From Allies to Adversaries: Toyota's Disturbing Shift
Richie and John tackle the troubling news surrounding Toyota's recent decision to withdraw support for LGBTQ events and organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign's equality index. They express their disappointment in corporate America, highlighting how companies often compromise their commitments to diversity and inclusion when pressured by right-wing figures like Robbie Starbuck. The discussion delves into the importance of holding these corporations accountable and the necessity for advocacy groups to step up their efforts in defending LGBTQ rights. Through this conversation, Richie and John also emphasize the role of consumers in voicing their concerns and the impact of boycotting companies that abandon their commitments to the community. Join them as they explore the current state of LGBTQ representation in corporate America and media, advocating for a proactive approach to support and protect equal rights.
Listen to this episode at www.RichieAndJohn.com or subscribe and download from our podcast portal distribution partners at Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Captivate.fm, Spotify, and YouTube Music. Feedback is encouraged at info@richieandjohn.com or by calling our 24/7 listener line at +1 (878) 768-8825.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Toyota
- Nissan
- Ford
- Lexus
- John Deere
- Jack Daniels
- Molson
- Coors
- Sirius Satellite Radio
- Gannett
- USA Today
Transcript
Richie and John are fired up can't keep quiet anymore.
Speaker A:Robbie.
Speaker A:Starbucks campaign of terror knocking on corporate doors?
Speaker A:They're out to kill di spill?
Speaker A:Our progress on the ground?
Speaker A:But we won't let bigotry spread in silence our sound?
Speaker A:Oh, don't you know our forces are untied?
Speaker A:We'll rise up against your hate?
Speaker A:We've got love on our side?
Speaker B:The Mutual Broadcasting system presents Richie and John the podcast that connects you with the people, events, headlines, and lifestyle interests of the global LGBTQ community.
Speaker B:Here's Richie Roy and John McMullen.
Speaker C:Welcome to this Saturday, October 5 edition.
Speaker D:Of Richie and John.
Speaker D:And I am John McMullen, joined by Richie Roy, who is joining us from the other valley, the Hudson Valley.
Speaker C:I'm in the Coachella Valley, and we're here bicoastally.
Speaker D:It's the only really bi about our show.
Speaker D:But if you're bi, that's okay.
Speaker C:We're happy to have you with us, too.
Speaker C:So there has been a lot of stuff to talk about in the news.
Speaker D:The last, I don't know, quarter century.
Speaker D:And it seems to always affect the LGBTQ community.
Speaker D:And this week is no change in that.
Speaker D:But our news day Tuesday show just, I guess, wasn't enough time for us.
Speaker C:To talk about things that are kind of newsworthy.
Speaker C:And unfortunately, there's a very unworthy person who's back in our sights again.
Speaker D:Richie.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:So we talked briefly on the Tuesday episode about Robbie Starbuck, and we thought that Toyota had kind of given him the heisman, you know, the strong arm.
Speaker E:Nope.
Speaker E:So as of this past Thursday, Toyota has completely capitulated.
Speaker E:They have refocused their programming.
Speaker E:They've halted sponsorship of LGBTQ events and has pulled out of the LGBTQ, the human rights campaign equality index rankings.
Speaker E:They're refocusing their advocacy on, quote, stem.
Speaker E:And so they basically dismantled their DEI and LGBTQ programming again because of one fucking cretan, Robbie Starbuck.
Speaker E:And I don't know why they care about this guy, but they apparently do for some reason.
Speaker E:And it's just really disheartening to see.
Speaker E:And it shows, you know, we talked about this with our friend John Nash a little bit ago, but it shows that.
Speaker E:That, you know, these companies, at the end of the day, were fair weather friends.
Speaker E:When it comes, push comes to shove, they are not here to advocate for us, and they're all too willing because literally one firebrand threatens a social media campaign.
Speaker E:They just dismantle everything.
Speaker E:They.
Speaker E:They pull out of the HRC index.
Speaker E:They get rid of all their sponsorships.
Speaker E:And they pack up their toys and go away at the drop event.
Speaker C:I knew that they had targeted Toyota earlier in the week.
Speaker C:I had read some stuff about that, but I was not aware that they had gone.
Speaker D:It was my impression initially that they had basically given the Robbie Starbuck campaign the finger, and that's not the case.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker E:Well, initially, they made a statement saying, you know, something along the lines of LGBTQ.
Speaker E:You know, we have a lot of affinity groups at Toyota, you know, that are employee sponsored.
Speaker E:And essentially they just said, you know, look, this is nothing corporate.
Speaker E:This is.
Speaker E:This is just homegrown.
