This was a revolutionary dialogue. thank you. Seeing the way both expressed such practical optimistic "boots on the ground" real examples of people competently reclaiming communal forums and institutions to enact quick systematic change and laying out a sort of language in which an individual could in fact cause great positive change, and many times by working alongside preestablished groups is truly inspiring and a much welcomed refreshing perspective and call to action
I’m gonna translate this to Spanish for my business partner. This needs to be heard. The power of this line of thought is palpable at least to me. I work in industrial automation and I got in without any formal education, learned everything on the field. So much of what was mentioned mirrors what I see in the manufacturing/industrial world, whether it’s machining or food production.. I been able to insert myself and become nearly indispensable by proposing and following through on ideas that have saved and made my clients a lot of money by applying solutions that otherwise would of cost ten times more and involved a lot more intrusion, downtime and large upfront cost. While my approach is procedural and incremental.. And now with tools like chatGPT that can turn a word prompt into code or explain complex technologies I see the opportunity to bring everything I’ve learned to people that prior had zero chance to access things like programming, 3d printing, robotics etc..
as someone who's worked in early childhood education for basically their entire adult life, it was so encouraging to hear professor benjamin's words starting at 06:38. i try as best i can to instill my kids with a sense of justice and kindness and compassion, but when you meet a child when they're 1 1/2 years old and then they move up to a different classroom or preschool when they're 3, it can be hard to feel like what you're doing has a long-term impact. i'm working on going to grad school for ECE administration so i can get to a place where i can work with other people to start changing policies and curriculum. thanks for the thoughtful and illuminating interview.
I taught middle school in Utah for 5 years. By the time I finally left, I'd been eroded far beyond what's typically called "burn-out." I had spirit and enthusiasm and a belief in those kids who everyone else looked down on, and perhaps if I'd worked at a juvenile detention facility I would have had a better time of it. But instead, I had to be "on" all the time to a degree that few can understand. 30 twelve year-olds in each 7th Grade class, 34 thirteen/fourteen year-olds in each 8th Grade class; six classes every day; no assistant in the classroom, no mentoring or other support worth mentioning. I worked 50 to 60 hours a week, went home and wasn't there for my own daughter, slept all weekend, was never rested. I ran the math on my hours and figured out that if you reshuffled the hours into 40-hour weeks, I'd have to work 55 weeks out of the year--so where does that summer vacation really fit into the picture? It's the time when you do all of the living that you don't do in 10 months, and hopefully all the sleeping as well, but human brains don't work that well. On a fundamental chemical level, that schedule causes brain damage. It took two years for me to recover from teaching. One day I picked up a book with a technical subject I enjoyed, and was stunned by the joy I felt at reading the first few pages. "I'm back ... I got my mind back!" Two years, by the way, is how long it takes to recover fully from a concussion. Teaching in a public school in the conditions I experienced is the equivalent of a concussion? Yes, I think so. And you'll notice--that's all about me. Where were the children I loved so much in that equation? Well, they're a huge part of why I quit--I just couldn't be part of hurting them anymore. As my exhaustion piled up year after year, I fell further and further from my initial hopes to be a good teacher. Those most-disadvantaged kids I wanted to help were not getting anything out of the tattered scraps of my idealism. Instead, I was supporting a system that abused teachers who were in turn expected to abuse the students. I wished fervently that every teacher would quit, all of us leaving the brick prison and decrying the job of Enforcer over our sweet, beautiful teenagers. They could have been guided into their own form of genius, every one of them, if we weren't so busy telling them to sit down and shut up and do things designed for the 20% who fit an academic mold that was handed down from academics. I couldn't personally stand to be a part of hurting them anymore. The teachers who stayed followed the illogical reasoning that, if they didn't stay (and uphold the child-damaging system), then who would be there for the kids? Well, for a short time, no one would be: but in time, replacing the old system of teacher-abuse and child-crushing would make it so that everyone could be hired, trained, supported, and allowed to thrive in their jobs enough that they could be there for the children.
Im only a couple minutes in and its so nice to hear someone pointing out the flaw in those calls for individual action. The false positivity, limitted view, and shaming that tends to attribute those messages drive me nuts. Its a relief hearing someone else say it.
the conversation around education is so important. instead of causing shame, anxiety, and avoidance in students and children, we design systems and structures that welcome students. create an environment where people actually want to be, feel accepted, and are encouraged.
I 100% agree with the spirit murder thing. I have felt for a long time that education is basically you being forced into a cookiecutter shape and everything that does not fit the norm is cut away. So, in a way every child is being traumatized and disfigured by a system that does not care about them. You only have to look towards the numbers of children and yound adults developing mental illnesses like depression and such whil ein school and university. It feels soo good that Prof. Benjamin is on top of that issue.
Yeah, and what's worse the behavior you display in school is already defining how well you will perform in the job market. Because if you are disruptive and unable to follow along, your grades will drop. But if you can function well under authority, your grades go up. Its basically a selection process for Obedient Workers (as George Carlin said it).
Yeah, as someone who is neurodivergent, school absolutely demoralized me. I didn't even finish 6th grade! Now, later in life I did get my GED (and even spent some time at university before having to drop out), but...I'm unemployed to this day. As bad as school can be for most folks, it absolutely *wrecked* me. I've literally spent years in therapy recovering from it, and I'm still working on it...more capable now, but still hindered by that experience.
If we treated a teacher like an extended family member in grade school, it would be a better world because actually they are a member of your family just by the amount of time they spend with our children.
This is so fucking amazing. Such genius, such revelations. I want everyone i know to watch this. Legitimately identifying all the issues and giving us all concrete methods for moving forward i incremental, achievable and near universal ways.
I love the positive greeting to late students. If you're going to be chewed out for being late, there's a pretty good chance that you'll look at the clock and just skip if you were going to be late. Positive greetings make a difference between attending most of a class period versus none of it.
I had a teacher in a continuation school I was in that made space for me. He was able to help me learn tools that have been a huge asset in my activism. It definitely has an impact to start in the School.
I had a history teacher tell me communism meant if your neighbor wanted to watch television they could just walk into your house and take yours. Teachers come in all sizes lol.
that whole talk about the competitive vs cooperative mindset reminds me of something my fellow students told me about i was studying comp-sci and at some point we had a guest lecturer from some form of business school... and he started out by doing a "look at the people next to you - they are your competitors and only one of you will make it" routine... that guy was thrown out almost immediatly because of that becuse he was trying to embed an incredibly toxic mindset (we also never invited a guest from there again) we are all there to learn and move society forward by pushing the envelope of what is possible... and you never know who might have a crucial idea some day... so we are all partners there - we are all trying to improve, so if someone has trouble - we help out - and in response we are helped if we are in trouble... and in the end we all have benefited and society moves forward due to our collective efforts we dont stand on the shoulders of giants - we are lifted up and lifting up the people around us and no single person could be where they are without countless others supporting them
Oh wow the spirit murder thing is exactly my experience in school. That really resonated with me. Edit: I want to also say know that I reached the end that this was an incredible conversation and I really took a lot away from it. I love that she spoke on not telling people what you want to get rid of but offering them an alternative that is better to alleviate fear. It's not as clickbait headline worthy as something like Abolish the Police but it certainly is more effective at reaching people.
This was a great conversation. I like how it remains engaging despite the long run time and I think because it’s really relevant to people thinking on the community level
This was such a great converstation. When I was in school before I was diasnosed with ADHD and Dylsexia I had very bad experinces with the calotic private shcool I was in. I was seen as a problem rather then a student that had speical needs when it came to learning,. I got dianosed and they still did not provide me with good education. My parents put me in a public school with a good speical education program and if they did not do that. I would not have been able to become an engineer, I would have fallen so far behind and with the negatibity that my teaches were givining me before I went to public school I would have given up on myself like how the teachers were giving up on me.
