I'm doing okay.
As we said before we startedrecording, this is going
to be an episode full oflegislative truths, truth
about how elections happenin this country, but we want
people to walk away withhope more than anything.
(04:44):
Absolutely.
Since we're both childlesscat ladies, we got a
lot at stake here too,despite what the narrative
would have you believe.
Let's just jump in.
What are we doing?
How can we win this election?
Winning is a weirdword, I would say.
Like, I'm just notingthe weird words here.
We're not in a winning time.
(05:05):
We are in a movingthe needle time.
So, when you mentionedhaving hope, there is hope.
We just need to kind of lookat our timeline as a nation, as
a state, as moving the needle.
Passing the baton generationto generation to generation.
(05:27):
Looking at the bigger pictureand knowing that things have
gotten progressively better.
Labor, housing, so many spaces,women's rights, and it took
fights and we're still fightingand that fight isn't over.
We're still a very new state.
We're still a very new country.
We are working through somegrowing pains, if you will.
(05:51):
But we're justpassing the baton.
So we're doing what we have todo now for the next generation
and so on and so forth.
So just remember that thisisn't over and history has
taught us that we can fightand we can push for progress.
So it may not be a clear out winin all the ways you want it, we
may not wake up next year andhave like this magical nation
(06:14):
that we've been dreaming of.
Little wins are still wins.
Little movementsare still movements.
So we just need toacknowledge that as we go
into this election season.
So as the person in chargeof communications and public
affairs for Courage California,what is your organization's
mission for Californians?
Let's start there.
(06:35):
We're really here to providetools to voters, mainly
Californians, but a lotof our tools can be used
outside of our state as well.
They're tools so thatCalifornians can vote, vote
their values, vote down ballot.
Understand the wayprocesses work and also
take action to help moveprogressive values forward.
(06:55):
So we are an organization thatunites Californians with tools
to push for a more equitableand just state and nation.
So we work on a lot ofdifferent progressive issues.
We go legislativehere in the state.
We go electoral.
We've endorsed for apresidential candidate
(07:15):
this year, which is thefirst time we've ever
went to the federal level.
We have endorsed forCongress members.
We take on ballot propositions.
We take on issues throughoutthis state that we've worked
for progress for that may nothave a piece of legislation
up, but we're still pushingthat issue forward in hopes
that there will be change.
So we take action,bring people together.
(07:37):
And we also work to holdour electeds accountable.
So we have a lot of tools thatwork to hold them accountable
because the first thing isunderstanding how the process
works, making your voice heardin that process, but then
making sure that what we arevoting for, who we are voting
for, is held to account.
And that is not easy forany voter, any state.
(07:59):
Our process is so complicated.
Our ballots are so complicated.
So we try our best to make surethat Californians have the tools
that we need so that they canvote their conscience, vote
their values, and hold theirrepresentatives accountable.
Have you, in your timethere, seen a candidate
(08:19):
receive consequences fornot adhering to the values
that they were elected for?
Oh, sure.
We work, as I said, likethere's federal, there's
congressional, there's state,there's regional candidates, and
there's also county city elect.
We get down to the nitty gritty.
So there have been a lot of DAs,you know, district attorneys.
(08:43):
There's been a lot of citycouncil members, mayors, state
legislature is full of folksthat need to be held to account.
And I would say one ofthe best tools that we
have in our organizationis called CourageScore.
So CourageScore.
org.
And you can go, put inyour zip code, you can put
(09:04):
in the legislator's name.
You can enter that andit will show you how
your legislator scored.
Whether the Senate,the Assembly, you
can see their score.
You can see their votes,how they voted in the last
year's legislative cycle.
So you can see on differentissue areas how they vote.
(09:25):
You can also see wheretheir campaign money comes
from, what industries arebasically funding them.
So, it's a really helpfultool, and it has been
instrumental in holdingthese members accountable.
And it's multi issue,so if there's one issue
you care about, youcan see how they vote.
You can see their no votes,their yes votes, and you
can see, if they've been inthe legislature for a while,
(09:47):
you can see their history ofall their votes throughout
history, and how it has changedsince they've been serving.
So it's a really wonderfultool and there's also a space
there where you can contactyour legislator directly
and say, Hey, I saw youvoted this way last year.
I really need you toimprove this year.
I'm a resident in your communityand I'm holding you to account.
(10:09):
I'm watching you.
This is such an awesometool and I, until you
mentioned it, wasn't aware.
And I've been voting since I was18, so that's nearly 30 years.
So, the fact that this exists,at least for Californians,
and I'm sure, as you weresaying, there's tools
like this for all states.
I just clicked overto the website and
(10:30):
there's a hall of shame.
People with F scores.
There's a lot of Dsunder the parties here.
Oh, absolutely.
There's a lot of Democrats.
You know, everybody who listensto this show knows I prefer
the progressive policies.
I'm never gonna vote for someonewho wants to take away my
rights as a woman and the rightsof people who come after me.
(10:53):
So that's really eye opening,but also shouldn't be surprising
at all because there's,like the kids say, there's
bad actors on both sides.
And that's 100 percent true.
I love that you are holding allof these people accountable.
And there is a long, long list.