Speaker E:But, you know, I guess with the continued pressure from this one random idiot, they, you know, went ahead and made, you know, a definitive statement that they were going to pull out of the HRC equality index, that they were going to not sponsor LGBTQ events, that they were not going to sponsor Dei.
Speaker E:It's really disheartening.
Speaker E:You know, it really just shows that at the end of the day, you know, these companies that have been, you know, putting their pride, you know, having their floats at the.
Speaker E:At the pride festivals and stuff, they were there for dollars.
Speaker E:They weren't there as allies.
Speaker D:I better not see Ford or Toyota show up at Palm Springs Pride next month.
Speaker E:If they do, I will give them a piece of my mind.
Speaker D:Yeah, because here's the deal.
Speaker D:If you can't really separate the dealerships from the corporation.
Speaker D:And I realized that there are separate entities, but those dealerships need to be the ones, because they are the end market with the consumer.
Speaker C:They need to put the pressure back.
Speaker D:On the manufacturer and say, you don't.
Speaker C:Step away from this stuff, you step into it.
Speaker D:And you reiterate that these are values that we have as an organization, 100%.
Speaker E:I mean, that's the thing, is that.
Speaker E:Is that at the end of the day, there has to be a way to hold companies accountable.
Speaker E:And with cars and car dealership and stuff, like you said, it's very disaggregated.
Speaker E:And so it's kind of like you may have a local dealership that is really supportive of the community, or you may have one that's really jerky.
Speaker E:But at the.
Speaker E:You know, we need to find a way for things to trickle upward, to send a message to corporate that we're paying attention.
Speaker E:And, you know, like, I.
Speaker E:You know, I.
Speaker E:I've never had a Toyota.
Speaker E:You know, my previous car was a Lexus, which is part of the same parent company, and I love that car.
Speaker E:Given this piece of information, I would certainly think twice if I were in the market for a new car, it's a big chunk of money to spend.
Speaker E:A car is a big investment.
Speaker E:And if I were making that investment, I certainly, as a gay person, would think twice now about, even though I love Lexus, I think it's a great product.
Speaker E:But there are other great things, other great products out there.
Speaker E:And, you know, I think less of them as a company because of this.
Speaker C:Well, we have seen some reaction, a little tiny bit of reaction at this point from the human rights campaign, which.
Speaker D:Is the primary target of these campaigns because of.
Speaker C:Because of their national equality index that.
Speaker D:They have with all these businesses that supposedly have supportive policies and employment practices.
Speaker C:As well as marketing to LGBTQ customers.
Speaker D:And I think it's too little, too late and really too tame at this point in time.
Speaker D:And I.
Speaker D:You know, I'm wondering if perhaps the thing to do is because you and I keep talking about what can we do proactively, if the thing to do.
Speaker C:Is to find the other manufacturers who.
Speaker D:Have done the right thing to date and to get to them before Starbuck goes after them and to talk with them about what's going to happen to you in our marketplace if you walk away and reiterate getting.
Speaker D:Basically get them to reiterate what their.
Speaker C:Position is in being supportive of the LGBTq community.
Speaker D:And to that end, I just purchased.
Speaker C:A vehicle from a company that has.
Speaker D:An exceptional record with its LGBTQ alliance, and that's Nissan.
Speaker D:I really worry that they're going to go after them in the near future.
Speaker C:Because they have a very positive track record on many of these fronts.
Speaker D:And.
Speaker D:And from that standpoint, I would be very disappointed if the fact that I had just, you know, bought a $46,000 electric vehicle from Nissan and they take a turn on us.
Speaker D:So I'm thinking maybe what we should do is we should collectively and we should proactively be lobbying the human rights.
Speaker C:Campaign to do their fucking job, and we should be out in front of.
Speaker D:All these companies and giving them reasons that they should not only stand by, but I reaffirm publicly that they're standing.
Speaker C:By their existing policies and that they're going to continue to value all consumers.
Speaker D:That this is not going to be.
Speaker C:A battering ram that is going to be effective with them.
Speaker E:Yeah, totally agree with you.
Speaker E:I mean, I think that we need to.
Speaker E:And we as individual consumers, I mean, like, you know, we can write letters or whatever.
Speaker E:But you're right.
Speaker E:It's the HRCs, it's the glads.
Speaker E:It's these advocacy groups that we've paid lots of money to over the years.
Speaker E:That's their job, is to make corporate America uncomfortable sometimes.
Speaker E:That's the point.
Speaker D:You know, there's something else that has struck me in thinking about this, and how do we respond to this assault on our rights and on our community's.