Great show great people and great ideas. I'm a preacher for Human Rights over Profits. It would quite possibly tickle me to hear people like yourselves talk this very same talk without considering money as the motivator. People can and always do everything for the most part and money does nothing but..motivate? Let's consider other motivations like a roof, a bed, transportation, help of any type as a source of motivation. Teach the sense of doing right by encouraging doing right, follow thru with doing right and praise for doing right. In regards to what was said at 1:02, find your group. In my 44 years I have yet to cross one person as passionate about human rights as I feel and is well knowledgeable in what is destroying human rights in our world.
I worked at a tribal school my first year teaching and it has shaped me into the teacher I am today. This school was trying hard to support their native students with taking on trauma informed practices and acknowledging generational trauma. A common thing admin would say was, Relationships over everything. It’s better to have a good strong relationship with your students than being good at teaching. Basically, learning academics is important, but building strong positive relationships was the priority and to not stress about the test scores. The test scores have less of an impact than how you interact with the children.
This is something I think of often, and I have always had the same simple solution - treat everyone I meet and interact with, with a base level of respect and trust. If they prove they are not worth it, I become non-interactive as much as possible. I will never be negative unless they cause me problems in some way or another. Even then, I still refuse to do anything that would cause lasting damage. Causing destruction does nothing but cause more destruction, and while true change isn't "surface pleasantries", but showing kindness and compassion and being SINCERE. That will lead us to start working together and stop looking at things with "what does it mean to me" and rather "what does it mean to people as a whole"
unfortunately, we do not all have the same goals and the majority seek survival of their privilege over species survival. even if the solutions have no cost they are still rejected based on ideology and religion.
@jthadcast I am very much aware, one of many reasons I feel that it is too late to truly save much of anything. The entirety of the society that has been built relies on turning against your fellow humans to ensure you are able to survive. Very few, it seems, truly do anything out of kindness of their heart and expect nothing at all out of it. It has only ever brought pain to the human race, and it will continue to do so.
The discussion around interconnectedness and solidarity reminded me of the Perfect Circle song - Disillusioned. That we all provide our unique voice to the choir and if we tune into to each other, we lift all the voices higher.
Thank you for the shout-out to the Seattle Solidarity Budget! It's such a good project, and has unfortunately not been as influential as one would like in city politics.
Nothing frustrates me more than talking with people who see very little wrong with the world. It works for them, so why change anything? Even if "working for them" means working 12 hours a day, drinking too much, and hating your home life. Seeing something wrong with this is being "whiny" and "naive" or even "lazy" because I don't want to spend >50% of my time devoted to work.
Loved this. Refreshing, enthusiastic and encouraging considerations of how our individual efforts for positive progress can be made institutionally transformative. Thank you Ruha and Adam!
The dula story reminds me of being taught in university psych classes about how in research on psychological treatments it's really important to have a baseline therapy control group as opposed to just a no treatment control group, because just having a therapist there at all often has a significant effect regardless of what they're doing just because it's a person expressing care about your issues.
Okay only just getting in, but, as a parent, and having grown up with this all my life, kids are CONSTANTLY being told it is up to them to change the world to be a better place. Normalizing those values and socializing them is always part of the picture, but how can we give ourselves tools and our kids tools to accomplish those goals?
Man, I'm part way through but this just made me depressed. Just thinking about all the wasted human potential wasted by "small" problems that we just don't address. It just had me thinking back to math teachers who looked over me in math classes and advocated I not take the higher level classes while being on the line vs others who they _saw more potential_ in. It feels like I can't complain because what evidence do I have, but I feel like I've probably lost a lot of potential as a black man due to things like this and I always wonder how I could get back on the real me path. Just thinking of doctors who just absolutely dont seem to see me as a person, whether that's because I'm a man, or black or have a resting grump face or all of them. Maybe it's none of them even, but various studies on things like this tell me I'm probably not wrong. I don't even know how to fix any of this because many people just don't want to see that nuance or worse, actively want it to be worse. This means that for all the people who want to it on a small level, they need to do even more work. This is really starting to give me the same feeling you get watching black mirror except its 100% real and I have to live in this world and just take it.
Great comment.Btw: "Maybe it's none of them even, but various studies on things like this tell me I'm probably not wrong." - I just wanna say it's entirely rational to err on the side of you being absolutely right about that.. maybe it's not m place to tell you this, as a white Dutch guy that's never been in the USA.. but come on, we know what the US is, if I can help you feel more confident in your healthy and intelligent suspicions then here you go
The not so subtle racism of lowered expectations. That intentionally leaves black people in a state of penury subjugation under our capitalist overlords. America's public education system has it's funding system specifically designed to keep kids in poor area undereducated. While the economic system intentionally puts as many black people in poor areas as possible. To this day.
If I'm correct, "be kind" actually comes from a longer saying, which I learned as, "Before you judge, emphathize. Or if you can't be empathetic, sympathize. Or if you cannot be sympathetic, at the very least be kind." It's about a mindset of showing care, not simply politeness. But I do think a lot of people interpret "be kind" to just mean "be polite." I come from the Pacific Northwest, a notoriously chilly culture. People are not going to smile at you on the bus, say good morning, or give you a lot of personal space. Everyone I've known from the South says Seattle is impolite. And not to say that it doesn't have its share of problems with race, homelessness, inequality, etc., but comparitively many of the same people who may seem rude hold highly progressive views and want their city to improve on these measures. I'd rther have empthy than politeness, any day.
The word that came to mind around 31:17 was Solidarity. When your teachers go on strike, they're doing that for your benefit. Show some solidarity! Edit: Yes! They mentioned it!
As a federal budget analyst working for a humanitarian agency, I love the statement that "a budget is a moral document." That's 100% why I keep doing what I do. I know my work builds the justification to argue in favor of being a more moral, welcoming and inclusive society.
Adam, thank you so much for captioning your main videos! Can you please do the same for the podcast? I am deaf and have been a fan ever since I first saw you on good 'ol cable TV as a kid. I would love to share your podcast interviews with my deaf friends and family members!
Do not undersell kindness. It is much more than simple politeness or pleasantries. Sometimes it requires bluntness, but always it considers what would be best for the person(s) involved. Deep consideration, not shallow acknowledgements.
A lot of this sounds a lot like what I've been calling enlightened self-interest. I do better for myself by helping others, because by making others do well, there's less chance they'll feel the need to hurt me or the less likely they are do poorly and thus be more productive, which also helps me. You never know which person is going to be the one to help you when you need it most.
@@Craxin01 yes you did "I do better for myself by helping others, because by making others do well, there's less chance they'll feel the need to hurt me or the less likely they are do poorly and thus be more productive, which also helps me." That's capitalism. I must provide for you in order to benefit myself. This win-win generates value, which benefits you but also me. I can use that new value to help you even more and you can use the surplus value to benefit me even more. It's a virtuous cycle.
@@tann_man Yeah, because capitalism has done nothing but good and has caused no harm whatsoever. We aren't currently in a climate crisis brought about by people gaining wealth by burning fossil fuels. There isn't a massive amount toxic plastic in the ocean. People aren't being worked to death for a few to live in splendor. No, I am absolutely NOT describing capitalism, capitalism is the antithesis of what I am describing. Go back to whatever OAN\Fox News bubble you came from.
@@tann_man Virtuous cycle my ass. It's a vicious cycle that only benefits the top 10% wealth earners in the country. Trickle-down economics don't work anymore. Capitalism is failing miserably. People like you make me laugh so hard.