I'll have a link in the shownotes for people listening
to go check this out.
(11:14):
That's incredible.
Because when you feellike a voter, like you are
completely powerless becauseit comes down to candidate
A versus candidate B.
And it's more like holdingyour nose to vote for the less
bad one, but you can see thatthere are other ways to look
at each individual office.
(11:34):
Not just, not just thepresidential office, which
I've talked about before, getsall of the media attention.
But what really affects usis, as you were saying, down
ballot, The nitty gritty, thestate level, at the city level.
I live in LA County, butI don't live in LA City.
We have our own mayor andour own city council that
(11:55):
we have to contend with.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
And they're not greatat what they do either.
So what else?
What else can we do?
There's those progressivevoting cards that will come
out in the next month or so.
I'm sure Courage Californiais going to put one out as
well, where you're like,this is who our choice is.
This is who we're endorsing.
These are the people whoare going to move the needle
(12:18):
forward for at least thenext four to six years.
There's still an overwhelmingsense of, is that enough?
It's enough for the moment.
It's enough to helpus vote down ballot.
It's enough to feel likewe're somewhat supported.
Because as I mentioned,voting in California is hard.
(12:39):
It's hard to stay informed.
It's hard to stayon top of the news.
It's impossible toresearch everything.
It's impossible to see whereall the funding's coming for
these different propositions,these different candidates.
So having organizations thatyou trust, whether it be
multi issue, single issueorganizations that can put out
(12:59):
these voter guides, they helpjust giving you a trusted source
for something you care about.
And, you know, there maybe people on there that you
don't necessarily agree with.
But if it's a single issue one,they're saying this person can
at least move the needle for us.
This person will at least getus to the next generation so
(13:20):
that we can make better change.
So just using them isso important and it's
such a great resource.
So, if you have multipleissues, regardless of what
state you're in, you can findany organizations that work
on issues that you care aboutdeeply, and likely they'll
put out some type of voterguide to help move those
particular issues forward.
(13:41):
So, if it's housing, if it'swages, worker rights, you
can find those organizations,they'll likely put out voter
guides, and they'll help kindof guide you on how to vote.
And you can have multipleissues you care about, and
they might not look the same,and that's kind of where you
need to figure out, do a littlebit of research on your own
to see which one you reallysee as the person that can
(14:03):
move the greater good forward.
Use them as a resource.
If you're able to researcheverything and make
your own voter guide, gofor it, that's awesome!
But at the same time, takeadvantage of what those
organizations are puttingout, because they are
fighting against money.
They're providing scorecardsand voter guides to the people,
(14:27):
and those are their resources.
They don't have the resources toshove ads in front of your face
every five minutes on YouTube.
They don't have the resources,you know, to have billboards
and TV ads and just tellyou whatever sounds good.
All they have are these guidesand they're trying to get them
out and they're trying to getthem through the communities.
(14:49):
So, do utilize them.
I would say they're definitelygoing to be more trusted than
those ads that you're seeing.
I know California getsbombarded with ads around
the election time, especiallyaround the propositions, and
those are just a hot mess.
So, I would say,ignore the ads fully.
Ooh, yeah.
Oh, yeah, because thoseads are so misleading.
(15:10):
The mailers you get.
So misleading.
It's ridiculous.
And if you actually lookback and like do the research
to see who's funding them,you'll find out all these
"crimes is horrible" ads, butthey're paid for by like real
estate and land developers.
Like it's not evenpolice are saying that.
(15:31):
I love that you brought thatup because my next point was
going to be that we have to seewhere the money's going, right?
Where it's coming from.
And like you mentioned way earlyis that that can be obfuscated.
It's very easy to hide wherethe money's coming from, but
all of those mailers and allof those ads have to have that
little fine print that will zipby on the TV or on the podcast
(15:53):
or whatever, but it's there,legally required to be there.
Remember Prop 22 from 2020?
Oh, yeah.
How could we forget it?
To bring everyone up to speed,the state of California had a
proposition about gig workers.
So the Uber drivers,the DoorDash drivers,
all of those people.
Millions of dollars werespent in convincing people
(16:14):
that they were better off notbeing W-2 employees because
that would cost the companiesmore money than the millions
and millions of dollars theyspent fighting against it.
So they took alleged gigworkers, like an Uber driver,
in their car, driving saying,"Oh no, I prefer it this
way, this is better for me,"which were outright lies.
(16:35):
They were outright lies,and if you watched to the
end of those ads, you sawwho was paying for them.
Uber, Lyft, all of thosecompanies that supposedly
started in order to filla gap in our economy.
But now they're big fat pigswho want to continue to hoard
their wealth and not give itto the people who've earned it.
(16:55):
Yeah.
And now there's a big movementby those gig workers to
push back and reverse itbecause it was so horrible.
And we fought against it,but the resources we had
versus the resources theyhad, it was incomparable.
Oh yeah.
We could not fight againstthat no matter what we put out.
It was just everywhere, and themisinformation, disinformation
(17:17):
that was put out by thosethat were pushing it was
just too loud, too much.
It was.
When we look back athistory and are thinking,
how can people vote againsttheir own best interests?
This is how.
This right hereis what happened.
