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Gold Up in The Club
140 Plays7 months ago
Summer 2024 was definitely a doozy! VP Harris and Former Pres. Trump announced their VP picks, Paris Olympics 2024 was filled with many athletic feats and a few setbacks, the Democratic and Republican National Conventions showcased what the presidential candidates hope to bring during their race to the White House, and HBCU medical schools across the country were endowed with a very generous financial gift that is sure to positively impact the trajectory of budding Black student doctors everywhere. We unpack all of this on your favorite series: Run The List!
We also welcome another new host on SNMA Presents: The Lounge—Student Dr. Chinasa Anokwuru! We are elated to have her gracious and wise perspective here on the podcast, and look forward to the layers she will add to future conversations.
Stay tuned for additional programming that we will be releasing soon here on The Lounge!
Join SNMA on Discord today by visiting this link: https://discord.gg/tsYJJYYvNU
To share your thoughts on our discussions or if you have any questions to ask our hosts, email podcast@snma.org for a chance to be featured on the show!
Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed on our podcast do not reflect the official stance of the Student National Medical Association.
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Transcript
Introduction and Community Invitation
00:00:00
Speaker
The views expressed on this podcast represent only those of the hosts and do not represent the views of the Student National Medical Association. Calling all aspiring physicians and healthcare leaders, discover a vibrant community of like-minded pre-medical students and professionals, share your journey, gain valuable insights, and connect with future colleagues. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to network and grow together. Join the SNMA on Discord today by visiting the link in the episode description below. Now, let's start the show.
Meet the Hosts: Summer Stories
00:00:48
Speaker
Welcome to SNMA Presents The Lounge. Whether you're in the student lounge, doctor's lounge, or lounging around at home in your PJs, get ready to join SNMA for meaningful conversation on topics affecting minorities in medicine and groups that often sit at the margins of healthcare. Well, I'm sure you're wondering who this is. I'm student Dr. Chinasa on a crew and I'm happy to introduce myself as one of the new hosts of SNMA Presents The Lounge podcast. Yes, let's get pumped.
00:01:17
Speaker
Now, August has arrived which means summer is coming to an unfortunate end or perhaps fortunate close and falls around the corner. Personally, that's my favorite season.
00:01:32
Speaker
Now, what was the highlight of your summer for summer 2024? For me, I went to Italy and I really, really had such an amazing time just parading the street of Rome and quite frankly, just roaming around eating pasta. So it was a wonderful time just taking a one week break in between clinical rotations to reset. So that was a highlight of my own summer.
00:02:00
Speaker
That's nice. That's really nice. That sounds really fun. Well, welcome to SMA Presents the Lounge, Janessa. So, sure you guys, hopefully, by this point, recognize this voice. I have student Dr. Isabella. And the highlight of my summer, so unfortunately, I had a very, very bland summer. I was working, okay? Like, this is residency application season for me.
00:02:24
Speaker
I literally from the start of summer for me in July, I was in DC, grinding through my way rotation, came right back, started my elective. I'm currently studying for step two. So I cannot honestly say I've had a highlight, but I will say
00:02:40
Speaker
that I think something nice that I got to do this summer, despite the grind, was getting to explore a little bit more of D.C. when I was there in July. So I got to see the Bible Museum. I got to see the Native American Museum. I went back to the African-American Museum. And then I even got to get brunch with my best friend when she turned
00:03:01
Speaker
Uh, it was her birthday and we like went out to celebrate her. So yeah, I got to, you know, find some sliver slivers of fun. Oh, and I actually did. I actually got to, um, go to a party too with some of the, um, interns I met at Georgetown's EM residency program. So that was also really fun. So, you know, I was working hard, but you know, the devil works hard, but my God, he works harder. So I still found some time. Uh, what about you Jay?
00:03:31
Speaker
I like that. I like that. Hey everybody. This is aspiring student, Dr. Jared Jeffery. I would also like to welcome Chinasa to SNMA Presents to Lounge. And for me, the highlight of my summer 2024 has to be that I went on my first cruise.
00:03:49
Speaker
Uh, it was a graduation gift from our mom and we took to the seas. It was seven days and we hit a Mexico Honduras and the Bahamas. And it was really nice. Very, very good reset. Um, good time in between, you know, I'm studying for this licensing exam and all that kind of stuff. Uh, good reset, good reset. Definitely something I want to do again. Got to get some of my friends on board for this one. Uh, but yeah, that was, that was fire.
