Rania Batrice

Rania Batrice is a high-profile progressive political strategist and activist who has worked on numerous major campaigns, including those for Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders. Rania discusses the enduring dynamics of being a Texas-born Palestinian American, and how this identity has shaped her career fighting for Palestinian rights, climate change action, gun violence prevention, and women's rights. Rania talks about her come up as a senior director within Bernie Sander’s 2016 presidential campaign, and the present opportunity for truly authentic progressive candidates, as well as the younger generation, to step up and lead today’s Democratic movement.

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Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

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Transcript

0:00

Welcome to, it's Open with Ilana Glazer. Hi, I'm Ilana Glazer and I just came off this incredible conversation that I'm so excited to share with you. Rania Batrice is my guest today, and she is my friend and collaborator, and she has shaped public opinion through advocacy and policy for the past 25 years, but she has been there every step of the way in the Democratic Party as it's nudged more and more and more to progressive human rights values. We're going to talk about the democratic establishment today, a and the progressive people from the inside that is rapidly expanding. If you need a break from the disgusting onslaught of the news that's made purposely that way to flood you and make you feel helpless and powerless, then I think today's conversation is going to be a welcome one. So come on in. Rania Batrice, thank you for joining me today. Thank you for having me. It's so good to be here with you. It's so enriching to my life to become friends with you while we organize and advocate for human rights. Honor is obviously, mine sounds very glib and trite, but it's a dark time. So finding our people is kind of part of, I think, what we need in order to keep going, frankly. So thank you. Same. I'm honored to work with you. You are so strong and smart and powerful. I met you through Mark Ruffalo, who you also collaborate with in a similar way, which is to work with artists to get the message out for different causes of human rights, different really urgent needs for human rights through, I suppose, demonstration, but also art. I felt this way for a very long time. I don't know that I always had the full grasp and understanding, but I've always felt like art, whether it's music, film, visual art, has a way of breaking through in ways that words can't always, statistics lose people. When you throw numbers out, it feels subhuman even though it's not. But that's just how it feels. And so art as an expression of course, beautiful. We love it, and it really has an ability to just break through in ways that other mediums and words just can't. And breakthrough to shape public opinion. And I've seen this in real time. So you and I started working together connected by Mark after Hamas killed 1200 Israelis, and then Israel had genocidal response to that. And I mean, really it was right away. I think it was important that Jewish Americans speak up to separate Israel from all Jews and also to Jews for human rights, needed to step up and say, this is a genocide and this is anti-human rights and violating international human rights law. What I had at my disposal was an Instagram like square, right? But what I learned with you was about telling a story over time and continually finding new ways. One version of this I remember is putting out a statement in which you were, I remember I was on the Upper East side and we're talking on the phone, and you sent me a first draft, and I'm looking at the text and I'm editing it, but man, I don't have the words. What do I mean? What do we mean? And together we found, but you really pitched the words that Palestinian and Jewish safety is inextricably intertwined. And that for me was a moment where words don't always do it. Sometimes you need music, but the art points to public opinion, shaping point then leads to policy shaping, and that was it. This is one example, Jews and Muslims and Arabs and Jews, this is one example of how we are linked and not ranked to quote Gloria Steinem, not just as our value under God, but in the fight for human rights against the minority that holds power. Absolutely. The intent is to divide us. The intent is to have us fighting each other. I do believe it is a cornerstone of colonialism and white supremacy. Oppression is to make us believe in the scarcity mentality that my liberation is at the expense of yours. And that's not true. There is enough for everyone, but as long as we're all fighting each other, and I don't just mean Arabs and Palestinians and Israelis or Christians or Muslims, I don't mean even that. I mean black people, Latino people, indigenous people, disabled people, women just insert a population here. As long as we're all fighting each other, we're not actually dealing with the real issue and the real enemy, frankly, the one that has the thumb on the scale that is holding onto power and money against any semblance of humanity. And so it becomes a distraction like let's fight each other so that we're not actually focused on who we should be fighting. In. The past 10 years, I've stepped into the world of organizing that you have been in for a long time. And while it's scary to confront the truth, it's empowering. Because. You also look