People were convincedthat they were better off
in this situation thanwhat could have been.
(17:38):
I mean, let's look atwhat's happening with the
overturn of Roe versus Wade.
People were convinced thatthis was going to be better
for women and babies and yet wehave all of these women dying
because their doctor's medicaldecisions are being questioned
at every turn and they'renot sure if things that are
medically necessary are legal.
(17:58):
That's one.
And two, I read this week thatbabies are being abandoned.
A lot of babies have beenabandoned in one specific
county in Texas because thepeople who gave birth to
them couldn't care for them.
So that is the effect ofoverturning Roe versus Wade.
We had people telling usfrom the very beginning,
(18:18):
this is a likely outcome.
And other people were like,la, la, la, la, not listening.
No, it sounds better.
These guys told me this.
And look at what happens.
So again, we vote againstour own best interests
because we are duped bythe people with money.
So back to your point aboutthose ads drowning out all of
the other correct information.
(18:40):
I want the listener totake all of those ads
with a grain of salt.
But also use thoseads as awareness.
We may not know all of theballot issues that are going
to be on our state ballots.
Right?
There's so many.
There's so many.
And we're just talking aboutCalifornia here because those
are the ones we know intimately.
But Mm-Hmm.
all states across the nationwill have a similar situation.
(19:01):
So when those ads run in themiddle of Sunday football,
when they run in the middle ofKrapopolis or whatever you're
watching on Hulu with ads, takeit all with a grain of salt and
make sure that you are awarethat that ballot issue exists.
But then go find outwhether or not it's
actually worth it for you.
Because I watched many, many,many of those ads during
(19:24):
that election cycle, duringfootball season saying, I
love being a gig worker.
Or, you know, that wasn't theexact commercial, obviously,
but that effect that people werebeing paid to lie to all of us.
And maybe that individualdid enjoy being a gig worker.
Maybe they did, maybe theydon't want to be tied down
(19:45):
by a W-2, but for the vastmajority of people in that
situation, they would havebenefited more from that change.
Oh yeah, and itaffected so much.
It even affected Amazondrivers, because they were
separate contractors, likethe warehouses, the drivers,
they contracted them out, sothey weren't Amazon employees.
(20:06):
So they didn't getAmazon benefits.
They were contractdrivers that worked out
of this warehouse company.
Whoo.
But guess what?
Believe was the last year orthe year before in Palmdale,
Amazon workers started striking.
They got unions.
Unions are coming up allover the country now.
And Yeah.
Fight back.
(20:27):
Absolutely.
Prop 22 was wrong.
Prop 22 was wrong and itdid light the fire for
more unification, unioni-It really did.
How do I say that?
Unification?
Unionizing.
It lit the fire for unionizing.
Yeah, it did.
Which we need.
Which we need.
Let's talk aboutunions for a second.
Despite what you may have heard,because we're all surrounded by
(20:49):
propaganda all the time, unionsare a net good for society.
Without them, we wouldn't haveweekends for crying out loud.
But not every organizationthat calls itself a
union actually is.
Angela and I started talkingabout unions and I used the
police unions as an example ofwhat happens when corrupt humans
start running organizations.
Oh my god, it's evenworse than I realized.
(21:13):
Here, Angela schools is onthe history of police unions.
It's appalling and alsonot surprising given the
current state of affairs.
While according to the articleI'll post in the show notes
from the LA Times saying thatthere's no legal difference
between unions and associations,there is a distinction.
It comes down to what activitiesa professional association
can and cannot engage in,like collective bargaining.
(21:38):
So let's hear moreabout the police.
The fun part about police unionsare not all of them are unions.
So they started as theFraternal Order of the
Brothers, like back in the daywhen policing was blatantly
used for racist purposes.
So it was a fraternity ofbrothers and a lot progressed
(21:59):
into becoming associations andare not technically unions.
But yet they have tonsand tons of money.
So, yeah, that's thefirst thing about unions.
Alright, I want to tread thisone carefully because just
because you have money doesn'tmake you an evil person,
it's how you use the money.
(22:20):
Money is a tool.
Money is influencein politics, 100%.
Money is donating tocandidates, getting them
elected to push your agenda.
It is putting propositionson the ballot.
It is influencing the voters.
It is freedom to influence.
(22:42):
And the only thing we,the voters, have to combat
that is literally our vote.
Because I promise you, everyperson in the legislature,
every candidate is hearing fromunions, associations, chambers.
All the different bigindustries, big corporations,
they're hearing from themall the time, I promise
(23:04):
you, and they're hearingfrom their checkbooks, too.
The only thing we have tocombat that is to make sure
that we are showing up to vote.
Because if they know theirconstituents are paying
attention, if they know theirconstituents also have the power
to put them in or keep themout of office, that's when they
start listening to constituents.
(23:26):
They start listening to thevoters, but if you don't vote,
if your community doesn't vote,why would they listen to you?
Right.
You're not going to doanything for their career.
Apathy is the best tool thathas ever been used against
the will of the people.
Well, it's not going tomake a difference, but
that doesn't mean you stop.
(23:48):
After we were done recording,Angela sent me the correct
numbers for CaliforniaProp 36 that she's going
to tell us about now.