I think most privileged people (of which I kind of am) don’t realize the extent to which the quality of the services they rely on depend on the happiness of the people they try so hard to ignore
Another great interview, I think it's understated here but on top of having insightful thought provoking answers from Ruha, I also think Adam has a knack for asking unique questions that are pretty good at getting my brain working. I wanted to share a different perspective about how people think about the slogans of groups fighting for civil right. I absolutely understand the mindset of wanting to frame it in a way as to not scare the middle aged white suburban voters but I think that effort is mostly wasted. First I think the opposition to BLM and police reform are mostly arguing in bad faith. What they almost always do is demonize and obfuscate the message of groups like BLM by blaming any and all problems on defunding that didn't even happen. These people will say things in response to virtually anything bad happening something like "you see? you all see what happened now that we defunded the police, look at all the crime now, this is what happens when we submit to their demands." These bad actors know full well that not only were basically very few budgets cut in even a small way, we actually saw many police budgets increase since George Floyd was murdered. But lets say it was decided that a friendlier slogan was a smarter play, lets say for example if the slogan for BLM was maybe something like "Fund The Change We All Need" where it's now a positive affirmation, the bad actors in congress or on fox news would absolutely frame the movement like "oh we all know what they REALLY want, they REALLY just want the police DEFUNDED these RADICALS think they're clever but we can see right through their flowery language!" We all know these people don't play by the rules. It should be mentioned that most mainstream dems in a coordinated effort to appeal to white liberals either avoided talking about police reform or even fought against it. Biden said in the state of the unions he wanted higher budgets and more cops, thanks O'Brandon. Now I'm a white dude, so I'm not here to tell anyone how best to fight for the right to not be murdered by cops so maybe a more positive slogan could have swayed public opinion in a more favorable way but the ideas that defund the police really stand for is opposed by the people who write the laws. Republicans definitely will not support it, and the dems outside of maybe a few small examples don't support it either. Anything approaching a Bernie or an AOC is quickly getting close to jumping out of the Overton window and corporate dems just won't allow that to happen unless some giant shift of public opinion happens and I just don't think a nicer slogan would have helped. I mean jesus fucking christ these people are executed for all the world to see and the best we got were libs saying "ohh well it sure sucks all these poor blacks are being murdered in broad daylight on camera and the criminals responsible and the systems they operate under are almost never held accountable but it's just that slogan, so hostile you know? maybe if they were a little nicer about it we could do something" Also not to mention, I'm pretty sure that black people have been catering to the fears of white people on this stuff since like forever and still have to fight tooth and nail on every single issue. King said some shit I always think about where he said something like "who are you to set the time table of another mans freedom? who are you to tell us the best time to fight for equality?" fuck that shit, it wasn't a message or slogan that prevented real police reform, nothing was done about it because these class traitors were able to murdered unarmed children with impunity and the power structures still refused to change the status quo in this country. And that's because acknowledging the problems with policing here would mean they would have to acknowledge and address the deep rooted problems of white supremist capitalist power in this country, and we sure can't be having any of that now can we?
I was always a success in school... I'm an honors student and graduated with honors as well... And yet my family left me to die on the streets... I did everything I was supposed to do and have absolutely nothing to show for it... And I'm even being attacked and punished for things I had absolutely no control over... And I'm being blamed when it was the people who are punishing me responsibility to handle the things that I'm being punished for not having...
I find this so ironic and satisfying that I was called to click on this video on my fyp as I’m sitting on a train that was 25 minutes late with no explanation as to why, with an already 20+ minutes wait, in a train car with reduced speed because the cars didn’t meet last inspection’s standards. Good thing I decided to get to the platform 2 1/2 hours early for a train ride that was at most 45 mins a year ago. Where tf is this money going??? Love this content ❤
I think instead of diminishing kindness, we need to emphasize the importance and meaning of deepening that. I never think of kindness as just surface level
I design reliable systems for a living and complex life is my inspiration. It’s the best example we have of prosperity at scale (homeostasis), and society requires the same fundamental behaviors (virtues) as it does to achieve lasting prosperity. These behaviors in order of importance are sensing our environment, responding to our senses, preventing waste, creating value, tolerating failure, and circulating excess. Or in other words, being observant, honest, efficient (not greedy), productive, merciful, and generous. That’s how you bring people together and capture the full benefit of synergy. If we build organizations around these virtues, they will simply outcompete the status quo and the change will be organic
There is an inherent problem all societies have with systems, and that is distinguishing the amount and kind of support to give systems. This leads to 2 senarios, society serving systems instead of systems serving society, or systems failing from lack of proper support. We need to support systems without being subservient to them or any ideals about them. And not be afraid to adjust systems to fix flaws or recognize that flaws may have been intentional. And to always remember that systems and ideas are only as good as the good they do and should never be used to do harm or prevent good.
Interesting. How could "spirit nurture" be different from "everyone gets a trophy"? Because we've seen what "everyone gets a trophy" has impacted a generation.
The problem with "vial justice" is that people suck, they can't be trusted and I refuse to cooperate with any of them because I know I'm just going to get screwed over by doing it.
My first ever clas att university was in history and the lecturer was the study counsellor for that department and she just crushed us saying "This will be a waste of time if you don't find your niche, you won't be employable and good luck finding work without a Master's aswell". Just went on and on about how we'd made a stupid decision, I dropped out and switched field. I don't get why the study counsellor would do that, you could feel everyone's existential dread after that class. It was for the better that I switched I like what I'm studying way more but damn that was a gut punch
Speaking on the issue of spirit killing (or perhaps I'd frame it as educational demoralization), it's absolutely worse in marginalized communities. You both pointed out black students being overlooked, which is absolutely a major concern. It also affects the disability community and those with neurodivergences or learning disabilities. As someone with multiple neurodivergences, I was absolutely neglected by my school. The principal thought I was an idiot, some teachers thought I was nuts...it wasn't until the 4th grade when a new vice principal took an interest in me, and got me placed in an enrichment class...and I thrived there! It was the best class I ever had...for about 1 year. Then it was gone. 5th grade was when my decline started...and I didn't even make it to the end of grade 6... This demoralization affects me to this day. I'm still afraid to do new things or take on new responsibilities. I've never had a real job. My experience was literally disabling. I've done years of therapy to try to recover from this, and I'm _still_ working on it to this day. So yeah, it's definitely a thing. It definitely ruins lives. Adam, you said you were affected by it (and I believe it!), and I'm glad you were lucky enough not to be held back by it...but I wasn't so lucky.😔
@@tann_man I figured, but I also wanted to share my incredulity at someone unironically calling it socialized education. Maybe you should look up the word socialized, I don't think it means what you think it means. And I've had terrible experiences in private schools too...in fact, in some cases, they were worse! It's just the damage had already been done by the time my family gave private schools a shot.
@@DrTssha Are you claiming public education isn't socialized education? Maybe you should look up the word socialized, I don't think it means what you think it means.
This was such a good talk! At first I was apprehensive, the revolution one step at a time is usually horse poop, but I was glad to quickly see that is not what this was about. It did make me think of a few good tangents. There is a guy on YT who goes by Anark (channel of same name), he is an anarchist if the name didn't give it away. He relatively recently had two videos I think you'd actually enjoy and get some ideas from, and that I think compliments this topic rather well. One is about strategic holism. He defines 4 areas where movements/transformations have to work on simultaneously, ortherwise they'll be coopted/derrail (e.g. material reductionisms, identitarianisms of all sorts, "the libs(tm" in general), which I think compliments and works in tandem with this idea well. Another one is about how the revolution has to be horizontal from the start, which I honestly think is the natural extension of this topic. Honestly, I think you'd even enjoy reaching out to the guy. Cheers.
Haven’t watched it all yet - think it’s important to highlight how much individual action is not only impossible but even when it is, often discouraged or punished.
Joining the PTA is very important for progressive/ liberal /leftist parrents because a lot of right wingers will join the PTA at a school where they don't even have kids
Wow. I have quite a bit to ruminate on after watching this one. Such an incredible episode y'all, every single point you guys talked about feel like I finally have an answer to the many, many times I have watched or read something online about some horrible problem that is happening and all the misery that comes along with it and I'd be left sitting there feeling so... helpless, hopeless, and defeated because what could I actually do to make any sort of change for that problem? Everywhere I look its just these deeply systematic problems that can't just be fixed with some change of wording. I even have gone as far as just not watching videos or reading articles about certain subjects because I always come out feeling so upset and pissed, sad, frustrated, etc. because when you say.. "okay so we've diagnosed the problem, so what can I do to help foster the needed change?" the answer is ALWAYS "Call your local representative, help out with someones campaign.. yadda yadda yadda." Okay but what happens when your local reps don't fucking listen to you? What happens when everything from the ground up feels truly FUCKED? Or when the lobbyist go behind closed doors and literally just lie? For the first time I actually feel like I know the path forward after we've identified the problem(s). Cannot wait for Ruha's book to come in the mail, immediately went to go buy the book when the episode finished up!
