How Language Hides Power: Orwell, Policing, and the Week’s Headlines

This week, we look at how language shapes power — from the words we use in our own routines to the phrases officials use to blur responsibility. We break down a single news clip to show how euphemisms sanitize state violence, how “plain speaking” can hide distortion, and why civic illiteracy makes people vulnerable to confident spin. Drawing on George Orwell’s Politics and the English Language, we trace how vague language becomes a tool for control, especially in conversations about policing, immigration, and federal authority. Clarity isn’t cosmetic; it’s a form of resistance.

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Music By Geovane Bruno, Moments, 3481
Editing by Team A-J
Host, Carmen Lezeth


DISCLAIMER: As always, please do your own research and understand that the opinions in this podcast and livestream are meant for entertainment purposes only. States and other areas may have different rules and regulations governing certain aspects discussed in this podcast. Nothing in our podcast or livestream is meant to be medical or legal advice. Please use common sense, and when in doubt, ask a professional for advice, assistance, help and guidance.

Chapters

• 0:00 Eight Hours And Why Sleep Matters
• 3:20 Safety Rituals And Sleep Hygiene
• 9:50 Tech, TV, And Gen X Language Mixups
• 12:30 Kids Back To School And Sanity
• 16:30 News Clip: Framing A Killing
• 20:30 JD Vance, Power, And Rhetoric
• 26:20 Orwell’s Essay And Clear Speech
• 33:30 Civics Gaps And Manipulation
• 41:20 Euphemisms That Mask Violence

Transcript

Carmen Lezeth: 0:00

Hey everyone. Welcome to All About the Joy. This is Culture and Consequence with Carmen and Andrea. Put my glasses away. Hey, what's up, Andrea? How are you doing? Good morning. Good morning. Okay, I just want you to know, I no one else will understand why I'm saying this, but you will. I slept eight hours last night. Woohoo! Oh my God. And here's I'm so excited because I've been working on my sleep situation. And I realized, like, so since I've shared that, I'll just tell everyone. Like, I usually sleep three to four hours a night, and that has been my entire life. And it became a much bigger problem after. I mean, it's always been a problem, but it's like any any any noise I hear and I get up. And all the white noise, all the like put the fan and whatever, none of that ever works. Because I'm it makes me even more like I can't really hear, so I have to stay awake. Yeah, like totally vigilant. So um I had to deal with it because after my surgery, I just couldn't get back to working out because I had no energy, and I've it's like that weird cycle. And um, so yeah, I've been working on my sleep and I've been sleeping like six hours a night, kind of consistently. Consistently means three nights in a row. That's what that means. Um, and then last night I and I woke up this morning, I'm like, Andrea would be so proud of me.

Andrea: 1:31

I am, I am. I'm thrilled for you. So what share with the world, girl? What are you doing?

Carmen Lezeth: 1:40

Oh, well, I look it, I think everybody has their own um, like it's all individual. For me, it really is a sense of security, you know. Um, and then someone said to me, I won't say who it is, but he knows who he is. It's like, well, you know, like if you know, I could stay over. I'm like, that's that's not no. I'm good. That's that's not the problem. No, that's that's not gonna work. Um so for me, it's been a few things, and and I it's it's been a lot of things, but one of them is um I stopped wearing my watch. I don't wear it to sleep, but what I realized is during the day when I'm looking at my steps and I'm I didn't I didn't accomplish my steps, I didn't whatever, or my heart rate, or whatever. And having that anxiety added to my going to sleep at night feeling sad that I didn't accomplish whatever workout goal I thought I was supposed to have that day. I know it sounds weird, but it's it's all these little tiny things. I think that's I'm gonna say this in a this is gonna sound really bad, but I do feel unsafe. And that's been my entire life because I always sleep with one eye open. It's just the way I grew up. So dealing with that means having weaponry around my house.

Andrea: 3:05

Oh my gosh. Okay, we're gonna have to talk about your weaponry offline, but oh no, no, no, no.