Current Events in Medicine
00:04:18
Speaker
Yeah, that sounds really, really fun. I love that. And yeah, that's what when I saw vacation from XYZ time, I said, All right, I'm gonna let Jared have it because you work hard. Okay, those overnight shifts. All right. I see. Yeah, but anyway, just to get right into it. Um,
00:04:38
Speaker
It's time to introduce our favorite part of the show, run the list. For our preclinical students running the patient list on the wards allows the team to address pressing matters of the day. In this segment of the show, we'll be discussing some recent events in medicine and beyond affecting our communities and the populations we serve. Let us just jump right in. It has literally been a whirlwind of a month. We are in August and the Olympics has
00:05:05
Speaker
Recently come to a close and I feel like this is probably one of the most like eventful Olympics. We've had in a while Literally, Olympics was late. It was okay. It was doing what it had to do It was there was and it's crazy because I feel like a lot of the influencers I followed somehow ended up at the Olympics this year too So I'm like wow, like you guys are out here just standing next to a lot of great athletes like and that's just so amazing but you know despite it being very eventful there
Olympics and Black Athletes
00:05:31
Speaker
were some
00:05:31
Speaker
very notable parts of the Olympics. I feel like that people were talking about a lot. So one, Simone Biles, the goat of gymnastics, clearly she made her come back. Everybody's rooting for her as we usually do. But, you know, it's something about black women and what we're just trying to, we're just trying to exist. And people got to find a way to tear us down, got to find a way to tear us down. OK, because they were definitely talking about her hair. And I feel like this is something I've heard, like,
00:06:00
Speaker
with other athletes, like specifically black woman athletes when it comes to like how they maintain their hair and then when it doesn't look a certain way, getting bashed for it. So basically they were talking about her hair, not sure if had something to do about like, I don't know, her edges weren't slicked back.
00:06:16
Speaker
It was maybe like some frizz. I don't know what the complaints were because I really was not looking that deep into it because I'm just like, are we really about to attack someone who's like this amazing at their sport for their hair? But she like definitely didn't take kindly to it. And she went on Instagram and said.
00:06:32
Speaker
and quote, don't come for me about my hair. It was done, but the bus has no AC and it's like 9,000 degrees. And then she captioned her story while she was holding an electric fan. And then she says, next time you want to comment on a black girl's hair, just don't. And that was her statement.
00:06:52
Speaker
Simone is saying that she's fed up with you guys coming for her hair. What do you guys think about these comments? Like, what do you think people who kind of make these comments about black women and their hair, particularly like black women athletes about the hair? Like, what do you feel like is the intent behind saying these things?
00:07:13
Speaker
I think one is just really malicious because it's just such a distraction. We could focus our energy on discussing the sport right, discussing something else, but then we want to nitpick on your hair. I think it's just really unfortunate and sad. I really applaud her for just being able to speak up for herself because
00:07:36
Speaker
It's uncalled for. It's uncalled for. It's uncalled for. I feel like we have so many things to celebrate, but then we always just waste time and energy just focusing on the wrong things. On the wrong stuff, you know? And what we really... Sorry, Jared. Oh, you want to comment? Okay, go ahead. Come on, baby.
00:07:57
Speaker
I welcome your perspective. Oh, I thank you. I'm so I'm so gracious. I'm so grateful to the conversation.
00:08:09
Speaker
I just think that people on the internet, we're re-entering that era of audacity where everybody just feels like there was a little PC window where people was really conscientious of what they're saying. I feel like that PC window is out of here and people are just back to saying whatever and they say the first thing that comes to their mind and I'm not going to lie, I feel like a lot of people on the internet
00:08:31
Speaker
I think they're in a negative place and sometimes they're just looking for the most negative thing that they could say about a subject like, Oh yeah, gold medal. Yeah, that's nice. But those edges though, like that doesn't sound crazy to you. That sounds crazy. That sounds crazy. But yours, your edges though, they were, they were all the way down.
00:08:51
Speaker
Like, how do you get there? And I feel like, I mean, it wasn't just her, right? They just kept on trying to play black women crazy at the Olympics. Jordan Child's medal got revoked. She got a whole bronze medal. And somehow that was crazy. That is like, imagine getting something handed to you and they're saying, actually, JK, we're taking it back. So apparently,
00:09:12
Speaker
Like what like so apparently she got a bronze medal and then there was a Romanian gymnast By the name of Anna Barbusu that basically it was given to her after they said they were giving it to Charles and At first like like when they I guess when the situation happened it kind of caused this Upward because after like Charles appealed to pay like why did you guys take my medal Romania got mad and so they gave it back to Barbusu
00:09:42
Speaker
And so pretty much at the end, Charles did not get the medal, but she took to Instagram because, you know, social media is the platform that people have as a voice that they use to kind of say, this is how I feel about it. And it was a very long statement. But to just break it down to what she said in her words, she said, I have no words. This decision feels very unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey to add to the heartbreak. The unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hard.
00:10:08
Speaker
I poured my heart and soul into this sport, and I'm so proud to represent my culture and my country. So she also was played to a level that I don't even understand. I have to I have to further elaborate just a little bit. So I'm going to set the scene for you. You know, gymnastics shows my points. She does her routine. She does her routine well enough to place fifth.
00:10:32
Speaker
Her coach appeals. That appeal is successful. Right. She gets additional points. The additional points for her in third. Then Romania comes through and is like, hey, hey, whoa, whoa, hey.
00:10:45
Speaker
We're gonna appeal your appeal It's the appeal of the appeal The reason that she got the metal stripped is because in the rules you have the coach has 60 seconds to appeal the judge's decision Next appeal says well the ruling was
00:11:14
Speaker
That they appealed it in 64 seconds By four seconds is is the reasoning they're gonna say that she doesn't the coach the coach appeal didn't come in fast enough by four seconds and so she lost the points from the appeal and put her back in fifth
00:11:36
Speaker
Wow. That, to me, is crazy. That's insane. That's insane. I would have blown the whole place up. I would just say, I feel like if they had enough time to give her the medal, then the appeal of the appeal probably would have to happen.