According to the LegislativeAnalyst's Office's Fiscal
Impact Estimate Statement,Prop 36 will cost taxpayers
more than 26 billion, witha B, 26 billion in prison
(24:08):
costs over the next decade.
The biggest prison spendingincrease in California history.
Prop 36 also cuts 850 millionin the next decade from
dedicated funding for themental health, drug treatment,
victim services, re-entry,and crime prevention programs.
(24:30):
So keep those figures in mindgoing into this next part.
And if you're not in California,don't skip this because I
bet dollars to donuts thatsomething similar to this is
happening in your own state.
And you should beaware of that too.
We do after all have a federalprison system that also relies
on private prisons and thosemight be in your state too.
(24:51):
Let's change gears a little bit.
Is there anything comingup on the California ballot
or any state's ballots,that we should be aware of?
Or is there like anysurprise that we might
encounter come November?
I think the biggest thing thatwe as Californians are going
to be combating is going tobe a lot of the propositions.
(25:13):
There's a lot of moneybehind some of them that are
really bad for California.
A lot of the organizersthroughout the state, whether
they're regional, statewide,they're really working together
to push back and strategize.
And fundraise againstcampaigns that are running
(25:33):
billion dollar campaigns.
So these like non profitorganizations are collecting 5
donations here and there, right?
So they have maybe a fewthousand dollars in their
budget, whereas they'regoing up against some
big funded propositionsthat are just so bad.
And the one that comestop of mind was Prop 36.
(25:55):
And that's the one thatis looking to overturn
pieces of Prop 47.
If you don't remember, Prop47 was passed in 2014, and
that was the one that wasput on the ballot to help
reduce over incarcerationand overcrowding in prisons.
Because California'sprison system, people
were on top of each other.
There was the threestrikes, there was the low
(26:18):
threshold for, like, theft.
It was tough oncrime, 100 percent.
Since COVID and just theway our economy, housing is,
homelessness is, fentanyl, allthese pieces coming together,
there's been this big push tokind of convince Californians
that crime is up, but inreality it's still like the
(26:39):
lowest it's been in decades.
It just might look a littledifferent due to COVID.
We're actually returning topre COVID numbers of crime,
like violent crime hasbeen down this whole time.
It never increased.
But yet, you look on thenews, or it's just, crime
is up, crime is up, howto keep your family safe.
(27:00):
And it was allbecause of Prop 47.
Prop 47 has just beendrilled into the public's
head for over a year now.
It's been blamed becausethey knew they were going
to put this on the ballot.
So Prop 36 reversespieces of Prop 47.
So Prop 47, because wereduced the overpopulation,
(27:21):
those funds for used, I thinkit was like 800 million.
Oh my god.
It was huge.
It was used to fundprograms that help with
mental health services,rehabilitation, homelessness.
Like there were so manypieces that Prop 47 funded.
(27:42):
All that money saved was putinto resources that actually
do keep communities safe.
And those programswere successful.
The recidivism rate for thoseprograms were so much lower
than all other Californiaplaces that didn't have it.
So much lower than the nation.
That worked.
(28:02):
Our population went downand people were getting
the services they neededand it was successful.
Drug treatment, all that.
If you look at the numbers, itwas so successful and it's only
been implemented for 10 years.
What's going to happen with Prop36, is they're going to lower
the threshold for retail theft.
So it's now will be instead of900, it would be like 900 over
(28:28):
three years of felony charge.
So they're trying to stopthese mob retail thefts
at malls and stuff, right?
Right.
So it would be over three years.
So if someone stealsenough over three years
and hits that 900, felon.
You're getting locked up.
Because we're locking up morepeople, cause there's also
like fentanyl charges on there.
(28:49):
There's a lot more charges.
So we're going backto over incarceration.
We're going back to fillingup the jails and the prisons.
That's essentially what it does.
You know, getting criminalsoff the street because
it's just big crime wave.
But what that's going to dois going to take away that
prop 47 funding from thoseprograms and put it back
into our prison systems.
(29:09):
So we're losing that fundingbecause now we're putting
that money back into prisons.
And at the end of the day,that program, the LOB, the
legislative office, the budgetoffice, estimated it's going
to cost taxpayers an extra26 million over 10 years.
So not only does it takeaway funding from services
(29:30):
that actually keep us safe,it's going to cost taxpayers
additionally to bring back theover policing, bring back the
over incarceration, becauseit costs more to incarcerate.
But you know who's behindthe funding for this?
I think we can all guess.
California Corrections.
Of course it is.
Which is a private group, right?
(29:51):
Yes.
We have private prisons.
Yes.
It's a business.
It's a business.
Which is gross.
It's super gross.
The entire concept of a forprofit prison is disgusting.
I think that's one of, notthe worst, but it is one
of the worst concepts we aspeople have ever come up with.
(30:13):
We as human beings.
Oh yeah.
It's so disgusting.
And I'll also mention it'salso funded by, I'm going
to say names of names, HomeDepot, Target, Walmart.
That's going to hit us whereit hurts, because how many
of us don't shop at Target?
You choose Target over Walmart.
(30:34):
Absolutely.