Carmen Lezeth: 3:10

So that's why I put it that way. I know that sounds weird, but feeling like, and I'm not I'm not advocating anybody else's, and that's why I'm saying it's like, what can I do to make myself feel safe? Well, part of it is like, I know it's a habit from growing up, um, but it doesn't matter, it is what it is. So, like, what are the worst case scenarios? Like, what are the worst case scenarios that can happen? You know, like so how do I fix that? If I think somebody's gonna come while I'm sleeping, is there something I can have in my secret compartment in my bedroom that will hurt that person? You know what I mean? Like I know it's stupid, but things are that's stupid. I know, but it's working. Um so don't even try to come in my house, bitch. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Like, um that's the moral of this story. Yeah, that's the moral of this story, baby. Um also just um other things like uh not drinking water after eight o'clock at night, making sure I drink all my water before eight o'clock, so that when I go to bed at like 9:30, 10 o'clock, I do go to bed early because I get up at 4:30, 5 o'clock in the morning. But um, I'm not getting up to go to the bathroom, which I think was the other part of it too, was it's not just that everything wakes me up, it's that I then have to go to the bathroom, you know, three, four times during the night. That didn't help either. Blackout curtains, I've always had them, but I didn't have the great ones, I didn't have the good ones. Um, having the place really dark. So I it's just been a constant changing of so many habits. And um, and then you had mentioned something, and this made me feel better. I had said to you, you know, I I always fall asleep on the couch when I'm watching TV. Like I and I was like, I wish I could have a TV in my room. Somewhere along the way, I made it against the rules for me to have a and you were like, get a fucking TV in your room. I do you know what I'm talking about? Like there's all this thing. So I didn't get a TV in my room. I didn't because I I don't want to buy another TV, but I do have a um, I don't know what they're called. You know, you it's a sound, those little sound system box. Uh let me just show you this. One of these. And then you you it's a sound box and it takes the sound from the TV, and then you can put it anywhere in your home to like work out or whatever, so you don't have to put the TV on really loud. So I just put this in my bedroom now. I've never even heard of that. Really? But you can be on the phone and stuff too. It's a speaker, it's a like a portable speaker. Okay, okay. I call it a sound system. I was like, a sound box. That's a speaker. We'll be talking about language later. No, but I mean it's a speaker, but it's not just a speaker because you can bring it to like I always think of a speaker, you have to plug it in and keep it at the I'm thinking old school, you know what I mean? I'm Gen X. What can I say? Um, but yes, we will be talking about language later today. Um, how are you doing?

Andrea: 6:13

Are you doing good this morning? I am doing really, really great overall this week. Why, you might ask, because my children have gone back to school. It is the little things, right? Yay! I love those people. They are my favorite people in the world. I absolutely love spending time with them. Three weeks at home was too long. Wow, was it three weeks? It was three weeks. I think that's kind of the standard these days. And you know, as you know, it rained quite a bit during that time, so we were all in the hall together for a long time. My husband was off for two weeks. Oh, yeah. We had guests for like a week. Again, love them, happy they were here. But I am accustomed to being alone for most of the day, and uh, you know, I was. I mean, you know, I'm already a pretty big bitch. And like, would you stop that? My last weekend, it was off the charts. Like, I would wake up and just be like, right, right, right don't talk to me, don't ask me for anything. No, I'm not cooking for you. I don't care if you're bored. Shut the fuck up.

Carmen Lezeth: 7:26

You know what? You you have this body, I don't think you're a bitch at all. Okay, well, you don't live with me. So it's very true, it's very true, but uh no, I think it's funny because everyone thinks I'm the the hardcore whatever person when it comes, and it's always like it's you, Cynthia. And I'm like, yeah, I'm probably the most easygoing person out of all my friends, but I'm the one labeled with it. But it's okay, it's okay. Well, I'm glad you're you're you're doing good. Can I share a video so we could start our conversation? Absolutely, yes. Let me just also say this that it's really hard to be happy and joyful and positive during this time period. It really is. And so when you have it, really embrace it.

Andrea: 8:07

Yeah, recognize it, call it out, talk about it.

Carmen Lezeth: 8:11

Yeah, I mean, that's why I'm kind of so happy about the sleeping thing. And then, of course, I had to watch the news today, and I was like, okay. So let me share this is from Pod Save America.

TikTok Pod Save America: 8:22

That woman has as part of a broader left-wing network to attack, to dox, to assault, and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job. Everybody who's been repeating the lie that this is some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis when a law enforcement officer shot at her, you should be ashamed of yourself. This is classic terrorism. You guys are meant to report the truth. How have you let yourself become agents of propaganda of a radical fringe that's making it harder for us to enforce our law? She tried to run somebody over with her car, and the guy defended himself when that happened. Next question. There's a part of me that feels very, very sad for this woman, not just because she lost her life, but because I think she is a victim of left-wing ideology. I would appreciate everybody saying a prayer for that aid. He deserves a debt of gratitude, and I think the media prejudging and talking about this guy as if he's a murderer is one of the most disgraceful things I've ever seen from the American media. He deserves a debt of gratitude. A man who uh no one disputes, shot a woman three times, twice at close range. Keep in mind, earlier on Thursday, Vance tweeted that Renee Good was a quote, deranged leftist. Just imagine what J.D. Vance would have said or done about a Democratic politician who called Charlie Kirk deranged the day after he was assassinated. In the 10 years since Trump came down the escalator, that might be the most angry, infuriated, and disgusted I've been at something a Trump official, including not Trump himself, has done or said. J.D. Vance is disgusting. He lies with such ease, with such little compunction. He is unburdened by decency, morality, shame. He does it with confidence and arrogance, and even more inferiorly, he does it well. He can make any argument sound clever, at least on the surface, just to have such little humanity after someone was killed. Not a lot shocks me. I am shocked by just how the administration has handled this. They could have so easily, they could have so easily been like, we have our own opinions, we think that it was self-defense, but we'll let the investigation play out. But they're like doubling and tripling down, which I guess is what they do. But I also think it's a signal to everyone that like we're gonna do whatever the fuck we want. We have the guns, we have the legal system, and the rest of you can fuck off.