00:11:57
Speaker
I think it's also very important to note that in the entire history of the Olympics only 159 medals have ever been stripped The Olympics has been going on well over a hundred years. That's across all the sports all the genres both men and women Yeah, and most of those get stripped for like
00:12:14
Speaker
Like performance enhancing drugs or whatever, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah, so it's just the precedent like this is crazy Yo, you already awarded this athlete a medal who cares about your appeal. Yeah. Yeah, you know I'm saying I feel like after the award had like that medal has been awarded is a crazy time I
00:12:39
Speaker
for another appeal to go through. I'm just saying I don't know. I'm not. Listen, but we know enough. We're watching it, right? So I mean, it was ridiculous. I'm glad that Jordan defended herself and stood by the fact that what they did to her was insane. And, you know, we support you, Jordan. Regardless, you're you have the bronze medal in my eyes. Now, moving on to more appropriate and lighter things that were going on in the Olympics. There was a lot of wins, a lot of a lot of wins. So
00:13:08
Speaker
We have our Hajabi-wearing woman, Safan Hassan. She was actually able to win gold for the woman's marathon with a record time of two hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds. She blew through it. And she was, of course, praised for this, not only for her record time, but because she's Hajabi-wearing. And so she's representing all women who are Muslim and are part of that community.
00:13:32
Speaker
And a lot of people actually said that her choosing to wear it kind of stood against xenophobia and just discrimination in France. And, you know, this is just very nice because she's also a asylum seeker from Ethiopia. And so she has this background that like also kind of attributes to that to that community as well. So congrats to Safan on the gold. Now we've got to talk. So my fault is also worth noting that France has an active ban on his jobs, too. Wow. And that's crazy, right? So it all it all comes full circle.
00:14:02
Speaker
Then we got Quincy, Quincy Hall, who came in. You call it, you call it his name, but you know him. Listen, I'm about to say these names, like they're our besties. Okay.
00:14:16
Speaker
I'm just proud. Like so Quincy Hall, I remember I saw this video and I saw some dude who was like, looked like he was like in fifth, sixth place. And then somehow it's like the might of God what is on his body. This man just at the very last minute, like went all the way to the front and just blew through. And that was Quincy Hall. He was able to win the 400 meter race.
00:14:36
Speaker
after literally sprinting from far behind and then being able to go past three more runners and then get that gold medal and so he was able to cross line in 43.40 seconds the fourth fastest time ever and then at the end he of course dropped to the track and he did his little snow angels just to be
00:14:53
Speaker
just to be probably a little bit dramatic as he should. And yeah, there's just a lot of things going on in the Olympics. We have the Olympian Nada Hafez. She's also from Ethiopia. She was pregnant, seven months pregnant, and she won a gold in fencing. Steph and Braun, we already know them. They got their gold, secured their gold.
00:15:12
Speaker
And Shachari, Shachari came back. We know she had a rough start in the past with some of the allegations of her substance use, and she was able to win gold in the 100 meter race. And so she was able to just praise the team that she was also on. She said that I was very comfortable with this team. I just remember trusting Gabby, who was one of her other teammates who was able to win the 200 meters.
00:15:37
Speaker
and knowing that she's going to put this thing in my hand no matter what. And she just said, I just wanted to leave my best on the track. So Shikari, of course, we always we always praise the athlete that you are. So I think the Olympics was very eventful this year. And it was just really nice to just see, you know, a lot of the black athletes kind of really shine and just be in their element at their sport. And so, yeah, let's hope that we get another Olympics like that again in the near future.
00:16:01
Speaker
No, no, no, I feel you. I really do. However, I think that, you know, while we're congratulating all these Olympians, that it's also a very good time to congratulate all the peoples that are having their new beginnings this
Medical Community Highlights
00:16:13
Speaker
August. You know, this is a medical podcast first, you feel me? So I think we should congratulate all the pre-meds that are matriculating into medical school. Okay. Here's your flowers. Here's your flowers. M threes and M fours that are starting sub eyes.
00:16:27
Speaker
Here's your flowers. Any newly minted MDs or DOs that are starting residencies. Here's your flowers. Anybody that has finished residency and is starting your attending status. Here's your flowers. We love it. Congrats to all the people in the medical path who are starting new, just new journeys. Um, we know it's a very long journey overall. So just any benchmark you make on this path is, is very,
00:16:54
Speaker
it's very worth congratulating and so I mean we could we could definitely talk a little bit about some things that we would have wanted to know if we were say pre-med for us as med students who are pre-meds what we would want to have known maybe things that we would have liked to know like I know what I would like to know going into residency and it would be nice if there was somebody on the call right now I wouldn't do maybe I could just hop in and just tell me girl what should I do because um
00:17:21
Speaker
It's a lot of things, but I will say that I think overall for the pre-meds who are starting med school, I mean, I guess a little tip I could give for sure is just making sure to just have a plan as to how you really want to attack the stressors and the rigorous nature of medical school. It's a lot, and so you have to really make sure you come in
00:17:42
Speaker
the plan, come in with some kind of like system as to how you want to study, how do you want to balance like your personal life, and then just making sure not to like abandon your community because community is very necessary when you're in this field. There's gonna be a lot of times that you won't have any time to do anything but study and you still have to like find ways to tap into your loved ones and just like stay, yeah, stay connected to literally who you are because it's not worth
00:18:05
Speaker
sacrificing that for anything, even medicine. And I know you think that medicine is one of those things that you got to live and die for, baby. I chose not to live and die for it, but I will say that it is something that you really have to... Listen, if you live and die for it, it's not worth it. It's really not. And at some point you'll even end up presenting it. And so I think that you really have to find that balance and figure out, and you may not figure it out right away and it's okay to stumble as you do, but like,
00:18:30
Speaker
just as you as you kind of go through the journey, just think about how you want to balance all that. But yeah, that's what I would say. I don't know, should I say anything you would probably want to tell tell the new M zeros? I think for me, I'd say taking care of yourself should just not be put on the back burner. And I think there's just several instances where you'd always think, oh, I still need this one hour of Anki time, one hour of BNB time, one hour of whatever study material that you're using.
