America at a Crossroads of Justice and Rights

Emotions are running high as we grapple with the uncertainty of our political landscape, from feelings of gaslighting to the pressing reality of authoritarianism. The discussion invites listeners to reflect on their roles and the importance of collective action in safeguarding democracy.

• The struggle with gaslighting and feelings of doubt
• The fight against emerging authoritarianism and oligarchy
• The impact of media on shaping perceptions
• Navigating safety concerns in public systems
• Implications of reproductive rights and autonomy
• Demographic changes and their societal impacts
• The importance of staying engaged in these turbulent times

Resources

@NYTopinion

@Bernie

@PoliticalGirl

Chapters

• 0:00 Concerns About Democracy and Authoritarianism
• 7:50 Governmental Negligence Puts Lives at Risk
• 20:49 White Men and Women's Rights
• 24:59 The Future of America's White Population

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Do I need to leave? Do I need to stay and fight? Am I overreacting? Am I being gaslit? Am I crazy? I'm your host, christy Chanel, and this is the Love you Miss, you Bye podcast. How are we doing? How are you doing? Oh my god, it has been a year since I talked to you last week. It feels like, anyway, I am struggling, as usual. I think every time I come on here now I'm like I'm struggling. No, I mean, I go, I am.

Speaker 1: 0:50

I saw somebody make a post on social media and they asked because they were like 20 something me if you have dealt with this a few times in your lifetime, and I'm like okay. So first let me acknowledge that she's calling me old, which I guess I can acknowledge. I'm a youthful minded old person, but I'm definitely older. I hate saying that, I don't like it, but I guess 51 would be considered old by a 20 year old. Anyway, she puts a post out there that says you know, can you older people? Please tell me if you've experienced this in your lifetime, please tell me.

Speaker 1: 1:31

We're overreacting and this is normal. No, we can't tell you that because it's not normal. I have never experienced this feeling in my life. I quite literally daily, go through the extreme emotions of do I need to leave? Do I need to stay and fight? Am I overreacting? Am I being gaslit? Am I crazy? All the time, all throughout the day. And then I'll get another executive order that just came through from Donald Trump and I'm like, no, no, I'm definitely not crazy. This is insanity.

Speaker 2: 2:13

I have nothing to do with Project 2025. I haven't read it. I don't want to read it. Everybody knows what I'm going to do. I have nothing to do with Project 2025. I have nothing to do with Project 2025.

Speaker 1: 2:26

Absolute insanity. And then you start to do your studying and you start to read up on things in other countries, other histories that have happened before us and that are happening currently, in this day, and then you look at the signs.

Speaker 3: 2:41

It doesn't start with them kidnapping you. It does not start with our exile. They don't stuff the ballot boxes.

Speaker 4: 2:49

It starts with the government making hits.

Speaker 3: 2:52

It starts with overcomplicated red tape With the law, with retribution, fake narratives and financial attacks. Democracy and rule of law is more fragile than Americans think. Russia was banning writers, but I was thinking like, I'm not writing books. Then it was banning teachers and I thought, ok, I'm not a teacher. This is the big mistake because, of course, it came to me.

Speaker 1: 3:22

And I don't know if there's any historian on the planet right now that says that the United States is not headed to where we're headed, which is really bad. And I'm noticing a lot of them are blue. They are blue, they vote blue, they are left-leaning and that's where they've seemed to strike first. So, although I'm in a red state of Texas, I live in a blue city, which is Dallas, and that's one of the places that they rated. Now I don't know what it's all for. I can suspect and again, this is only an opinion of one, well, it's probably an opinion of many, but I think, collectively, we are all concerned.

Speaker 5: 4:17

We are living in a dangerous and unprecedented moment in American history, and I'm getting a lot of calls from people who are not only upset about what's happening but are wondering how we best go forward. Well, let me tell you we've got to be smart, we've got to be organized and we've got to fight back. This is not a time for wallowing in despair and hiding under the covers. The stakes are just too high. We are not just fighting for ourselves. We're fighting for our kids, for future generations. We're fighting for the future of this planet.

