Unveiling the LGBTQ+ Truth: Richie and John's Newsday Tuesday
Richie Roy and John McMullen delve into the rise of monkeypox cases in Los Angeles County, highlighting the resurgence of the virus and the challenges faced in accessing effective vaccines. They discuss the alarming incidents of anti-LGBTQ violence in schools, emphasizing the need for institutional support and community resilience. The episode also touches on the recent backlash against Toyota for its DEI initiatives, driven by conservative figure Robby Starbuck, and the implications for corporate support of LGBTQ causes. Additionally, the hosts recount the vandalism incident at Little Gay Pub in Washington, DC, showcasing the community's defiance and solidarity in the face of hate. Throughout the episode, Richie and John maintain a critical yet hopeful tone, encouraging listeners to stay informed and engaged in the ongoing struggle for equality and safety.
Richie and John navigate through a series of poignant stories that reflect the ongoing challenges and triumphs within the LGBTQ community. The episode opens with a reflection on the recent incidents of harassment faced by LGBTQ students in schools across the United States. From Iowa to California, these stories highlight the persistent struggles against discrimination and violence, amidst a backdrop of rising anti-LGBTQ sentiment fueled by political rhetoric and policy changes. The discussion sheds light on the resilience of youth and the critical need for supportive environments that affirm their identities.
The conversation takes a turn towards public health as Richie and John address the alarming resurgence of monkeypox, particularly affecting the LGBTQ community. They discuss the complexities surrounding vaccine availability and the importance of community awareness to prevent further outbreaks. This segment serves as a crucial reminder of the ongoing health challenges faced by marginalized communities and the need for proactive measures to ensure their well-being.
Corporate responsibility and consumer activism take center stage as the hosts critique the backlash against companies like Toyota for their LGBTQ-inclusive practices. The episode examines the role of activists like Robbie Starbuck in challenging these initiatives, sparking a broader conversation about the responsibilities of corporations to uphold diversity, equity, and inclusion. Richie and John emphasize the power of the LGBTQ community as consumers and the impact of their collective voice in shaping corporate policies. Throughout the episode, the hosts weave together narratives of resistance, resilience, and the pursuit of equality, offering listeners a comprehensive view of the current landscape of LGBTQ rights and advocacy.
Takeaways:
- The episode highlights the challenges and resilience of the LGBTQ community in the face of discrimination and violence.
- Richie and John discuss the importance of LGBTQ representation and support within school environments.
- The resurgence of monkeypox cases is a concern, particularly for unvaccinated individuals in the LGBTQ community.
- Corporate support for LGBTQ initiatives is under threat from conservative backlash, emphasizing the need for consumer awareness.
- Sheer determination and community support are crucial in overcoming anti-LGBTQ sentiment and actions.
- The podcast underscores the ongoing battle for LGBTQ rights and the importance of staying informed and vigilant.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- John Deere
- Tractor Supply Company
- Black and Decker
- Jack Daniels
- Toyota
- Ford
- Human Rights Campaign
Transcript
In the morning light, the headlines flash.
Speaker A:Richie and John making a splash.
Speaker A:Voices from the corner, stories untold, we gather the truth.
Speaker A:Let the truth unfold.
Speaker A:It's Newsday Tuesday.
Speaker A:Hear the call.
Speaker A:Every story matters.
Speaker A:Let them all stand tall on Tuesday.
Speaker A:Tuesday we stand together, uniting the voices in any weather, with facts hand, we push for peace in a world of love.
Speaker A:May the judgment cease.
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 A:Through the airwaves, we break the silence.
Speaker A:LGBTQ lives.
Speaker A:We promote the resilience.
Speaker A:From the streets to the stage, we amplify every struggle and trial.
Speaker A:We won't let die.
Speaker A:It's news day Tuesday.
Speaker A:They hear the call.
Speaker A:Ever call.
Speaker B:Here's Richie Roy and John McMullen.
Speaker C:Hello, and welcome to another episode of Richie and John.
Speaker C:We are back with you, and it is Newsday Tuesday, bringing you Tuesday again.
Speaker C:I know.
Speaker C:Can you believe it?
Speaker C:And this is the day when we bring you LGBTQ news from around the globe, from everywhere from down the street to a world.
Speaker B:You know what else is going to happen tonight?
Speaker B:And unfortunately, we have to wait another week to talk about it.
Speaker B:But I know where you'll be tonight.
Speaker B:And I know where I'll be tonight.
Speaker B:And that is in front of a tv set watching the vice presidential debate, right?
