Reid My Mind

TR:
This series, Power to the People, developed after months of me dealing with my own frustration over the constant attacks from the clown in the white house and his minions. Months of thinking about what exactly is in my control. What are some ways to get involved that work for me and my skillset. Things that I could do without a need to ask for help or even an accommodation.

For the record, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with either. My brain knows that but sometimes, this guy takes over.

Teego:
Whachu mean, this guy! I am you and you are me. We are one, son!

TR:
No, I am me. You are my ego. That’s why I call you Teego.

Teego:
Whateva son, you know you do better when you let me shine right? I’m that guy!

TR:
Yeh, ok. Go sit down somewhere. You’re doing too much.

Teego:
Don’t tell me what to do. You’re lucky, I’m tired and you bore me. I’m outchere!

TR:
In the last episode, we heard from Neal Carter.

Neal:
The principal and founder of New View consulting. I am the president and co-founder of disability victory, the president and founder of the black consultant group.

TR:
In part one, Neal responded when I asked if there are any limitations or restrictions on disabled people running for office.

Neal:
So, the short answer is no, there isn’t any law stopping someone with a cognitive or physical disability from running for office.
There’s a lot of external stigma and in my opinion, a lot of internal ableism that disabled people still have to work through. That is stopping a lot of them for running for office

TR:
I think part of my struggle post 2024 election is related to my own internal ableism.

All of the questions I asked myself about what’s in my control and my skill set are impacted by that internal ableism. I find myself thinking about people who may doubt my skills and how that can get me to question my own ability. That can present itself in different ways. From casual comments in public situations to the lack of trust in performing a function that can come from those who you thought would know better.

Even though I recognize it today, it still requires some intentional work on my part to assure it doesn’t stop me from reaching the goal. That’s actually when Teego comes in handy.

Teego:
Aha! I told you we are one! Who’s doubting our abilities? I will slap the shitake mushrooms out their mouth.

TR:
Wow, nice job on the shitake mushrooms replacement, but again, that’s too much. That’s why I keep you away from everyone.

We are not one. You are Teego. I’m Thomas Reid. And this is Reid My Mind Radio!

— Reid My Mind Radio Intro Music

TR:
Last time on Reid My Mind Radio

TR:
What is it that you value, that you feel strong enough about that if threatened, you would be ready to fight.
Not a physical fight. Although, if we’re being honest, I’m here for those stories too!

Rebecca: 2:45
I became disabled from being pushed on the New York City subway.

TR:
Meet Rebecca:

Rebecca: 2:45
Rebecca: LaMorte. Pronouns are she, her. I am a white woman with brown curly hair. Right now, I am in a white office wearing a black shirt and black leggings sitting in an apartment in front of a white wall, and I am a disability advocate and so that’s what brings me to this space today, and I’m really excited to be with you. Thank you so much Thomas.

TR in conversation with Rebecca::
Absolutely. So, like I told you, I don’t get into too much about the disability, but, when did you actually begin identifying as disabled?

Rebecca: 0:44
That’s a great question, because that is absolutely an evolution. When I was pushed on the subway at 22 My life changed.

I joke like, B, C, A, D, for me, is before cane, after disability. And so, I would probably say about a year where I started to accept, this is my new normal. This is my life. I’m always going to have a cane. I’m always going to have something that is a little different about me now.

Now I am a proud disabled woman. Disabled is not a bad word. Don’t try and call me handy-capable or differently abled, or any of that mess like, no, I’m disabled and I’m wonderful and I’m powerful and I’m competent and I’m able to do everything like everybody else. I may just have to alter how I do it to make it better and more comfortable for me.

TR:
Before that evolution, there was the subway incident in 2013.

Rebecca::
I’m then on crutches in a leg brace trying to figure out what happened. What’s wrong with my body, because it’s not a break, it’s not a traditional injury. Doctors are telling me you’re not okay, something’s going on, and then trying to get back to work.

I make the choice on crutches in a leg brace with a subway system in New York City that, at the time, was even more inaccessible, but is still egregiously inaccessible.

I fell down a flight of stairs on crutches in a leg brace a month after my accident. I jokingly call it my follow up fall.

TR:
Understandably, Rebecca: stayed away from traveling on the subway for a year. As a recent college graduate, that impacted her life.

Rebecca::
My friends weren’t inviting me out to do things because it would be more expensive as young people to take cabs, or they lived in a walk up apartment building, and I then couldn’t go up multiple flights of stairs on crutches. So not being able to easily move about my home, my community, was that first big perspective point for me.

TR:
Rebecca: returned to work on crutches. Thanks to her employer at that time, she traveled by cabs.

Rebecca:
I’m a lobbyist professionally. And to get into City Hall, traditionally, there’s a very large flight of stairs.
I approached an officer asking for assistance, and his response was, well, if you can’t walk up those stairs, maybe you shouldn’t be there.

TR:
Meanwhile, there’s a ramp in the rear entrance.
Ableism is real y’all!

Back to my earlier question;

— Rewind

What is it that you value, that if threatened, you would be ready to fight.

For Rebecca: I just heard, accessibility, mobility, independence, community.

Rebecca::
That day truly ingrained in me. This is my life, and we’re going to fight like hell every damn day, because this is my experience. This is other people’s experience, and I’m not going to take this for me, and I’m not going to take this for anyone else, and it was like you’re disabled and goddamn, you’re going to make something better for everyone out there, like you that feels like this, like you do right now, completely crushed and completely belittled.

— Rewind

TR:
“Freeze, Flight or Fight.”

The three responses to traumatic experiences.
Do nothing, run away or fight against the threat.

Rebecca:
To know the power that policy holds, the power that lawmaking holds, what happens when you have different voices in the chorus, when you have different people with seats at the table? Because if you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re on the menu, and disabled people, we are always on the menu. We’re always having services cut. We’re always being ignored.
And that’s why I chose to run for New York City Council in 2021.

TR:
Leadership. It’s one of the ways to fight back. Unfortunately, it’s often overlooked as an option for and by disabled people.

Before we get into What someone can expect when running for office. What does someone need to bring to the table?

Rebecca::
I’m a very spunky person. When I make a decision, I am doing it, and I am doing it 100%. But running for office, it is something where it is all of you. It is you, you’re personal, you’re professional. It is everything all at once. We know that it can be difficult. It can be a mud fight. It could be very negative, very hurtful, very harmful. And when you run as a person with a disability, that can be different. Again, because people may make really unfortunate comments, may ask very personal things.

TR:
I know some of y’all heard that and immediately thought, well, I’m out!

But hold on. We know how to adapt to new environments, situations and people. Managing unwanted criticism, intrusive comments and questions. That’s what we do.

Rebecca::
So, for me, it was, I’m doing this no matter what, knowing I could have no money in the end, no job.

TR:
Resilience. What else is required.

Rebecca::
I’m gonna have to have some uncomfortable moments. I’m gonna have to get comfortable talking about really personal things for myself, like being able to now talk about that first year.
I put on over 100 pounds, Thomas. That is not something I could talk about at a certain point in time, but I know there’s a community member out there that understands that and has that same experience, and I want to be there to fight for them, and know that I get it too. And I personally had to get comfortable sharing more of myself. And that was absolutely an evolution.

TR:
That evolution doesn’t happen over night and it doesn’t take place in a vacuum.

Rebecca::
In politics, we call it a kitchen cabinet. A group of personal friends. Sometimes it’s professional, sometimes it’s political, people that you meet along your political journey.

I had my kitchen cabinet of a lot of close personal friends, some people with disabilities, some people without some people in politics, outside of it, all of which that could help get me comfortable answering questions, shaping my experience, putting it into a package I was comfortable sharing with others, where then I could get even more comfortable sharing more as I needed to.

TR:
Let’s take a quick inventory of what’s required when running for office based on Rebecca’s story.