Speaker 5: 4:46

In the first two weeks of his presidency, donald Trump defied the Constitution by ending birthright citizenship, fired government watchdogs, allowed drilling along our coastlines, pardoned violent insurrectionists, suspended all foreign aid and tried to cut off virtually all federal funding. So how do we go forward? First, to be effective, we've got to understand what, in fact, is happening around us right now. Second, we need a short-term strategy. What do we do tomorrow and the next day and the day after that? Third, we need a long-term strategy. How do we build a movement that gains political power?

Speaker 1: 5:21

When is the time we should leave? Do we, do we leave? Will it be too late? Once I figured it out that I should have left. Are you feeling this way or or no? I just know this. My lease is up in the summer and I have some decisions to make. I don't know. You know there are certain people that I talk to and they're my touchstones, and when I see these touchstones in my life, worried, it amplifies mine. I wish my mom was here. I really do. I could really use a voice of reason, but I know she's protecting me, I know she's guiding me. She may be yanking on my intuition a little bit, saying you need to go and you need to jump, you need to get out of Dodge, but am I overreacting?

Speaker 5: 6:14

The move toward oligarchy in our country. Government run by the rich and the powerful is proceeding rapidly, and it's not being done secretly. A little over a week ago, donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term. Standing right behind him are the three richest men in the world Elon Musk, jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, men who have become over $200 billion richer since Trump was elected and who now are worth almost a trillion dollars more money than the bottom half of American society 170 million people. But it's not just oligarchy that we should worry about. This country under Trump is moving rapidly toward authoritarianism. Just a few examples In violation of the Constitution and federal law, trump attempted the other day to suspend all federal grants and loans.

Speaker 5: 7:09

That means he blocked funding for Medicaid, head Start, food stamps, homeless, veterans, etc. Etc. Tens of millions of Americans, some of the most vulnerable people in our country, were impacted by that decision. Fortunately, Americans all across the country stood up in outrage and said no, no. And with the help of the courts, much but not all of that treason funding was rescinded. You may have noticed that Trump is intimidating the media with lawsuits against ABC, cbs, meta and the Des Moines Register. If Trump does not like what media reports, he is threatening them with lawsuits undermining the First Amendment. That is a direct movement toward authoritarianism.

Speaker 1: 7:50

I'm trying so hard to listen to independent podcasters, I want to make sure that I'm not being told lies that are just making me scared and nervous. You know, so I do. I listen to Midas Touch, I listen to the Politics Girl. I actually watched Fox News the other day because I want to hear what they're hearing. Like, why are they so different than me? What are they hearing? What is changing their mind? Because, inherently, all people are good, right, right. So if Trump voters are inherently good, they must be being told something different than what I'm being told or what I'm looking at. And I've always been a curious person, so I'm like well, what is it? What makes our viewpoints so different? It's got to be something, and I want to say it's media, mainstream media. We've had two plane crashes.

Speaker 4: 8:59

You are in danger. We are only 10 days into the Trump administration and we've already had the first fatal commercial plane crash in over 16 years, with no survivors. While emergency crews are still pulling at least 65 innocent American bodies out of the Potomac River, our president is on TV blaming this deadly crash on minorities and women. So let's not mince words. The president's press conference was despicable and everything he said was to avoid his own personal responsibility for this tragedy. And make no mistake, donald Trump is personally responsible for this tragedy. One of the first things he did as president was to fire the head of the TSA, fire the entire Aviation Security Advisory Committee, who are the people responsible for examining safety issues at airlines and airports. To freeze the hiring of air traffic controllers, a group of essential workers already stretched to their limits. And to fire nearly 100 top FAA security officers. The head of the Federal Aviation Administration himself, a man who was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2023 for his skill and competence, was forced to retire one year into his five-year term after facing relentless criticism from Elon Musk because he dared to find SpaceX for failing to follow safety requirements. And Donald Trump took all of these steps to make us less safe, while simultaneously hiring a completely inappropriate and unqualified Fox News host to lead the military and an MTV star to be Secretary of Transportation. And now we have had an unnecessary, tragic mid-air collision that includes the aviation industry and the military. So those deaths are on their hands. We should be having a thorough and transparent investigation on what happened and what went wrong, but we are never going to get that from this administration. What we are getting is press conferences blaming DEI. So let's be clear From the moment Trump was sworn in, he has done nothing but demonize and undermine federal workers, these humble heroes who go to work every day and keep us safe, the dedicated experts who are trained to help Americans prevent and mitigate and respond to emergencies and tragedies.