Speaker C:Oh, boy.
Speaker C:Yeah, I.
Speaker C:It'll be.
Speaker C:That'll be interesting, for sure.
Speaker C:I hear that.
Speaker C:That Pete Buttigieg is playing JD Vance in the.
Speaker C:In the preponder on the Walt side.
Speaker B:Well, they wanted to find somebody who knew how to play.
Speaker B:I've got the t, so it should be.
Speaker C:It should be an interesting one.
Speaker C:For sure.
Speaker B:It shouldn't be one.
Speaker B:Yes, for sure.
Speaker B:Hey, you know, we keep giving out our email address and our phone number, and I wanted to start off the program today by asking you to give out that phone number, because now that I know that it actually works, I thought it would be helpful if you would give it out more often.
Speaker B:Maybe I could do it, too.
Speaker B:But I know that you're the one who twisted my arm into getting this 24/7 voicemail line so that people can participate in the show.
Speaker B:So give us that number.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C: -: Speaker B:And I dubbed off the phone call that we got this week.
Speaker B:And you ready for this?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker C:Richie and John are the biggest, the best, the greatest of all time.
Speaker C:Even if I do say so myself as someone who knows a little something about making size matter, there is nobody bigger in the podcast here than Richie and John.
Speaker C:I just wish those guys would be kinder to me.
Speaker C:I mean, I really don't get what they have against me.
Speaker C:What the fuck did I ever do to them?
Speaker C:Even diamonds and silk live me.
Speaker C:Everyone loves me, or else.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker B:Thank you, mister former president.
Speaker C:He took time out of his busy day to leave a message for us that's.
Speaker B:Well, you know, he hasn't had to be at that many rallies because people have been walking away from them.
Speaker B:Although I did hear him on tv the other day giving excuses for why people are actually getting up and that they're not walking away, that they just.
Speaker B:I guess their brains are full.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:They're just stretching their legs.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:You know, there have been some coverage of that, and that apparently, take it with a grain of salt, but that there are people who are paid to go to these rallies, and you have to go spend a certain amount of time, take a picture of yourself at the rally and then send it in in order to get paid.
Speaker C:And as soon as they basically do their diligence and hit their 20 minutes mark and take their picture, they're out of there.
Speaker B:Well, I have to tell you, it was good to hear from Don the con.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:And the fact that he is our first caller to our 24/7 hotline.
Speaker B:Even better.
Speaker B:I'm sure he's going to have a lot of time to call us.
Speaker B:Except that the calls we're not going to take collect calls from the correctional institution when he loses and has to pay his price to society.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Well, Richie, police in MarIon, Iowa this week are investigating an assault on LGBTQ students during a high school homecoming parade.
Speaker B:Witnesses report about ten students shouting slurs and throwing objects, including an open box cutter, at the LGBTQ marchers from Lynn Mawr Spectrum, the high school's gay straight alliance.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Despite the assault, the students continued their march, and Corey Jacobson, president of Cedar Rapids Pride, said, quote, they chose to make a statement, and they say that we're here, we're to be valued, and we're not going anywhere.
Speaker B:The Lynn Mark Community School District described the disruptors actions as being unacceptable in a statement and emphasized their commitment to student safety.
Speaker B:They have enlisted police for the investigation.
Speaker B:One mother, Jennifer Pitkin, expressed pride and concern for her daughter's safety, saying, quote, I cannot fathom being a child going to homecoming and not feeling safe.
Speaker B:I promise you they would not be held down.
Speaker B:No injuries were reported, but the investigation is ongoing.
Speaker B:Lynn Maher spectrum was recently honored as GSA of the year by the Iowa Safe Schools.
Speaker B:Anti LGBTQ sentiment remains high in the area, notably following a recent federal court decision that upheld an LGBTQ book ban in Iowa public schools.
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, again, you know, this goes to show that all of these little incremental things matter.
Speaker C:The book bans, the don't say gay bills, the general timbre in schools that being gay or trans or queer or whatever, that you don't have institutional support.
Speaker C:And here it seems like they actually maybe do have some institutional support.
Speaker C:I mean, they have a GSA, which is great.
Speaker C: It's crazy to think in: Speaker C:I know one of the things that we talked about last year when we went to Palm Springs Pride was how affirming it was to see all of the young people marching in the pride parade.
Speaker C:You know, the band.
Speaker B:There were, like, 20 different gsas from throughout the region.
Speaker B:It was amazing.
Speaker C:It was amazing.
Speaker C:And it goes to show that these things matter, you know?