Motivation. (Check)
Team (Check)
A platform or the things that concern you that you’re looking to change.
For Rebecca:, that was accessibility, fairness and being of service to her community.

Some things you don’t need to concern yourself with when running for office;
A specific score on your SAT, GMAT or LSAT exam.

Your so called race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, mobility, visual acuity.

Rebecca::
There is no bad way or bad reason to do it. It doesn’t have to be at Big levels. It could be at a smaller, much more local level. As long as you feel strongly about something, then I think you’re in the right place to go find that leadership position on it.

it doesn’t have to be public office all the time. It could be even leading your friend group. If you care strongly about something, and going and turning out at a local rally to raise your voices together for it.

TR:
Ok, Wait, don’t turn this off. Public speaking doesn’t have to be as much of a challenge as you think.

Rebecca::
Okay, maybe you have to practice public speaking a little bit. Maybe you have to write down some of your thoughts so you can follow on the paper.
So it’s a little bit easier. Maybe you have to go to a few meetings before to just see what it’ll be like, or talk to some people that have done it.

You could see what you may need to compliment it. Who else may need to come help you to continue this fight, or fight alongside you, what other tools you may need in your toolkit, but all that can come together once you figure out what it is, what’s that thing that drives you, what is sticking in your Craw, or what do you want to change for good, or what’s bad right now that you want to show everyone and make better.

TR:
The various challenges we face are not made over night. So we really can’t expect the solutions to happen quickly. We have to use time to our advantage. Rebecca: ran for New York City Council in 2021. She filed paperwork to do so in 2019. But she was certain she was going to run for office even earlier.

Rebecca::
I told the outgoing council member I wanted to seek his seat on January 2, 2017.

TR:
Filing early gives you time to build your team, your platform and fundraise.

Rebecca::
More time is definitely always better for a first time candidate.

TR:
Take fundraising for example. More time allows you to find that right people for the job.

In politics, you’re legally liable for every dollar you raise. Assuring you have the right people on your team is essential.

Rebecca::
A campaign treasurer is someone that is also legally liable for everything the candidate is. So we all see things in the press about illegal donations, nefarious things happening in politics, improper money exchanges. Your campaign treasurer is there to make sure none of that happens, to make sure all the filings happen on time. They’re done correctly, they are legally compliant.

And then from there, it’s going out and starting to fundraise.

TR:
This probably won’t come as a surprise, fundraising, just isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

Rebecca::
I would need more time to get comfortable asking for money, because it’s really difficult saying, Hey, can I have 25 bucks for this pie in the sky? Crazy idea that you then have to sell to someone, typically over the phone, not even in person.

TR:
Rebecca: was running for office during Covid 19. Not exactly a great time to ask people for money.

Rebecca:
So here in New York, we are lucky to have a public matching system.
When I ran for office, $1 became nine because there was an eight to one match. So I got my $1 donation, and then I got eight more dollars on top of it in public dollars.

TR:
The public matching puts a cap on how much campaigns can raise. Therefore, if everyone hits that cap, each campaign has the same amount to work with.

Rebecca::
I got very close to the cap. I didn’t hit the max, but I was still able to have four campaign staffers that were all paid a living wage, I was able to do multiple rounds of campaign mail. I was able to run a fully accessible campaign, which included ASL, it included cart, it included other accessibility tools for my events, because I felt very strongly, I’m not running as a disabled woman and then having an inaccessible campaign. We’re just not doing that full stop.

TR:
Once your funding is secured that enables you to truly focus on advertising your campaign.
Rebecca: chose to forgo television advertisement and use social media.

Ultimately, you still have to hit the pavement.

Rebecca::
A lot of campaigning is still very hyper local. I would be outside subway stops in the morning, at 7am when people are going to work with palm cards greeting people. I would be there at rush hour when people were coming home, doing the same. So it’s having money to spend for things like that, and also non traditional expenses. You know, you have volunteers out there. You need to be getting water for people. You need to be getting pizza for people at the campaign office at the end of the day,
I ran during covid, so all of the events were outside. It wasn’t safe to gather inside, so I didn’t have to worry about the finances of paying for a Manhattan campaign office.
Could you imagine how expensive that would have been?

TR:
Rebecca’s advice for any first time candidates, secure a team to focus on fundraising.

Rebecca::
I do regret not being able to lock it down earlier, not being able to hit that Max match. I ran a very, very serious campaign. I am very proud of it, but I know if I had just gotten like that extra say, I think it was like 30 or $40,000 in public monies, who knows what could have happened?

TR:
What we do know, out of 7 total candidate, she came in third.

Rebecca:
In New York State, we have what’s called ranked choice voting, where you can vote for up to five people on your primary ballot. I got the most ranked choice votes out of all seven candidates, which means every person that voted on the Democratic side was comfortable with me in some way, which shows I was a very serious candidate in the race.

TR:
Winning isn’t necessarily about taking home the trophy. Success can be measured by impact.

Rebecca:
I got to change the game talking about issues, I got to inject different perspectives into the conversation, and that’s really important.

TR:
There are so many points to consider when seeking out any sort of leadership position that you can take away from Rebecca’s experience.

One I hope we all walk away with is realizing how we can convert the resistance and push back received from those opposing our efforts, into fuel that sustains us throughout the journey.

TR in conversation with Rebecca:
So what were some of the takeaways for you after running this successful campaign? What did you leave with?

Rebecca:
I am so proud to have been a small part of injecting a much more inclusive, empathetic, just policy, more rooted in equity than really had ever been talked about before in my neighborhood, specifically, and then on the disability front, even now, when I see people putting like, captions on videos or alt text, no one knew what alt text was. People would ask me all the time, why does it say Rebecca:, a white woman with brown curly hair, is smiling? We know that. And I’m like, Well, you know that because you see that, but what if you don’t see that? Someone a screen reader is going to read that, and then in your mind’s eye, you’re going to see me sitting there on the beach with my brown curly hair as I look up at the sun and the waves are behind me. So I’m proud of these teachable moments too.

TR in conversation with Rebecca:
I have to ask you, because you mentioned the alt text, was that beach Jones Beach or Orchard Beach?

Rebecca:: 39:11
I do go to Orchard Beach a lot. My main beach is Fort Tilden out in Queens, but I go to Orchard Beach a lot.

I spend a lot of time up there. Right by city Island. Yeah, you go to the beach, then you go to city Island. Have a little seafood, get a nice cocktail.

TR in conversation with Rebecca:
There you go. It’s a very New York thing, definitely a very Bronx thing.

Rebecca:
What do we call Orchard beach?

TR in conversation with Rebecca:
Oh, I don’t want to tell you what they used to call I cannot say that on here.

The two share a laugh!

TR:
Look, as the leader of this here podcast, I have to draw the line somewhere.

Teego:
Let me tell them.

TR:
Teego, get out of here. I’m the leader.

Remember, leadership doesn’t look like one particular thing.

Rebecca:
I thought my leadership would be an elected office. That’s not my leadership. My leadership is being a disability advocate today. My leadership is being around the New York State Capitol pointing out, why do we have the word handicapped on signs we should change that to disabled. My leadership is having conversations around repealing the sub minimum wage in New York, my leadership is still fighting the same fight my campaign did on those issues, just in a different way. And I think everyone can do that, disabled, not disabled. Everyone can find their power in that leadership space, in their own life and chart their course from there.

TR:
Wherever you are, there’s something you can do.

Rebecca:
We’re lucky. In the age of the internet, there’s a lot of smaller ways you can engage.

You can go online to your local elected officials website and through their website, send them a message, reach out to them that way, saying, I feel strongly about this.

It could even be something like calling into a radio show. You can just share how you’re feeling and engage for whatever is comfortable for you.
It could even be old school snail mail. You could write a letter to your representative.

Get in the game. We are our own experts. Nobody knows what. We don’t tell them.