Carmen Lezeth: 10:39

Um so I I thought I would share that because I thought it was an interesting segue into what we're gonna talk about today regarding language. And um I actually think J.D. Vance is a much scarier issue than Donald Trump any day of the week. This morning, as we are coming onto air, Donald Trump last night, I guess, threatened to use the Insurrection Act, which basically means allowing the U.S. military to come into the streets of Minnesota, Minneapolis. And the military is not allowed to go against American citizens, but that's what the Insurrection Act would allow the president to do. So yeah, I thought I would just share. If people don't know who Pod Save America is, I'll just tell you right now that um that gentleman, John Farreau, was the speechwriter for Barack Obama. I don't care if you like Barack Obama or not, but every time he spoke, that man had something to do with his speech. Brilliant, brilliant individual. So, but anyways, thoughts.

Andrea: 11:40

Uh, well, I agree with you that I think J.D. Vance is much scarier for all kinds of reasons than Donald Trump. I mean, as much as you know, we will all be popping the champagne and dancing in the streets the day it happens, uh, we do have to think about the 15 seconds later when J.D. Vance becomes president, if God willing it happens soon.

Carmen Lezeth: 12:01

Um Donald Trump decides to resign for health reasons. That's exactly what you mean.

Andrea: 12:12

Uh anyway, but yeah, I you know, he's he is a much, much scarier individual, like I said, for all kinds of reasons, including the people who back him, support him. He's I'm hesitant to say smarter, but he is certainly smarter than Donald Trump. Um I agree that he knows how to use language. He's less, I don't know, uh charismatic is the word that's coming up. I don't know that that's the right word, but um, I don't think he would have the legion of of followers and you know, the the cult-like following that that Donald Trump has. But um they have put things in place at this point such that he could very easily take over and and you know be much more of a dictator than even Donald Trump is. Um, so I do think that's something that we need to look out for for sure.

Carmen Lezeth: 13:06

Absolutely. I want to talk about the language thing because um, so I didn't mention one of the people that I read on a regular basis because uh he wasn't part of that group. So there's a pod save America. There are all these different things we talked about last week, but Professor Eddie Glaude is someone that I revere. I talked about him on Friday Night Live as well. I just think he's an incredible writer and human being, and he follows us on some sack, which shook me. And so every Friday he delivers a summary of what's going on during the week, but it's not a newscast, it's really what he feels is going on, and he always embeds in there things that we can learn about who we are historically, and it's just an interesting read on a Friday, and that's what I usually do. But on Monday, which was a very important day for me, he threw in a George Orwell essay that I had never read, but you've read it before. And the name of it is see, I thought I was all prepared and everything. Hold on one second. Politics and the English language. And it is a it was written in 1946, 1946, okay. Um, so we're right at World War II, right? 1946. Right at the end, right at the end. Right. And so he's writing this piece and it's all about language. So do you want me to do a summary or go ahead, Andrea? I know you've already you've read it a long time ago and fucking I I sent it to Andrea thinking I was like sharing something new and shit. And she's like, Oh yeah, I read this and I've done a thesis on it, and I know everything about it.

Andrea: 14:48

No, I don't I don't know everything about it. I I remember reading this in a writing class that I took in undergrad. Um, I don't remember who the professor was. I don't remember the context of the writing class. I remember, as you said, it being very dense. Um, you know, really hard to read. It's really hard to read. You have to read it a couple of times at least to really grasp what he's saying. And it's also very like prescriptive, like he's really telling you what to do. Um so and I don't know what the um context of him writing it was. Was he just like throwing it out there? Or was you know, I don't know. But anyways, um but I do a lot of writing for work, um, and always have. And I think about the concepts in that essay every single day. Every single day I think about the concepts in that essay. It's really important, and I think you know, to sort of bring it back to what we're talking about, it's it's really about how people of all kinds, and I'll kind of talk about who those people might be, um, use language to guide the way you think about things, right? And so specifically, I think what I would say is media, uh definitely law enforcement, um, you know, politicians, politicians, uh, you know, even academia, right? All all they all use language in a certain way quite often to hide the truth, hide the actual meaning, hide what it is they are trying to say uh because they want you to believe a certain thing. They want you to, you know, and maybe they're not straight out lying. Oftentimes they're not straight out lying, they're using language to make you think a certain thing or to imply a certain thing.