Speaker C:And when you have places, you know, like Florida, that make it impossible for gsas to exist, that it has a real cost, because even in places where you can, you know, have a GSA, there's still under fire.
Speaker C:Literally.
Speaker C:I mean, people throwing box cutters, so.
Speaker B:Well, I tell you, I mean, it made my.
Speaker B:When we saw that as they went down Palm Canyon drive, it really makes your heart swell.
Speaker B:The same way that I remember feeling earlier in my twenties and thirties, when I would see the contingents of Pflag families going down the street, you know, parents supporting their kids.
Speaker B:And that was really such a feel good moment to look at a group of people and go, those people get it.
Speaker B:They understand.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And I think it's just.
Speaker C:I'm glad that this GSA exists.
Speaker C:I'm sad that they were treated so poorly.
Speaker C:If anything, maybe this will galvanize them.
Speaker C:Maybe it will even galvanize community support for them, because I think any right minded person would think that students marching in a high school homecoming parade shouldn't be subjected to, you know, name calling, slurs and violence.
Speaker C:I mean, I don't think anyone, any rational person would think that that's acceptable.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, let's hope that they do continue to stand tall and proud and persevere and get through these kinds of assaults on our, you know, on our general consciousness.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:What else going on?
Speaker C:It's not the only.
Speaker C:I mean, it's not the only story that we have this week that involves schools.
Speaker C:You know, we talk a lot about schools on this podcast because it is a battleground, you know, for things like book bands, for things like don't say gay bills, for things like, just because it's where a lot of young people first are finding themselves, are looking sometimes for a safe place to do that.
Speaker C:This week, these anti LGBTQ campaigns have real effects.
Speaker C:So in Chino Hills, California, at Reuben S.
Speaker C:Ayala High School, a 17 year old student was injured when another student flipped the table where he was seated for the gender and sexuality alliance group threw him to the ground.
Speaker C:I think he hit like a planter and was treated for back injury in an urgent care facility.
Speaker C:The victim stated.
Speaker C:You know, the whole thing happened so fast.
Speaker C:One moment I was packing up, and the next I was on the ground.
Speaker C:We don't know that much about it.
Speaker C:So school administrators have suspended the assailant, but further details are undisclosed.
Speaker C:The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating.
Speaker C:What we've heard is from a department spokesperson, they said that deputies in Chino Hills are investigating an incident involving a student who was reportedly assaulted by another student.
Speaker C:So this incident follows years of bullying in an anti LGBTQ atmosphere in the district.
Speaker C:And no surprise, because we've talked about schools in this general area.
Speaker C:These are exacerbated by far right parental rights campaigns and controversial school board policies.
Speaker C:You know, a policy in the area requiring teachers to report transgender students bathroom and pronoun use was recently overturned in court.
Speaker C:So another instance, as much as we.
Speaker B:Talk about how progressive, liberal, gay friendly the Golden State is, there are definitely pockets where that is not necessarily the truth.
Speaker B:And one of those areas is going to be in San Bernardino county.
Speaker B:And for people who don't really know where that is, it's actually nestled between me and Los Angeles to the north.
Speaker B:So just across the interstate ten freeway, which goes east west, of course, in through California and across out to Santa Monica, there is to the north between Los Angeles county and Riverside county.
Speaker B:Where I am at is San Bernardino county, and that is the largest county in the state of California.
Speaker B:I mean, in terms of total land mass, it goes.
Speaker B:I think it goes all the way to Nevada, if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker B:And it's a huge plot of land, but a lot of people who live out there in the dirt and rocks have a lot of rocks in their head when it comes to being cool with people just being able to live and let live.
Speaker B:So it's.
Speaker B:It's not surprising to me that we hear about something like this, but it's certainly something that in a state like California, because of the laws that we do have in place and the people who we have in power as our lawmakers, that we need to do something that sends a swift message and a good boot in the pants to young people who think that it's okay for them to mistreat others because they, they don't like people who are different than themselves.
Speaker B:And, and I hope that they do that.
Speaker B:I don't have a lot of faith in the San Bernardino county sheriff's department helping get this thing done because while they're nothing as bad as the Riverside county sheriff in the county where I live, it's not much better.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And, you know, this goes to a broader point.
Speaker C:You know, that, and we've talked about this before on the show, is sheriff's departments, you know, in places that you don't have, where you maybe don't have a police department, but where it's a county situation and it's a sheriff.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:All bets are off.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:The majority of them will consider themselves as constitutional sheriffs, and they take for granted the fact that they think that they have more authority than the Congress and the president, than the governor, than basically anybody on earth except themselves.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:I mean, I don't know if.