Speaker C:Existence and being at least respected enough.
Speaker D:As consumers to not have this kind.
Speaker C:Of shit thrown on our faces.
Speaker D:And one of the things I was thinking about is the fact that the.
Speaker C:Last president of the United States who.
Speaker D:Actually had an LGBTQ community liaison was.
Speaker C:The first one who had one, and that was William Jefferson Clinton.
Speaker D:And in his white house, he hired.
Speaker C:A guy by the name of Richard Socaridis, who's a friend of mine.
Speaker C:And Richard did an excellent job, I.
Speaker D:Think, in really opening up the opportunity for the community to begin communicating with.
Speaker C:An administration and being able to achieve.
Speaker D:A lot of the successes that we.
Speaker C:Have had over the last couple of decades.
Speaker D:Few decades.
Speaker D:And even though the Obama administration and the biden administration have been very, I think, LGBTQ positive and forward, I don't know that that's enough.
Speaker D:I think it's time to put that.
Speaker C:LGBTQ community liaison back in the White House having an official position and having.
Speaker D:Somebody who writes their letters on White.
Speaker C:House letterhead convening meetings with these major corporations and bringing them in and showing.
Speaker D:Them that this is part of this administration's agenda, that we want you to make a pledge that you're not going to begin discriminating or, you know, turning your back on a community that has.
Speaker C:Long been given the finger by many.
Speaker C:This is just ridiculous.
Speaker D:It's this one stupid ass wimp.
Speaker D:What I would actually refer to him.
Speaker C:I don't know if you've seen a.
Speaker D:Picture of him, but I have.
Speaker D:And he looks like a fucking she devil.
Speaker D:And as far as I'm concerned, it is time to strike back.
Speaker E:Totally agree.
Speaker C:Fire with fire.
Speaker D:And the devil likes fire, so let's fight with him.
Speaker E:And the thing is, I agree with you.
Speaker E:And I think that that's.
Speaker E:That's where these advocacy groups need to step up.
Speaker E:We also.
Speaker E:I mean, there need to be firebrands on our side, too, who really.
Speaker E:And part of this is about being on message, like, because one of the things that really, you know, with our friends in Twitter spaces, I'm always shocked by the number of times that they mention casually that they're going to chick fil a.
Speaker E:I'm like, hello?
Speaker E:Have you not.
Speaker E:Do you not know?
Speaker C:I have to admit to you, I love their food.
Speaker C:I do.
Speaker D:I won't buy it, but I love their food, and I would love to be able to, but that's going to.
Speaker C:Require a change of ownership or corporate policy.
Speaker E:Well, that's.
Speaker E:But that's the point of a boycott.
Speaker E:The point of a boycott is not.
Speaker E:Never went there, and I'm not going now.
Speaker E:The point is, I like it, and I'm choosing to not go on purpose because I used to go to chick fil a back in the science center at my university.
Speaker E:They had a chick fil a there.
Speaker E:And this was long before I knew anything about chick fil a's politics and anything.
Speaker E:And I loved those delicious little chicken sandwiches with the pickles on them.
Speaker E:Very tasty.
Speaker E:I would get them quite often.
Speaker E:As soon as I found out what their deal was, I was like, oh, no, ma'am, I'm not having that anymore.
Speaker E:And I'm not to this day.
Speaker E:But I am surprised that people who should know better gays will still go to chick fil a because, quote, you know, but it tastes great or it's convenient.
Speaker E:Well, you're defeating the purpose of.
Speaker E:I mean, like, like, really, boycotts only matter when you actually stick with them and when there's someone out there letting them know there's a reason why their numbers are tanking.
Speaker D:So let me, let me tell you a parallel thing about that.
Speaker C:So this week, in fact, we were going to create a limited edition swag item for the Richie and John show.
Speaker C:And that item was a pair of pride sneakers.
Speaker D:Can you see that?
Speaker D:Kind of fun, colorful, very fruity.
Speaker C:However, before we hit the let's buy.
Speaker D:Them button, I found out that this site is a company that is owned, operated, just oozes when you look a.
Speaker C:Little under the surface trumpism.
Speaker C:They're a huge mega supporter.
Speaker C:I can't tell you how fast I canceled that order.
Speaker D:I'm not going to feed money into.
Speaker C:The pockets of our enemies.
Speaker C:I'm sure that they would have been more than happy to take it and.
Speaker D:To make it, but not going to do that.
Speaker D:And if that's my only choice in.
Speaker C:Terms of where we're going to go.
Speaker D:For a product like that, well, I.
Speaker C:Can definitely live without it.
Speaker D:It's not going to kill me.