TR:
Whether you’re a woman with a wheelchair
A guy with a guide dog
a person with a PCA (Personal Care Attendant)
You absolutely have something to contribute.
You are a leader.

Big, big,big shout out to Mr. Neal Carter, , Rebecca: LaMorte and the team at Disability Victory.
Get in touch:

Neal:
WWW dot disability victory.org. You can reach me directly as president of disability victory at Neil dot Carter at Disability victory.org and you can find us on LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter, all under the same DisabilityVictory handle.

TR:
Rebecca: currently serves on Disability Victory’s board of directors.

Rebecca:
On Instagram, I am RebeccaForNewYork and on Twitter, also known as x, I am at Rebecca: la mort, l, a, m, O, R, T, E,

TR:
Let me take the lead and let you both know…
you are official members of the Reid My Mind Radio family!
— Airhorn

— Transition

TR:
When I became Blind, I asked a similar question to the one that kicked off this series. What can I do now.

Some years later, when I had the chance to speak with others new to blindness, they too were looking for answers to that same question.
It’s a practical question that sparks those in the rehab profession to pull out a list and review with the newly disabled person.

But years ago, it became apparent to me that this approach while practical and framed in “reality”, can be limiting.

Well, wouldn’t that be true for my more recent application of that same question?

That internal ableism that brother Neal mentioned is real.

I don’t want to limit myself. There are way too many forces today who are trying to do that. I shouldn’t help them.

These series of episodes did way more for me than I ever expected. I hope you have gained something that is beneficial for you as well.

Hit me up at ReidMyMindRadio@gmail.com.
I’m always open to feedback. Just remember, Teego is always listening. Even when I don’t really want him to be involved.

Teego:
Eh Yo! Easy, I’ll put out my own episode while you’re sleeping and change this podcast for real.

TR:
Ok, you go ahead and close this episode.

Teego:
For real?

TR:
Show me how you would do it.

Teego:
Aight, y’all listen up.
If you know someone looking for a fresh take on disability. A podcast that brings you that real ish, while making it sound good and throwing in a bit of fun.
Tell them about Reid My Mind Radio.
Let them know they need to stop whatever the BEEP they’re doing and follow or subscribe wherever they get podcasts.
We have transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com.

Now, my assumption is that if they do so, they’re obviously a smart person. But even smart people can mess this up.
To get to ReidMyMind.com you gotta spell it right!

That’s R to the E I… D!

— “D, and that’s me in the place to be!”

Like our last name.

— Reid My Mind Radio Outro

Teego:
Now! BEEP off!

TR:
You see, you just can’t help it.
Peace fam!

Hide the transcript

TR:
When I was younger, well actually, throughout my life, I enjoyed watching my mother at work.
I don’t mean at her job. I’m talking about doing the things she did in the community and elsewhere.
I talked about my mother on the podcast after she became an ancestor. Mom was very involved in her church and in the local community. Often planning and managing all sorts of church functions.
I remember when she was a part of the team, raising funds to move the church into its own building. At the time, this church was in a room in the local community center. I was like “why isn’t she raising money for us to get a house?”
That was just me being silly. I liked living in an apartment and my community was a great place to grow up.
I would often stop by the event or maybe a planning session just to sit somewhere in the back and observe. The way people approached her with questions. The way she’d delegate assignments or respond to a problem and get it resolved. Even though my Spanish was never up to par, I could tell, she was respected. When she was speaking, she looked so cool and in control. La Donia! Mom was a boss!
My mother was a natural leader. Even in the family, aunts, uncles and cousins would come to her for advice and help. She was the one familiar with the system because she needed to help various family members navigate. Some of y’all know exactly what I mean.
In another life, my mother could have been a Justice Sotomayor or Ketanji Brown Jackson. She could have been the leader of some national nonprofit or community organization. But in her lifetime, she was definitely still a leader.
Leadership presents differently on the surface, but underneath there are shared characteristics. Personally, I think we all have some of these traits. Perhaps just lying dormant, waiting to be activated.

— Triumphant music begins

Today, I’m here to speak directly to you. Yes you. Come in close, I need to share a bit of information you need to hear. You may not believe this, but it is absolutely true… you are a leader!
I’m Thomas Reid. This is Reid My Mind Radio!

— Reid My Mind Radio Intro

TR:
This Power to the People series has been leading up to this conversation. That is, disabled people in leadership or governance.
Notice y’all, I didn’t say government. While that’s definitely a part of this conversation, so often the things that really impact our lives are local. I’m talking about your city, town or borough. Sometimes hyper local as in your home owner’s association or your Co-op board.
That’s important, so I’ll continue to remind you of this point.
Now, meet my first guest in this conversation.

Neal:
My name is Neil Carter, the principal and founder of New View consulting. I am the president and co-founder of disability victory, the president and founder of the black consultant group. I am a black man in a blue shirt, sitting in a black office chair in a predominantly white room with a picture of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X looking over my shoulder.
I’ve been in the electoral space for almost 30 years.
I know I don’t look like it, but that’s because my ancestors are working overtime and I have a fantastic skincare routine.

TR:
Talk that! You know how we do!

TR in conversation with Neal:
So, tell me a little bit about your relationship to disability.

Neal:
I’ve had a disability my entire life, physical disability. And as such, I think about not just accessibility for my own needs, but I also think about accessibility in the lens of other disabled people.
Every second of the day, most disabled people, will tell you we are constantly thinking about accessibility. We are thinking about, how can we adapt in this inaccessible world? How can we maneuver in this inaccessible space?
I’ve just been trying to thrive and not necessarily allowing for stigmas or self-doubt to disrupt my lived experience as a disabled person.

TR in conversation with Neal:
I think that’s something that we deal with, but I don’t hear people really claim it often. It’s a real thing, so thank you for that.

TR:
Just a few minutes into the conversation and Neal is already Displaying what I think are some characteristics of a good leader.
Confidence, honesty.
Do you all remember honesty? Yeah, I’m being snarky!

Neal:
My background actually wasn’t in politics. My background was actually in theater. I actually wanted to be on stage as a career.
Shakespeare, musical theater, stage plays, opera, all of that.
But I realized that that part of the stage wasn’t for me. I actually shifted to being more preferred behind the scenes.

TR:
Neal got involved in politics when his father set him up to work with a friend who just so happened to be running for re-election.
Neal:
That Congressman is no longer in office, but he is still a political and business mentor of mine. I decided to kind of shift gears after I got involved in that campaign.
There’s the old quote all politics is theater. In a way, I didn’t necessarily totally shift from theater.

— Transition – movie clapper board

TR:
Neal along with his co-founder Sarah Blaovec recognized a need to train disabled progressives to run for office, staff campaigns, and organize for change.
In 2023 they began Disability Victory. But the origin actually goes back to 2019 when Sara approached Neal about providing training to members of a national non-profit, her employer at that time.
Neal:
It Wasn’t Necessarily About How to Run for Office, Yet. It Was About How to Get More Politically Active.
Again, This Is 2019, So I Had Maybe a Decade and Some Change Being in the Political Consulting Industry. I Had a Rolodex of a Good Amount of Political Consultants That Had Training Capacity. And I Really Wanted to Make Sure That the Political Consultants That Didn’t Usually Have an Audience of Disabled People That Were Interested in Getting Involved Electorally. I Wanted to Make Sure That Those Consultants Could Talk to and Train Up Those Folks.

TR:
The Virtual Trainings Were Held Each Year, 2019 Through 2023, Skipping 2020.
The Work Was Well Received and Gaining Recognition, So When Sarah Transitioned Out of The Nonprofit, The Idea Was Born.
Neal:
And We Just Decided, Why Don’t We Just Start a Nonprofit Around Training Disabled Progressives to Run for Office at A National Level,
Not In a Particular Region of The Country, But Nationally.