But now, yeah, so they'refunding it and really
what this comes downto is brick and mortar.
These shops havebeen losing money.
It's not just retail theft.
Like that isn't even as bigas the amount that they're
losing because of onlinespaces such as Amazon.
That's why they'relosing so much money.
(30:57):
They can't take on that,but they can take on this.
So, let's recap here.
A false narrative was createdabout the level of crime
we are experiencing becausecrime is actually down.
But for the last severalyears, a disinformation
campaign has been ongoing toconvince us just people who
(31:20):
live here, that crime is up.
So in order to take back controlof all of this crime— which
isn't true, crime is happening,but not to the levels that we
are being led to believe theyare— we're going to remove the
programs that work to avoidrecidivism, to avoid crime,
(31:42):
period, to end crime and theoverpopulation problem, in order
for prisons that make profits toallow them to make more profits.
Am I getting that right?
Yeah, so they're essentiallysaying, don't you want to walk
down the street and feel safe?
Let's get thosecriminals off the street.
Throw them in.
(32:03):
Let's not help them.
Let's not do things for thecommunity and for the people in
those communities that actuallybring safer communities.
Let's just toss them.
Let's make money off of them.
Let's put them in the system.
Yikes.
That actually justturned my stomach.
The realization thatthis is what's happening.
Yeah.
Again, I am 46 years old.
I have voted in everysingle election since 1998.
(32:27):
I misspoke.
I'm at 1996.
That's when I graduatedfrom high school, 1996.
And I am now coming togrips with the fact that
this is how it's done.
This is how we vote againstour own best interests.
Oh, yeah.
And it's very misleading.
And it's so hard to pushback against that narrative
(32:48):
because a lot of this narrativeis being pushed by media.
And I wouldn't say likeit's media's fault.
I would say thosetype of stories sell.
Those type ofstories get eyeballs.
Media is also a business.
It's a business.
And now with social media,anyone can record anything
(33:08):
that's happening and put it on.
Look what's happening.
Look at this.
Look at that.
And the things spread.
We had phones back in ourdays, when we were like
younger, the amount ofcrime we could have put up.
Yeah.
But you know what?
At the end of theday, does that help?
We all watched RodneyKing get beaten.
(33:28):
Oh yeah.
And then we all watched thosepeople walk away scot free.
And that's something we'retalking about from the 90s.
Yeah.
It goes back to the peoplethat have the power to
create the narrative.
Right.
And unfortunately,perception is reality.
I mean, you can put outthe statistics, you can
(33:48):
put out the actual numbers,you can put out the budgets
and say, look at this.
But if they perceive thattheir world is unsafe, if our
communities perceive that,if that's what they're being
fed, that is their reality.
That's what they carry becausethat's what they're digesting.
So I mean, you could putwhatever statistics you want
about any issue But if that'snot what they see as their
(34:11):
reality, it's, no, it's wrong.
It's hard to pushback against that.
And yet you show upevery day and do it.
Every freaking day.
You and all of your colleaguesacross the country doing this
work, you're still doing it.
So much applause to youand your organizations for
picking up this fight for us.
For us, right?
(34:32):
Taxpayers don't payyour salary, right?
No, you have grant funding.
Mm hmm.
We work for our funding.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, no Home Depot andWalmart wants to fund us.
I'll tell you that much.
Man.
Once again, I want to remind youto be careful what you consume.
Make informed choicesabout where you're getting
(34:54):
your news and don't relysolely on social media.
Because the algorithmsare built on outrage.
We've seen what has happenedwith some stupid post a
woman made on Facebook aboutHaitians eating your pets.
Again, they're built on outrage.
That's what gets traction.
So that's what getsserved up to you.
We should all be outragedthat the prison systems that
(35:15):
are working are ready to bedismantled so that Target and
Walmart can eke out a few extrabucks that they lost to Amazon.
Not theft.
Amazon.
That's what Prop 36 is about.
Not keeping you safer.
But so that the fat pigsthat own retail corporations
and for profit prisons canrake in even more money.
(35:37):
That's not the only propositionon our ballots that will confuse
you about their real intentions.
And if you want to know moreabout how media, all media,
social and traditional,creates and trades in harmful
stereotypes, check out theepisode lists in the show notes.
I have a few.
Alright, the big takeawayhere is to follow the money.
Oh, absolutely.
(35:57):
Because that revealswhat the real agenda is.
So, it's funny thatearlier you brought up
real estate developers.
So much money comes fromreal estate developers for
things that are againstthe better interests of all
of us as a whole, right?
Like, for example Palos Verdesis falling into the water.
(36:21):
And yet developers decided,no, we can sell this to people,
knowing full well that alandslide was, like, it was
eventually going to happen.
And it's happening.
Now it is happening.
So the utilitieshave pulled out.
And people can't leave becausethey have nowhere to go.
And these aren'tnecessarily rich people
living on the oceanfront.
(36:43):
They were just regular schmoeslike us and now their, their
homes are valued at millionsof dollars or they were until
about a week ago, or by the timethis airs, until about a month
ago, and yet they're stuck.
So this entire scenariowas created because someone
thought they could dupea buck out of someone.
And they were passingthat responsibility off
(37:05):
to a future generation.