Speaker D:I'm certainly not going to support having, you know, I mean, that's like, you know, Jews for Hitler, right?
Speaker E:And it's, it's just, I think that, that there needs to be more messaging.
Speaker E:I think that that voting with your dollars does matter.
Speaker E:And I think that, you know, whether it's chick fil a, whether it's Toyota now or John Deere, Jack Daniels, Molson, Coors tractor supply, Lowe's.
Speaker E:We need to be letting them know through emails or letters or calls that we are not going to support them anymore because of what they have done.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:Let me tell you, when I worked.
Speaker D:At Sirius satellite radio, every week, we would get.
Speaker C:Anybody who is a director level or.
Speaker D:Above would get this compendium that came in to customer care, which reported basically.
Speaker C:A lot of the feedback throughout the.
Speaker D:Week to customer care agents on the.
Speaker C:Phone and through email.
Speaker D:And it was.
Speaker D:It was to read some of the things that people wrote in, people who had a lot to say about how much music, repetition there might have been or about the negativity of some sorts.
Speaker C:Of talk or other entertainment programming.
Speaker D:And, you know, they, like Congress and.
Speaker C:Any other legislative body, they have a.
Speaker D:System of figuring out that for every.
Speaker C:Person who took the time to write that there is a factor, an exponential.
Speaker D:Factor, of how many other people probably.
Speaker C:Or certainly feel this way and just don't take the time to write to us.
Speaker D:And they pay attention.
Speaker D:When you write and when you write to your legislators, believe me, it carries a ton of weight because they know how many people are just too lazy, uh, to actually write their opinion and send it to them.
Speaker C:So when you write a letter of one is probably 100 people or a thousand people.
Speaker D:So it is really important for us.
Speaker C:To let these people know.
Speaker D:And you think to yourself, well, you know, I can't.
Speaker D:I change things by myself.
Speaker D:Believe me, they know that if you're writing that you took the time to write, yeah, you're.
Speaker C:You're the one in a million.
Speaker D:And those million, they don't want to.
Speaker C:See them show up at the doorstep.
Speaker E:And you can write these letters because as we are taught at literally, as we're talking, I went on to chat GPT, and I literally, I typed in, write letter to Toyota about abandoning LGBTQ issues, and here's what it came back with, literally, in less than a second.
Speaker E:Dear Toyota team, I hope this message finds you well.
Speaker E:As a longtime supporter of Toyota and its commitment to diversity and inclusion, I wanted to express my concern regarding recent developments surrounding the company's stance on LGBTQ issues.
Speaker E:Toyota has long been a champion free quality, and many of your customers appreciate your efforts to create a welcoming environment for all.
Speaker E:However, it seems that there have been shifts in how the company engages with LGBTQ initiatives.
Speaker E:This change is disheartening to many of us who value inclusivity and social responsibility.
Speaker E:It goes on, you know, to talk about abandoning support for LGBTQ communities, affecting brand loyalty, encouraging them to reaffirm their commitment to LGBTQ rights.
Speaker E:This took me less than this took six words typed into chat GPT to draft a really nice letter that I could quickly send to Toyota.
Speaker D:So.
Speaker D:And you can also, once you take.
Speaker C:It out of there and put it.
Speaker D:Into your own, you know, environment of.
Speaker C:However you're going to send it, if it's going to be a written and mailed letter or if it's going to be an email or are you going.
Speaker D:To put it into a customer feedback form on a.
Speaker D:On a website, you can also add your own extra special thoughts to those letters.
Speaker D:And I'm not talking about f you, you mother.
Speaker C:I'm talking about the fact that you.
Speaker D:Can say, I'm the owner, uh, previously.
Speaker C:Of a Lexus, and I made decision.
Speaker C:I've made a decision, in part, that I am not going to consume another.
Speaker D:One of your vehicles if you continue to have this kind of ridiculous policy, or lack thereof.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:So you can then take what mother GPT gives you and actually enhance it and personalize it even more from maybe what you didn't share with the system.
Speaker C:You could also tell it in a.
Speaker D:Couple of commands with your prompt that, you know, as a prior owner of Lexus, which is Toyota's luxury brand, I.
Speaker C:Don'T intend to acquire another vehicle from that brand, even though I have had.
Speaker D:Nothing but happiness as an owner with it.
Speaker E:Right.
Speaker C:Believe me, when they see that, it's going to affect their bottom line into.
Speaker D:The five figures that matters.
Speaker E:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker D:Oh, just one card and nobody cared.
Speaker C:I'm sorry.