around and there are smart, good people organizing for a better world. Absolutely. It's just this backdrop that the middle of the bell curve of the population takes things are so dire. So you're Palestinian American. I am a hundred percent. A hundred. Percent every day. A hundred percent Palestinian American. And you've had this natural engine your whole life, which is in my view, deeply connected to your roots and your body and your bloodline and ancestry, a fire within you to organize for a better world. I do what I do because I'm Palestinian. I don't know that I could ever do anything else. It's because of what I learned as a child, like being otherized in West Texas and having immigrant parents with heavy accents who were very brown and all the things. But then also just moving through the world. And I have worked at the intersection of justice and equity and so many different issues. And is you were saying something a second ago, and I kind of laughed a little because the same, I've worked on reparations for decades. I've worked on land back for indigenous people, native Americans included for so many years. I've worked for L-G-B-T-Q. Right. I've worked across all these different spaces because I deeply believe they're all connected. Either you care about humanity or you don't. That's my deep belief. That's. Right. But the same people, if I was working on some kind of a campaign or whatever, the same people who would call me and say, oh, how can I help on this reparations bill? How can I help on this land back initiative? How can I, were also the same people forcing me to justify my existence as a Palestinian person. There's just a deep hypocrisy when it comes to Palestine and Palestinian people. Do you mean Jewish Americans in positions? I don't even mean just Jewish Americans. I mean, lots of people who have big I worked with across so many different areas, and they wanted me to help them be better advocates for insert issue here, whatever. It's. But what do you mean justify your existence? I've never been quiet about being Palestinian, and I didn't understand this. It's happened a few times throughout my life, but it's almost like I've been accepted in some spaces in spite of being Palestinian. And then when it comes to whatever it may be, whether it was the war in 2014, whether it's the genocide now when it comes to the forefront, and I always bring it forward. Your Palestinian? Yes, my Palestinian ness, even though it's always there, but when it's deeper, stronger, whatever we want to call it, it is the things that people say are so atrocious. They. Ask you to quiet it down. Yes. They. Ask you to peel. It back. For the bigger picture. When they. Don't realize that. Yes, it's so complicated. I'm like, it's not though. It's not. And then even just like, oh, maybe I've had people be like, maybe don't lead with your Palestinian. I'm like, for who? For you? So you feel better. No, I'm good. Thank you. It is structural. It is systemic. It is not just our community. We see this across many communities where it's like, quiet down, don't be. So. This comes from your upbringing too. Don't be so loud about your Palestinian ness. And. Your Arabic. Right? Yes, yes. It's really, I love my family so much. I have two brothers. I adore them. Their Arabic is atrocious. It was all of our first language, myself and my two brothers. I use Arabic in my daily life and my work, and I have never stopped speaking to my family in Arabic, but it's really sad. I oftentimes have to translate for my brothers because when we were young and kids can be so mean, we were different. My brothers are much darker complected than I am too. Like I said, my parents have very heavy accents, and these kids were just like, they'd make fun of us. And in West Texas. Yeah. Were there other Arab families? Not where we went to school. There is actually a very large population, large Arab population there from across, I mean so many different countries, more so now than when we were younger. But it was just that normalizing assimilation, just wanting to fit in. So your parents would not speak? Would they not speak Arabic in the home? We would at home, but it turns into a habit where my brothers were like, please don't talk to us in Arabic and in public, basically in front of our friends. And they wouldn't, and I would yell across the parking lot in Arabic. I was a little shit, even as a child. And it has served me. I mean, I would be, because so much of my family that's still back home, they speak no English. Some do, but a lot of them, and I get to stay in communication with them on the regular, which is, I mean, it means everything. And you've told me that your parents even said, let's just say we're Israeli. Oh. Yeah. Here. In the United States, because that was a safer identity to. Occupy. Absolutely. It would make me so angry. They finally stopped. Like the oppressive force. Why you. Oh, yeah. Left. They left exactly 1000001%. The reason that my dad had to get out of there and then even went back, married, my mom brought her over, but the literal reason, and I'm just like, oh my God. And like I said, they've stopped now, but it was years of me getting so probably overly emotional, angry that No. And it's confusing too. There's so many ways in which also millennials have parented their parents. We have more access to therapy. We just communicated more. A million percent. But. This particular way, not just an immigrant story, but in the context that we're in right now of having witnesses genocide for