00:19:00
Speaker
But it's counterproductive to study when you're not whole. You can be whole when you don't really take care of yourself. So I'd really just prioritizing taking care of yourself, whatever that means for you and whatever that looks like for you.
00:19:16
Speaker
For me, I kid you not, I go to bed at 10 p.m. every night. And, you know, some people laugh at it. That's impressive. Yeah. They say, you know, like, how are you getting this much sleep? But I refuse to give up sleep because guess what? I mean, without sleep, there's no consolidation of whatever you're studying anyway. So you're being a good sleep routine or I guess having sleep hygiene is something that's very, very important to me. So I'd say just really spending time to think about
00:19:45
Speaker
how you take care of yourself will be very important. Great. I love that. Yeah. I like it a lot.
00:19:53
Speaker
What do you think, Jared, that you, like, what do you feel like you'd want to know, like, as you're trying to figure out how you're going to get into med school and all that stuff? Like, what are some things that you feel like you would have wanted to know more about that maybe you figured out throughout your process so far? Like, you have all these masters and you're doing so many things. Like, is there anything? So I'll say two things.
00:20:19
Speaker
The first one is that even though I went to a quote unquote college preparatory high school, no one in that school ever mentioned anything along the lines of you not needing to major in biology to get into medical school. You can major in whatever you want. So long as you take the courses, you'll be good. Um, that would have been very helpful to know. And also
00:20:43
Speaker
kind of looking at end goals and they're working backwards. So I kind of always knew that I wanted to take gap time, work a little bit, make a little money, perspective, things of that nature before I went to medical school. I never intended to go straight through, right?
00:21:00
Speaker
I would have also liked to know what kind of roles, positions, things like that existed on the other end of the major that I was in. So kind of just knowing what opportunities are available
00:21:18
Speaker
knowing what Opportunities are worth taking versus not worth taking so I for example, I think that my time as a medical scribe was exact was one of the more valuable things that I did and Yeah, just being able to to really know how I so I feel that I was able to
00:21:41
Speaker
confirmed for myself that medicine was what I wanted through my outside experiences. I think it's helpful to know which outside experiences, and some of that is introspective, knowing which outside experiences will help confirm that for you.
00:21:56
Speaker
right? I think that's like very, that's helpful. And I feel like especially for our pre meds, that's more things that they can think think about and even like, ponder if they haven't already, just by you saying that. So any pre meds who are listening to this, take heed, take note, right? There's certain things that people don't really tell you, like, while you're trying to navigate that process. And so hopefully, you know, you guys, everyone's gonna have their own journey in this
00:22:22
Speaker
in this particular path and it's not going to look the same but I think it's always nice to kind of hear people's perspectives as to like what they would have wanted to hear, like the things they learned along the way. I will say that I did do a subway rotation recently and so I can definitely speak on the sub eyes for people who are going to be tackling sub eyes soon and I will say that
00:22:42
Speaker
So thankfully I did very well on my sub-i. I already have an interview lined up for that program and I think that what's very helpful is to make sure that you come in literally
00:22:57
Speaker
as authentic as you can. Don't try to be anybody that you're not. Like, I see all the time people try to kind of like, you know, force themselves to be this character that they're not, they're not really in real life, just because they need to please whoever the person that's evaluating them, like, wants, but in reality, they really want you to be your genuine self. And so just stay true. Like, when I tell you most of the time, it's when I really am just like,
00:23:21
Speaker
doing what I believe is necessary and not doing the most that I've seen the best results. And when you try to do too much, people can feel that like I'm not doing I'm not going beyond what I know. I naturally do like what Isabelle naturally does. And so I just feel like just be authentic to yourself and then also just like be committed to working hard. Like you're going to have to work hard and you're going to have to like
00:23:45
Speaker
Yeah, you're gonna have to like actually show that you care about whatever specialty that it is that you've decided on. So when you are doing that audition rotation, like make sure that you you show your that you're engaged that you want to learn more ask questions like never look like your board, essentially. So
00:24:01
Speaker
I feel like if you have those like those two things down like being committed to working hard and then also just like being authentic, then those are the things that'll really carry you forward on your away rotation. So that's my advice to anybody who's tackling that. And can't tell you about Eros, going through that right now. So we'll see how that goes. Cannot tell you anything about that. But I will say, sorry,
00:24:24
Speaker
Um, it's not, it's not bad. That's really, um, I was really in depth. That was really, uh, personal. And I feel like applicable as well. And you know, I think this is one of those conversations that we should definitely keep on going and something that people should be able to tune into future episodes and be able to hear, like, you know, they can hear a little bit of advice at all stages, you know? Um,
00:24:50
Speaker
One thing that we can't do without at all stages of our journey is money though. And all throughout medical school, we need money for, you know, national exams, study tools, tuition, whatever the case may be. And so it is very nice to know that we have some people looking out
Impact of Philanthropy on HBCUs
00:25:08
Speaker
for us.