Speaker D:Alexis is, you know what, anywhere from like $50 to $90,000, right?
Speaker E:Yeah, no, and I think it's.
Speaker E:And again, you know why I did the chat GPT exercise is because I know some people, you know, writing a letter takes time.
Speaker E:It doesn't take time.
Speaker E:Have chat GPT write you a letter, send it by email, send it by post, doesn't matter.
Speaker E:Just, we need to be letting these companies know that we are watching them and that we are, we are choosing to put our money elsewhere because they won't know unless we tell them.
Speaker D:By the way, I know some people.
Speaker C:Are digital only, but I do want.
Speaker D:To encourage you that it's worth the.
Speaker C:I don't know, 50, 60 cent stamp and the envelope and the piece of.
Speaker D:Paper that you'll print it out on to put it into the United States.
Speaker C:Mail and send it to them that.
Speaker D:Way, because honestly, then it carries even more weight.
Speaker D:That's kind of how they handicap these things, because, yeah, they get mail all the time through email, and that's important.
Speaker D:But when they get it and it.
Speaker C:Comes through the us mail in an envelope and they see that somebody took the time to type this out or to print it out on their computer.
Speaker D:And that they actually typed it up.
Speaker C:Even if it was mother GPT that.
Speaker D:Did it for you, it makes a difference, and it really.
Speaker C:It scores well for us as a community trying to have an impact with.
Speaker D:These companies that are starting to cave like the bunch of knuckleheads have already.
Speaker D:It's.
Speaker D:It's just.
Speaker C:It's insane.
Speaker D:Yeah, but I want some help.
Speaker C:I want some help at the federal level.
Speaker D:I mean, yes, I want help at.
Speaker C:Our national organizations that should be leading this drive.
Speaker C:GLAAD and HRC certainly among them, because they're the ones who are supposed to.
Speaker D:Be dealing with, you know, fighting these.
Speaker C:Kinds of forms of bigotry and.
Speaker D:And also in situations where there's, you know, policies and procedures that are impacting.
Speaker C:People in terms of their employment and.
Speaker D:That kind of thing, I honestly want to see people who work maybe in.
Speaker C:The Department of Labor, certainly people who.
Speaker D:Work at the White House, members of the Congress.
Speaker D:We need to have, like, an LGBTQ coalition on Capitol Hill that has people from these various departments of the government, and that's something that I think could.
Speaker C:Really be proposed and worked on in a President Harris administration.
Speaker C:I think that she would probably be very open to that.
Speaker C:Certainly as the head of the transportation.
Speaker D:Department, we have one of the best.
Speaker C:Spokespeople in the current administration who comes from our community and who's highly respected.
Speaker D:And who has been really one of.
Speaker C:The only people who's been an effective communicator on right wing media.
Speaker D:And he is the guy that they know.
Speaker C:He is their man when they want.
Speaker D:To send somebody out to talk to.
Speaker C:The Fox News audience, and that's Pete Buttigieg.
Speaker D:So we need to have more elected leaders and people who can put administrative people to work in those departments, who can do an effective job.
Speaker C:Why isn't the Department of Labor putting somebody out and meeting with all of these executives in light of this threat?
Speaker D:Because it's not just a threat to LGBTQ employees.
Speaker D:It's a threat to minorities of all sorts.
Speaker E:Absolutely.
Speaker E:No, it's a great point.
Speaker E:And I think it's also why I think there needs.
Speaker E:There need to be more fire brands, you know, like the Michelangelo Signorellis out of the world.
Speaker E:We need more of those.
Speaker C:We should call Mike and ask him.
Speaker D:If he'd come on and talk about it.
Speaker D:Let me call him and see if I can get him to come on.
Speaker C:And visit us on the show.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker D:Because I have a feeling his program.
Speaker C:Which originated on outqueue, which was the service that I began at Sirius Satellite radio, he moved on to their progress channel, which is their progressive politics channel, and he does a show every weekday on SiriusXM satellite radio.
Speaker C:And I can't imagine that he is not coming apart at the seams over this himself.
Speaker D:But there's got to be others.
Speaker E:Absolutely.
Speaker C:I'd love to.
Speaker D:You know what I'd also like to see?
Speaker C:I'd like to see people like Jimmy.
Speaker D:Kimmel and Stephen Colbert and the other purveyors of late night television take on.
Speaker C:And make fun of these companies who ran away from their obligations to these hardworking employees and to the consumers who've been so loyal to them over the.
Speaker D:Years, and then they just walk away.
Speaker C:From them like this.
Speaker C:Sometimes the best way to deal with.
Speaker D:This is to ridicule, and ridicule through.