So what Angela and I are heretalking about is how we can
pass on a better generation.
How we can, instead of lookingto win, move the needle
in the right direction.
And that's incremental.
Every election is anotherattempt at this, right?
It's never ending.
That's what I think you weresaying about we're not winning
(37:27):
a fight because it's constant.
We have to stay vigilant.
We have to continue to lookat what we're being fed, what
our, our consumption is onthe medias, the social media,
the TV media, the print media.
What are we beingfed to believe?
Are we being duped?
(37:48):
Where is the money coming from?
Who profits from thingschanging in this way?
I'm really glad thatyou educated us on Prop
36 because that's huge.
That is really huge.
And it's heartbreakingand it's scary to think
that it might really pass.
Just because of the billionsof dollars that's behind that
(38:09):
campaign and the amount of timethey've been working on it.
We didn't really get towork on it until it became
official on the ballot,which was like a month ago.
So, the time, the runway wehave is much shorter than
the runway they've beenworking on because this has
been their plan all along.
Similarly to Roe v.
(38:30):
Wade, that's been a longrunway that folks have been
working on since Once thedecision came out, there was
already people working topush back and get it reversed,
and that was a long runway.
So by the time we saw itcoming, we had a short runway
to combat that, but thepieces were already in place.
The Supreme Courtwas already built.
(38:51):
There was like very littlewe could do with that, and
now we're fighting back.
Let's suppose I'm a new voter.
I am 18 years old.
This is the firstelection I get to vote in.
I'm super excited.
You know, the, theapathy of years of doing
this hasn't hit yet.
There's still enthusiasm there.
I still believe I can changethe world, which by the way,
(39:11):
you should never let go of.
You can still change the world.
Even if your world isn'tas large as you originally
thought, we can change it.
Okay.
What are we trying totell the brand new voter?
And maybe the voter that'scoming right behind them,
the 14 year old rightnow, the 10 year old.
What do we want them totake away so that when it's
their turn, hopefully we'velaid a foundation where the
(39:34):
Supreme Court looks different.
We've now given them arunway that's a little
bit more optimistic.
I would tell them to find thoseorganizations that are doing
the work that they care about.
Use them to learn, becauselikely they will be
pushing for legislation.
Likely they will be pushingfor federal level candidates.
(39:59):
Likely they'll be pushingfor certain ballot measures.
And likely they're alsogoing to be the ones to
bring to light the money.
Because they are the ones thatare going to do the research
to find out what's reallythe motive here and where
the money is coming from.
So find those organizationsthat are doing the work
that you care about.
(40:19):
Organizations that you trust.
Go start in your community.
There are regionalorganizations.
Find out what organizationsare working to pass good
policy at the city level,at the state level.
Learn from them.
And if you're ready, go tothe state level, go to the
congressional level, andjust start paying attention.
(40:40):
Because even though this isa presidential election, the
president can only do so muchwith the Congress they're given.
And the Congress we have rightnow, this particular week, we
just saw a lot of congressionalmembers not say anything about
gun violence, gun regulation.
(41:01):
Silence.
We're back to the thoughtsand prayers conversation.
Those do nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
They do less than nothing.
They do less than nothing.
I think they do damage.
I don't want yourthoughts and prayers.
I want action.
So pay attention to thosethat are going in Congress
because they're the onesrepresenting you when they
(41:21):
go to the White House.
Those are yourcongressional members.
And remember that even ifyou send them to the White
House, they have in districtoffices that you can go to.
You can make appointments andvisit your state legislature.
They have in district officesprobably down the street from
you, you don't even know it.
You can make appointments,you can call them, you can
(41:42):
ask them what they're doing.
You can go tell them like,Hey, what's happening here?
I voted for you.
What's happening here?
Sit with your city council.
City council is evenmore accessible.
You can get right in front ofthe person and be like, I'm
going to come in your office.
I'd like to meet withmy council member.
You know what?
What I'm realizing as we'retalking, the thing that I really
(42:03):
wish that I had recognizedwhen I was the new voter, when
I was 18 and, you know, BillClinton came to my school.
That's how long agowe're talking about kids.
He was cool.
He had a saxophone.
Right?
Oh, life was...different then.
What I wish I had recognizedwas that I hadn't gotten
wrapped up in the mediacircus, because this is what
(42:25):
we're being sold again, ofthe federal level elections.
Because what makes the mostimpact is who's mayor, like
you were saying, who's citycouncil, who's representing
your district, the onethat you live in every day.
And the culture that shapes thatdistrict, your neighborhood, all
of these offices are even moreimportant than who's president,
(42:47):
because that has a directimpact on your day to day.
And so I, that's what Iwould want new voters to
take away that yes, who'spresident is important.
It is sexy to talk aboutand debate, and we can
go round and round andround on the president.
But what affects your lifedirectly, is everything down
(43:08):
ballot in your city, in yourneighborhood, in your county.
And those aren't sexy.
We don't talk about them.
We don't talk about them aroundthe dinner table because the
media isn't paying attention.
And so it's our job ascitizens to pay attention.
Yeah.
And to find that info.
And that's the reasonthat organizations
like Courage Californiaexists to make us aware.