I lived in Tokyo Japan for about 22 years. And about year 10 I was invited to go to a cultural exchange group. The group had volunteers and three full time community organizers paid by the local government. The paid full time community organizers were there to help with a budget - provided by the local government - and to check with health and safety/legal etc. The volunteers set the agenda of the events we ran. So each month we held events where anyone living in the community could join. We had such diverse events. We had experts in certain subjects come teach the volunteers and local people joining the event how to make traditional Matcha tea, wagashi sweets, cooking simple foods like monja, doing dancing. Now I understand that this is not directly related to changing systemic problems... but one thing about volunteer groups is that they lack funding and lack direction and support. This group was highly successful because the local government funded it. And for the large part the things we did, were the decisions made by the people living in the area. And I think we can make lots of grass roots changes just with a little support from local governments.
28 min in and that hits home: I was finally kicked out of the gifted program in 5th grade despite off-the-charts scores in every subject (only slightly 'above average' in math though) when my gifted program's unpaid "volunteer teacher" handed out a calculus worksheet when I'd never been exposed to it: Told me that I needed to "figure it out on [my] own time" and gave me a card to his $100/hr cram school (that he ran 5 nights a week for 3 hrs and that my classmates all attended) and when I didn't show (b/c we're poor) he kicked me out of the class.
@@westganton not really, especially because it isnt 1 person 1 vote... and the people making the decisions are not decided based on what you buy... they are decided on basically arbitrarily at the whim of those already in power corporations are not a democracy with the consumers as voters corporations are dictatorships... and you cant vote your way out of a dictatorship PS: also at that point you already bought into consumerism - and consumerism is part of the problem... we dont need to buy different things...we need to make less things that we dont need, we need to make the things we do make last much much longer and we need to repair and reuse the things that break as much as we can
@@jffryh in many cases voting with your wallet isn't a possibility anyway. Plenty of people would rather shop at a local business but economically they simply cannot afford to. They don't have a choice other than "low low prices" because they get "low low pay." Couple this with what are essentially monopolies on your cable, internet, electricity, etc., and this idea of voting with your wallet being a meaningful thing makes a lot less sense on a systemic level.
Dear Adam, So often we’re told about an impending disaster that later turns out not to be happening any time soon. How did these scares became part of our culture ?
Ron Finley, what an oxymoron, that area is highly toxic! Cities are very dirty (heavy metals)! Growing food is great, but growing healthy food is better! We must be about promoting science-based healthy alternatives. I'm a Black man from South-Central Los Angeles. I have been gardening for 61 years.
It sounds like y'all conflated being kind with being nice. Surface level pleasantness that doesn't really offer much beyond the appearance of doing good for someone is just being nice. Being kind is making a conscious effort to do something that actually helps others. Having empathy for them and their experiences, holding space, making time, considering their perspectives and needs, rejecting cruelty...all of these things are kindness.
The police unions could be an easy problem to fix: don't let the org that negotiates their labor contract also represent the officers in cases of misconduct. I mean, I'm not sure how it would work mechanically, but some kind of mandated financial separation between the funding of the labor union and the funding of lawyers for officers, etc?
Requiring police officers to carry a sort of malpractice insurance would go a long way. When police mess up it's the taxpayers that are on the hook for the lawsuits because the taxpayers are bankrolling the whole thing. Make these officers cover themselves the same way a doctor has to.
@@Thezuule1 problem is no insurance coverage for 80% of the police force, pre-existing conditions, they hire the those least likely to honor civil rights, the law, and the constitution.
@@jthadcast > unions aren't the problem but the blanket "cops get to decide" what the rules are Who do you think wrote that into the contract? EVERYTHING about the way cops are hired, disciplined, and fired is in the union contract.
@@rickrussell like i said, the police setting the terms is the problem and as you say the conflict of public safety vs union job protections. the better way is a 90% reduction of duties and a 90% reduction in staff with zero protection for acab. the law protects citizens if the law can't do what the unions do for cops then we have to ask how the citizens can live with less protection from acab. they are nothing but economic gang enforcers to make the cowards in society feel safe for political manipulation.
@Sharon R 🙊 any key takeaways or time stamps I should watch. I really wanted to get something out of this video as I am interested in the topic, but I'd prefer they get to the point
It's disgusting how much of people's identities are shaped entirely by the job they hold, and even moreso how defensive they are of those positions when threatened by things like automation.
you can make flour out of near all dehydrated vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds etcc.. also what we call food is just texture and flavor. you fake that your body mostly thinks its the food you think it is.
we only eat a small amount of over domesticated plants/vegetables. there's millions of edible plant that could hold near miraculous properties that are completely outside of the scope of the public's is aware of, also this list would grow the moment research is done as more plants than predicted would eventually be uncovered
She's brilliant. Except when it comes to common sayings. Its "cogs in the machine" and its "spokes in the wheel" not "cogs in the wheel". And its "brought you to your knees" and "knocked you back on your heels" not "brought you to your heels". She's mixing metaphors.
Okay I am a HUGE Factually fan..HUGE. but audio version. when I heard in a recent podcast intro that Factually was now on TH-cam, I thought "huh? Why? That would mean I cannot walk my dog while listening. But maybe there is something special to the video version." But here I am, 3 minutes in and No, all there seems to be extra is a lot of handwaving and pointing. In fact it's really distracting. So Why? (Though I guess I still have the choice of staying All Audio. As long as you maintain the podcast)
This was a revolutionary dialogue. thank you. Seeing the way both expressed such practical optimistic "boots on the ground" real examples of people competently reclaiming communal forums and institutions to enact quick systematic change and laying out a sort of language in which an individual could in fact cause great positive change, and many times by working alongside preestablished groups is truly inspiring and a much welcomed refreshing perspective and call to action
Thank you!
I’m gonna translate this to Spanish for my business partner. This needs to be heard. The power of this line of thought is palpable at least to me. I work in industrial automation and I got in without any formal education, learned everything on the field. So much of what was mentioned mirrors what I see in the manufacturing/industrial world, whether it’s machining or food production.. I been able to insert myself and become nearly indispensable by proposing and following through on ideas that have saved and made my clients a lot of money by applying solutions that otherwise would of cost ten times more and involved a lot more intrusion, downtime and large upfront cost. While my approach is procedural and incremental.. And now with tools like chatGPT that can turn a word prompt into code or explain complex technologies I see the opportunity to bring everything I’ve learned to people that prior had zero chance to access things like programming, 3d printing, robotics etc..
are you talking about cancel culture and gate-keeping?
@@tripleaaakollektiv870 I mean fear of change
as someone who's worked in early childhood education for basically their entire adult life, it was so encouraging to hear professor benjamin's words starting at 06:38. i try as best i can to instill my kids with a sense of justice and kindness and compassion, but when you meet a child when they're 1 1/2 years old and then they move up to a different classroom or preschool when they're 3, it can be hard to feel like what you're doing has a long-term impact. i'm working on going to grad school for ECE administration so i can get to a place where i can work with other people to start changing policies and curriculum. thanks for the thoughtful and illuminating interview.
I taught middle school in Utah for 5 years. By the time I finally left, I'd been eroded far beyond what's typically called "burn-out." I had spirit and enthusiasm and a belief in those kids who everyone else looked down on, and perhaps if I'd worked at a juvenile detention facility I would have had a better time of it. But instead, I had to be "on" all the time to a degree that few can understand. 30 twelve year-olds in each 7th Grade class, 34 thirteen/fourteen year-olds in each 8th Grade class; six classes every day; no assistant in the classroom, no mentoring or other support worth mentioning.
I worked 50 to 60 hours a week, went home and wasn't there for my own daughter, slept all weekend, was never rested. I ran the math on my hours and figured out that if you reshuffled the hours into 40-hour weeks, I'd have to work 55 weeks out of the year--so where does that summer vacation really fit into the picture? It's the time when you do all of the living that you don't do in 10 months, and hopefully all the sleeping as well, but human brains don't work that well.