over two years on our fucking bones. I mean, that's not overly emotional, but that's you parenting them where're like you're not seeing how to lead me. And that's on top of the geopolitical shit, the personal identity stuff. That's like a kid having to parent her parents. It sucks. So you were involved in organizing just at a young age. I mean, you just started being a part of your community in this way in college, and you were organizing Democrats on campus. You also said that you interviewed Maya Angelou and she spoke perfect Arabic. She spoke like seven languages, and one of them was Arabic. That woman was, I mean, not that we didn't know. We know she's legendary forever and ever. And it's funny, I remember reading her bio and it was in there, all the languages she spoke were, and so I actually just introduced myself in Arabic and thought we were going to just do little pleasantries. No, no. She spoke fluent Arabic with perfect accent. The whole, I mean, it was incredible. Stunning. We're going to do this. Shocking. That's shocking. Yeah, she was incredible. You've worked on campaigns essentially since high school, since college campaign after campaign, rising through the world of political organizing and activism, and as I was learning about your personal history in democratic organizing, it's a small world. Thankfully. It's mostly people I really love and respect, so that's nice. But it is, it's a small world, which I think is also, I think we're sort of made to believe that we don't have space. We don't have a voice, we don't have ability. It's too big. It's too hard, it's too complicated. And so I think that's in part why it's a small world. It's growing. And I mean, I always hesitate to say young people give me hope because I feel like it's a cop out for older people. But. They aren't asking for permission to be in those spaces. And they're like, I am here and let's go. Which is fantastic because obviously not so much my generation. So it is growing, but it's a small world, and I think that is by design. Do you have young people in mind who you are thinking of when you say they don't ask for permission? Absolutely. So I do a lot of, I don't even know if we've talked about this. I do a lot of GVP work too, gun violence prevention work, and then of course a lot of climate work. And it is young people leading in those spaces. And of course, the Parkland shooting was a pivotal moment. It was not the first shooting in this country, but it was the first time I think was a shooting that happened among kids of an age who could articulate for themselves. Some of those kids are my, they're adults now, but they're my mentees. I still work very closely with them. And they are, and there's many, many others, of course, so many in the climate space, so many in just the justice space in general. But they literally came into it and said, we're done waiting. We don't adhere to this permission structure. It's honestly, one of the things I love most about young people. They're also beholden to nobody. They don't care about they D's and R's. They don't care. They're just like, who is actually going to show up in a real authentic way and make life better and actually do something, not just talk about it. It makes me think about how young people, children, and teenagers who are indoctrinated into a white supremacist structure, how frighteningly militant they are, and they're armed with guns, so it's psycho. But when you talk about young people advocating for human rights, the right to not be murdered in your school with guns, there's a, I don't want to say militant, but there's a sharpness to young people these days that is just the common sense of human rights. But it filters out so sharp, so specific, so strong because it's so fucking obvious. And. What's being uncovered now is this structure that's layers of a hundred veils, a hundred veils, all that gauzy, so many different facades. It's a wall. And that's being parted, and there's a fury to them, especially when I think about parkland. Obviously there classmates were killed. There's a fury and a precision that doesn't come from brainwashing. That. Comes from common sense, not being clouded by indoctrination. And it comes out so precise. It is hopeful. It does get me hope. It also, it's funnily enough, I'm going to bring us full circle. Speaking of parenting, the parents, I can't tell you how many of these kids have brought their parents along and devastatingly, but it happens all the time. Parents who unfortunately have lost their children in these horrific ways. Oftentimes those kids were already activists and the parents were not at all involved, but they learned about their kids' advocacy and activism Oh my God. And now their parents, I'm actually one of the organizations I work with, I'm actually the chair of their board. It's called Change the Ref. It is always devastating. But these parents immigrated to the United States from Venezuela to keep their children safe, and their son was killed in his classroom, and he was, let me tell you, I'm going to send you some of the things he posted. And he was always at rallies. He was a true in the streets dude. He was so amazing. The dad is an artist. His name is Manuel. The mom is just badass and keeps everybody moving and going. Her name is Patricia. So he's taken hit back to art and advocacy and activism. He's taken his art and become an activist and become an advocate honoring his son, of course, in remembrance of him in the most authentic way possible was. And so, I mean, my