TR:
Disabled progressives. You can probably guess that disabled Republicans might have something to say about that.
Neal:
And Our Response Is, You’re in Our Comment Section, In Our Emails, Telling Us About Your Side of The Aisles, Issues with Disabled People, And You Aren’t Creating an Organization for Republican Disabled Folks to Run for Office. You Are Stopping Your Own Progress and Also Your Party Is Stopping Your Own Progress Because Republicans, In Large Part, Don’t Believe That Disabled People, For Multitudes of Reasons, Should Exist So Your Party Is Stopping Your Own Progress.
I Also Need to Say That we Are in the Business of Training and Electing Disabled Progressives. We Are Not Affiliated with Any of The Democratic Party Ecosystem, Any of the Democratic Sister Committees or Any Other Democratic Entity.

TR:
We say Republican, but today, it’s really MAGA. And we know what they’re about.
Neal:
By The Grace Of the Ancestors, We Were Able to Still Exist Despite Trump
He Said at The Onset of His Second Term, Progressive Nonprofits Are the Enemy of My Presidency, And I Will Do Whatever I Can to Stop Them from Existing.

— News coverage: noting the current administration cancelling grants to nonprofits aiding people the administration considers DEI.

TR:
We know he doesn’t hesitate to go after anyone he considers an enemy – that is anyone who doesn’t bow down to him.
I’m talking about Chump, aka Agent Orange, Diaper Don, I just refuse to say his name…
words have power Afterall.
Neal:
I know that in 2026, and beyond, disability, victory is a nonprofit that needs to exist.
Disability victory will exist, and disability victory will continue to do the important work of training disabled progressives, to run for office at every level of government.
We’re not going to allow for any administration to stop that progress, to stop our growth.
TR in conversation with Neal:
So, let’s talk a little bit about the importance. Why is it important for disabled people to run for office?
Neal:
I think it’s easier to say, well, disabled people need to run for office because we need more disabled representation. I think it’s bigger than that. Representation is important.
We need more disabled people in office. Yes, take a step further. We need disabled people in office, because disabled people should be in office.

TR:
Again, that office could be government, school board, home owners association.
While some may try to get you to believe that there are disability issues, remember every issue has a disability perspective. That’s why we need to be everywhere.
So, when considering running for any office level position, don’t forget about the basics.

Neal:
I mean, do you know your neighbors, whether you live in an apartment building and they are next door, or you live in a house, and they are across the street, do you know your neighbors?
And this is a conversation that I have with for the first time candidates or candidates running for reelection all the time.
Far too often, candidates do the thing where they’re like, I’m going to focus on every other area, except for my home area, because I know I can win my home precinct, because they know me.

TR:
That sounds like a fair plan. At first!

Neal:
And then we fast forward to election day, and they lose and then they come back to me, they’re like, Yeah, how did that happen?
Well, you told me you were known commodity in your precinct.
then why did your neighbor have your opponent’s yard sign in their lawn?
They didn’t focus on their home precinct.
If you can’t even win over the support of your neighbor, then you shouldn’t be running for office period.

TR:
Being known by the people is not the same as you knowing other people. They may not know you. And by know you, I really mean, what have you done that would give them a sense of your seriousness about the role you’re seeking.
In the Getting Involved episode earlier in this season, Lolly shared this same advice.
That episode focused on finding and pursuing opportunities for disabled people to participate in the ICE resistance.
I’m sure there are some who are wondering. Are there any restrictions barring people with disabilities from running for office.

Neal:
There isn’t. There’s more stigma.
And it’s not just around cognitive disability. It’s also around physical disability too and
unfortunately, we’re in a political climate where at the moment cognitive disability Community is being challenged, not just from our HHS Secretary, but obviously also from our president. They believe that disabled people as a community don’t deserve to live, let alone run for office and be elected officials.
So, the short answer is no, there isn’t any law stopping someone with a cognitive or physical disability from running for office.
There’s a lot of external stigma and in my opinion, a lot of internal ableism that disabled people still have to work through. That is stopping a lot of them for running for office

TR:
Working through internal ableism should be a requirement of us all.
In fact, I’d say the past 10 years or so have really proven that self-assessment in general is lacking in those seeking or in leadership positions.
What goes into training leaders? And how does disability factor in?

Neal:
Usually, folks come to one of our trainings and they join our academy.
We have affiliate organizations that we work with that do training as well for potential candidates. We have likeminded organizations that we partner with to lead the ttraining

TR:
In addition to the training, Disability Victory offers various resources on its website

Neal:
We also have spaces where folks who have gone through our training can communicate with each other internally about best practices. We have ways in which some of our board members have run for office previously and have that experience so they can talk to our Academy members about best practices in running for office, whether they were successful or unsuccessful.
That kind of communication space doesn’t really exist. Within the disability community, folks aren’t actively communicating on how to not just train to run for office, but former candidates and existing candidates and elected officials aren’t communicating with prospective candidates on what works and what doesn’t.
TR:
While Disability Victory isn’t the only group to help train future leaders, they do offer something others may not.

Neal:
Yes, there are a number of fantastic organizations that are actively training folks to run for office, run for something, and we operate in that same ecosystem, but because our target audience is a niche group of disabled folks. We want to make sure that disabled folks are counted in that number, because oftentimes, unfortunately, while a lot of those same great training organizations that I mentioned already do tremendous work training candidates, there are a lot of gaps when it comes to accessibility, unfortunately, and that doesn’t mean that we are the only organization that is providing accessible trainings. What often happens, unfortunately, is disabled candidates will reach out to us and say they went to a training with one of these other organizations and say I wanted to learn more about how I can run as a disabled candidate, and they didn’t really give me a platform to figure that out.

TR in conversation with Neal:
So, tell me a little bit about the training itself. What are some of the high level topics that you all go through?

Neal:
Sure. We do an intro to campaigning, like how to file, what your immediate campaign needs are, building a campaign website, what tools to use, how to fundraise at a digital level, how to make a fundraising call, those kinds of things.
And then we also have communication training where it’s like how can I communicate my story as a candidate to my potential constituents?

TR:
Other topics include economic and environmental justice. Canvasing as a disabled person in rural and urban communities.
Disability Victory is helping with the how. But they can’t really help with the why. That is what drives you to want to see the changes you want created and implemented.

What is it that you value, that you feel strong enough about that if threatened, you would be ready to fight.
Not a physical fight.
Although, if we’re being honest, I’m here for those stories too!

Rebeccaa:
I became disabled from being pushed on the New York City subway.

TR:
That’s in part two of Disability Victory, where we will wrap up this season, Power to the People.

This season in my mind is our time to think about all of the things that are in our power to change.
Too often disability related conversations are presented as if we are powerless.
If we’re not careful, we may start believing that.
One thing you can believe in is following or subscribing to Reid My Mind Radio wherever you get podcasts.
We have transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com.
And you best believe, in order to get there, you gotta spell it right!
That’s R to the E I D!

— Sample: (“D! And that’s me in the place to be.” Slick Rick)

Like my last name!
— Reid My Mind Radio outro

Peace!

Hide the transcript

#TR:
You heard it before.

— A collage of various presidents and political figures over a hip hop beat, throughout the years saying the phrase (or some variation of it) “This is the most important election of our lifetime.”

TR:
I’m sure no matter how far we reverse time or turn back the clock, every election in this country’s history felt like the most important. To someone.

In this country’s most recent history, I’ll go with 2016. That was the election where this country responded to the previous 8 years by electing.
a man with absolutely no political experience. A failed so called businessman who filed bankruptcy six times to avoid paying his fair share of debt. A racist, sexist, ableist, 34 count convicted felon.
Who suspiciously got elected again. I say suspiciously because I believe the world will eventually learn something else was at play in 2024.