On a fundamental chemical level, that schedule causes brain damage. It took two years for me to recover from teaching. One day I picked up a book with a technical subject I enjoyed, and was stunned by the joy I felt at reading the first few pages. "I'm back ... I got my mind back!" Two years, by the way, is how long it takes to recover fully from a concussion. Teaching in a public school in the conditions I experienced is the equivalent of a concussion? Yes, I think so.
And you'll notice--that's all about me. Where were the children I loved so much in that equation? Well, they're a huge part of why I quit--I just couldn't be part of hurting them anymore. As my exhaustion piled up year after year, I fell further and further from my initial hopes to be a good teacher. Those most-disadvantaged kids I wanted to help were not getting anything out of the tattered scraps of my idealism. Instead, I was supporting a system that abused teachers who were in turn expected to abuse the students. I wished fervently that every teacher would quit, all of us leaving the brick prison and decrying the job of Enforcer over our sweet, beautiful teenagers. They could have been guided into their own form of genius, every one of them, if we weren't so busy telling them to sit down and shut up and do things designed for the 20% who fit an academic mold that was handed down from academics. I couldn't personally stand to be a part of hurting them anymore.
The teachers who stayed followed the illogical reasoning that, if they didn't stay (and uphold the child-damaging system), then who would be there for the kids? Well, for a short time, no one would be: but in time, replacing the old system of teacher-abuse and child-crushing would make it so that everyone could be hired, trained, supported, and allowed to thrive in their jobs enough that they could be there for the children.
Im only a couple minutes in and its so nice to hear someone pointing out the flaw in those calls for individual action. The false positivity, limitted view, and shaming that tends to attribute those messages drive me nuts. Its a relief hearing someone else say it.
"Ruha" has to be one of the coolest names I never heard before. Powerful, yet mellow. Could be the name of a mighty river and not be out of place.
the conversation around education is so important. instead of causing shame, anxiety, and avoidance in students and children, we design systems and structures that welcome students. create an environment where people actually want to be, feel accepted, and are encouraged.
I 100% agree with the spirit murder thing. I have felt for a long time that education is basically you being forced into a cookiecutter shape and everything that does not fit the norm is cut away. So, in a way every child is being traumatized and disfigured by a system that does not care about them. You only have to look towards the numbers of children and yound adults developing mental illnesses like depression and such whil ein school and university.
It feels soo good that Prof. Benjamin is on top of that issue.
Yeah, and what's worse the behavior you display in school is already defining how well you will perform in the job market. Because if you are disruptive and unable to follow along, your grades will drop. But if you can function well under authority, your grades go up. Its basically a selection process for Obedient Workers (as George Carlin said it).
Yeah, as someone who is neurodivergent, school absolutely demoralized me. I didn't even finish 6th grade! Now, later in life I did get my GED (and even spent some time at university before having to drop out), but...I'm unemployed to this day. As bad as school can be for most folks, it absolutely *wrecked* me. I've literally spent years in therapy recovering from it, and I'm still working on it...more capable now, but still hindered by that experience.
@@DrTssha I wish you all the best
It depends on the school you go to and who you’re surrounded and learn with. Some are bad and some are good.
If we treated a teacher like an extended family member in grade school, it would be a better world because actually they are a member of your family just by the amount of time they spend with our children.
You're right and that's a terrifying.
This is so fucking amazing. Such genius, such revelations. I want everyone i know to watch this.
Legitimately identifying all the issues and giving us all concrete methods for moving forward i incremental, achievable and near universal ways.
I love the positive greeting to late students. If you're going to be chewed out for being late, there's a pretty good chance that you'll look at the clock and just skip if you were going to be late. Positive greetings make a difference between attending most of a class period versus none of it.
Negative reinforcement is a good and useful tool.
@@tann_man lold
@@tann_man not when it fails to produce the desired outcome.
@@synthgal1090 As with any tool, use it correctly and you'll achieve positive results.
These are exactly the kind of conversations that we need to be having.
This explains exactly why I created my TH-cam channel. Thank you for sharing this!
I had a teacher in a continuation school I was in that made space for me. He was able to help me learn tools that have been a huge asset in my activism. It definitely has an impact to start in the School.
I had a history teacher tell me communism meant if your neighbor wanted to watch television they could just walk into your house and take yours. Teachers come in all sizes lol.
that whole talk about the competitive vs cooperative mindset reminds me of something my fellow students told me about
i was studying comp-sci and at some point we had a guest lecturer from some form of business school... and he started out by doing a "look at the people next to you - they are your competitors and only one of you will make it" routine... that guy was thrown out almost immediatly because of that becuse he was trying to embed an incredibly toxic mindset (we also never invited a guest from there again)
we are all there to learn and move society forward by pushing the envelope of what is possible... and you never know who might have a crucial idea some day... so we are all partners there - we are all trying to improve, so if someone has trouble - we help out - and in response we are helped if we are in trouble... and in the end we all have benefited and society moves forward due to our collective efforts
we dont stand on the shoulders of giants - we are lifted up and lifting up the people around us and no single person could be where they are without countless others supporting them
ah the 21st century corporate education system, divide and conquer through attrition.
Oh wow the spirit murder thing is exactly my experience in school. That really resonated with me.
Edit: I want to also say know that I reached the end that this was an incredible conversation and I really took a lot away from it. I love that she spoke on not telling people what you want to get rid of but offering them an alternative that is better to alleviate fear. It's not as clickbait headline worthy as something like Abolish the Police but it certainly is more effective at reaching people.
This was a great conversation. I like how it remains engaging despite the long run time and I think because it’s really relevant to people thinking on the community level
Thank you, Ruha Benjamin and Adam.
Such important information and work! Thank you both
This was such a great converstation. When I was in school before I was diasnosed with ADHD and Dylsexia I had very bad experinces with the calotic private shcool I was in. I was seen as a problem rather then a student that had speical needs when it came to learning,. I got dianosed and they still did not provide me with good education. My parents put me in a public school with a good speical education program and if they did not do that. I would not have been able to become an engineer, I would have fallen so far behind and with the negatibity that my teaches were givining me before I went to public school I would have given up on myself like how the teachers were giving up on me.
Dr. Ruha Benjamin is brilliant.
Keep going Adam! You’re amazing!
Great show great people and great ideas.
I'm a preacher for Human Rights over Profits. It would quite possibly tickle me to hear people like yourselves talk this very same talk without considering money as the motivator.
People can and always do everything for the most part and money does nothing but..motivate?
Let's consider other motivations like a roof, a bed, transportation, help of any type as a source of motivation. Teach the sense of doing right by encouraging doing right, follow thru with doing right and praise for doing right.
In regards to what was said at 1:02, find your group. In my 44 years I have yet to cross one person as passionate about human rights as I feel and is well knowledgeable in what is destroying human rights in our world.
Ive never felt so heard prior to Ruha speaking in this pod. She really makes me believe change is possible
I worked at a tribal school my first year teaching and it has shaped me into the teacher I am today. This school was trying hard to support their native students with taking on trauma informed practices and acknowledging generational trauma. A common thing admin would say was, Relationships over everything. It’s better to have a good strong relationship with your students than being good at teaching.
Basically, learning academics is important, but building strong positive relationships was the priority and to not stress about the test scores. The test scores have less of an impact than how you interact with the children.
This is something I think of often, and I have always had the same simple solution - treat everyone I meet and interact with, with a base level of respect and trust. If they prove they are not worth it, I become non-interactive as much as possible. I will never be negative unless they cause me problems in some way or another. Even then, I still refuse to do anything that would cause lasting damage. Causing destruction does nothing but cause more destruction, and while true change isn't "surface pleasantries", but showing kindness and compassion and being SINCERE. That will lead us to start working together and stop looking at things with "what does it mean to me" and rather "what does it mean to people as a whole"
unfortunately, we do not all have the same goals and the majority seek survival of their privilege over species survival. even if the solutions have no cost they are still rejected based on ideology and religion.