Speaker C:Do you remember the sheriff, Joe Arpaio, from down in, was it in Arizona?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:From down in Maricopa county, in the Phoenix area?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And just these kind of above the law sheriffs that just sort of think that they can free wheel and basically kind of run a shadow government.
Speaker C:It's not uncommon for this to happen, even in places like up here.
Speaker C:There are sheriffs up in the Hudson Valley who generally consider themselves not accountable to the government, you know, the general county government.
Speaker C:They think of themselves as being, you know, independently elected.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, and in most places they are.
Speaker B:However, they should not have so much autonomy from, you know, from the law.
Speaker B:They don't have to abide by the same rules as everybody else or the same standards that various places around the country set as the community standards for their, you know, for their citizens.
Speaker B:And that's what's most annoying about this is that oftentimes I have found, especially with county sheriffs, that there is a fine line between the keeper and the kept, meaning the, the cops and the robbers.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And the other thing that's really important, too, is that when you live in a place where sheriffs departments are kind of the de facto they are, the law enforcement is.
Speaker C:A lot of these sheriffs are the last type of person who would care about things like LGBTQ rights and mental health, too, because you have to remember that these are first responders.
Speaker C:If you have a first responder responding to a mental health crisis that has had no training on mental health is not at all equipped to deal with it, they're not going to know what to do.
Speaker C:They're going to treat it like a law enforcement situation, which is exactly the wrong thing to do.
Speaker C:And similarly, here in this situation, if you're not trained in sensitivity to LGBTQ issues, you're probably going to come into this as the deputy or whatever and think, eh, whatever.
Speaker C:Someone.
Speaker C:Someone fell back and hit their head on a planter.
Speaker C:No biggie.
Speaker C:Not understanding that the gravity of an.
Speaker C:Of it.
Speaker B:Thank you so much, Deputy Barney Fife.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But, you know, so jerky.
Speaker C:Youngsters aren't the only thing that we have to contend with, though.
Speaker C:There is something a little more pernicious that is stalking the LGBTQ community.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And we thought that we pretty much managed to at least eradicate mass infections of this thing not long after we were coming out of the pandemic, and here it is coming back to haunt us yet again.
Speaker B:And what's really scary is that there's really no new vaccine yet to help with this.
Speaker B:I hope and I know that we have a lot of friends who are extraordinarily sexually active, and nothing wrong with being sexually active.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm not here to wave my finger at you and go, you know, you better not do that.
Speaker B:But I am going to say that if you're going to do it, you better do your best to be knowing who you're doing it with and what kind of situation they have been in and how well they take care of and pay attention to what's going on.
Speaker B:And it's really important to make sure that, you know, people, I think, at least well enough to know that they are doing their part to make sure that if they've got something, that they're cured from it before they get together.
Speaker B:And it doesn't even have to be a hookup, because what we're talking about is something so transmissible that it can just be by touching skin.
Speaker B:It does not require.
Speaker B:It's not a bloodborne infection type situation like hiv.
Speaker B:And I'm, of course, talking about monkeypox.
Speaker B:And believe me, if it doesn't kill you, you're going to wish it would if you have to deal with it.
Speaker B:We have many friends who in the last year, year and a half have had the deal with monkeypox.
Speaker B:And it is enormously painful.
Speaker B:It's horrible.
Speaker B:And I was looking at a couple of photographs today of people with it, and it's just so unsightly.
Speaker B:And I feel bad for anybody who has to go through this.
Speaker B:So cases are resurging in LA county.
Speaker B:Richie, what's the story?
Speaker C:Yeah, so the Department of Health is reporting that numbers have doubled, more than doubled, in the past four weeks, going from 24 to 52 cases.
Speaker C:70% of the new cases are among unvaccinated individuals.
Speaker C:So the.
Speaker C:There is a vaccine.
Speaker C:It's the ginios vaccine, which is a two dose regimen, and it is available generally for free at local clinics at pharmacies.
Speaker C:I will get back to that in a moment.
Speaker C:But the Department of Health notes that men who have sex with men, transgender folks, sex workers, and individuals engaging in intimate contact at large events are particularly at risk.
Speaker C:As you mentioned, it spreads from close personal contact, skin to skin, shared objects.
Speaker C:So health officials are recommending that folks reduce the number of sexual partners, avoid sex parties, don't share intimate things like sex toys and towels.
Speaker C:And, you know, if you don't know what monkeypox is, it involves things like a painful rash, headache, fever, chills, body aches, swollen lymph nodes.