— Diaper Don “And then he journeyed to Pennsylvania where he spent like a month and a half campaigning for me in Pennsylvania. And he’s a popular guy. And he was very effective. And he knows those computers better than anybody, all those computers those vote counting computers. And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide, so it was pretty good. So thank you to Elon.”

— “You don’t find that suspicious”, Dr. Umar

TR:
If we look back, there were circumstances that paved the way for his election.
Maybe one of those was the most important election of our lifetime.

Elections are like being given another chance to do the right thing.
At least for now.

— “You’ll never have to vote again.”, Diaper Don

TR:
With all of this on my mind, I thought,
(Filtered voice) “I should produce an episode focusing on some of the issues related to elections.”

I thought about discussing.
voter suppression.
gerrymandering
The so-called SAVE act – presented as a way to reduce voter fraud,
but obviously another example of a poll tax.
An update to the same old trick’s white nationalists Have used in an attempt to eliminate Black people from having representation in government.

The episode would cover the many ways Republicans, MAGA, white nationalists.
continue to do anything they can including, lying cheating and stealing with the goal of securing power.

Then I realized, this isn’t news for those who really rock with this podcast. In fact, this isn’t a news podcast Afterall. It’s Reid My Mind Radio.
I’m Thomas Reid your host and producer.

— Reid My Mind Radio Theme Music

TR:
I still want to talk about voting , but from a different perspective.
One that better reflects what’s on my mind.

Apathy!
A lack of feeling or emotion : impassiveness
Symptoms include listlessness, and fatigue.
Lack of interest or concern : indifference

Is it a stretch to view apathy as a contagious disease? A lot of people have it. We see it in the lack of participation in elections.

— From “Getting Involved”
(All in variously pitched voices)
“I don’t do politics”
“I stay away from the news, it’s so depressing.”
” None of that effects my life, I just mind my business.”

Dr. Jackie:
So, when I hear people who say that voting doesn’t matter, or one vote doesn’t make a difference to me, I feel like it comes from some type of frustration that they may be experiencing from voter suppression or some other inequity factors that they may have experienced.

TR:
This is Dr. Jackie Jackson. She’s not a medical doctor her expertise is in pastoral care and counseling.
Among many titles, she’s a minister and a disability advocate in New Jersey.

I think that’s why she has grace for the apathetic non voter.

Personally, I have little patience for those who choose willful ignorance and do not participate.

Dr. Jackie:
Yes, ignorance is bliss.

For the most part, if they just think back and acknowledge our forefathers and our foremother icons who fought and paved the way for us to increase the vote.

TR:
I think language is really important. From my conversation with Dr. Jackee, when she refers to our forefathers and fore mothers, I’m pretty sure she’s talking about people like Fannie Lou Hammer, Medgar Evers and many others who literally put their lives on the line to assure that Black people in this country
have the right to exercise our vote.

That same right should be available to all citizens of this country.

Dr. Jackie:
I do believe that race, ability, gender is part of our lived experience, and it matters when shaping policies and community.

historically we challenge these systems because they were not designed for us and they did not have us in mind. We have to be mindful that we really have to stand up and have our voices heard in this voting process.

TR:
I want to underline, highlight, and shine a light on one word that Dr. Jackie uses when she talks about the importance of voting. We. And as far as I know, she ain’t French!

(Dr. Jackie:
For the most part they don’t understand that voting is not just about a single ballot, it’s about a collective impact on voting. When you participate, voting gives you power, voting is our voice, and it’s not about victory, or any candidate, it’s really just a time to know that if you don’t participate, decisions are going to be made for you, whether you vote or not.

TR:
That makes total sense to me, but I’m not apathetic.

Like the common cold, apathy too can pass. And an ounce of prevention can go a long way.

So what’s the equivalent version of vitamin c, the Vicks or tussin? You know, the things you use to find relief from a cold.

— Ny Quil commercial comparing two households with colds.

TR:
The more I try to think about when I first recall experiencing apathy, , I realize it’s a slower process in comparison to catching a bug.

Apathy develops over a longer period of time. That’s why you have to be intentional about making sure you protect yourself.
Even if you believe you’re not at risk.

Maybe apathy is more like the accumulation of disappointment, heartache, injustice, pain? We’ve all experienced these things of course in varying degrees.
But, maybe there’s a finite level that when exceeded, apathy sets in?

It’s like that saying, the straw that breaks the camels back. It’s not one thing but rather the accumulation of many over time. What’s emotionally painful for me can be quite tolerable for another person. Some people seem to have very difficult lives but are able to not only withstand pain and suffering but come out the other side stronger than ever. Not jaded in anyway. They can remain optimistic and believe and trust in people. I thought that was natural for me when I was younger.
But chances are, I just wasn’t as tested. Although some may see it differently.

Today, I realize optimism is intentional.

— Boxing ring Bell

TR:
My bout with apathy is related to blindness.

I had my share of all sorts of disappointment, heartache, injustice, physical and emotional pain before blindness. But I think blindness was on a different level. It wasn’t about the disability.
It was more about where I was in my life when blindness appeared.

— “Moving on Up” Jeffersons

The work I put in for several years was finally starting to pay off. I noticed confidence in everything I did. I just bought a new home, my second daughter was on the way and my career was looking good. Throw in some other personal accomplishments and shooo, I was feeling like I’m the man. But blindness was on another level.

It took away so much of the control I thought I had. All that confidence I built up over the years, at the time, I thought it was gone. I didn’t feel like the man anymore.

I started to notice my own Sinicism.

Why would I be optimistic after working so hard to get somewhere, only to have that taken from me. Even after blindness there were a few other things that made me feel like the future wasn’t as bright as I once believe it to be. I went from oh yes, I can do this. I’m sure it will work out, too…
Do not get hopeful or excited. Believe it when you see it.

Even if something seemed to be working out my attitude was, better wait until it’s all done before feeling or showing any excitement. Truth is in most instances, I’m still going to respond this way.
But for different reasons.

Today, when things don’t go as planned, I just put it on that one thing. It’s not indicative of everything. I eventually reached a point where I recognized what was happening to me.
I didn’t like feeling as if nothing excited me any more. Feeling as though there’s nothing really worth looking forward to is not a way I want to live.

I started to remember, things do change.

Things were actually changing because I didn’t give up. Although not overly excited about many things, I still participated. I even started to achieve different goals.
I felt as if my confidence was returning. Then I realized it never left. I just needed to recognize it.
Optimism was still available to me if I decided to choose it.

Dr. Jackie:
Yes, I’m very optimistic about the future in regards to voting, because I think that once society understands how important the vote is they will certainly stand up and speak out.

As a minister and clergy person, I certainly stand firm on Proverbs 31 speak out for those who can’t speak for themselves. And with that said, for the young generation to speak out for their elders, for their families, for their communities, because they have the power to do that.

TR:
Apathetic behavior goes beyond the individual and can negatively impact the community.

Optimism, can also be infectious. But it can lift a community and offer hope. The hope that comes with the understanding that work is still required.

Optimism is intentional and requires commitment. It’s hard. But for me, it feels better than the alternative.

It’s like Ny Quil!

This podcast was not sponsored by Ny Quil… but … I’m sayin’!

— Transition

TR:
The purpose of this series, is all about what can we do. How can we get involved and be a force for positive change. Dr Jackee as a minister naturally recommends faith based organizations.
Many of which sponsor voter registration and activation events. She also recommends organizations like the NAACP as well as grass roots organizations.

Dr. Jackie:
REV Up, their main goal is to educate and empower and increase the disability vote, and that’s really a great organization to get involved with for people with disabilities or able-bodied people.

TR:
The American Association of People with Disabilities is a national disability-led and cross-disability rights organization, that advocates for full civil rights for over 70 million Americans with disabilities.

Dr. Jackie:
We have more power in numbers, so collectively we can really do more in our country.