Speaker 4: 11:02

Lest we forget, donald Trump deregulated the air safety industry during his last administration, putting oversight into the hands of the airlines so they could make more profit. Since then, doors have flown off, wheels have fallen off, engines have caught fire and there have been mid-air near-misses across the station, which is why, for four years, secretary Buttigieg fought to hire more air traffic controllers and improve working conditions, but under the Trump administration, all of that work is in hard reverse. There is a value to competent federal agencies and workers. They keep us safe and they keep us healthy. The Trump administration has already told our health and food agencies to stop communicating with the public about airborne illnesses, about disease risks, about food and drug recalls.

Speaker 4: 11:42

Hundreds of thousands of people are going to die because of this as well, but the administration's complete lack of interest in our lives is so clearly represented by this horrible airline tragedy. This is what happens when you put incompetent people in charge of huge government organizations or mass fire experts who dare to challenge you. People die, and not just people you don't like. You. Do you feel safe getting on a plane right now, now that you know that Trump has gutted aviation safety, that there is no head of the TSA or the FAA and air traffic controllers are overworked and understaffed and we no longer have an aviation safety committee? And even if and when they rehire those people, their first job requirement will not be competence, it will be loyalty. And how does that help you? Are you willing to bet your life on someone who successfully made Donald Trump or Elon Musk feel special enough? Are you willing to bet your family's life Because this administration is now putting our lives at risk every single day Now, no life is worth more than another.

Speaker 4: 12:41

But that army helicopter collided with a plane filled with elite young figure skaters, their parents and their coaches, people who devoted their life to excellence, children whose biggest dream was probably to represent their country, and their country failed them. Competence is not woke, logic is not woke, safety is not woke. Those are essential, apolitical, necessary qualifications for these jobs. Donald Trump needs to get his priorities straight.

Speaker 4: 13:06

His leadership created the perfect storm for this horrific accident to happen. And trust me when I say, if we don't do something about it now, it's going to happen again and again and again. We are 10 days into this new leadership and they are showing us they are incapable of safeguarding the American people the way we have become accustomed. Holding them accountable is mandatory to preserving our safety. To be clear, the Democrats issued a safety warning for aviation last week. The Republicans ignored it, allowed these firings to happen while pushing through the Pete Hegseth nomination as the head of the military, knowing full well he wasn't up to the job. I know politics shouldn't matter here, but they do, and this is outrageous. And if we don't do something about it, then we are all in danger.

Speaker 1: 13:53

The first was a helicopter, a military helicopter that looked like it literally torpedoed a commercial American Airlines flight that had hopeful skaters, olympic hopefuls from Kansas, in the plane. Now, when you watch that video, it looks like it was done on purpose. That doesn't necessarily mean it was. This is freaking. This is freaking scary. How, after this tragic event, how does our president come out on the podium and say it could be DEI's fault? I'm sure you've heard some of it. That is the stuff that makes conspiracy theorists go berserk, because then you're like whoa Elon posted on X in January 2024 regarding aviation hiring. It will take an airplane crashing and killing hundreds of people for them to change this crazy policy of DIE, in which it's DI but whatever. So how make the hair on your back of your neck stand up? Because it does me.

Speaker 1: 15:20

Now the second plane accident happened in Philadelphia. I watched a video on that and it is heart wrenching. It looks like the plane just completely took a nosedive into this area near a mall, and the aftermath was horrendous. I still, right now, as I'm recording this, do not know how many people perished in this tragic event. I don't know anything. I'm not taking any flights. I could tell you that right now. No thanks, I'm going to hang out home. I'm glad I don't know anything. I'm not taking any flights. I could tell you that right now. No thanks, I'm going to hang out home. I'm glad. I took my Phoenix trip a week and a half ago and I'm not on any airplanes right now.