Carmen Lezeth: 16:41

Or or to confuse you so that you don't know. So I'm gonna read what I wrote under the essay because again, there are little things in my life that make me happy, but uh Professor Eddie Glad also said spot on to what I wrote, and he doesn't normally, anyways, I just look at these are the little things in my life that make me happy. Okay. So this is what I wrote underneath. So he wrote his introduction and then he put the entire essay for everyone to read it. And then I wrote in the comment section along with other people, but I wrote, I'm gonna share something I probably shouldn't, but I can't stop laughing. Today is my birthday, and I was so excited to see your post today. Oh no, until I started reading. This is a dense, hard read for me, but after two reads, real slow, I think I get it. You're warning us that Orwell said back then is the same today. Political language that is vague, inflated, and dishonest is not by accident. It helps politicians hide the truth and avoid responsibility. This is how they manipulate the public. Um, I don't know if I need to read. Oh, when writers rely on cliches and abstract phrases, they stop thinking clearly. And that, wow, what did I oh, and that fog spreads to everyone who reads or hears them. Clear language forces clear thought, and clear thought is essential for a healthy democracy. So while we can't fix it all overnight, each one of us can resist by choosing simple, concrete, honest words instead of ready-made phrases that numb the mind and disguise reality. And there's a part where he says something like, How can you fix fascism if you don't know what fascism means? And that's kind of the crux of it. Yeah, that was such a fantastic summary, by the way. Oh, thank you so much, Carmen. Thank you, thank you. Well, here's the thing, too. I think that so I want to tie it back into why Donald Trump actually works for so many people. Because for so long, I think our education system has not given us the ability to understand everything that's going on. And I was thinking about this the other day. I don't remember ever in high school or in college, but definitely not in high school, reading the Constitution. I remember the Pledge of Allegiance. I remember having to do that in the mornings when we were younger. I do not remember us reading or understanding the Constitution and knowing what our rights are. And I'm like, was that by design? Like, you know, and I and I'm not looking, I am not the suspicious whatever thing, but it's kind of that same thing. So when you start hearing about politics, why is it so many Americans don't vote? Why is it so many Americans don't take to heart what's going on in their local and state and federal government? It's because we don't know, we don't understand it. It feels confusing. So here comes Donald Trump, who talks like us. By the way, he doesn't talk like us. He does not. He is very simple, he doesn't have vocabulary, he doesn't have a sense of logic. This isn't just now. This is but as Americans, because we're not nuanced enough, and I'm saying all of us, we gravitate, we I'm not gonna take that. A lot of people gravitated towards this heat. Talks like us thing, but actually he doesn't talk like you. He manipulated you because you did not know, because we were not taught. Is that a fair enough assessment?

Andrea: 20:14

I think it's pretty fair. I'm always a little reluctant to release people from responsibility, like you did not know. But I but I think you're right. I mean, we and we've talked about this before. Uh, you know, we as a country have not prioritized educating people. Certainly, we haven't prioritized civics, understanding our government, understanding the constitution, all of those kinds of things. I mean, you know, in their senior year, uh I think in all, you know, all across the United States, uh, students take one semester of government. They take one semester of government and one semester of econ. I know this how because my daughter just finished her one semester of government. Econ is economics for the um and well, actually, she's just starting. She did econ, but uh, you know, the the curriculum is not a hey, let's dive in and read um, you know, the constitution. It's like we have three branches of government. And the kinds of things I would think that you should already know at that point. You know, these are people who are gonna be 18 or already are right. They're ready to vote.

Carmen Lezeth: 21:22

Well, it's even things like we don't learn, we don't teach kids. I wasn't taught how to balance a checkbook. We don't like there's so many things we don't do to prepare our society to be smart, and that's by design. Oh my god, you know I don't do conspiracy theories, but now I'm like, I have always been who I am, curious. I've always been this kid, curious. I mean, I'm not a kid anymore, but you understand what I'm trying to say. Like curious, wanting to understand, and always shut down. I remember going to Catholic school and asking questions in religion, because we were really taught just religion, English, and some math, right? Like whatever. I sucked at the math bar, but I remember questioning, asking a question about religion, why it didn't make sense, right? Just asking this isn't a diss on religion, just a kid asking a question and being shut down. Basically, it is what it is, and you just take it in. Yeah, don't ask any more questions about it. And that's kind of I think what we do too. So I think language, you know, now because we do have the ability to um just uh I know this is um I'm a big Ed Eagle odd fan, no doubt about it, but the ability to even be able to read his stuff from him and hear him every week, it changes the dynamic, right? You can you can hear him and I can understand what he's saying easier than when he's writing it. And then when he writes it or he shares something that's really hard, I'm now curious and allowed to be like, well, I like him as a writer. Now I want to understand why he, because I admire him, understand this. And then I fight to understand it. That's how it should be. That's how it should be in all of our classrooms.