00:25:08
Speaker
Bloomberg Philanthropies actually gave 600 million to the four HBCU medical schools. So if you're not familiar, there are four HBCU medical colleges, Charles Drew University, Howard University, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine. And the gift is a part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies
00:25:29
Speaker
Bloomberg Philanthropy Greenwood Initiative. And essentially, this is just a program that they're trying to give back to black Americans and redress historic underfunding of black communities.
00:25:43
Speaker
I love that. And it's amazing, clearly, as somebody who graduated from Howard for undergrad, that's once again, you know, we keep on getting that needed support. And now I do not go to Howard for med school, but I will always be an advocate of HBCU institutions of all kinds, particularly the medical school ones, because those are the ones that are producing the most black and brown medical doctors.
00:26:06
Speaker
And so I will say that this is a very historic, historic fun and historic gift that's going to be very necessary for the next group of black and brown physicians. And I definitely want to also add that this is something that, at least from Bloomberg.com, that they did say that this is also in remembrance of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
00:26:28
Speaker
And then just in recognition of how racism had prevented Black families from building wealth. And so presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg then created this plan to help accelerate the pace of wealth accumulation for Black individuals and families and then address decades of underinvestment in these communities. So this is just another way of him doing that. And I think that it's just really nice that they are investing in institutions that are literally going to be the major producers of
00:26:53
Speaker
minority doctors who are going to then be treating minority populations and I think that we need that pipeline and so it's just it's a very it's a very beautiful thing to see and so um yeah I mean what do you guys think about just like this this fund um so I actually have a question um my bad to cut you off no it's fine
00:27:15
Speaker
How do you think a fund like this should be used? So like, let's say they split up evenly 150 million in each school. Where does that money go? How is it used effectively? Like let's say, for example, somebody from the institution that gets to use the money is listening to the lounge. How should that money be used? Or at least a piece of it.
00:27:40
Speaker
What do you think? I mean, you know, I'm always going to say just give it to the students. But how? I just feel like it just takes a lot, like learning about even some of my classmates and.
00:27:58
Speaker
The things they have to endure, the family, the background that they come from, it just really helped push them a little bit further, just having that financial support. Personally, I had to work in medical school. I had to work throughout medical school first or second year until I even started rotation. And I only stopped because I practically couldn't do it and do rotations at the same time.
00:28:25
Speaker
So I couldn't imagine what type of relief that would be. I was just like taking the load off my shoulder literally if I got a piece of that cake. You know what I mean? Obviously, I think there's just a lot that needs funding, whether it's infrastructure, the quality of
00:28:47
Speaker
simulation centers, being able to attract professors who would teach, all of it is money. Everything revolves around money. What do you what do you all think? Yeah, I totally agree. I think that like, in terms of how the funds would be allocated, I think that it's just important that definitely the students in terms of like, I would think like per dot, like majority or
00:29:14
Speaker
what should be prioritized should be tuition first and foremost, like students' tuition is being funded, maybe having some kind of fund that could support students who come from lower income backgrounds who maybe need some extra support, like say in your situation where you have to work, like what is it, what are the needs that beyond tuition that loans can't cover? Sometimes like people don't, like they don't want to take out that many loans and like they just don't have that financial bandwidth to maybe
00:29:43
Speaker
make that risk and so like what are some ways that we can kind of help students who whatever funds they got from a scholarship doesn't necessarily cover everything that they need whether it's like food or housing and stuff like that i think having some kind of like emergency fund would be really nice um yeah and i think like maybe even just like
00:30:02
Speaker
getting to fund certain opportunities for students to go to whether it's conferences and stuff like that because a lot of people also in medical school like do other things outside of the learning aspect. They also like do research, they network and stuff like that and those things can also be very pricey. The ticket like look at as we go to AMEC, okay AMEC could be a pretty penny
00:30:21
Speaker
So maybe just having just a fund that people could access to be able to have those experiences paid for, I think would be really cool. So that would be my ideas as to how they could use those Bloomberg funds. But I think overall,
00:30:36
Speaker
Despite how they choose to allocate it, this is a great feat and this is like a very monumental gift that was provided to the HBCU Medical School. So I'm very, very happy to see that this is what they ended up with.
00:30:55
Speaker
Yeah, I think that um, and hopefully they set an example for other well-endowed philanthropic groups to follow suit There exactly the rest of y'all come through
00:31:10
Speaker
Exactly. These schools could use the funds. Exactly. And literally, I think that this is such a... This is a reminder of what happens when people are committed to actually putting their energy into causes that are really needed.
Political Strategies and Diversity
00:31:26
Speaker
We have some people using that same energy to put it into causes, into movements that just aren't needed, like Project 2025, okay? What's that?