Speaker C:And when it says painful rash, they're big boils that really show up.
Speaker C:And, you know, despite the genioses vaccines availability, only 23% of at risk individuals have received both doses.
Speaker C:What I will say about that is I recently thought to myself, you know, monkeypox is on the rise.
Speaker C:I should get the vaccine.
Speaker C:You know, it's not easy to get the monkeypox vaccine.
Speaker C:You know, for all of the talk about, you know, how everyone should get vaccinated for it, well, that presumes that you can get it.
Speaker C:I called around.
Speaker C:I called the Ulster County Department of Health.
Speaker C:They didn't have any doses.
Speaker C:They said, check the local pharmacies.
Speaker C:I called around to local pharmacies.
Speaker C:None of them had it.
Speaker C:I called local urgent care facilities.
Speaker C:None of them had it.
Speaker C:It's not readily available in a lot of places in this country.
Speaker C:And so do you remember when we.
Speaker B:Went through that rush around monkeypox in the last year, year and a half, and when it was first becoming a big thing and even then, it being so pressing, especially in the LGBTQ community, there was a difficult time getting access to it in a lot of places.
Speaker B:And it's not just that.
Speaker B:I know I said that there wasn't a vaccine.
Speaker B:There is a vaccine.
Speaker B:However, there is a new vaccine that has not come to the United States yet.
Speaker B:And that is a consideration as well, because you and I have friends who have recently contracted monkeypox and who had previously, like, in the last year, been vaccinated and had gone through the dual vaccination process, which, you know, takes a few weeks, and.
Speaker B:And yet that did not stop them from getting infected again.
Speaker B:And that's what I am really concerned about.
Speaker B:Like, I called my physician just a few days ago, and I asked him, you know, not that I'm running around whoring out, but I did ask him, you know, is there another vaccine?
Speaker B:And he said that there is another vaccine, but we don't have it here yet, and that it's, I think, overseas at this point.
Speaker B:So I'd be really concerned about that.
Speaker B:If you've already had the vaccine and you go out thinking, I'm protected from this thing, because that turns out not to be the case with the current strain of monkey box.
Speaker B:And I tell you, you'll take one look at this, and you won't want to even touch your private parts for a year.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:It looks painful.
Speaker B:And according to our mutual friends, who I know who have gone through this, it is excruciating.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I wouldn't wish that.
Speaker B:Well, I might wish it on my worst enemy, but maybe not the second or third worst.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So it definitely something to be mindful of, you know, take.
Speaker C:Take account of that, you know, in terms of your.
Speaker C:Your own activities.
Speaker C:But, yeah, just.
Speaker C:It's good, you know, just keep in mind that this is.
Speaker C:It's on the rise and that there is a vaccine, but it's not easy to get, and it is not foolproof, so it's a bummer.
Speaker C:And it's just a reminder, you know, sexual health is something to pay a lot of attention to.
Speaker C:And, you know, especially with the rise of prep and doxypep.
Speaker C:You know, people feel like they're bulletproof, but there is still other stuff out there that can.
Speaker C:That can get you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Hey, how do you feel about going to Starbucks?
Speaker B:You want to go to Starbucks?
Speaker C:I certainly don't want to go to Robbie's Starbucks.
Speaker B:That's what I was hoping.
Speaker B:You'd want to go with me, because I'd like to go and thump this motherfucker, you know?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:We've talked a lot about our dear friend Robbie Starbuck, who has single handedly dismantled a lot of DEI and LGBTQ initiatives and even things like carbon offsets and climate change initiatives at places like John Deere tractor supply company Flak and Decker, and was it Jack Daniels.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker C:Or was it Jim Beam?
Speaker C:Jack Daniels.
Speaker B:Jack Daniels.
Speaker B:And by the way, yeah, Ford was the last big, huge one, and we were pretty much afraid at that time that they were going to start targeting the other automakers because the automakers have been some of the biggest players in the corporate world who have become pretty sensitive to the LGBTQ marketplace and who have gotten their act together over the last several years and not only just marketing to them, but in their own support of employee organizations, of queer people working there and so on.
Speaker B:It really has put a chill in the air.
Speaker B:And Mister Starbuck, I tell you, actually, if you end up getting anybody within the sound of our voice ends up getting monkeypox, I have a project for you.
Speaker B:We need you to shake hands with Mister Starbuck.
Speaker B:Yeah, or shake something.
Speaker B:Because if anybody deserves a bout of the monkeypox, that piece of crap does.