@jthadcast I am very much aware, one of many reasons I feel that it is too late to truly save much of anything. The entirety of the society that has been built relies on turning against your fellow humans to ensure you are able to survive. Very few, it seems, truly do anything out of kindness of their heart and expect nothing at all out of it. It has only ever brought pain to the human race, and it will continue to do so.
The discussion around interconnectedness and solidarity reminded me of the Perfect Circle song - Disillusioned. That we all provide our unique voice to the choir and if we tune into to each other, we lift all the voices higher.
Great episode.
Thank you for the shout-out to the Seattle Solidarity Budget! It's such a good project, and has unfortunately not been as influential as one would like in city politics.
Nothing frustrates me more than talking with people who see very little wrong with the world. It works for them, so why change anything? Even if "working for them" means working 12 hours a day, drinking too much, and hating your home life. Seeing something wrong with this is being "whiny" and "naive" or even "lazy" because I don't want to spend >50% of my time devoted to work.
yes, well said. that being said i do daydream of a day where the crisis wakes them up to collective progress though i realize this is pure fantasy
In NYC schools they have social workers and counselor that the students are sent to as soon as there's an issue.
Loved this. Refreshing, enthusiastic and encouraging considerations of how our individual efforts for positive progress can be made institutionally transformative. Thank you Ruha and Adam!
Awesome conversation! Thank you!
The dula story reminds me of being taught in university psych classes about how in research on psychological treatments it's really important to have a baseline therapy control group as opposed to just a no treatment control group, because just having a therapist there at all often has a significant effect regardless of what they're doing just because it's a person expressing care about your issues.
Okay only just getting in, but, as a parent, and having grown up with this all my life, kids are CONSTANTLY being told it is up to them to change the world to be a better place.
Normalizing those values and socializing them is always part of the picture, but how can we give ourselves tools and our kids tools to accomplish those goals?
Thank you both for the great conversation!
Man, I'm part way through but this just made me depressed. Just thinking about all the wasted human potential wasted by "small" problems that we just don't address.
It just had me thinking back to math teachers who looked over me in math classes and advocated I not take the higher level classes while being on the line vs others who they _saw more potential_ in.
It feels like I can't complain because what evidence do I have, but I feel like I've probably lost a lot of potential as a black man due to things like this and I always wonder how I could get back on the real me path.
Just thinking of doctors who just absolutely dont seem to see me as a person, whether that's because I'm a man, or black or have a resting grump face or all of them. Maybe it's none of them even, but various studies on things like this tell me I'm probably not wrong.
I don't even know how to fix any of this because many people just don't want to see that nuance or worse, actively want it to be worse. This means that for all the people who want to it on a small level, they need to do even more work.
This is really starting to give me the same feeling you get watching black mirror except its 100% real and I have to live in this world and just take it.
Great comment.Btw: "Maybe it's none of them even, but various studies on things like this tell me I'm probably not wrong." - I just wanna say it's entirely rational to err on the side of you being absolutely right about that.. maybe it's not m place to tell you this, as a white Dutch guy that's never been in the USA.. but come on, we know what the US is, if I can help you feel more confident in your healthy and intelligent suspicions then here you go
@@lotoreo I'm actually Canadian. We have similar problems though. 😅
The not so subtle racism of lowered expectations. That intentionally leaves black people in a state of penury subjugation under our capitalist overlords. America's public education system has it's funding system specifically designed to keep kids in poor area undereducated. While the economic system intentionally puts as many black people in poor areas as possible. To this day.
@@Praisethesunson word.
*hugs*
If I'm correct, "be kind" actually comes from a longer saying, which I learned as, "Before you judge, emphathize. Or if you can't be empathetic, sympathize. Or if you cannot be sympathetic, at the very least be kind." It's about a mindset of showing care, not simply politeness. But I do think a lot of people interpret "be kind" to just mean "be polite."
I come from the Pacific Northwest, a notoriously chilly culture. People are not going to smile at you on the bus, say good morning, or give you a lot of personal space. Everyone I've known from the South says Seattle is impolite. And not to say that it doesn't have its share of problems with race, homelessness, inequality, etc., but comparitively many of the same people who may seem rude hold highly progressive views and want their city to improve on these measures. I'd rther have empthy than politeness, any day.
Omg my spirit was absolutely MURDERED in school 🤣
The word that came to mind around 31:17 was Solidarity. When your teachers go on strike, they're doing that for your benefit. Show some solidarity!
Edit: Yes! They mentioned it!
No they are being greedy and showing they don't give 2 shits about kids
As a federal budget analyst working for a humanitarian agency, I love the statement that "a budget is a moral document." That's 100% why I keep doing what I do. I know my work builds the justification to argue in favor of being a more moral, welcoming and inclusive society.
Boots on the ground. I love where this conversation goes.
Adam, thank you so much for captioning your main videos! Can you please do the same for the podcast? I am deaf and have been a fan ever since I first saw you on good 'ol cable TV as a kid. I would love to share your podcast interviews with my deaf friends and family members!
Do not undersell kindness. It is much more than simple politeness or pleasantries. Sometimes it requires bluntness, but always it considers what would be best for the person(s) involved. Deep consideration, not shallow acknowledgements.
A lot of this sounds a lot like what I've been calling enlightened self-interest. I do better for myself by helping others, because by making others do well, there's less chance they'll feel the need to hurt me or the less likely they are do poorly and thus be more productive, which also helps me. You never know which person is going to be the one to help you when you need it most.
You just described capitalism
@@tann_man Wow, no I did not.
@@Craxin01 yes you did "I do better for myself by helping others, because by making others do well, there's less chance they'll feel the need to hurt me or the less likely they are do poorly and thus be more productive, which also helps me."
That's capitalism. I must provide for you in order to benefit myself. This win-win generates value, which benefits you but also me. I can use that new value to help you even more and you can use the surplus value to benefit me even more. It's a virtuous cycle.
@@tann_man Yeah, because capitalism has done nothing but good and has caused no harm whatsoever. We aren't currently in a climate crisis brought about by people gaining wealth by burning fossil fuels. There isn't a massive amount toxic plastic in the ocean. People aren't being worked to death for a few to live in splendor.
No, I am absolutely NOT describing capitalism, capitalism is the antithesis of what I am describing. Go back to whatever OAN\Fox News bubble you came from.
@@tann_man Virtuous cycle my ass. It's a vicious cycle that only benefits the top 10% wealth earners in the country. Trickle-down economics don't work anymore. Capitalism is failing miserably. People like you make me laugh so hard.
The vit at around 33 minutes is important. Unfortunately a lot of privileged people would rather suffer if that means the marginalized will as well.
I think most privileged people (of which I kind of am) don’t realize the extent to which the quality of the services they rely on depend on the happiness of the people they try so hard to ignore
it's only fair that others suffer more than them as god says they're special and chosen
Another great interview, I think it's understated here but on top of having insightful thought provoking answers from Ruha, I also think Adam has a knack for asking unique questions that are pretty good at getting my brain working. I wanted to share a different perspective about how people think about the slogans of groups fighting for civil right. I absolutely understand the mindset of wanting to frame it in a way as to not scare the middle aged white suburban voters but I think that effort is mostly wasted. First I think the opposition to BLM and police reform are mostly arguing in bad faith. What they almost always do is demonize and obfuscate the message of groups like BLM by blaming any and all problems on defunding that didn't even happen. These people will say things in response to virtually anything bad happening something like "you see? you all see what happened now that we defunded the police, look at all the crime now, this is what happens when we submit to their demands." These bad actors know full well that not only were basically very few budgets cut in even a small way, we actually saw many police budgets increase since George Floyd was murdered. But lets say it was decided that a friendlier slogan was a smarter play, lets say for example if the slogan for BLM was maybe something like "Fund The Change We All Need" where it's now a positive affirmation, the bad actors in congress or on fox news would absolutely frame the movement like "oh we all know what they REALLY want, they REALLY just want the police DEFUNDED these RADICALS think they're clever but we can see right through their flowery language!" We all know these people don't play by the rules. It should be mentioned that most mainstream dems in a coordinated effort to appeal to white liberals either avoided talking about police reform or even fought against it. Biden said in the state of the unions he wanted higher budgets and more cops, thanks O'Brandon.