00:31:37
Speaker
Well, I'm glad you asked that question. So Project 2025 is a Trump endorsed, and yes, I'm going to say Trump endorsed, even though this man will tell you on the side that he doesn't endorse, he doesn't know what y'all are talking about. But in reality, he has been in communication with a lot of people whose name pops up on that Project 2025.
00:31:58
Speaker
So it is a 920 page policy blueprint that was created by the Conservative Heritage Fund Foundation that lays out a far right Christian vision for Trump's second White House term if he wins in November. And so the blueprint suggests that one, they're going to abolish the Department of Education
00:32:14
Speaker
They're going to dismantle the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, which among other duties tracks hurricanes because it is a part of, and I quote, colossal operation that has become one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry. It would also bar US citizens for receiving federal housing aid if they live with anyone who's not a citizen or a permanent legal resident, which would then affect people who identify as dreamer immigrants.
00:32:37
Speaker
And the blueprint overall just encourages the next presidential administration to disband the gender policy council, which was created by Joe Biden and basically undo everything that that stands for. And of course, the same Heritage Foundation, which is a Republican National Convention partner, suggests just eliminating DI, which we know stands for diversity equity inclusion, which affects us as students. OK, so let me make that clear. And so overall, there's just a lot of things that this
00:33:07
Speaker
initiative is attacking that literally speaks to the core of America and what we stand for. So. Any thoughts? That's deep. That was a lot. OK. This is what I'll talk about once now. No, no, no, that was a lot. That was a lot to take in.
00:33:34
Speaker
You know, I'm not, I don't particularly follow anything that Trump says to be honest. You know what I mean? Um, that was a lot. I just feel like they're coming for me.
00:33:53
Speaker
That was like, I can't tell you everything that we are. Like what? Isabella, that was a lot of audacity in that statement. Far right. You said like far right. Christian vision and why they put Christian in there like y'all could have left the Christian because that's not even what Christians are even supposed to stand for. Like y'all can let that out mentally. The Department of Education. He he don't want us to have the the Oceanic and Atmospheric Association like
00:34:24
Speaker
He doesn't want. What was it? Oh, he's he's trying to get the dreamers, the dreamers. Isabella, that was that was a lot. That was a lot. Yeah. And so here's the reason. OK, I can I formulated my thoughts now. Sorry. I had to I had to digest all of that. Mm hmm. I think. It's a lot of audacity while you're still campaigning to put to put forth. But you know what? I'm going to finish one thought that I'm going to get to that thought.
00:34:54
Speaker
I think it's a lot of audacity to put all of this forth while you're still campaigning to say, I'm going to dismantle everything that every democratic president has done in the past couple of years. Oh, you thought that you got these little wins. You thought that you got this. Don't you got that? I'm coming for all of that on the same at the same time.
00:35:15
Speaker
I think he's also trying to reassure his constituents, the far right. Yo, if y'all put me in office, I'm going to fight for y'all. Exactly. All the issues that you guys are concerned about, yeah, we're going to make sure that, oh, yeah, we're not using our dollars on giving housing to anybody that doesn't deserve it. We're going to make sure that, oh, that was crazy to me. That was crazy. And I think it just goes to say,
00:35:45
Speaker
And you know, I personally, well, I can't say I hate talking politics, but I love talking politics when it comes to Trump because I feel like the Trump that presents and the Trump, the politician are very different people. Right. Trump that presents on television is a reality TV star. He's doing whatever he can for ratings. He's doing whatever he can to
00:36:07
Speaker
Get wow factor stay in the same rotation when he gets it when he was in the White House He wasn't saying nothing. He was signing bills and not answer to nobody. He's just making changes making sweeping declarations Executive order after executive order and so I feel like you know
00:36:27
Speaker
I think it just highlights how important it is that we vote this year. I think we just got, I think we just got to make sure we vote, make sure you vote, make sure you encourage your friends to vote. I ain't go, I ain't go get too crazy. What do you guys think? I think that's the single action that we can take to really express our voice. And I think just being a young voter, sometimes I can empathize with people that feel like it doesn't matter whether they vote or not, because they feel as though
00:36:58
Speaker
the people that represent us are not really representative of the voters. But at the end of the day, on the flip side, well, if you don't vote, you're still making a choice regardless. So might as well take to the polls as our own civilian duty.
00:37:17
Speaker
100%. 100%. And you know, we definitely are going to take to the polls. We're actually running to the polls, especially now that Kamala has chosen her VP, Mr. Tim Walls. Listen, this is America's new sweetheart because Tim is a reflection of, I think, what most Americans would
00:37:45
Speaker
say is the idealized figure, political figure we actually really want, but we never got. And so I just want to, I just want to kind of introduce the communist choice to choose Tim. So Tim, um, so first and foremost, before we begin it to Tim,
00:38:06
Speaker
Kamala was playing chess, not checkers with this choice, okay? She was playing an advanced game of chess, okay? Because the fact that she chose a guy who is a white male from Minnesota, who is a prior coach, a veteran, and
00:38:29
Speaker
a public school teacher with no Ivy League law degree. No, no, no, no, Kamala, she was playing a different kind of game because she's trying to appeal to every single American. And she knew that he would be the ticket to do that. We've had the Yale Law, whatever, the president, vice-president, we've had those.