Speaker B:And here's what's happened.
Speaker B:Sure enough, Toyota is the latest target, and they have, according to Mister Starbuck, gone totally woke due to their DEI training and donations they've given to LGBTQ charities and employee resource groups.
Speaker B:And Mister Starbuck, he argues that Toyota has forgotten who their core customers are.
Speaker B:Well, who's that?
Speaker B:You mean people who buy the car because they have progressive policies?
Speaker B:Well, he questions whether Toyota owners want their money to be spent on those kinds of initiatives, the DEI ones.
Speaker B:And in response, Toyota said that its LGBTQ activities are employee led and not all of them are sanctioned by the company.
Speaker B:But the backlash contrasts with research that shows that the queer communities wont support companies abandoning DEI programs.
Speaker B: In fact, the: Speaker B:And hopefully you do, too.
Speaker B:Despite that backlash, the human rights campaign does report record participation in its corporate equality index measuring LGBTQ workplace policies and benefits.
Speaker B:And I'm glad they've finally woken up and started to do something because it's felt like this was a very late response to something that they should have had put away in the vault as a plan b for dealing with crisis management situation from the get go.
Speaker B:I mean, as soon as they started having the corporate equality index, if you ask me, they should have had a plan for how do we deal with this if it backfires and being ready to respond instantly in a big way, because our community does have a lot of buying power, and that means we also have the ability to make a huge hit on people when and if it comes to some sort of a boycott action.
Speaker C:Yeah, you know, I think HRC was extremely late to the game on this.
Speaker C:They're finally paying attention.
Speaker C:I mean, we talked.
Speaker C:We've been talking about Robbie Starbuck for months, and just recently, HRC finally now at the top of their page, they kind of have a call to action about this.
Speaker C:What I'm glad about with the Toyota thing is Toyota seems like they kind of gave him the heisman in a way.
Speaker C:They kind of just, you know, they didn't go full throated.
Speaker C:They pushed back and say, hey, we love our LGBTQ customers.
Speaker C:But what they basically said was, you know, what?
Speaker C:Our employees do what they want to do.
Speaker C:You know, sorry, we're not going to cave.
Speaker C:And I'm glad to see that because so many companies have just folded like a cheap suit in.
Speaker B:He's a punk.
Speaker C:And there was an interesting article on LGBTQ Nation that made the point that this Robbie Starbuck person, in a way, is doing a work that is.
Speaker C:And we've talked about this, actually, on the show, too, with John Nash, that he's kind of exposing a lot of companies as having really only kind of paid lip service to LGBTQ causes and really cozied up when it was easy and free or cheap to do so.
Speaker C:And as soon as even there's a peep, otherwise, just kind of throw it all out, you know, just.
Speaker C:And just cast it off immediately.
Speaker C:Which suggests that it is not at all woven into the culture of that company to actually value diversity.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, as somebody who is a fine appreciator of lip service.
Speaker B:Well, I guess it's a different kind.
Speaker B:This is one kind I can tell you that we don't need from the people who we spend millions of dollars every year funding, like, to the tune of.
Speaker B:I think that organization has, like, an annual budget of, like, 40 million or something like that.
Speaker B:It's astronomical.
Speaker B:So, you know, I mean, I expect us to have those people be prepared.
Speaker B:Like, were they not ever in scouts?
Speaker B:Be prepared.
Speaker B:There's a reason why that's the motto.
Speaker C:And just pay attention.
Speaker C:I mean, really pay attention to what's going on.
Speaker C:I mean, it wasn't Robbie.
Speaker C:Starbucks emergence, you know, is not the first.
Speaker C:He's not the first mover.
Speaker C:I mean, libs of TikTok, this Chia Reichik, you know, monster has been around for years and, you know, demonizing LGBTQ allies, even in schools.
Speaker C:And HRC has been asleep at the switch on all that entirely, you know, not calling anyone to account for that.
Speaker C:Finally, the reason why HRC cares is because these companies pulled out of the corporate equality index.
Speaker C:And probably that also affects the bottom line of the HRC because those companies probably aren't buying what HRC is selling anymore.
Speaker B:Remember when it used to just be something simple, like somebody in our own community who was, like, a panty waste of a person dealing with these kinds of things?
Speaker B:And you'd be like, how can they be so screwed up in the attitudes they take within our, like, do you remember Camille Paglia?
Speaker B:I mean, talk about a witch.
Speaker B:And that's being nice.
Speaker B:You know, it's like, do you not have something better to do with your time and your life?
Speaker B:Like, Robbie Starbuck?