Speaker C:Comedy is a pretty effective means.
Speaker D:Look at how effective those late night.
Speaker C:Shows have been in handing the bruises.
Speaker D:They have handed to the former president.
Speaker E:Yeah, I mean, I think that's not a bad idea, but I think that it gets to a larger point, if you, like, zoom out a little bit, which is there is not.
Speaker E:The media is asleep at the switch when it comes to LGBTQ issues.
Speaker E:They're not covering Robbie Starbuck.
Speaker E:They're not covering gay news at all.
Speaker E:The thing is, like, when we're putting together Newsday Tuesday, I go, you know, and I know you do the same.
Speaker E:I look through.
Speaker E:I do a broad canvas, and there are only a couple places where gay news surfaces.
Speaker E:There's LGBTQ Nation, and occasionally NBC News has some.
Speaker E:Some gay coverage.
Speaker D:And the advocate.
Speaker E:Yeah, well, in the advocate.
Speaker E:Yeah, but.
Speaker E:But the advocate doesn't even come up in the searches that often, to be honest.
Speaker E:But, you know, who's not paying attention to gay issues, whether global or national or in any case, the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN, you name it.
Speaker E:They're not paying attention to it.
Speaker E:They're literally not covering.
Speaker E:There's no beat.
Speaker E:They don't have a reporter focused on this stuff at all.
Speaker D:Well, in fairness, and I'm not defending MSNBC itself, but the NBC brand and.
Speaker C:Their news department does have NBC out, which is a piece of that.
Speaker D:And.
Speaker D:And so there are people there that they have working on these things, but.
Speaker C:Yes, they're not bringing it high enough into the structure of their news organization so that it is making news on the mainstream news channels.
Speaker D:And that's a disappointing thing, because one of the reasons that we don't see services like logo and some of the other radio and television options that had.
Speaker C:Been out there for the LGBTQ community.
Speaker D:Over the last decade or two at.
Speaker C:This point in time is because there.
Speaker D:Was a sense that, in terms of queer exposure, that we had really fallen into the mainstream, that you see openly.
Speaker C:Gay people and stories about things that are going on in the community and television programs and other entertainment that incorporate our.
Speaker C:Simply our being.
Speaker D:And I think that we have, again.
Speaker C:Because we've become a world so consumed.
Speaker D:By a few really important matters like.
Speaker C:Global warming and national security, safety, wars that are breaking out in certain places that are very volatile, the Middle east and potential problems with China and so.
Speaker D:On and so forth.
Speaker D:I think that they've just.
Speaker C:They've pushed us down and gone.
Speaker D:That's not that important for us to.
Speaker C:Cover these kinds of stories, and it is.
Speaker D:And especially because we've given up so many of our own news sources as.
Speaker C:You know, developers and distributors of major.
Speaker D:Stories that need to be covered, especially.
Speaker C:For people in the LGBTQ marketplace.
Speaker D:And that, in part, is what brought.
Speaker C:This show into being.
Speaker D:It's one of the reasons that Richie and I decided to make this happen this way.
Speaker D:We started out as the happy hour, and some people were not so happy about the fact that we would cover a lot of unhappy things sometimes.
Speaker D:And we like to talk about happy things.
Speaker D:We'd like to have a good time.
Speaker D:We like to talk about all the.
Speaker C:Lifestyle aspects in the community.
Speaker C:But at the end of the day.
Speaker D:It'S the stuff that we have to pay attention to to make sure that we continue to have at least what.
Speaker C:We'Ve earned thus far.
Speaker C:And those things are threatened.
Speaker D:Your job, you know, you're being able.
Speaker C:To not be discriminated against in housing.
Speaker D:And employment, your ability to have healthcare.
Speaker C:Decisions being made for you by your significant other and not by family that.
Speaker D:Might happen to be homophobic or transphobic.
Speaker C:So there's all kinds of things.
Speaker D:And, yeah, we need to have a.
Speaker C:Better presence again in the media.
Speaker C:And once again, who does that come.
Speaker D:Back on GLAAD, the gay and lesbian alliance against defamation?
Speaker D:That is their whole freaking mission.
Speaker D:Instead of buying the.
Speaker D:Instead of buying the executive director her chandelier, you know, they need to be focused on getting to.
Speaker E:And it really, you know, the thing is, it there.
Speaker E:They do sometimes take time to, you know, deign to talk about LGBTQ issues, but when they do, the mainstream, really mainstream media.
Speaker E:And I'm talking about things like the New York Times and the Atlantic.
Speaker E:They get on people like Jesse Singal, who writes basically anti trans, you know, kind of these articles that are like, well, we don't know.