00:38:57
Speaker
A lot of the times, their story is very disconnected from who we are actually trying to appeal to, right? We're appealing to the working class. Tim is the definition or as she would call him, Coach Walls. It's the definition of the working class. Yes. And doesn't that name just add a little humble, a little humility to him? Because this man, he's done so much. And so
00:39:20
Speaker
I will say that what she did was very strategic because not only does she have the potential to swing certain states that are very crucial to winning this election, but then she also chose somebody who has a very down-to-earth background who can appeal to a very wide range of audience. And so I think that this was a very unique
00:39:42
Speaker
Distinct but wise choice and I want to know what you guys think about what you guys think about Kamala's Decision to do this. I Think we're in such a divided time right now and You know, I think I think it just really brings back that sentiment of the American dream right of just hard work who the who the average American is
00:40:10
Speaker
patriotic, loves family, would work hard. And we see that represented in Tim Walz, quite frankly, right? As a public servant, demonstrated through his work as a teacher and coach. So I think in such a divided time, regardless of where you lean,
00:40:34
Speaker
There's there's definitely some empathy that we could or some connection there, persuasive connection. We could we could see in that in that character. I honestly do not trust political figures at all. But let's just say this this play has made has made both of them both appealing, more appealing, if you will. So and if that's the case for me, I could only imagine for others. But that's what I'd say.
00:41:04
Speaker
So I think that I like his image because I think he stands for everything that Trump does it. Um, where Trump has had most things handed to him. I think this guy is, like you said, the American dream self-made man kind of goes back to that classic, you know,
00:41:28
Speaker
the George Washington type where you had to be in the military to be in the government. You know what I'm saying? The first couple of leaders of the country were people that they got from the military. I think his role as a governor and his role in education
00:41:46
Speaker
it's it's alluding me he had some kind of massive education reform I can't I can't place my finger on it right now but it was something very uh he gave free lunch to kids he was one of the ones who started a free lunch to kids and um I don't know even if it was just Minnesota I believe it it was even beyond Minnesota that he was able to enact the free lunch
00:42:07
Speaker
for children, but I could be wrong. But we will say that he definitely gave at least within the bounds of Minnesota, he was able to establish free lunch for the public school kids. Wow. And I think that things like that are so simple in telling of
00:42:26
Speaker
The kind of person that you'll be on a grander scale, the kind of politician that you are. And I agree with you, Isabella. I think that she was playing chess, not checkers with this choice. I always love the unexpected VP picks. Like, you know, somebody that we have to do a bunch of digging about and then you find out about them and then you find out about them. It's either or it's all, you know, this is a real. Oh, OK. I like him. It was getting a lot of that.
00:42:55
Speaker
Make sure you get the address to the cookout. And we know he's we know he must be of great character because I mean his son was literally.
00:43:07
Speaker
clapping his hands and crying yesterday at the DNC convention. That was a very beautiful moment. But before we get into the DNC details, we have to mention Trump's VP pick. Oh, yeah. He got his in as well. Facts, right? He did. What's his name? JD Vance is the man's name. Okay. You know anything about him?
00:43:30
Speaker
Well, he has a very interesting history. It sounds like he kind of had a rocky start in life. He didn't grow up with the parents. He was raised by his grandmother. He did go to Ohio State for undergrad and then ended up getting a law degree from Yale. Okay.
00:43:46
Speaker
So, you know, it sounds like the credentials are there. The funny thing, though, is that like back in 2016, he actually wasn't a Trump supporter. He really, yeah, he had like thought that he made certain comments about Trump that definitely showed that he did not respect him. And then and then Trump picked him to be VP. Isn't that interesting? Well, it sounds like based on what at least this is coming from CBS News after Trump's presidency, he had a change of heart and actually does think that he was wrong about him. So, OK, OK.
00:44:15
Speaker
um you know so yeah he's the running mate i've seen a couple of little like videos floating around or a meme has come out about him about like him being at some kind of restaurant and saying oh they're asking hey what do you want he says i'll take whatever you have or something like that is just you know um
00:44:31
Speaker
Yeah, I see that he's a Republican senator from Ohio. He has some kind of book, Hillbilly Elegy. That is so true, yeah. Is that his claim to fame or whatever? Apparently, that's kind of what put him out on the map was Hillbilly Elegy. It was adapted into a Netflix film, so that kind of gave him some cred. The book is basically based on what CBS says, a book that's centered on Americans knowing that by their own willpower,
00:44:59
Speaker
they can improve their own lives both economically and socially so sounds like a self-help or yeah self-help book i guess um so you know he has a couple things okay i'm not bad to cut you off i see something very interesting i see something very interesting what's up so he says that you know like the january 6 riots or whatever the cause of them was that um
00:45:22
Speaker
Mike Pence was not in favor of trying to like challenge the electoral college votes. He's like, so the vice president is in charge of like the election and the electoral college and all of that. Yep. Um, he's saying that in, should he get, you know, elected with Trump on his ticket, he would have made different choices in that situation. Interesting. And he would have, uh,
00:45:45
Speaker
sought to it that he would have been able to refuse to certify the electoral college votes that showed Joe Biden had won.
00:45:55
Speaker
Very interesting. That's a very interesting take. Honestly, it's a very interesting take. I don't know, don't know what to make of that, but okay. Interesting. But that is Mr. JD Vance, Trump's pick. He's a radical one now too. It does. And he, you know, he has, he does have a family. He's married to his sweetheart from Yale law school. They have three kids. She's an Indian American woman. So yeah, that's, that's Mr. Vance.