God, I hope we don't live in a world where that's what has to move people, but we are seeing that too. But people can move before that fucking happens. Yes. That is the cry. That is the call. Do not wait until a school shooting reaches your community to stand up. It's such a clear and easy demand from parents that would all the other human rights issues fall. Behind. So you're moving in the political world in a way that people are noticing plucking you constantly asking for the next campaign and the next campaign such that you're taking some breaks. And they're like, no, please come back. They're like, okay, fine. To the point of Bernie Sanders's campaign. Let's talk about where you were when you got that outreach and what that outreach looked like and crossing the line over into his campaign. So I had been on another presidential campaign in 2015. It was short-lived the person. As much respect as I had for him, it was not a good fit. Okay. Yeah. I actually went back home for my cousin's wedding. It was, everything's so dramatic in politics, even when it doesn't need to be. So I knew it was going to be like a big story, blah, blah, blah. I left. I was like, no one can reach me here. Ha. But by the time I. Came back home Palestine or. Yeah, for that, my cousin was getting married before I had quit this campaign. I was only going to get to be there for two days. I stayed for three weeks because why not? Yeah. So no one could get ahold of me. By the time I got back again, political world's, very small world, I'd received calls from several different campaigns. It was a very crowded primary, as you remember in 20 15, 20 15, 20 16. And one of my really good friends was working for Bernie, and he was like, Hey, you want to come join the circus? And I was like, maybe. And people, and the circus. Meaning Bernie's campaign or the primary being so. Credited Bernie's campaign. Copy that. Yeah, because it was, I mean, he was an insurgent candidate. People forget in 2015, at this time, when I started this process with them, he had 2% name ID and a hundred thousand dollars in the bank. He was not Bernie Sanders that we know today. I mean, anybody in politics was aware, but the general population did not know. In fact, I remember the first time we were in Iowa, we were walking back to the hotel from dinner. Jay and his wife was there, his body guy was there, and me, it was like we were a tiny little crew, and these college kids swarmed him. We were like, Bernie, Bernie, can we take a selfie? And he's like, what the hell? Because it freaked him out so much. It was just not. Normal. But that was sort of the starting the turning point where. Wow. Yeah. You're reminding me it's really only been 10 or 11 years that he's become this legend for human rights in the United States. Yeah. Okay. So that's wild. Hell. Hilarious it. Funny think, oh my gosh. My favorite was another Iowa story, one of, there's a really awesome store. It's actually the largest unionized shop start to finish. It's in Des Moines, Iowa. It's called Regu. They do these amazing shirts and apparel. They made a shirt that had all these Bernie faces on it. It was really a lot, but it was hysterical. Some kid, we did a campus event. Some kid ran out to take a picture with him, and Bernie was like, what in the hell are you wearing? And he asked him to sign his arm. He was like, I'm going to get this tattooed. And Bernie's signing his arm, please don't get this tattoo. Such like Bernie energy. Wow. So they call you and you're like, okay, I. Will join in. Yeah. Well, it was originally, he was just supposed to be a client. I had started my business that it was like, this is what I'm going to do. I'm determined I'm going to build this thing for myself as. A consultant in this space. But working for yourself, not. A. Campaign's. A campaigns a campaign. Yes. Got. It. I'd lived in a different state every year for, I don't even know, 13, 15. It was a lot. So he was originally just supposed to be a client that was very short-lived, and he sucked me all the way in. Got it. Got it. So I put the business on the back burner and went through the primary process with him. Okay. So I want to talk about two things from your in-person face-to-face experience as part of the Bernie Sanders campaign 2015 to 2016, the presidential primary. I want to talk about two things I want to talk about as Lieutenant Governor Penny Flanagan, Peggy Flanagan said progressive fighters versus institutionalized corporate dems. And then I want to talk about men. Men are deceptively complicated. They are. I do think the Democratic party infrastructure, the DNC, all the things did Bernie dirty. That happened. I was there. I'll never forget. I was on the bus with Bernie driving across Iowa. Why are all my Iowa stories? Everything comes back to Iowa, driving across the state, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, sorry, I'm naming her because I'm still pissed at her. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is on M-S-N-B-C after they shut down our access to the van, which is the voter file that allows for organizers to access the voters in any given state. Shut it down because of this whole bullshit thing. I won't go into it. Shut down campaign's, access to voters. Yes. Fuck. Days before the caucus. Days before the caucus. And Debbie Wasserman Schultz is on M-S-N-B-C going. I called Bernie this morning and I told him, so we're sitting there on the bus with Bernie and all look at him, and he, so Bernie pulls his phone out and is like, look, I don't have anything from her. She's never, he's scrolling through his missed calls or whatever. That's just one little story. But wait a second. Can you explain it? Can you unpack it? Bernie felt like the clear pick. It was post recession, post Occupy Wall Street, and the DNC as an institution just said no. Yeah, absolutely. And I said this, and I will say it again, and I mean, I think the Democratic party would have rather had Trump than Bernie. He's terrifying. And listen, Bernie is not perfect. Nobody is. There are things, whatever. But Bernie is a direct threat to the establishment, to. The billionaire. Owned. Establishment that we're looking at now in these Epstein files as controlling. The. World. I mean, it's insane. And they control the media. They. Are aiding an authoritarian. Regime. Exactly. It is a cop out to say, oh, they did Bernie dirty, and that's why we lost all these men. Because exactly what you said, what's at the root? Bernie is one piece of this massive puzzle. The issue is not Bernie Sanders or Zoran, or if I hear one more, and I am a consultant, so I try to consider myself different from the rest of them. But if one more consultant says to me, how do we make our candidates seem authentic? I'm going to pull my hair out, but shit, you not, I hear this all the time. Seem authentic. Yes. Disgusting. But the wrong lessons always. And is this always the wrong, always institutionalized corporate dems? It's never because progressive fighters don't have to seem authentic, and they're never even asking the question. No, honestly, it's funny. It's making me think about it as a comedian. We're like with Broad City and just who I am, authenticity. Authenticity, and hearing it over and over, it's like, stop talking about it. Just do exactly. Just be it. But this is where, and I am a lifelong Democrat. This is where I lose it. And you understand why I'm a little bit unhinged and jaded all the time because how many of the wrong lessons are we going to learn? I say we, as much as I'm outside the establishment, I'm still a Democrat and I am banging my head against the wall and fighting these fights. But the thing is, your work is coming to the top of the Democratic party because these things that Bernie said 10 years ago, 11 years ago, you told me now establishment dams are clamoring to claim as wording to seem authentic. Right? Like a climate crisis. Yes. Well, so this is another favorite story. It was not the Iowa debate, I don't think. Maybe it was Nevada in 2016. The question was something like, what is the biggest threat to the United States? Or maybe it was global, something like that. And Bernie said it was the climate crisis, and I got so many text messages from people being like, that was a dumb answer. This was also, I believe, the same debate in 2015. Yeah. Yeah. I think it was also the same debate where Bernie said that he was sick and tired of hearing about Hillary's damn emails. I got a lot of texts about that. They were like, he just let her off the hook. I'm like, yeah, but that's so Bernie. He is sick and tired of hearing about her emails. Who knew Me too now. Yeah, exactly. But that was is he has been in this place. And it's funny because you're talking about in the last 10 years, Bernie has had this surge, or whatever you want to call it. This man has been talking about these things for 40 years. And this is what's so funny to me when Nick, because he had massive youth support, and he's an old man. An old Jewish. White man. Jewy. White man. I mean, he's. Disheveled and always remember fixing his hair and wiping dandruff off his suit before he went on stage. I'm not even kidding. Oh. My. God. He just is who he is and has always been that way. And do I agree with him a hundred percent of the time? No. But he always comes at things from an authentic place. I mean legitimately. And he was right. And now Medicare for all, which I don't actually believe labels are what get us into trouble. I don't give a shit what we call it. Healthcare is a human right. Period. Call it whatever the hell you want to call it, but just, we'll call it Medicare for all, for ease. Everyone's talking about it now. Every Democrat is like, that is part of their platform. You know what I mean? All these things that he was so central in bringing to the forefront and chastised for and made fun of for and all these things. It's like commonplace now. And I'm thinking about campaigns like Ice Out Be Good in honor of Renee Nicole, good being executed by ice artists for ceasefire little pins just to award shows. And what a huge difference that made in public, in swaying public opinion that Palestinian people deserve not to be bombed. They deserve dignity and basic human rights. You work with artists to tell a narrative, but this is just literal policy that you've worked on the establishment Democrat and messaging platform. And we're purposely flooded with and overstimulated with so much content that it makes it hard to remember that this was seen as radical 10 years ago. I mean, even things that were seen as radical two years ago, you know what I mean? But this comes back at full circle moment again, this comes back to what we started talking about, which is the connectivity of all these things, whether we're talking about the authoritarianism and impunity of ice, or the Israeli government or the Trump administration. I mean, they kidnapped a five-year-old child. There is a Palestinian woman who has been detained for almost a year in an ice detention center. She just got out of the