Now I'm a white dude, so I'm not here to tell anyone how best to fight for the right to not be murdered by cops so maybe a more positive slogan could have swayed public opinion in a more favorable way but the ideas that defund the police really stand for is opposed by the people who write the laws. Republicans definitely will not support it, and the dems outside of maybe a few small examples don't support it either. Anything approaching a Bernie or an AOC is quickly getting close to jumping out of the Overton window and corporate dems just won't allow that to happen unless some giant shift of public opinion happens and I just don't think a nicer slogan would have helped. I mean jesus fucking christ these people are executed for all the world to see and the best we got were libs saying "ohh well it sure sucks all these poor blacks are being murdered in broad daylight on camera and the criminals responsible and the systems they operate under are almost never held accountable but it's just that slogan, so hostile you know? maybe if they were a little nicer about it we could do something" Also not to mention, I'm pretty sure that black people have been catering to the fears of white people on this stuff since like forever and still have to fight tooth and nail on every single issue. King said some shit I always think about where he said something like "who are you to set the time table of another mans freedom? who are you to tell us the best time to fight for equality?" fuck that shit, it wasn't a message or slogan that prevented real police reform, nothing was done about it because these class traitors were able to murdered unarmed children with impunity and the power structures still refused to change the status quo in this country. And that's because acknowledging the problems with policing here would mean they would have to acknowledge and address the deep rooted problems of white supremist capitalist power in this country, and we sure can't be having any of that now can we?
As a species we commiserate through our misery. A statement to really think about.
I was always a success in school... I'm an honors student and graduated with honors as well... And yet my family left me to die on the streets... I did everything I was supposed to do and have absolutely nothing to show for it... And I'm even being attacked and punished for things I had absolutely no control over... And I'm being blamed when it was the people who are punishing me responsibility to handle the things that I'm being punished for not having...
I find this so ironic and satisfying that I was called to click on this video on my fyp as I’m sitting on a train that was 25 minutes late with no explanation as to why, with an already 20+ minutes wait, in a train car with reduced speed because the cars didn’t meet last inspection’s standards. Good thing I decided to get to the platform 2 1/2 hours early for a train ride that was at most 45 mins a year ago. Where tf is this money going???
Love this content ❤
💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 That's my SISTER!!!!!!
I think instead of diminishing kindness, we need to emphasize the importance and meaning of deepening that. I never think of kindness as just surface level
For me, kindness comes from care, not as much as a performance and that may be why I get some dissonance from how y'all were speaking on it
I design reliable systems for a living and complex life is my inspiration. It’s the best example we have of prosperity at scale (homeostasis), and society requires the same fundamental behaviors (virtues) as it does to achieve lasting prosperity. These behaviors in order of importance are sensing our environment, responding to our senses, preventing waste, creating value, tolerating failure, and circulating excess. Or in other words, being observant, honest, efficient (not greedy), productive, merciful, and generous. That’s how you bring people together and capture the full benefit of synergy.
If we build organizations around these virtues, they will simply outcompete the status quo and the change will be organic
Our brains don't allow for us to 'hold space' for everyone. It rarely allows us to do it for all of our family member on a daily basis.
There is an inherent problem all societies have with systems, and that is distinguishing the amount and kind of support to give systems. This leads to 2 senarios, society serving systems instead of systems serving society, or systems failing from lack of proper support.
We need to support systems without being subservient to them or any ideals about them. And not be afraid to adjust systems to fix flaws or recognize that flaws may have been intentional. And to always remember that systems and ideas are only as good as the good they do and should never be used to do harm or prevent good.
Interesting. How could "spirit nurture" be different from "everyone gets a trophy"? Because we've seen what "everyone gets a trophy" has impacted a generation.
eviction is a threat against rest
Great video
Students shouldn't be taught just to believe and accept but to challenge into question.
I WENT TO SCHOOL FOR SO LONG I GOT MAD FINDING OUT I WAS LIED TO FROM THE START
The problem with "vial justice" is that people suck, they can't be trusted and I refuse to cooperate with any of them because I know I'm just going to get screwed over by doing it.
My first ever clas att university was in history and the lecturer was the study counsellor for that department and she just crushed us saying "This will be a waste of time if you don't find your niche, you won't be employable and good luck finding work without a Master's aswell". Just went on and on about how we'd made a stupid decision, I dropped out and switched field. I don't get why the study counsellor would do that, you could feel everyone's existential dread after that class. It was for the better that I switched I like what I'm studying way more but damn that was a gut punch
Speaking on the issue of spirit killing (or perhaps I'd frame it as educational demoralization), it's absolutely worse in marginalized communities. You both pointed out black students being overlooked, which is absolutely a major concern. It also affects the disability community and those with neurodivergences or learning disabilities. As someone with multiple neurodivergences, I was absolutely neglected by my school. The principal thought I was an idiot, some teachers thought I was nuts...it wasn't until the 4th grade when a new vice principal took an interest in me, and got me placed in an enrichment class...and I thrived there! It was the best class I ever had...for about 1 year. Then it was gone. 5th grade was when my decline started...and I didn't even make it to the end of grade 6...
This demoralization affects me to this day. I'm still afraid to do new things or take on new responsibilities. I've never had a real job. My experience was literally disabling. I've done years of therapy to try to recover from this, and I'm _still_ working on it to this day.
So yeah, it's definitely a thing. It definitely ruins lives. Adam, you said you were affected by it (and I believe it!), and I'm glad you were lucky enough not to be held back by it...but I wasn't so lucky.😔
you were one among the millions of victims of socialized education. I'm sorry for your struggles.
@@tann_man ...what the fuck is socialized education?
@@DrTssha socialized = public. I'm sorry they didn't teach you that either.
@@tann_man I figured, but I also wanted to share my incredulity at someone unironically calling it socialized education. Maybe you should look up the word socialized, I don't think it means what you think it means.
And I've had terrible experiences in private schools too...in fact, in some cases, they were worse! It's just the damage had already been done by the time my family gave private schools a shot.
@@DrTssha Are you claiming public education isn't socialized education? Maybe you should look up the word socialized, I don't think it means what you think it means.
This was such a good talk! At first I was apprehensive, the revolution one step at a time is usually horse poop, but I was glad to quickly see that is not what this was about.
It did make me think of a few good tangents. There is a guy on YT who goes by Anark (channel of same name), he is an anarchist if the name didn't give it away. He relatively recently had two videos I think you'd actually enjoy and get some ideas from, and that I think compliments this topic rather well. One is about strategic holism. He defines 4 areas where movements/transformations have to work on simultaneously, ortherwise they'll be coopted/derrail (e.g. material reductionisms, identitarianisms of all sorts, "the libs(tm" in general), which I think compliments and works in tandem with this idea well. Another one is about how the revolution has to be horizontal from the start, which I honestly think is the natural extension of this topic. Honestly, I think you'd even enjoy reaching out to the guy. Cheers.
Have you ever considered interviewing Andrew Callaghan? I would love to see you interview him
I learned alot
Haven’t watched it all yet - think it’s important to highlight how much individual action is not only impossible but even when it is, often discouraged or punished.
Joining the PTA is very important for progressive/ liberal /leftist parrents because a lot of right wingers will join the PTA at a school where they don't even have kids
Wow. I have quite a bit to ruminate on after watching this one. Such an incredible episode y'all, every single point you guys talked about feel like I finally have an answer to the many, many times I have watched or read something online about some horrible problem that is happening and all the misery that comes along with it and I'd be left sitting there feeling so... helpless, hopeless, and defeated because what could I actually do to make any sort of change for that problem? Everywhere I look its just these deeply systematic problems that can't just be fixed with some change of wording. I even have gone as far as just not watching videos or reading articles about certain subjects because I always come out feeling so upset and pissed, sad, frustrated, etc. because when you say.. "okay so we've diagnosed the problem, so what can I do to help foster the needed change?" the answer is ALWAYS "Call your local representative, help out with someones campaign.. yadda yadda yadda." Okay but what happens when your local reps don't fucking listen to you? What happens when everything from the ground up feels truly FUCKED? Or when the lobbyist go behind closed doors and literally just lie? For the first time I actually feel like I know the path forward after we've identified the problem(s).