Andrea: 23:14

Yeah, I I think you've hit on something really important. That curiosity is is stifled at best, if not completely stands out in children. Um, and there are multiple reasons for it, right? Uh, you know, teachers have a lot on their plates, they have a lot of kids in their classrooms, they don't have all the resources and support. The curriculum is, you know, in some cases, uh dictate in a lot of cases, most places dictated to them. I mean, there are all kinds of reasons for that, but it's like you have to have a really special teacher to actually um, you know, honor that creativity and allow you to follow it. Like that's the special case.

Carmen Lezeth: 23:57

But I think even because I had I had we all have our special teachers, right? I mean, Alice McIntyre, who I'm still in touch with, was my seventh grade teacher, was my saving grace. She didn't just help me, she helped many, but that was also burning, it should, it shouldn't be that. It was so burdensome to her. You know what I mean? To have to be that teacher like that for too many kids. And she can't save everyone, and it shouldn't be that kind of job. So you're you're absolutely right, but I want to go back to the language thing too, because I feel like I am not trying to absolve responsibility of people who made choices that were not in their best interest or in the interest of their neighbors. It pisses me off more that they didn't, they don't have compassion or understand that this is exactly what was written down in that what was it of 2025. This is exactly what you voted for. All the people like, I didn't vote for this at US. This is what we did. This is what you voted for. It's in there, and we were screaming at you and telling you over and over again. But okay, but here we are. Um what I'm trying to say is there is a part of me that grew up always feeling like everything was my fault. I was too dumb. I didn't have the right FICO score. I, you know, whatever it is, right? Like, like everything was my fault. I didn't work hard enough. Are you fucking kidding me? And that one is probably the biggest one. Like, um, that I was never enough. And it wasn't till later in life that I started understanding that everything is not my fault. Everything is not my fault. I don't have control over why people are racist towards me and won't give me a fucking loan, even though I have a 750 credit score, whatever, and a whatever, and I have income or whatever. I can't fight people who are like Gataming Swatish is not going to get it. Yeah, I don't have control over how that works. You know, like I can't force the bank to be like, no, my name is Mary O'Donnell or whatever. And clients that I've worked for who've had worse, you know, income, worse FICO scores or whatever, and they can get, you know, loans, no big deal. I don't know what that's about. I don't know what that's about. So I'm not absolving people. What I'm saying is, for the most part, I don't care what it takes for you to realize it, but this is what's happening. Language is being used to manipulate you on all ends, and it's been happening for a long time. And that's kind of the crux of that article, is what I'm saying.

Andrea: 26:33

Yeah, absolutely. And I think you know what you wrote in your comment about, you know, the importance of saying things clearly and simply. And simply, right? I mean, look, the one that we all know, the the classic example, officer involved shooting. Uh, the cops shot somebody, right? Like, we all know that one. It's not, it's technically true, but what are they actually saying? A police officer shot somebody. Will they ever say that? No. Why? Right. That and that's the question. Why will they not say it that way?

Carmen Lezeth: 27:07

Right.

Andrea: 27:08

You know, or suspect died at the scene. Oh, really? Did he have a heart attack? Right. You know, was he bitten by a rabbit squirrel? Like, how did he die?

Carmen Lezeth: 27:18

A rabbit squirrel.

Andrea: 27:19

What are we not saying?

Carmen Lezeth: 27:21

Right.

Andrea: 27:21

And why are we not saying it?

Carmen Lezeth: 27:23

Right.

Andrea: 27:24

You know, the the the really, really important part is simple and clear. And that's what I was always taught, and that's what I have to go back. I this just happened to me yesterday. I was writing an email and I was like, what am I saying? We conducted an audit of blah blah blah. It's like, we audited this, you know what I mean? Like, why would I write it that way?

Carmen Lezeth: 27:44

Well, in that piece, uh, George Orwell, as he's writing it, says, and I know I'm doing this as I'm writing this piece. That's why it's so dense. It's like the irony of ironies is that if you're not careful of language, you start doing the same thing, which is what JD Vance is doing. Using words to manipulate what actually happened. And John Favreau, I don't know how to say this, the the guy who's on podcast, whatever, he says that. They could have easily just said, you know what, we're gonna have investigation, go into it, blah, blah, blah. But instead, they're using this as a way in which to keep justifying why ICE is doing what they're doing. You know, Stephen Miller, who I fucking hate with all of my heart and passion, because I think he's evil personified. I really do. Turned around and said that every ICE agent has uh, what is it like uh federal immunity or something? I forget what it's called.