Speaker 1: 15:58

I saw another post where there's a lot of flights that are being canceled right now. I don't know why. I don't know what is going on with all of this. I have no idea. I'm sure in time it will all come out, but you can't help but feel uncomfortable. You can't help but feel uncomfortable that he's firing all of these different people, important people within our government and who are there to keep us safe and to keep all the things going that we need going now.

Speaker 1: 16:31

I am not going to tell you that there isn't corruption in our government. I'm just not going to do it because I think we all know that there is. I think there is systemic flaws in the democratic party and the republican party. I think we can all agree to that. I think it needs to be gutted and rebuilt. Yes, I, I think we can all agree to that. I think it needs to be gutted and rebuilt. Yes, I don't think this is what I would say to do. I think you have to put protections in place before you do stuff like that, because it has repercussions to everybody that's living in America. You can't just crash and burn it. People will suffer if you do that Now.

Speaker 1: 17:10

He did say. He did say I'm going to be a dictator on day one. He did say ah, you guys, it's going to get harder before it gets better. And I did say Elon Musk scares the living shit out of me. He just does. He just does, and so does JD Vance.

Speaker 1: 17:33

I don't know why I'm not as scared of Donald Trump. I'm not really sure. I feel like they're all puppets in this game and that there's people in the shadows that are really pulling the strings and telling everyone what's supposed to happen. Yeah, it's a little bit conspiracy, theoristy, I get it. I get it, but it's still how I feel. I feel like there's people we don't know that are directly involved in what's happening. I feel like it's all corrupt, it's all about money. Yeah, and I thought it made me nervous to talk about big pharma. It just did. I was always nervous about it because it's corrupt. Also, it can get dark and get scary and the more you uncover and the more you see. Of course, I don't have any. I don't have any pipelines to things that are happening.

Speaker 1: 18:23

This is all theory based, all opinions, but I think what, what I can definitely say is a fact is my intuition. It's there for a reason. I've always said that my intuition is saying holy shit, you need to keep an eye on this, you need to get prepared, prepared for what I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell you. But what really makes me weirded out is the fact that the people that voted for Trump and I can't generalize because I won't do that feel it's still headed in the right direction. The comments that I get still about how wonderful he is will blow your mind. It will blow your mind. They're not going to feel it and they're not going to see it until it happens to them. They're just not and there's nothing we can do about it. So I've told myself to stop worrying about teaching them, worrying about teaching them, showing them. I'm just going to speak, I'm going to tell my truth, I'm going to tell the things that I've learned, tell the things that I've put together, and they can tune out and that's okay, we may never have them on our side. I can say that I will definitely appreciate the people that voted for Trump and then now or later say I made a mistake, I was blinded.

Speaker 1: 19:58

Happens to the best of us. We've all been in situations in our lives where we're like we think it should be like when you date, when you fall in love and you're like, oh my God, you know your body tells you he's great. You just fall in love and then you realize, holy shit, this guy or this girl Nope, I was wrong and I wasted like five years of my life with this person. In my case it was 10. And I fucked up. It's a human experience to realize you messed up, all right. So I'm going to tell you something that I really feel strongly about, two things that I've put together on my own and I want you to tell me. You can tell me in the comments that I may be on the crazy train and that's all right. I'm good with that if I'm on the crazy train, but I'm going to tell you what I'm saying. Ok, all right, here we go. Don't judge.

Speaker 1: 20:49

Do you remember when Trump said the immigrants were taking black jobs? Remember that, you know. When he said that, I was like this guy is nuts, he is crazy. What. What is he talking about? Didn't make any sense to me. It really, really didn't. It just went in here, it just went right over my head until now. What are the most common jobs of immigrants? I looked it up. I actually know the top jobs. Let me, let me pull that little bad boy up Construction, agriculture, hospitality and manufacturing. So if ICE is out there scooping up all the immigrants and taking them away, those are the jobs. The quote unquote black jobs that he's referring to.