(43:30):
And give you the resourceslike Courage Score,
like voter guides.
We're going to have our voterguide that's going to come out.
So we even have our CourageCalifornia Institute, which
is our C3, so it doesn'tpush legislation, it only
educates, which has breakdownsof all the different
counties in California, howto vote in those counties.
It has breakdowns oflike the Supreme Court,
(43:52):
campaign money, councilmeetings, like everything.
All the differentstuff you need to know.
Or if you want to know,if you're a nerd like me,
about how our country worksand how people can actually
make change with thissystem that we've inherited.
So, the C3 exists, CourageCalifornia Institute, but then
if you actually, like, if youwant to be in the action and
(44:15):
push for progressive values,that's Courage California,
and those are where we havemore resources to really
help move that needle.
So, we have the resources,the organizations that are in
your community have resources.
They want to support you,they want to help you, they
want new voters to come out.
And just make sure you findthe ones that you trust, and
(44:38):
that are pushing the things youcare about, and that are being
transparent about where they'regetting their information from.
It's so important becausewe are being fed propaganda
from the moment we wake upto the moment we go to bed.
100%.
And it is so hard tonavigate elections with
or without propaganda.
(44:59):
So, yes.
Find those trusted messengersthat you can rely on.
It's very clear in this electionwhat we're fighting against
in the presidential campaign.
You know, it's, it's veryclear, it's very clear
where the money's going.
The Elon Musks of the worldare endorsing one candidate
and the rest of us areendorsing another one.
Great.
So we see that money.
That, that transparency is therebecause again, the media circus,
(45:21):
the media turned it into acircus and just covers it 24 7.
But like Angela is saying, thestuff that directly affects
you, the stuff that tomorrowyou're going to have to deal
with, that is either going tomake your life better or worse,
that's not getting the coverage.
And you have to seek it outand it's our job, again, as
(45:42):
citizens of where we live, todo that for ourselves and for
the betterment of our familiesand our spheres of influence
and everybody around us.
And so it's great thateverybody is wearing their
pearls and their Chucks, Icall them lifting shoes because
that's what they are for me.
That's wonderful.
But at the end of theday, what's happening
in your own backyard?
(46:03):
So the organizationslike Courage California
are transparent aboutstuff like that.
So the transparency needsto be more obvious and
like we were talking about,Prop 22, four years ago.
Prop 36, this election cycle.
The money behind them isn'tnecessarily obvious like it is
for the presidential campaign.
(46:24):
So when we get down to thenitty gritty level where we
live, us people who aren'tbillionaires, and are being
shoved information from thepeople who are billionaires,
it will only better theirlives if we vote this way.
We have to be very aware.
And it sucks.
It sucks to have todo more homework, but It sucks.
(46:45):
You know, the school ofhard knocks has taught us
that if we don't do thishomework, we get screwed.
Yes, it is hard and youjust have to remind yourself
that those who are inpower want to keep power.
The ones that have been inpower for decades, they are
clinging on to that power andthey're going to cling on as
(47:07):
hard as they can and they'regoing to do what they can.
For this generation, probablyeven next generation, it's
going to take a few generations.
Yeah, yeah.
That's why the fightis so important.
That's why we still show up.
As disillusioned andas exhausted as we all
are, we still show up.
And we trust.
And we work for thebetterment of the future.
(47:31):
We work for thenext generations.
Cause, you know, I know thisis a childless cat lady show.
I'm a childless dog lady.
So I don't have a lot ofstake in this next generation.
But I'll tell you what.
I love my state.
I love my community.
I want to see it thrive.
I want to see that my neighbor'skids have a path to success.
(47:52):
I want to see justicein my community.
I want to see equityin my community.
Because I live hereregardless if I have kids,
regardless if I have stake,this is my community.
I want to see it healthy.
I want to see it strive.
I want to see it have access toparks, clean air, clean water.
I want to see actualfamily values.
(48:14):
I do.
No, I'm only laughingbecause that is such a
buzzword for the other side.
Yeah.
They claim to be the sideof family values when no,
everything they do, includingcreating prisons for profit,
are diametrically opposedto true family values.
Yeah, I want the black maternitymortality rate to go down.
(48:35):
I want people to be able toafford to go to the doctor.
I want people to be ableto afford child care, to
have healthy meals, to havehealthy meals in school.
I don't want our kidsbeing fed shit and having
diabetes later in life.
That is only gonna benefitthe diabetes industry.
Like, come on.
Again, it all comesdown to money.
(48:55):
I don't want kids goingto school where the only
fruit they get is thetomato sauce on the pizza.
That's not a vegetable.
It's not.
It's sugar.
I'm not saying pizza isn't good.
Pizza is fantastic.
Just like, we want kids tohave fiber and nutrients.
And again, we don'thave kids, Angela and I.
And the whole childless catlady trope that's very, very
(49:18):
popular right now, we'regoing to lean into because
fine, if that's how you wantto see us, but the truth of
the matter is, we do care.
about other people's kids.
Oh, absolutely.
Because we have somethingthat is apparently in very
short supply in certaincircles in this country,
and that's called empathy.
So we are very much awarethat even though we don't
have kids, what we domatters after we're gone.