Andrea: 28:43

Yeah, I can't remember what he called it, but it was essentially like, do whatever the fuck you want, you're never gonna be prosecuted. He said that on television. I'm like, that's not how our country works, dude. Like, this is how they want it to work. And I think like this is the thing. They say these kinds of things. Like, you know, Trump talked about just this morning. I read uh it was Rooters, so I think it's probably true. He said something about, you know, I've accomplished so much, we don't even need to have another election, right?

Carmen Lezeth: 29:11

See, yeah, right?

Andrea: 29:12

Like they are saying these things, and everyone's like, oh, you know, they're just racist, they're just jerks, you should exaggerating. They just say those things, right? No, you have to believe what they are telling you because they are literally saying this is what we want. We want a secret police force, an anonymous police force that you cannot penetrate, you don't know who they are, you can't see their faces, they're changing license plates on the cars that they're using to obscure themselves. We want them to have total immunity, to bust into your homes, to pull you out of your cars, to send you to secret prisons, either in the United States or somewhere else. This is what they want.

Carmen Lezeth: 29:59

And it's this is normal. By the way, this is they're normalizing it. That's that's what's happening right now. And this is it. I I'm telling you right now, on my mother's grave, I am not a conspiracy theory, I'm not someone who gets alarmed. I'm not this is what's happening right now is we're normalizing ice on the streets. Last night, ICE, there's there's 3,000 ICE agents. To put that in perspective, Minneapolis has 600 police officers. Really? They already know that.

Andrea: 30:31

I didn't know that number.

Carmen Lezeth: 30:32

They have 600 police officers. I don't care what you believe, I don't care if you have always thought Trump was great or whatever. I really need people to start doing a reanalysis of who you are as an American. I really who you are as a human. Yeah. But you know, they're all into the rah-rah Americana thing. So I'm just saying, if if what you believe is the ideals of being an American versus being a racist Nazi, I'm just saying, like, you know, well, I I Andrea's head, like, I'm gonna do a little popover. She's like, same thing. It's not. I look, it I feel like we're we're we're at a crossroads. We have been for a long time. But I actually I think people are thrown by what's happening. They shouldn't be, but they are watching uh women getting cut out of cars um and thrown to the ground. Uh I think it the visuals are painful for everyone.

Andrea: 31:34

People being, you know, shot straight in the face, point blank with tear gas. I mean, you know, just there are all kinds of things that we're seeing that if they were anywhere else, and I mean, we actually have this example right now. What's happening in Iran? What has happened in Iran, right? I mean, it's truthfully not as bad here as it has been there.

Carmen Lezeth: 32:01

Oh, I wouldn't yeah, I don't want to say that. Well, I don't want to make it like it's okay here either.

Andrea: 32:07

No, it's not, but you know, they have not yet murdered, you know, tens of thousands of people all at once. But that we know of because we don't have any information that we're being held in ice detention centers.

Carmen Lezeth: 32:19

I'm sorry.

Andrea: 32:20

No, don't be. Definitely correct me on that. I'm certainly no apologist for what they're doing, but you know, we're seeing that over there, and and you know, Trump's saying something like, Well, you know, we've got to protect those protesters for democracy. It's like, what are you even talking about? If we see it somewhere else, it's one thing, but when we see it happening in one of our cities, one of the great cities in this country, of which there are many, and you have community members, people who are activated who would never have even thought about this before. And I what you know, I will say, I have to give a shout out because I have talked a lot of shit about men in general and definitely white men. I know it's Minnesota and it's mostly white folks. I've seen a lot of white dudes out there. Yeah, and I my hat is off to those guys who are out there really trying to protect their communities, you know, and you're activating a lot of people. And I think that I don't know if they're surprised by this, they meaning the administration. I don't know if they're surprised by what they're sort of awakening in people, but I'm sure this is what they want.