One vote might seem small, but history shows that small numbers add up, and when people stop voting, the reality is this is their decisions still get made in the room, whether they’re there or not,
understand that voting is not about a single ballot, it is about collective impact.

TR:
It really is imperative that more of us, people who care about humanity, vote in this upcoming election. We need to recognize that we have power. That power increases exponentially when we come together. That’s something I know I need to remember. And maybe you do too.

Big shout out to Dr. Jackee Jackson. You know you’re an official member of the Reid My Mind Radio family now.

— Airhorn

Dr. Jackie:
If anyone would like to reach out to me for further information on how to get involved with disability organizations, or just to talk about anything disability related, I. Can be reached at Dr. Jackie with 2e’s Dr. Jackie Jackson, J A C K E E Jackson, number eighteen@gmail.com

# Close
TR:
I’m glad I changed the direction of this episode. I had to remember that it’s ok to start with me and what was on my mind and in my heart.

Similarly, when it comes to making the change we want in this world, we have to start with ourselves.

You know, you can tell which household believes in optimism.
Bob and Fred are neighbors. Bob doesn’t believe he has any say in what happens in his community and the world in general. Bob gave up. He doesn’t stay informed and worse
he frequently shares his sinical opinions and tell those who believe otherwise that they’re wasting their time.

Fred on the other hand, pays attention. He participates as much as he can and at the very least
he’s insistent about staying informed and exercising his vote.

— Ny Quil Commercial
“So unlike Bob, Fred gets the rest he needs. that’s the restful plus of Vicks NyQuil.”

Reid My Mind Radio is under written by Vicks… see that sounds so good. Vicks, holla!

— Music; A smooth, bright melody opens to a uplifting hip hop groove.

TR:
Do you believe things can change?

Do you find yourself experiencing;
A lack of feeling or emotion : impassiveness
Symptoms like, listlessness, and fatigue.
Lack of interest or concern : indifference

Then, why not try something different?
I’m not saying it’s easy. Optimism, takes work, but I think it’s worth it.

You know what doesn’t take a lot of work but is definitely worth the effort?
Following or subscribing to Reid My Mind Radio wherever you get podcasts.
We have transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com
And look, while I’m intentionally living optimistically, I’m still a realist. So I fully understand that there are rules to every game.
So if you’re going to find me or this podcast, you gotta spell it right.
That’s R to the E I D!
— Sample: (“D! And that’s me in the place to be.” Slick Rick)
Like my last name!
— Reid My Mind Radio outro
Peace!

Hide the transcript

TR:
Freeze, flight or fight.

Psychologically, we’re all wired differently. I’m pretty sure our DNA and perhaps our experiences play a part in how we respond to not just traumatic situations but life in general. It’s hard for me to understand freezing. I can understand pausing momentarily in order to assess the situation before responding. Like…

Before I move on to the other two categories of responses, I’m Thomas Reid, this is Reid My mind Radio.

— Reid My Mind Radio Theme Music

TR:
In the context of all the social and political attacks on our lives, freezing, looks like deciding not to engage at all. You hear things like;
“I don’t do politics.”
“I stay away from the news, it’s just so depressing.”
“None of that effects my life, I just mind my business.”

I can understand flight. It makes absolute sense for different people based on their unique situation.

If we turn back the clock to November 2024, when the election was called for Diaper Don.

Lolly:
Well, I think the week before I had some hope that it was going to go differently than it did, but I could see early on election eve that it wasn’t. I would say that my reaction was one of fear.
I think a foreboding of things to come that a lot of us knew might happen, and we have seen a lot of those things happen and more.

I recall texting my niece who lives in Toronto early morning hours, and I think both of us were in tears.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
Were you texting like, “Hey, you got a bed, or was it just commiserating?

(Laughs)

Lolly:
That was part of our conversation. Yes. So now what?

TR:
Say hello to Lolly!

Lolly:
My name is Lali Lijewski. I’m from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I use she/her pronouns.
I’m a 70-ish woman with brown and some silver hair, brown eyes. I’ve been legally blind, all my life. Lost my vision throughout my life progressively.

I also have acquired hearing loss as I’ve gotten older, and so use hearing aids in both ears. And then just recently have a diagnosis that’s more of a physical one, which you know the older you get, the more you get.

TR:
We all need to consider our safety. But there are definitely some who are more at risk and take that into consideration when participating in any sort of advocacy or activism.

Lolly:
I think that for me, advocacy just is such a strong strain in my personal identity that, of course, there was thoughts about what does this mean for me personally, what does it mean for people with disabilities in the United States? And knowing that there were likely to be some serious and severe cuts to services for people with disabilities across the country,
so that the things that are your supports daily aren’t there anymore. For people, for example, with physical disabilities, having personal care attendants come into their homes to be able to get them out of bed or to prepare food and just daily cares, those things are dependent on federal programs and state programs and so how those things would be affected was obviously on my mind.

TR:
We all have to consider not only our physical safety but our financial security as well.

Lolly:
By that time, I was already retired. I had worked for the state of Minnesota for over 18 years, and was starting down the road of learning to do audio description, so I had plans for my retirement, which I also knew might change because of the election, with Social Security potentially being affected, with Medicare potentially being affected as a senior, all of those things were on the table.

TR:
Soon after the election, what many of us who were paying attention anticipated, began.

No one had a crystal ball, the Heritage foundation Afterall published their plan – Project 2025.

— News coverage about aspects of Project 2025 that have been implemented.

Lolly:
I think a lot of us are still coming out of the trauma, and it’s not by any means over. Across the country are 2000 people being taken a day.

This surge here actually started with Homeland Security and ICE and Border Patrol here in December, but the actual influx of the 3,000 agents, and then they added more after that, didn’t really happen until early January. They focused on Minneapolis and St. Paul first, but then they also moved beyond the cities to areas in the state.

We saw people who were being taken literally off the streets. I mean, they would stop cars for no apparent reason other than the color of the individual skin, and they would just grab people, take them out of their cars. Cars got left in the middle of the streets.

TR:
The ICE surge put a real strain on Minneapolis city services. But neighbors moved into action.

Lolly told me about one man for example, who decided to help with all the abandoned cars.

Lolly:
He had a lot that he used, and he would put them in this place so that if people were released, they would know where their vehicle was.

Hyper local organizing started to happen here, and. Because we had networks that had been built up five years before during the George Floyd uprising, we had in place a lot of things that other cities didn’t have.

TR:
We’re talking about people tracking license plates of vehicles used by ICE. Folks capturing the harassment, intimidation and all sorts of incidents on video. Not just for social media. No.
We’re talking about video that can be used as evidence to bring about justice. Make a statement for the future.

“We’re not gonna take this!”

Lolly:
It was a very well run kind of network of folks who came together in a very short period of time to create a response to something that I don’t think any of us had ever seen before nor experienced before.

TR:
Freeze, flight… This is about fighting back, but perhaps not in the way you’re most familiar with.

Lolly:
It was really pretty amazing. It was all done by neighbors, and that’s what I mean by hyper local. We think of a lot of organizing as being statewide or regional or national, and that’s all important. But this became incredibly important so that people could actually respond nearly immediately to the situation at hand. That went on for a very long time. And then, of course, the second killing happened two weeks later.

TR:
I’m sure many of you remember the first ICE killing in Minneapolis; Renee Goode.

Lolly:
That morning I saw the coverage of Alex Preddy being killed.

I had joined a group called Singing Resistance, which grew out of the surge here, but has roots in singing and music, bringing music to situations like this, and how it can be a powerful mobilizer, but also it can be a powerful agent for change.

It was a very difficult day for everyone, so they took us through some breathing exercises, but then also just some songs that are civil rights kinds of songs, human rights kinds of songs, and we were together for probably 90 minutes to two hours that day, and it was, I think, the most therapeutic thing I could have done on that day.

TR:
There’s a real difference between experiencing something alone and having a chance to process it with a group of people.