Speaker D:It.
Speaker E:It might be bad for youth, these articles.
Speaker E:You know, they'll find some rando kid somewhere who de transitions.
Speaker D:You know what it reminds me of, Richie?
Speaker D:It reminds me of back in the nineties and how a lot of media outlets across the United States felt that if they did a story about anything that was, you know, LGBTQ, that as an example, if they did a story that was a positive story about a.
Speaker C:Pride festival or something like that, they.
Speaker D:Always, they felt like they always had.
Speaker C:To have, quote, unquote, balance for the story.
Speaker C:So therefore, who do you go to for balance?
Speaker D:Well, you, of course, you go to.
Speaker C:Some organization or, you know, group of wackos like the Westboro Baptist Church in.
Speaker D:Topeka, Kansas, because, you know, they're all about godhatesfags.com.
Speaker D:and you know what?
Speaker D:No, you do not need to have a quote unquote balanced story.
Speaker C:There is no such thing as a balanced story.
Speaker C:You can tell a story about something and just let it be the story.
Speaker D:You don't have to go find somebody.
Speaker C:Who happens to disagree with it and.
Speaker D:Make sure that they have an equal point of view.
Speaker D:If they have something that they feel.
Speaker C:Is newsworthy, they'll come to you.
Speaker C:They'll piss you on the story.
Speaker C:And you can make a decision as a news organization as to whether or.
Speaker D:Not you want to give that story.
Speaker C:Any airtime or any ink, any column inches in your publication.
Speaker D:No, it's absolutely, it's an excuse to be a bigot.
Speaker E:It is.
Speaker E:And it's also, I think, with some of the mainstream media outlets, I think that there has been a drastic overcorrection, this desire, this desperate desire to not be seen as the, quote, liberal media.
Speaker E:And so what that means is they will never win this fight because no matter, they could platform whoever they want, and the hard right will still say it's the, you know, the biggest, you know, the.
Speaker E:The slanted liberal media.
Speaker E:But what it means is that they, like you said, they equivocate on everything they platform all kinds of kooks and idiots on op ed pages.
Speaker E:I mean, the op ed page of the New York Times is unreadable at this point because they will throw up personal essays by any crazy right wing nut job who just says whatever and give that the imprimatur of the New York Times and the Washington Post.
Speaker E:You know, the coverage is absolutely salacious and garbagey, especially when it comes to the horse race.
Speaker E:You know, about the presidential election, the horse race stuff.
Speaker C:I subscribe, as I know you have, to both of those publications, and I.
Speaker D:Am at my wits end with them.
Speaker C:And I think regardless of whether my subscription has expired or not yet, I was going to just wait till the end of them.
Speaker D:But I think that come after the.
Speaker C:Election, I'm probably just going to drop.
Speaker C:Both really have enjoyed reading Michael Schmidt and his political coverage in the New York Times.
Speaker D:But it's just not enough reason.
Speaker C:With all of the insanity I see coming off the pages of these publications.
Speaker D:Anymore, I'm going to be a lot.
Speaker C:More discriminating about who I subscribe to to consume news and information going forward.
Speaker D:You know, I do not buy the.
Speaker C:Idea that New York Times is a liberal bastion.
Speaker E:It's not.
Speaker E:It's not.
Speaker E:It really isn't.
Speaker E:And I canceled Washington Post, and I liked them.
Speaker E:I thought that they were really after Jeff Bezos bought them, and he pumped some money in there, and they got.
Speaker E:They got a good editorial team.
Speaker E:It really seemed like the Washington Post was.
Speaker E:Was angling to be a first rate national news organization.
Speaker E:They have completely abandoned that mission, and they're just.
Speaker E:It's just junk.
Speaker E:I cancel.
Speaker E:I literally canceled it.
Speaker E:The only reason why I have the New York Times is.
Speaker E:And I'm.
Speaker E:And I'm reconsidering.
Speaker E:This is two things.
Speaker E:Wordle and cooking.
Speaker D:Yeah, because we've talked about this before.
Speaker C:And isn't there an opportunity for you to actually subscribe just to those.
Speaker E:To the games and the cooking?
Speaker E:I can, and I'm considering doing that, actually, because I don't like supporting their news gathering apparatus anymore because it's not good.
Speaker E:They don't have.
Speaker E:And their coverage of global events, their coverage of LGBTQ things is just a winnowed down to nothing.
Speaker E:And really, most of what it is is kind of opiniony pieces with a kind of right wing or kind of equivocating bent and a lot of horse race sort of generating horse race type of stuff about election politics.