Carmen Lezeth: 33:32

But I look at I'm I'm I'm done giving them the benefit of the doubt. I don't think I was really ever doing that after the first year of his first administration. I I, you know, I don't even think I was doing that. I was just hoping for the best. You know what I mean? But I feel like what they want is uh we're already in this authoritarian situation. And look at that's another buzzword that people don't know what it means. Yeah. So basically, authoritarian is the umbrella, and fascism is one of the uh legs of it, right? So authoritarian is the idea of a small group or one person taking over, um, and we don't have any say as a people. Fascism is that plus the ideology. So the belief that only white people should exist. That's Nazism. I hope I'm explaining it in the simple way that I understand it. Um, but it's a buzzword, and again, they're words that people don't, because we weren't taught them, so we don't know them. And then when you hear Nazi, people are like, I'm not a Nazi, and Trump is not a Nazi. And the behavior is so close. It's so close. And when you understand, again, it goes back to the article. If you don't know what fascism is, you can't fight against it. And them saying that they're not any of that doesn't make it true. You can see it with your own eyes what they're doing. They're picking up brown and black people, right? Latino people, whether they're citizens or not, whether they have a judicial warrant or not, they're just taking them off the street. These are human beings. These are not gang members, these are these are people working at fucking Target 17-year-olds. These are people who are landscapers, these are people who are farm workers, these are people waiting at Home Depot looking for work because they want to do the best that they can in this country. If we really cared about immigration, I say this over and over again, we would be going after the corporations, we'd be going after the businesses and the people that keep hiring people without paperwork. I'm sorry, I'm getting, I get so angry because to me it's so logical. If you really wanted to deal with immigration, you wouldn't be going after the poor fucking people who traveled here at the risk of losing their lives, giving up everything from their own country to try to just have a better life because America at one point had the possibility of being that for them. Just like it was for Andrea's family, for my family, for every Irish fucking person here, Italian person, whatever. It doesn't matter unless you are somebody who is indigenous to this country, which most of you watching this are not. I'm sorry, okay, I'm gonna bring it back. This is what happens when I get eight hours asleep. I got eight hours of sleep, bitch.

Andrea: 36:47

This is what happens when Carmen gets a good night's sleep, everybody. I'm sorry, but it's no, it's true. I'm like, it's shocking to me, truly, in many cases. Why like if you look at how hard most immigrants, almost all immigrants, number one, worked to get here, number two, work to stay here? Yes, these are hardworking, massively contributing people in our communities. Why would you not want them here? Why would you not want them here?

Carmen Lezeth: 37:24

Like, why would you believe they're stealing from you? I want you to show me for every time I hear this, they're stealing, they're taking our whatever. I I want you, I want you to name them and send me the information because I don't think anybody who ever spews that shit knows one person who's actually doing any of that. They're just again, language. You're being told stuff, you're repeating stuff, and you're not actually understanding the bullshittery that's happening.

Andrea: 37:50

Well, and a lot of times the people who are saying this are people like they're stealing our jobs. Uh, are you employed? You probably are. That sounds to me then like your job did not get stolen.

Carmen Lezeth: 38:02

Shut the fuck up, right? And there's the job that you're talking about the one on the farm, because I think they need people right now. You know what I mean? Is it the construction job you're talking about? Because I think construction people need them because they're losing so many people because of this fear, you know. And look at I'm just gonna end with this part. I love the idea that people think this is only going to happen to immigrants, right?

Andrea: 38:31

Well, that's not where I mean. As we know, this type of law enforcement action, we'll call it, um, to use a euphemism, um, uh, has been happening to black and brown people, black people, probably more specifically, forever, since the beginning of this country, you know, and on and on and on and on. This is not new to people whose skin is darker than mine. Let's put it that way, right? The fact that this happened, you know, uh the shooting last week, Renee Good, you know, this is a white lady in a white city, really, you know. Um, and it was, you know, it's one of those things that activates people because they're it's all of a sudden like it's happening to us, it's happening, you know. What how can this be happening? And it's like, well, this has been happening.

Carmen Lezeth: 39:26

This has been happening, and this is the trajectory. The trajectory is now going to be. Now it's happening to white people, yeah. And look at authoritarian governments, what they want is control and power. You know, I'm always gonna say it's a fake power because to me that's not real power, but it's still power, you know, because right now we're all living under it. And that power gets activated even more when people fight against it. And if people cower down to it. Then they keep, they keep having the power. Do you know? Like I'm not saying it well enough, but it's like we have to fight this if we want our country to be the country it's supposed to be, that we dream of, that we want. Because right now, what's happening is Trump and his minions and J.D. Vance and Stephen fucking Miller are making sure that they're going to have the government they want and they're going to do things. Look at Trump said it last night. I forget what the verbiage was, but this whole idea of like we don't have to have another election. He's accomplished so much, is what he said. That is part of the wording. That's what he's doing. He wants to put it in your head that we don't need to have any more elections now. He's got this. It's all sad. That's not who we are. That's not who we want to be. And it's going to get worse before it gets better. And we need people, we need courage. We need courage right now. You know, last night, not last night, but yesterday, the Senate tried to put guardrails on him regarding Venezuela. So the Democrats in the Senate proposed this uh, I don't know if it was a bill or whatever, but they're like they wanted to put uh guardrails on him and they had to do a vote. And five Republicans crossed over to vote for it. And then when they did the vote, two of them, of course, cowered out because the White House went to them and negotiated with them. And so it failed because J.D. Vance came in and did the tie-breaking vote. Okay? So now Trump still can do whatever he wants in Venezuela without Congress having anything to do with it. Do you understand that Congress actually has more power than the president? And they're not using it to stop him. They're supposed to have more power than the president. Right, but they're not using it. They're scared and they're not using it to stop him. Congress has the ability to fix this, to say, hey, President Trump, if you want to go into Venezuela, we'd like to hear the argument for it first because we're here as the checks and balance. It's happening. You need to be aware. It's happening. I'm and I'm specifically talking to Trump people. Wake up. Come on. This is not, this is not what you want. It's what you voted for. But I'm telling you, on my mama's grave, may she rest in sweet peace. This is not what you want. This is not what you want. So all right. On that note, uh thank you, Andrea, for letting me vent and scream and yell and whatever. But um, you know, thank you.