Lolly:
The songs that they chose are not songs that a lot of us knew. So they did a lot of teaching of the music.

they do this call and response, and teach the song, and then have people sing it.

To have people learn music together and then end up in harmony at the end was just a very powerful experience.

TR:
It’s a beautiful metaphor of what is possible when people with good intentions come together.

Lolly’s introduction to the organization came from a Facebook post.

Lolly:
Some folks who belonged to the Quaker meeting I attend had been a part of the first singing resistance action. They were out in the neighborhoods that had been targeted, and they had some songs that they had chosen.

People in their houses were peeking out of their curtained windows, to see the singers outside. They got a lot of positive responses from folks in their houses who were in those neighborhoods that had been targeted, and I thought this is something I really want to be a part of. It’s something that fits for me. I love music. I love coming together in community in music.
The roots of this goes way back. there’s a lot of sort of spirituality to it, They’re not necessarily religious per se. This is really about being a human and helping other humans.

TR:
Enslaved Africans shared songs that weren’t just about grief or hope for a better day.
Many of them were coded messages to one another with instructions for escape.

Singing together during the Civil Rights Movement was also a way to
both strengthen bonds and keep people focused under severe pressure.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
I know that at some point in my life, my response to that would probably be like, whatever! It just doesn’t seem like it’s being all that helpful. But when you were describing it, and when you were talking about it, I was actually getting choked up, because I can see the value of that.
don’t tell anybody I said I was getting choked up. It’s gonna mess up my reputation.

TR:
You can’t broadcast everything to the world, right?
It makes sense to keep the organizing as secure as possible while making use of the technology available today.
This can however, make it hard for disabled people to learn about and participate in the organizing.

Lolly:
Yes. So the best way to learn about them was to join Signal and to get connected to some of the groups.

They form different groups depending on what you wanted to do, what roles you wanted to play. There was everything from people who were observers, rapid response folks. They would make sure that people in a given neighborhood knew that something was happening in their neighborhood.

TR:
That’s the Signal app you can download and join from your smart phone.

Lolly:
I had the challenge of trying to figure it out.
I knew a friend who was on it, and she helped me get on and create my own account, and we tested it and all of that, and then I kind of went from there.

And once the groups were being formed, you could contact them and ask for a link to be sent to you, and they would send you the link, and then you could join the group. But you kind of had to know somebody in the group, and that was challenging also because you had to start making those connections, which meant you had to do some outreach because there were security and trust issues too.

It was challenging because it’s created to be a secure app, and there’s often a clash between security and accessibility.)

TR:
We’re familiar with;
trying to navigate inaccessible or unusable apps, documents and websites.
encountering in accessible spaces
dealing with unresponsive developers, organizers and other people who can actually help make a difference

I was asked a question at one time by one of the facilitators, they asked what’s been successful what’s been good and what’s been hard and I said right straight out accessibility has been almost impossible.
I think she reacted a little defensively initially, but when her part was over. She came down from the front and she came and sat next to me and she said, “What can we do to make this different? And from then on, I had people who stepped forward in several different roles, and who would ask for input, and who tried their best to make things work, and sometimes succeeded, sometimes didn’t. But there were efforts put forth to do that, because she carried the message forward for me.

— Pulsating Emergency Horn, Incoming, Incoming! Sobering Reality Alert!

TR:
not everyone will be onboard working with disabled folks.
Like when Lolly volunteered to help a woman looking for assistance preparing flyers.

Lolly:
And she said, well, but you have to be able to cut these things apart. And I said, well, I have helpers, and they’re probably interested in this kind of thing. I can gather folks, we can do it together.

She just wasn’t open to it. She couldn’t hear that there were possible ways for me to be able to do this, and she just said,

— Combined with a monstrous voice
“No, I’m sorry. Thank you for being interested. So the door closed.
— Large metal door slamming shut.

TR:
That’s the thing about the isms. Specifically here, ableism.
Someone denies another person from participating. Meanwhile, they’re also depriving themselves from actually getting something done or reaching a goal.

It reminds me of the millions of disenfranchised people, poor people who support this administration.

“I love the poorly educated.”, President Chump!

Lolly:
I will say that was a hard thing, it wasn’t the biggest thing by any means, but it was one of those pivot points where you kind of have to make a decision about what you’re going to do and how you can do it and that sort of thing.

TR:
Even though we become familiar with these experiences, they are still difficult and in my opinion should never be thought of as standard or acceptable.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
So you had to be really intentional, not only about finding these outlets, but then of course making it accessible for you.

Lolly:
Yes, absolutely.

TR:
Lolly was resilient in her pursuit of getting involved. Even outside of the Singing Resistance, she found opportunities that fit her.

Lolly:
There were a lot of people, who were afraid to go out, and also afraid to drive their own vehicles because they were concerned that their license plates had been tracked.

So we had people who were trying to find rides. In this situation, it was a couple, both had jobs in different places, and they were working on their status. But things had not come through yet, and so they were very concerned. And so I was part of a group that was trying to find rides, basically exchanging text messages, trying to find rides for folks who were in need of transportation. And eventually, that did come together. It was a network, a very small network of folks who came together, that were able to provide rides.
Someone would pick them up in the morning, take them to work and someone would pick them up at night and take them home.

There were several people who volunteered to do this so it didn’t fall on one person.

TR:
Neighbors helping neighbors.
The result?
People were able to stay employed in order to feed and shelter themselves and their families.

Lolly shares some more examples of ways people can contribute to the effort.

Lolly:
There was so much. There were different ways that food was provided, you could deliver groceries to folks. if you were a person with a disability but had a car, you could still do something like that. I looked into it, and it would have been possible where they were packing boxes of food for people, and so that someone would take those and deliver them. But you didn’t have to be part of the actual delivery. You could just put the stuff in the boxes.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
(Sarcastically) But Lolly, you’re blind. You can’t put stuff in boxes.

Lolly:
Exactly! (Laughs)

TR:
Communication today requires a new set of skills. Therefore, the same is true for getting activated.

Lolly:
I’d done organizing where of course, we set up back in my day phone trees or fax trees or you know email lists or that kind of thing. This was different.
It had its ups and downs in terms of accessibility. It was a challenge, definitely.

It wasn’t insurmountable that there were things that weren’t possible, and it was really only because I was able to connect with some of the folks through some of the networks I got in touch with that I was able to do what I was able to do.

TR:
Some advice from Lolly on getting connected.

Lolly:
I think with those experiences now, I have a different outlook about how to make connections than I did as an advocate previously. I think this hyperlocal emphasis is really more important than we can ever emphasize.

Start to get to know the people in your building, in your block. Talk to people in your neighborhood, because that’s where you’re going to make connections.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
Let’s say you are new to a neighborhood. You don’t know many people. You’re a disabled person, and let’s say you’re not a natural extrovert.

Lolly:
You know that’s tough. I think you almost have to put yourself out and that’s always a risk because you don’t know what you’re going to get back and you don’t know how someone’s going to
receive your inquiry and your efforts to help.

even just a hello, starts the conversation.

TR:
Lolly recommends restaurants and coffee shops where customers and especially employees tend to be a bit more social and in the know about the community.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
So you’ve done it. It’s a risk.
you made a contribution in your way. Do you think it was worth the risk?

Lolly:
Yes, I do. I think that people who are either newly blind or new to vision loss don’t necessarily maybe have the confidence, and they might have had the skills before, but maybe that confidence has been dampened a bit.

I think I go into this with the attitude that I know every time I do this, I am going to probably have some bad experiences, probably have some feelings that get hurt, probably not really like a lot of what happens, but if I can keep my eyes on the prize and remember why I’m doing it, and what is important to me, which is that part of being in community and trying to make a difference. Then I can find ways to mitigate those things that don’t happen that I wish would have happened, and to find ways to try and make things happen.