Cannot wait for Ruha's book to come in the mail, immediately went to go buy the book when the episode finished up!
Adam should interview Elizabeth Warren. They have similar vibes and I feel like they would rile each other up
I lived in Tokyo Japan for about 22 years. And about year 10 I was invited to go to a cultural exchange group. The group had volunteers and three full time community organizers paid by the local government. The paid full time community organizers were there to help with a budget - provided by the local government - and to check with health and safety/legal etc. The volunteers set the agenda of the events we ran. So each month we held events where anyone living in the community could join. We had such diverse events. We had experts in certain subjects come teach the volunteers and local people joining the event how to make traditional Matcha tea, wagashi sweets, cooking simple foods like monja, doing dancing. Now I understand that this is not directly related to changing systemic problems... but one thing about volunteer groups is that they lack funding and lack direction and support. This group was highly successful because the local government funded it. And for the large part the things we did, were the decisions made by the people living in the area. And I think we can make lots of grass roots changes just with a little support from local governments.
I feel like "Another brick in the wall pt. 2" should be playing in the background
28 min in and that hits home: I was finally kicked out of the gifted program in 5th grade despite off-the-charts scores in every subject (only slightly 'above average' in math though) when my gifted program's unpaid "volunteer teacher" handed out a calculus worksheet when I'd never been exposed to it: Told me that I needed to "figure it out on [my] own time" and gave me a card to his $100/hr cram school (that he ran 5 nights a week for 3 hrs and that my classmates all attended) and when I didn't show (b/c we're poor) he kicked me out of the class.
Police should not be involved with classroom disobedience!!!!! Period.!!!!!
there's a native source of caffeine on almost every continent
Buying "the right things" is an individual action. Voting is not. Voting is collective action.
Is buying not just voting with your wallet?
@@westganton not really, especially because it isnt 1 person 1 vote... and the people making the decisions are not decided based on what you buy... they are decided on basically arbitrarily at the whim of those already in power
corporations are not a democracy with the consumers as voters
corporations are dictatorships... and you cant vote your way out of a dictatorship
PS: also at that point you already bought into consumerism - and consumerism is part of the problem... we dont need to buy different things...we need to make less things that we dont need, we need to make the things we do make last much much longer and we need to repair and reuse the things that break as much as we can
@@westganton Voting is voting. "Voting with your wallet" is shopping.
voting is useless in our two choice system controlled by big economic lobbies and donors
@@jffryh in many cases voting with your wallet isn't a possibility anyway. Plenty of people would rather shop at a local business but economically they simply cannot afford to. They don't have a choice other than "low low prices" because they get "low low pay." Couple this with what are essentially monopolies on your cable, internet, electricity, etc., and this idea of voting with your wallet being a meaningful thing makes a lot less sense on a systemic level.
The conversation at 15:00 - 18:00 ish
Midsommar.
That's all I need to say.
Adam Conover I love you I just got a job, I'm joining your patreon when I get my first paycheck
Dear Adam,
So often we’re told about an impending disaster that later turns out not to be happening any time soon. How did these scares became part of our culture ?
Sandbox, Firewall, VPN, malware shield, and DNS protecti0n.
👏👍
Ron Finley, what an oxymoron, that area is highly toxic!
Cities are very dirty (heavy metals)!
Growing food is great, but growing healthy food is better!
We must be about promoting science-based healthy alternatives.
I'm a Black man from South-Central Los Angeles. I have been gardening for 61 years.
It sounds like y'all conflated being kind with being nice. Surface level pleasantness that doesn't really offer much beyond the appearance of doing good for someone is just being nice. Being kind is making a conscious effort to do something that actually helps others. Having empathy for them and their experiences, holding space, making time, considering their perspectives and needs, rejecting cruelty...all of these things are kindness.
I’m curious of your thoughts on Beau of the Fifth Column
Shes so cool
The police unions could be an easy problem to fix: don't let the org that negotiates their labor contract also represent the officers in cases of misconduct.
I mean, I'm not sure how it would work mechanically, but some kind of mandated financial separation between the funding of the labor union and the funding of lawyers for officers, etc?
unions aren't the problem but the blanket "cops get to decide" what the rules are and how they're enforced.
Requiring police officers to carry a sort of malpractice insurance would go a long way. When police mess up it's the taxpayers that are on the hook for the lawsuits because the taxpayers are bankrolling the whole thing. Make these officers cover themselves the same way a doctor has to.
@@Thezuule1 problem is no insurance coverage for 80% of the police force, pre-existing conditions, they hire the those least likely to honor civil rights, the law, and the constitution.
@@jthadcast > unions aren't the problem but the blanket "cops get to decide" what the rules are
Who do you think wrote that into the contract? EVERYTHING about the way cops are hired, disciplined, and fired is in the union contract.
@@rickrussell like i said, the police setting the terms is the problem and as you say the conflict of public safety vs union job protections. the better way is a 90% reduction of duties and a 90% reduction in staff with zero protection for acab. the law protects citizens if the law can't do what the unions do for cops then we have to ask how the citizens can live with less protection from acab. they are nothing but economic gang enforcers to make the cowards in society feel safe for political manipulation.
Bump for algo
you should create the great direct democracy co-op
Easily the weirdest episode of Good Eats that I've ever seen.
If I could afford Sean Carroll Patreon and yours also that would be great. I'm poor dumb and enjoy your shows
you can make lenseless glasses by poking pinholes in something
(like an egg carton section)
facts
even better don't poke holes and see the truth
23 minutes in, I'm still not sure where this is going. I suppose I'm too old for this. I'm going to go yell at clouds now.
And it's that lack of attention and following through, until the end of the conversation that leads to the idgaf attitude.
@Sharon R 🙊 any key takeaways or time stamps I should watch. I really wanted to get something out of this video as I am interested in the topic, but I'd prefer they get to the point
It's just Marxist propaganda
It's disgusting how much of people's identities are shaped entirely by the job they hold, and even moreso how defensive they are of those positions when threatened by things like automation.
Professor, please give specific examples instead of advertising your book
you can make flour out of acorns
you can make flour out of near all dehydrated vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds etcc.. also what we call food is just texture and flavor. you fake that your body mostly thinks its the food you think it is.
@@luisca92 still need variety to get all the vitamins and minerals you need
how do you create acorn flour from ground concrete? trees are a rare find
@@jthadcast where???
@@GaasubaMeskhenet downtown chicago
Me: I think Adam has ADHD but it's rude to diagnose strangers
Adam: I had ADD
I KNEW IT!
you can eat every part of a dandelion
we only eat a small amount of over domesticated plants/vegetables. there's millions of edible plant that could hold near miraculous properties that are completely outside of the scope of the public's is aware of, also this list would grow the moment research is done as more plants than predicted would eventually be uncovered
2 words
Mutual aid
She's brilliant. Except when it comes to common sayings. Its "cogs in the machine" and its "spokes in the wheel" not "cogs in the wheel". And its "brought you to your knees" and "knocked you back on your heels" not "brought you to your heels". She's mixing metaphors.
Okay I am a HUGE Factually fan..HUGE. but audio version.
when I heard in a recent podcast intro that Factually was now on TH-cam, I thought "huh? Why? That would mean I cannot walk my dog while listening. But maybe there is something special to the video version."
But here I am, 3 minutes in and No, all there seems to be extra is a lot of handwaving and pointing. In fact it's really distracting.
So Why? (Though I guess I still have the choice of staying All Audio. As long as you maintain the podcast)
@TheAdamConover - it's 2023 - get a 1080p video camera, my dude! :D