hospital. Her attorneys literally cannot get answers. Apparently she was in a hospital, couldn't get any answers. She was discharged. Now she's back in an ICE facility. For speaking out against Israel. And. Because she's Palestinian American. Well, she's Palestinian green card holder, but similar to Mahmud il, but insert things there. Or Kat Za, who was federally indicted for protesting ice. Who's running for Congress. She's running for Congress in Illinois nine. She was assaulted multiple times on camera, and they federally indicted her and five other people for obstructing a federal officer because they stood in front of a car on public land, by the way. So the whole thing is insane. But all of these things are precedent setting, first of all. And then they're all happening in large part with impunity. And that just breeds more abuse, more impunity, more violence, more oppression, this idea that any of these things are disconnected. I kind of lose it a little bit like, no, no. We've been on a steady drumbeat to this moment for a very long time. And every time somebody said, it's too complicated. We can't talk about this. It's an election year. We don't want to talk about reparations or whatever the hell or climate or guns or choice. You know what I mean? We've been on this path and I am so ready. We're seeing it in the public. I am ready for leadership, democratic leadership to step into this moment. And I don't mean Chuck Schumer renaming a fucking bill or Hakeem Jeffries say, tweeting Jesus, take the wheel. You know what I mean? We do. Not mean Chuck s Schumer or Hakeem Jeffries. They're terrible. I do think that I am seeing public opinion change and shift and be, as you say, no, it's an election year. It's that moderate base, white, moderate base, and now just some moderate base, I don't know, some middle of the bell curve that is shifting toward realizing that our rights are being handed over to AI. Essentially, and. That human rights are the issue now to fight for public opinion is moving this way because the government is being so egregious and abusive of US citizens or legal US residents. And I'm also seeing and having hope for elected officials and people in government who are stepping into that leadership role. Do. You have hope for it? Who do you see? I do. And here's why I do. Because the people that are breaking through are the anti-establishment, non normie, non billionaire funded candidates who are running for, I mean, and Zahar is one example, and I love him, and he's a friend and he's amazing. Everybody is not zani. He is incredibly talented. He's all the things, he's brilliant and he cares deeply. But you don't have to be all those things. You actually just have to give a shit. And that is what I'm seeing. And it is what's making me hopeful is people being like, I'm not waiting in line. This is the other thing that happens across party lines where it's like, oh, you wait your turn and first you run for this office then, and then we'll allow it. People. Are just like, Nope. Done with that. They're bucking the party talking points and infrastructure and system. I mean, sorry to come back to Kat, but she raised $3 million,$29 at a time. Oh my God. I mean, I love her and she is a client of mine. So just full disclosure, but even I can take a step back and go, holy shit, that's amazing. And it's because she's presenting something different. I think something similar with Alam who's also primary an incumbent. She's already outraged the incumbent small dollar donors at a time, again, because she's bringing something else forward. It is not the normie status quo shit. Yep. Nina Aam, let's just shut her up for a second. She's in North Carolina. North Carolina four. She's the first ever elected Muslim woman in the state of North Carolina. That's right. So I met her in 2016, and now she's running for. Congress. Congress. And she's outrun her opponent. Yes. She's outraged her opponent, who is like the epitome of establishment. She said things like, I'm not taking APAC money, but literally 20, 24 December was in a picture with Netanyahu. I can't. Oh my. I cannot with her. And you were talking about data centers. She's a data center person. She is a crypto person. She's a big pharma person. She's terrible. Oh my God. I can't. I'm like, I'm so over. I'm naming names now. Obviously I don't care anymore. Come at me. And. Also the whole thing, all this stuff, and I'm sorry to keep going back to the Epstein files, but I'm just so fucking disturbed. It's insane. And it's just like, well, it's all coming out. And they may try to normalize it, but I think most Americans are looking around being like, oh, this not normal. This is so scary. And it's not even, what's to hide seem authentic. You're just naming the truth that's. Happening. But I think that's also where, again, back to the hope not to be kitschy or whatever, But it is because we have lived in a country where, especially on the federal level, they were not representing us. The metric I always come back to, there was a time not that long ago where public opinion poll after poll was between 87 and 97% of the American population supported universal background checks. Ask me what universal background check bill has been in Congress in the last decade. Wow. Not one. And there's a number of issues. I mean, Palestine, the entire population, and we're not talking about one poll, two polls, 10 polls. We're talking about two and a half years of polling that has showed even Republicans have completely flipped on this