Speaker 1: 21:44

Are you getting it? Do you see it? I'm not going to tell you. I'm not going to say it because I need you to go. I need you to put the dots together. I need you to put the. I need you to put the pieces together. I can't have it come out of my mouth. I'm just going to put the facts in front of you and you. You have to tell me if you see it. What else did he mean? If you don't agree with my interpretation of it, what's yours? What's your interpretation of it? Inform me. Like I said, I want to hear everything. I want to learn everything. Your opinion matters to me.

Speaker 1: 22:19

I hope, my opinion.

Speaker 1: 22:19

I want to hear everything. I want to learn everything. Your opinion matters to me. I hope my opinion holds some weight with you. Okay, that's number one. Okay, number two, number two.

Speaker 1: 22:30

Now, this is really outside the box for me. I don't usually talk about stuff like this, but it's something that's been on my mind. You know I am a feminist, proudly a feminist. You also know that I have been talking about women's rights for a very long time. It's always an undercurrent in the things that I discuss, because I believe it is so important to keep moving in the right direction and not fall back and get lazy and forget that there were people and women before us that were fighting for our freedoms, for our right to vote, for our right to hold a job. Yeah, it's white women. Equality in the workplace, white women, it's not about your neighbors, it's about us, the white woman. Okay, you take that. You add to it.

Speaker 1: 23:35

They want to put a ban on birth control? Hmm, Add to it. They want to put a ban on birth control. Hmm, why would white men want to put a ban on birth control? Hmm, I mean they could have as much sex as they want with whoever they want and use birth control. Just a theory. You know what I mean. Just a thought. What would they gain from that? How does that help them? Okay, dei, white women, that's a workplace situation. Okay, workplace women.

Speaker 1: 24:09

Banning birth control, no abortions, Pro life, the Bible. The Bible teaches that the man is the head of the household. Women look to the man for everything. Some would say dominate, okay, they want to bring religion back so effectively taking women from the workplace, banning birth control, keeping them at home. Giving hasn't happened yet, but they're trying in the courts. No-fault divorce, keeping you married Okay, you know what I think it is. Oh, let me give you one more fact, because I told you I wasn't going to tell you what it is, can't help it. This one, I have to, probably lead you a little bit further down into the rabbit hole.

Speaker 1: 24:59

So the white birth rate is considered low, primarily because the white population of the United States is significantly older than other racial groups, leading to fewer women in their childbearing years and a higher proportion of people nearing the end of their reproductive lives, resulting in fewer births related to the population size. This trend is also contributing to a demographic decline among white Americans. The white population has a higher percentage of older individuals compared to other racial groups, meaning fewer women are actively having children. These are the reasons. Lower fertility rates. Studies show that white women generally have lower fertility rates compared to other racial groups. Socioeconomic factors, education levels, career aspirations and economic stability can also influence fertility rates across different demographics. Ability can also influence fertility rates across different demographics. Who will be the dominant race in 2045? The US Census Bureau projects that by 2045, the United States will become a minority white nation, with non-Hispanic whites comprising 49.7% of the population. These demographic shifts are influenced by factors such as lower birth rates among non-Hispanic whites, an aging population and increasing diversity in younger generations. It's important to note that these projections are subject to change, based on future trends in fertility, mortality and immigration.

Speaker 1: 26:38

What do you see? What is this about? Truly? And you just put on the TV and just watched Handmaid's Tale and thought this is a great show. No, this is possibly our reality. Not for me, because according to the show, I'd be in the kitchen cooking the food. Because I'm an aging white person. I wouldn't be the main character, but possibly my daughter would, or your daughter would think it through White babies.

Speaker 1: 27:13

All right, I've made enough connections for you. Please feel free to call me crazy in the comments, because I love it. I do appreciate you hearing me out. This is just me sharing my theories, opinions and thoughts. None of that is fact, although I shared a lot of facts. Keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground and listen to your gut. I know that right now, nothing is certain. Our realities are skewed, our mindsets are different. Nothing feels good anymore. It feels like you're sitting on the edge of your seat and watching a suspense movie, about to jump up, because you just know something bad's gonna happen. It feels like that. Stay calm in the insanity and know you're not crazy and we're in this together. Love you, miss you, bye, thank you.