Andrea: 42:56

Wait, did you disagree with anything I said? Is that why you no, not at all? No, I don't. Jesus. I'm I'm open borders over here. You know what I mean? We don't need a homeland security, we don't need any of that. Just let them come in. Yeah, yeah.

Carmen Lezeth: 43:12

I don't know if I agree. Look, it we're not even there to have that conversation. Like, yeah, we just yeah, and that's where you and I are probably a little bit different, but I I don't know why we're so hateful of people in general who want a better life. I think that's a compliment that people want to wanted, wanted to come to the United States, you know?

Andrea: 43:35

But yeah, um it's sort of like outside of my realm of understanding as well. Like, but yeah, like I said, like why would you not want someone like that as your neighbor in your community? I know. Let me can I ask you this question?

Carmen Lezeth: 43:50

What do you think is gonna happen?

Andrea: 43:54

I know.

Carmen Lezeth: 43:56

Do you have hope? Because if you have hope, it may I always have hope and faith, right? But I just I mean, I I know you don't believe this.

Andrea: 44:06

I am generally an optimistic person. Um I don't believe that. Um I do have hope, but I also think that it's going to get really, really bad first. I do too. And when I say really bad, like none of us even really alive right now have any understanding of what that looks like to have essentially a war in our country. Yeah. You know, Minneapolis is experiencing that right now, you know, what it looks like essentially to to have an occupying force. You know, we got we got a little bit here in LA. You know, and I think that we're going to see more of that.

Carmen Lezeth: 44:56

And I agree with you. I think it's gonna get worse before I don't even I don't know when it gets better.

Andrea: 45:04

You know, I don't know either.

Carmen Lezeth: 45:06

The only thing I'm gonna say over and over again is that we need to vote. I don't care how intimidating it's going to get because they're gonna do everything in their power to make sure that we don't vote or that our votes don't get counted. You have to still vote. Figure it out, make sure that's all you do. We need to put more Democrats in office. We just have to. That is the only answer right now, and that's the only power we really have. And hopefully, you know, Mark Elias and um Joyce Vance uh were talking today on their podcast about where are the lawyers? Where are the corporations? Where are, you know, like where are all the big leaders? And it's always going to be the grassroots people that fight this. But they're saying, like, where are they? And they're they're two lawyers, if you don't know who they are. They're two big-time lawyers. And they're saying, like, they're fighting with everything they can, but the big time law firms are nowhere to be found because they've all capitulated, right? Just like the schools and whatever, the colleges, whatever. So we're in this fight. If we want our country, we we need to know what's going on, understand the languaging, be open-minded, and um yeah.

Andrea: 46:19

Well, and I think I think it, like you said, definitely have to vote. And I think look, I get into my funks too, where it's like, you know, what good is my vote gonna do? Are they even gonna see, you know, what is it gonna look like? Will they even be able to take their seats in 27 if they're elected in 26? I mean, there's all kinds of concerns and worries and all of that. You still have to do it, you have to do it. You have to get like 17 friends and family members to go to go like convince them to, right?

Carmen Lezeth: 46:50

Yeah, it's it's it's the only thing we can do right now. That's the only thing we can do right now is make sure that we vote in this upcoming election for Congress so that we can take back the we have a chance to take back the Senate too, which is amazing. Um, and definitely try to take back the House. It looks like we were gonna be able to take back the House. Everything else that happens after that, that's different. Our job is to make sure we vote and vote Democrat. And I, you know what, Andrea, you know me. I never tell people how to vote. You know I don't. Yeah. Because I used to be very like listening to conservatives and Republicans could understand, blah, blah, blah. But now I'm like, no, we done. We done. We done. We need to, we need to get back on track. So, anyways. All right, everyone. I hope you all have a great night's sleep. Because just change who I is and everything. You know what's so funny? I have energy when I'm only sleeping four hours a night, but now I'm just gonna be scared. Get a good night's sleep. Hey everyone, thank you so much for stopping by. And uh remember at the end of the day, it really is all about the joy. Bye, everyone.

Andrea: 48:00

Bye.

Carmen Lezeth: 48:02

Thanks for stopping by, all about the joy. Be better and stay beautiful, folks. Have a sweet day.