Speaker D:You know, a lot of people don't know this, but.
Speaker D:And I wasn't always sure, but I have somebody who's on the inside at Gannett, and unfortunately, the new Gannett, meaning from the last two, three years since.
Speaker C:They were acquired by another company that.
Speaker D:Decided that they would be far better off to keep the Gannett name and all the associated trademarks from that, including USA Today.
Speaker D:But it was a group of investor types that come in and oftentimes start to guttain properties and, you know, pick the bones and all that.
Speaker D:But I will say that the, in.
Speaker C:Terms of the editorial management within the.
Speaker D:Gannett family of papers is, by and.
Speaker C:Large, still pretty progressive.
Speaker D:And from that standpoint, I do like to read them.
Speaker C:They, of course, have balanced viewpoints on.
Speaker D:Their editorial pages, which I think, you know, that's fair.
Speaker C:Op eds should come from all sides.
Speaker C:And I like to read what the wackos on the other side have to write and say from time to time.
Speaker C:Other times, I don't like to read it, but I do anyway because it's important for us to know what are they throwing out there that other people are swallowing?
Speaker D:But I would say that in terms of a lot of the news that is published in, you know, newspapers where, you know, it's USA Today or it's.
Speaker C:Their other smaller pub publications, Indianapolis, the.
Speaker D:Indie Star is an example.
Speaker C:So is the Des Moines register.
Speaker D:And those are newspapers that have a long history of being very progressive in their local writing.
Speaker D:So I know the same is true.
Speaker C:Here in the desert, in the greater Palm Springs area.
Speaker C:They own the one daily newspaper here, the Desert sun.
Speaker D:And while there are a lot of.
Speaker C:Things about Gannett that I do not like, since they're having been taken over a few years ago at least, I know the writers are hardworking, honest and.
Speaker D:Accurate people who really care to make.
Speaker C:Sure that we're not hearing bullshit.
Speaker E:Increasingly rare, for sure.
Speaker E:But I will say, maybe as a final note on that, that you will not hear too much bullshit on the Richie and John show.
Speaker E:We try to not pull any punches.
Speaker E:And to that end, you know, those.
Speaker C:Who argue otherwise, but they're stupid and.
Speaker D:Don'T know what they're talking about.
Speaker E:Exactly.
Speaker E:And, you know, if you, if you are listening to the show tonight or any night, and you would like to weigh in on what we've talked about on this episode or any other episode, if you like to give us ideas for future stories, whatever the case may be, we have a number.
Speaker E:It's 24/7 you can call them whenever you want.
Speaker E: And that number is: Speaker C:To me just past analog days of email, you can send us note that way, too.
Speaker C:You can write to Richie and John.
Speaker D:By writing to info info at r I c h I e a n dash o dash n dash Ritchie and john.com dot.
Speaker C:We'd love to hear from you.
Speaker C:There's also a form on our homepage at ritchian john.com.
Speaker D:And from that form, you can just.
Speaker C:Fill in your information and write a little note and quickly jot it off.
Speaker D:And it'll come right to us.
Speaker C:So if you don't have email handy.
Speaker D:With you, just go to our webpage.
Speaker C:You can send it that way.
Speaker C:It's as easy as one, two and three.
Speaker D:So thank you so much for being.
Speaker C:Here with us on this weekend's edition.
Speaker D:And I have some good news I'm going to share, which is that we have a candidate for Congress who it.
Speaker C:Looks like is going to probably be with us.
Speaker D:Might be two weeks, but possibly going to be this coming week.
Speaker C:So stay tuned for that.
Speaker D:We're also going to be exploring some.
Speaker C:LGBTQ spirituality stuff in an upcoming episode.
Speaker C:We're going to be talking with Christian.
Speaker D:De la Huerta, so I'm looking forward.
Speaker C:To having that conversation as well.
Speaker D:It'll be a little different focus for us, and we'll soon be inviting back our friends like Sam Page and also Todd Bianco to talk about things like fitness and cars and Tom Riley with technology.
Speaker C:So always a fun time here, I.
Speaker D:Think, on the show, even when we're talking about things that really make the hair on the back of our neck stand up.
Speaker D:You want to see?
Speaker E:Well, until next time, we will talk to you on Newsday Tuesday.
Speaker E:And until then, have a great weekend and a great start to your next week.
Speaker C:Be your shadow.
Speaker C:Fall in pleasant places.
Speaker B:Thank you for joining us on Richie and John.
Speaker B:This podcast is a production of the mutual Broadcasting system and is available@richianjohn.com as well as most major podcast portals, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and Spotify.