(49:41):
I say, I'm too busy mothering mycommunity, mothering the future.
I care, I invest, and I'mputting my all in this because
I really do want to seethe next generation thrive.
I want to see my people thrive.
We deserve to, as much asanybody else, but we've
had a long fight, and I saywe as a Mexican American.
(50:04):
California, it was Mexico.
We don't have the same historyas the East Coast, we have
a very different history.
I see this as our land.
I see this as our resourcesthat was taken from us.
That were in this system thatwe need to push back every day.
Because this is our land, ourfuture generations deserve to
(50:27):
be on this land and thrive.
And I believe that 100%.
We're here to be stewardsof the land and the people
and better, better forpeople who come after us.
Just better.
One of the ways to do that isto get out there and vote for
our interests, not against them.
The way we can do that isto rely on organizations
like Courage Californiaand people like Angela who
(50:48):
are doing the work for us.
They are doing the homework.
It's a group project, y'all.
It is a group project.
So let's reap the benefits oftheir work and all get an A+
Yes.
You're not alone in this.
It is very hard.
It is very messy.
There are so many levels tounderstand, but just know
there are organizationsthat are out there.
There's people thatare out there and we're
(51:10):
doing the good work.
We're putting in the good fight.
So seek those people out.
Find the helpers.
Find the helpers.
Yes, Mr.
Rogers was a gift to humanity.
Yeah.
All right, Angela, we have,I think we've made our point.
We will have to repeat thispoint over and over and over.
Obviously once isn't enough.
(51:30):
But is there anything elsethat you would like people to
know either about this electionor about Angela herself?
I founded a non profit herein my hometown in 2009.
Ran it for 15 years.
And our organization reallyworked to funnel Latinas
into volunteering in ourcommunities and civic
(51:52):
engagement, civic involvement.
Our community, we're not abig volunteering community.
I'm just going toput that out there.
But there's a lot ofpeople who want to
volunteer and want to give.
And I just felt like I neededto create this space for
Latinas to come together.
Cause I've always been a bigvolunteer and I've always
been involved with a lot ofdifferent organizations that
serve our people and theyjust didn't have the ability
(52:13):
to serve cultures adequately.
Regardless of language,just understanding
different cultures.
And a lot of the population theywere serving were the Latinx
community here in my County.
It's a huge population, butthe services themselves, the
organizations, it was verystaffed by white people.
The volunteers, white people.
(52:35):
So to adequately reach andserve, really help the people
that were going there forhelp, there needed to be
folks that had the know how.
Who spoke the same language,not just in terms of like
linguistics, but in culture,in history and understanding.
So I brought in these volunteersand it went from having
(52:59):
15 members to 400 memberswithin like a few years.
And we were serving inall different facets.
Some people like to volunteerwith puppies, awesome.
Some people like tovolunteer with kids, great.
We had volunteers doing somany things, but what that
really did was become apathway for civic engagement.
(53:21):
Because we were volunteeringin a lot of these organizations
and over 15 years, a lot canchange in those organizations.
A lot of funding can changein those organizations.
One moment, we're servingvictims of human trafficking.
The next year, thatprogram is cut.
The federal government cutfunds, which trickled down
(53:43):
all the way to our countyand our ability to serve
victims of human trafficking.
And that's when volunteeringled to questions.
Led to, how did this happen?
Led to more civic engagement,civic involvement.
Volunteering was really apathway to civic engagement.
(54:04):
Just understanding howthese programs don't
just live on their own.
Right.
They're impactedat so many levels.
Those federal dollars gothat we don't even realize
all the time that we don'teven question a lot of the
time and how the resources wesometimes take for granted and
just assume they will alwaysbe there, but they won't.
(54:25):
That's true.
So whether you get involvedby volunteering, whether you
get involved by just going toyour school board meetings,
go to a school board meeting,pay attention to that.
Start small and justbe willing to learn.
You don't gotta know it all.
So your pipeline tocivic engagement started
(54:45):
with volunteering?
Yeah.
Well, I started volunteeringwhen I was a kid.
So this is alwaysgoing to be your path?
Yeah.
Well, Angela, thank you somuch for your time today,
for the good work that you'redoing every day, even when I'm
sure it's just overwhelming.
And I really, really hopethat everybody listening
can take some hope away fromthis, but also the directive
(55:07):
to get involved, even in thesmallest ways, because this
does impact us directly.
Yes, we need you.
Get involved.
I need you.
I need you to show up for me.
You don't want toshow up for yourself?
Fine, show up for me, please.
Find your empathyand show up, damn it.
All right, will you wrapus up, please, Angela?
That's a burrito.
(55:29):
Hey, mira, if thisepisode made you feel
some kind of way, dígame.
Dm me on Instagram.
Or, send me a text.
You can do that rightfrom your phone.
If you want to be a gueston the show and put your
story out there too, checkout the guest form on my
website at pauletterato.
com slash guest.
Yep, just my name.
(55:51):
PauletteErato.
com slash guest.
Y no se te olvide quehay más perks when you
join the newsletter.
Todos estos links estánen los show notes.
Muchísimas gracias foryour support y hasta la
próxima vez, cuídate bien.
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