TR:
Some additional advice from Lolly. First, tap into your own support system.

Lolly:
Sometimes it’s just expressing to somebody else, it was really a screwed up day. Nothing went well. I tried these things; they didn’t work. I don’t know where to go next. And someone might have an answer, and they might not. But if you keep putting it out there, somebody might come forward with something that works for you.

You can’t do it alone, is what I found. You really do have to share some of that sort of disappointment and frustration with other people because that’s what helps keep you going.

I think the best advice is to stay open, to think about what skills and abilities do you have? And every one of us has things they can offer. What can you share? Where is it best to try and plug in. And even if you’re having trouble, finding places that you can continue to try.

TR:
That’s a key element right there. Persistence.

Lolly:
It’s been my experience, that disability often becomes the last on the laundry list, so to speak, or gets forgotten altogether.

And when I was struggling with some of this, what I kept hearing was openness to immigrants, openness to people from the LGBTQ community, but I didn’t hear disability mentioned much until I had the conversation with the person who really kind of helped turn things around, and then I found many people who were willing to do that, but I had to be willing to be honest about it and say this isn’t working for me, and this is why, and this is what I need.

If you’re not at the table, your needs will likely not be met or heard.

TR in conversation with Lolly:
Yeah, that sounds like some great advice. In the end, what did you gain from participating? How did it make you feel?

Lolly:
Much more a part of the community of people who were going through these experiences, and while so many people had different roles, the one thing that all of us shared was we were in a situation we did not ask for, and we were forced into having to create these options and these avenues for connection, and some just amazing things came out of that, and it shows how when you think you know the worst is happening. Sometimes it is, but also at the same time, because two things can be true at the same time, at least two things, then there also are good things that are happening in other places or in places where you’ve been trying to make a difference.

You can make a difference.

TR:
For whatever reason, making a difference, can feel really important to many of us. If we’re not working towards that goal, then we’re going to feel unfulfilled.

It’s not even about the level of difference being made. Most often you won’t know what that actually is. But that’s not the point. It’s about the effort we put out. The energy we share with the world. Lolly said it earlier;

Lolly:
This is really about being a human and helping other humans.

TR:
I hope producing this series of episodes is one way for me to make my small contribution to the collective energy.

Big, big, big shout out to Lolly Lijewski.

I’ve gotten to know Lolly a bit over the past year or so and one thing I can say, her ability to be persistent is real.
It’s admirable and quite honestly can serve as a real guide for us all. It has for me.

That’s why, Lolly, you are an official member of the Reid My Mind Radio family!

We will continue exploring the different ways we can fight back.
So, stay tapped in by following or subscribing to Reid My Mind Radio wherever you get podcasts.
We have transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com

The good thing about this podcasts is we’re not covert, we’re not underground., there’s no secret signal or code to gain access.
You just have to spell it right…
That’s R to the E I D!

Like my last name!

— Reid My Mind Radio Outro
Peace!

Hide the transcript

“What do you control, for sure, huh? The volume in your stereo? The air conditioning in your car? WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE?”
–Dramatic, pounding, rising intensity ambient music.
“Fine, another chance, you were nervous too much pressure, try again!”
– Anthony Hopkins, “Instinct”

TR:

Your vote. Access to healthcare. Clean air, education.

Alright, at least women control what they do with their bodies right?

Based on the constant attacks from a segment of the government, think tanks and other organizations, it appears as if their purpose is to control other people. This can make you feel as if you have no say. In fact, that’s the point. To make you feel as if you have no control, no power.

My name is Thomas Reid, I’m the host and producer of this here podcast called Reid My Mind Radio.
Now some of y’all continue to forget the radio.

I talked about that before. Apparently, it’s something out of my control, but I can remind you every now and then. You can say it’s my way of resisting.
I’m not just going to stand by while other people dictate the name of my podcast. We all have choices we can make. Even when it seems like there’s nothing we can do.

If you relate to what I’m saying, stay tuned. Otherwise, stay tuned… the choice is yours!

— Reid My Mind Radio Intro

TR:

I’m starting the conversation with this audio from November 2024, but let’s be clear,
The problem we’re experiencing today started way before that.

Today’s problem is and has always been America’s problem. It began with the arrival of the first European settlers setting foot on the shores of what is now known as the United States.
That was the beginning of;
The land theft, the genocide of the indigenous people who were already here for thousands of years.
The creation and implementation of chattel slavery, requiring the kidnapping of African people.
The government sanctioned Jim Crow laws, lynchings, systemic oppression of poor people here and abroad.

And we cannot forget the confederates,
you know the anti-US side of the Civil War, the homegrown terrorists,
how they were allowed to move forward with their agenda.
It’s as if a serious crime against the country were committed only to have them pardoned and rewarded for their criminal actions.

— News clip about Jan 6 er’s being pardoned.
— Glass breaking! “DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!” Florida Evans, “Good Times”

TR:
What we’re experiencing today is not new.

MAGA ain’t new.
I’m talking about this idea of making America great again.
This fascination of turning the clock back to a time when
rich white men could make all the rules and
control the society for their benefit.
That’s not a definition of great that I can get behind.

We can’t control the past. We can’t control the actions of other people.
However, we can study and learn from the past and let that factor in how we move forward in the present.
All with the goal of making a better future for humanity.

That’s a choice.
We do have choices.

We can take the individual approach, that’s the “I got mine, you better go get yours” attitude and move on.

We can bury our heads in the sand, give in to all of the available distractions;
Binging your favorite streaming company
Watching grown men and women throw, catch, kick and run around a field or court with balls.
Tapping and swiping through endless, mindless videos about nothing on your favorite social media app.

I’m not saying don’t participate in these things… just ask yourself if you’re using these things as a permanent escape from reality.

We have choices.
Hopefully, not these.

Music: A menacing synth drone leads to a Hip Hop trap beat.

TR: In 2024, I voted the right way. I recognized what was to come. Not because I’m some sort of a Nostra Thomas! I just believed them. I believed their Project 2025. I believe them because I have some understanding of what was done before and was conscious enough to be aware of the writing on the wall. Afterall, that writing was in big bold lettering. Even a Blind man could see it.

(Is that an ableist metaphor coming from me? Yes!)
Cool!

I voted the right way because the hatred was really easy to identify. I’m always going to vote against that. Yet, I’m not proud of my response to the result of that election. Unknowingly, I made a choice.

The choice was indecision, which means I didn’t do anything because I didn’t know what to do. At least that’s what I thought I was doing.

I often tend to think about action as some form of boots on the ground. Protests and marches, confronting public or private officials in their place of business or at town hall meetings.
— Sound from a town hall interrupted with community chants, “No Justice No Peace”.

But there are many different ways to contribute. Things that are within our control.

Educating yourself is one that is often forgotten or ignored. It’s not easy. It requires time. Something we all have. I know I need to be more intentional about what I do with my time.

The episodes in this season are all about reminding us that we have a choice in how we respond to whatever we face in our lives.

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living or get busy dying.” Andy Dufresne, “Shawshank Redemption”

TR:
We’ll hear how one person found their way to be a part of the resistance in Minneapolis during the ICE surge earlier this year.

We’re also talking about voting, disinformation, and how can we take on leadership positions ourselves.

— Crowd chants: “Power to the People!”

We have a place in the fight.
We have power.
All power to the People!

— Power to the people fades out

If this sounds like something that you need or want in your life right now, make sure you rock with Reid My Mind Radio by subscribing or following wherever you get podcasts.

You can always choose not to listen. You can read the transcript instead. Or do both at the same time.

— Scooby Doo laugh.

You can find the transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com

Now, this is where you don’t have a choice, you gotta spell it right, that’s R to the E I D!
— “D! And that’s me in the place to be.” Slick Rick

TR:
Like my last name!
— Reid My Mind Radio outro
Peace!

Hide the transcript