issue. Which you've been a huge part of shaping that public opinion. Well, thank you. But I also think my point in all of this, yeah, yeah. Sorry. No, it's okay. The point in all of this is people have been awake to so many things for so long, but have been conditioned to believe that we have no power. And that is part of the systemic infrastructure that intentionally to keep us suppressed. You can't do anything, so you just go home, work four jobs, barely make ends meet, worry if you get sick, you're going to have to file for bankruptcy. If your kid breaks their arm on the playground, you're going to lose your job because you're going to have to stay home with them. All these things that have so intentionally been put we have no power, well fuck that. We do have power. And I think I feel deeply people are waking up to that. I do too. Rania, let me end on two things. First of all, talk. Can we just name, so you just named people running for office. Can we name people who are in the seats doing the work, like a OC, Ayana Presley, Jayapal PR Jayapal. Give me hope and help me look at the columns of this structure are still standing. Just can you name a few more people just so you can look at these people? And this is the thing too, is that network of the types of people you're talking about still a minority in Congress, but expanding. This is the good news. So just like you said, Alex, a OCI actually just did an event with Pramila Dia Paul last night. She co-hosted the screening of The Voice of Reja. She co-hosted with Senator Peter Welch, who is the other old white man senator from Vermont, but Epic. Epic human being. Peter Welch. Okay. Yes. So fantastic. Chris Van Holland, another older white man in the Senate. Phenomenal, awesome. He's so great. I mean, Jamie Raskin, honestly, he's been on his own journey too. He's so amazing. And obviously my sister, I love her so much. Rashida Tib is fierce incarnate. I love her so much. That's right. She's amazing. I mean, again, there are more than there have been in my history in this kind of space, and hopefully we're just going to keep expanding. That's good. Just for people to hear the names and know the people are there is awesome. And then I just want to say that I we're always working you and I together, and the latest thing, I'm just talking about it as many episodes as I can, moms and neighbors for Safe and fair, us midterm elections 2026. We're. Going to have moms chaperone the midterm elections, bringing cookies and snacks and watching the polls and making sure those votes get counted safely. And it's a brain trust of women who are moms and not moms putting our resources together. A bunch of geniuses, if I may, putting our resources together to get this campaign going after Renee, Nicole Good was executed by ice. My algorithm, my Instagram intake was I was getting sick over it. And then with Rashma Sja, who's part of this brain trust, who's the founder of Moms First, I did a Zoom with her to speak to that killing. And it all snowballed from there where I was like this, I have to extract myself from algorithmic despair and put myself into action. And I organized the smartest women I know. So I'm so grateful for it. Thanks for being a part of it. I need you. Of course. No, I'm so honored. But this kind of comes back to exactly what we were just talking about. Everyone has a part to play. That's right. And I talk about this often. We have to remember the strategy is always important and what's as important. The message of course, is important. So is the messenger and the genius behind this idea is we're talking about moms, we're talking about moms and neighbors and friends and all the things, but really it's moms and come at a mom. You know what I mean? And the reality is it comes back to they're trying to They're trying to scare us into silence. This is something that really so many people can dig into and be part of, and it's deeply important. So yeah. Let's. Go. Rania. Patrice, let's go. Thank you so much for being here with me today. I'm so excited to actually share with my audience and community, one of my biggest collaborators. Thank you so much. I'm. So grateful. You're so brilliant and generative and creative, and you make change, and it's an honor to work with you. Same honors mine. Truly so grateful for you. Me too. Rania. Oh my God. Wow. I feel better. I feel better from waking up and scrolling and feeling like a piece of garbage to getting out of that today and then talking to Rania and now sharing it with you. I feel better. And I hope you do too. And I hope you know that there's a role for you in the fight for human rights. And it's whatever you day I'm good at. That's it. That's it. Whatever you're good at, we're here to take it and make good use of it for all of humanity. So anyway, thanks for joining me today. This has been a Starrpix production. There's no way I could do this alone. I do this with a village of creative geniuses. The creative producers that I'm referring to right now are David Rooklin, Kelsie, Kiley, Glennis Meagher, Madeline Kim, and Annika Carlson. The people who made this episode look and sound so good are Nicole Maupin, Lexa Krebs, and Kevin Deming. Who made them opening musical sting in these gorgeous graphics? Raymo Ventura, baby. Thank you, Raymo Ventura. Tovah Liebowitz. Thank you Tovah for your excellent editing and being a friend. And this outro music was made by Don Hur the band. And I'm going to say it again. It's been a Starrpix production. Can't wait to see you next time. Bye.