Speaker B:What does he get out of this?
Speaker B:I mean, other than the fact he's going to get his ass kicked on Judgment Day when he makes it to the gates?
Speaker C:Well, you know, who's another person who falls into that category is Elon Musk, who has a trans child.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:And is so radicalized by that that he boosts all kinds of transphobic messages on Twitter, or what he calls x.
Speaker C:I will never call it that, but boosts all kinds of transphobic messages on Twitter all the time.
Speaker C:And actually, Elon Musk's child, who's trans, has been pretty vocal in hitting back at that and just saying, this guy is a loser.
Speaker C:He's trying to score political points.
Speaker C:He isn't actually a great dad, never was, and is just so enamored of this far right world that he's willing to say whatever.
Speaker B:Who would ever think that he was or could be a great dad?
Speaker B:I mean, and set aside where he stands on the.
Speaker B:On the issue of transgender stuff.
Speaker B:I mean, he's.
Speaker B:He's never done anything.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:Everything he has, he has because of somebody else's invention.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker B:And, you know, and money has been dropped in his lap that he has done a better job pissing away than he has of investing smartly.
Speaker C:And, I mean, which.
Speaker C:Does that sound familiar?
Speaker C:Because that sounds like a certain other.
Speaker B:Yeah, it does.
Speaker B:It's the guy who called us this week on the hotline.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:They're remarkably similar in terms of that kind of biography.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And to be someone who is so infantile, you know, the story that always sort of stands out to me and just kind of encapsulates Elon Musk is the naming of the cars.
Speaker C:So there's.
Speaker C:The model s was the first one.
Speaker C:The second one was supposed to be the model e.
Speaker C:That was actually, I believe it's Daimler.
Speaker C:Ben sued because they have an e class.
Speaker C:So it was the model three, which is like a backward e.
Speaker C:The third one was Model X because he wanted the first three letters of the Tesla cars to spell out sex because he's a child.
Speaker C: -: Speaker C:Like, that's the level of.
Speaker C:That's where his mind is at.
Speaker C:It's just remarkable.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So whether it's Robbie, Starbuck or Musk, just like you said, if you have monkeypox, go give him a hug.
Speaker C:Go give him a big hug.
Speaker B:Yeah, even better, give them a blowjob.
Speaker C:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:Make sure you get those cells in there nice and well, you know.
Speaker C:Well, we have a final story for you for the week.
Speaker C:And this comes to.
Speaker C:This story comes out of Washington, DC.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, there are so many interesting stories, I think, that revolve around or have revolved around bars in Washington, DC, within our community.
Speaker B:I, of course, think about the time that John Polk, who was a spokesperson for the ex gay movement for focus on the family and, you know, James Dobson's group down there in Colorado Springs when he was outed, when Wayne Besson, who had worked as an associate communications director at the HRC at the time, who had picked many a fight with him in the public square.
Speaker B:And Wayne ran into him one evening at Mister P's in.
Speaker B:In Dupont Circle, and the guy couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Speaker B:And I think that Wayne was really upset because he didn't have his camera with her with him or something.
Speaker B:That was not in the days of when we had camera phones.
Speaker B:That was, of course, in the days when you had to have an instamatic with you or something like that.
Speaker B:So a lot of interesting stories I've heard over the years about things that have happened in the bars in Washington, DC.
Speaker B:But in this case, they picked the wrong bar to fuck with.
Speaker C:They did.
Speaker C:So this is little gay pub is the name of the place.
Speaker C:And a man is arrested for allegedly vandalizing little gay pub.
Speaker C:DC's Metropolitan police have linked 38 year old Nicholas Goldstein from northwest DC to two incidents of vandalism and are considering hate crime charges.
Speaker C: pub's display supporting her: Speaker C:Because they've been pretty outspoken in their support of Kamala.
Speaker C:The vandalism occurred on, believe it or not, September 11 and again on September 21.
Speaker C:So for those who don't know.
Speaker C:Little gay pub is in Logan's circle, which is kind of the gay birthday neighborhoods.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And notable patrons have included former house speaker Nancy Pelosi, who visited the pub last fall.
Speaker C:And in an interview with the Advocate magazine, co owner Dido Sevilla detailed the most recent incident, saying that we got a flood of texts and direct messages from passersby that Kamala's signs had been defaced again.
Speaker C:And Sevilla explained that they looked at security footage that showed Goldstein painting over Harris's face and writing bizarre messages.
Speaker C:The pub is actively replacing the damage decorations.
Speaker C:And Sevilla went on to say that their friends at Basecamp DC are reprinting the signs.
Speaker C:We will just put them up bigger and better, and support from the local community has been strong.
Speaker C:Sevilla noted that for every bad actor, there are 100 people who care about our business and are determined to bring this guy to justice.
Speaker C:So little gay pub is defiant.
Speaker C:They are going to keep the decorations up beyond election day and well into Harris's presidency.
Speaker C:So, you know, again, you can, you can try to break our spirit, but, you know, when there's community support, you know, when they're strong willed individuals, you know, the.
Speaker C:We will prevail.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, first of all, I thought I started to laugh when I read this story, not laugh at the story itself.
Speaker B:I didn't find anything funny about that.
Speaker B:What I did find humorous was that, you know, our company, that we produce this podcast under one of its sister podcasts that I'm involved in the production of each week is a program called Big Conversations Little Bar, which is at an establishment that was created by the co founder of Coachella Fest.
Speaker B:And in that bar where you and I both imbibed in a beverage and had some food, little bar is in Palm Desert, California.
Speaker B:And I thought, wow, they have a sibling that is gay.
Speaker B:They have little gay pub.
Speaker B:And so I'm looking forward to going in, actually, this week and letting my friend Skip, who owns the bar, who was the co founder of Coachella and the company that produces those big concerts, know that he has a.
Speaker B:He has.
Speaker C:Yeah, no, it's true.
Speaker C:I mean, there are a lot of stories about, about these bars in DC.
Speaker C:You know, you mentioned the one that Besson was at.
Speaker C:You know, there's another story this week that there was some backlash because there's a bar that previously was a gay bar in DC, and it was, I forget the name of the bar now, but it was purchased and a couple who renamed it political patties.
Speaker B:Was that the town discotheque?
Speaker B:What was that town.
Speaker B:Is that the bar?
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:I'm not sure what it was before.
Speaker C:It was, uh.
Speaker C:It was a.
Speaker C:It was a gay bar for many years, and it was purchased and they changed the name to political patties.
Speaker C:It was supposed to be a gay or not gay.
Speaker C:It's supposed to be a political equivalent of a sports bar where you could go and have, like, political discussions.
Speaker C:And it had a mural on the wall of a rainbow flag and they painted over it with a red gop elephant fighting against a blue democratic donkey.
Speaker C:And people were pissed about it.
Speaker B:I would be, too, because who wants to watch the Rachel Maddow show there and have fist fights when you take the gay flag away?
Speaker C:Yeah, exactly, actually.
Speaker C:So it's not the, the story of the little gay pub is not the only active story about gay bars in DC, even this week.
Speaker C:So, yeah, I have to say, I do like, there's a bar in DC, it's not a gay bar, but in the hay Adams, there's a bar called off the record.
Speaker C:And I do like that one right now, like the White House.
Speaker C:And it is one of those places with the red banquettes and the dark wood that you can just picture kind of salacious meetings happening at.
Speaker C:And I feel like DC is full of those kind of places.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:As it should be.
Speaker C:But anyway, with that, that's the news that we have for you for the week.
Speaker C:We will be back with some more fun for you Saturday.
Speaker C:It's a secret topic.
Speaker C:We won't let you know quite yet what it's going to be, but it will be a good one.
Speaker B:We were people pleasers this past weekend.
Speaker B:We talked about the arrival of fall.
Speaker B:That was fun.
Speaker C:Yeah, it was fun.
Speaker B:I had lots of.
Speaker B:I've had a lot of people who have, you know, said something when I've been in a space online on Twitter or, you know, even in private conversations on the telephone who heard the episode and were like, don't you want to know what my favorite kind of soup is?
Speaker B:You know.
Speaker B:You know what I like to wear during the winter?
Speaker B:I'm like, not really.
Speaker B:I like to know what you like to wear during the summer.
Speaker B:I mean, not wear.
Speaker C:Yeah, no, it was a fun one.
Speaker C:That was a fun one.
Speaker C:So we will have some fresh content for you on Saturday.
Speaker C:But in the meantime, hope you have a great week.
Speaker C: ving a comment, our number is: Speaker C:Or you can leave us an email at info@richieandjohn.com we'd love to hear that.
Speaker B:The former president of the United States, the freak.
Speaker B:Is that what they call him?
Speaker B:No, they call him weird, the weird guy.
Speaker B:He called Richie and John the goat the greatest of all time.
Speaker B:So there you have it.
Speaker B:Have a great week, everyone, and we'll see you on Saturday.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker C:Talk to you soon.
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.