00:46:19
Speaker
Okay. Okay. I think it is also important to note that he's on the younger side. Yes. Mr. Vance is 40 years old. Yes. Much, much, much younger than everybody else in this whole political realm. In this entire race. Correct. This entire race. Yeah. Correct. Yeah. Interesting. Interesting. So let's see how that goes, right? Yeah. Facts. Let's see how it goes. So put me on to what happened at the DNC.
00:46:42
Speaker
And yeah, the Democratic National Convention that is currently underway as we are recording this episode, there's been a lot of figures that we've seen come out. The Obama's, Clinton, I think Kerry's, everybody's there. A lot of people have come out for this Democratic National Convention.
00:47:05
Speaker
I think in a similar way to how the Olympics this year felt different. This democratic national convention feels different. I'm not sure if it's like I'm older, so I feel more connected to it, but I think that the vibes are there. You know what I'm saying? Um, the Obama's speech electrifying. Um, it's just something about hearing Barack Obama talk that I'm just like, wow,
00:47:34
Speaker
This country, this country might not be so bad after all, you know? And then his son of our hair, Michelle Obama talk, that's like, I gotta do better for myself. You know what I'm saying? I think that the plethora of people that they've had at the DNC overall performances by Lil Jon, they had the coach of the goal estate warriors talk.
00:48:03
Speaker
They've had a lot and a lot of people have popped out for the DNC. Yeah. And if you get it, if you get a chance, check it. It's funny because, you know, it sounds like I'm saying like, oh, go watch the highlights from the game that that was on the other night. But if you get a chance here, go check out the highlights from the Democratic National Convention because this this Democratic National Convention has actually been like. And lack of a better terms lit. Yeah.
00:48:33
Speaker
It's really good. I think this is a last thought. I just think it's a it's a healthy and refreshing feel for a political atmosphere. I think it's appropriate, yet modern. I think that this is the kind of thing that can get, you know, I think we're still considered the younger generation like they're definitely voters younger than us. But, you know, I think a lot of our peers may be reluctant to vote. It's something that can get, you know,
00:49:01
Speaker
age group more likely to vote and or at least likely enough to tune in, you know, right Yeah, I think that politicians and political teams and all that they're moving in a positive direction. I really like this really like it a lot
00:49:15
Speaker
So just as lit as the DNC was, we got to talk about the Republican National Convention too. We do. We do. That's actually where Trump introduced his vice president pick of JD Vance. So Republican National Convention was held a couple of weeks before
00:49:33
Speaker
the Democratic National Convention. It was actually held kind of like immediately after Trump's assassination attempt. So he did show up to the RNC with a bandage over his ear. My man was really the national politician of all time. He's doing his viral picture, whatever the case may be. He was. The pick that you said you thought was hard, because I remember we had that discussion.
00:50:00
Speaker
If I was a rapper I'm making that picture my album cover that is hilarious Okay, I'm dropping that picture as an album cover with the hardest freestyle of all time Patriotic bars It was it was paid. It did look very patriotic. It just yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I would ride that picture straight through to the presidency
00:50:25
Speaker
But yeah, it was a couple of names out there, not as like star started as a Democratic National Convention. They focus more like politicians. So they had they had Nikki Haley. She's like a former ambassador to the U.N. They had a West Virginia governor, Jim Justice. They were more excited about his dog, honestly. The dog. Very cute dog. I'm not going to lie. I'll give I'll give. That's the one little thing I give the RNC. That dog is very adorable. I'll give them that.
00:50:52
Speaker
But yeah, for the most part, the RNC was like, you know, it was classic politics. You know what I'm saying? Like, they really didn't do the same kind of vibe that the DNC went for, you know, but they kind of cater to a different audience, right? They did. They're kind of, you know, like, like the Republicans, Republicans is going to stand for some government. Republicans is going to pop out. They're going to do what they need to do. So they're really trying to attract new people. They're just, you know, this is as usual type vibes. It is interesting that.
00:51:19
Speaker
the former first lady was mostly absent from the RNC. She was only there for the day that Trump actually got selected as the nominee. So like, correct. And I think she was like pretty, you know, still, I think maybe the fact that she was still upset that Trump had gotten shot, because she says in her statement,
00:51:40
Speaker
When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life and Barron's life were on the brink of a devastating change. A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempts to wring out Donald's passion, his laughter and ingenuity, love of music and inspiration. Donald, the generous and caring man who I've been with through the best of times and the worst of times. So I don't know, maybe she was just still trying to process that. Could be, could be that, you know, make sense, make sense. Yeah. OK. RNC did their little thing too.
00:52:10
Speaker
They did. They did their little thing. And, oh, yeah. And of course, the granddaughter, Trump's granddaughter popped out, talked about how, you know, Trump calls her, checks in on her, gave her candy growing up. They would do golf together. So it seems like Trump does have a family side to him as well, which maybe we don't often think about that. But he does have that side. Granddaughter. Interesting. Granddaughter, right. I'd be forgetting this man even has grandkids, let alone or kids, let alone grandkids. But yeah, he got all of them.
00:52:38
Speaker
So there goes that RNC recap, I guess. And yeah, let's just see how this race goes. I mean, now all we have to do is just get to the polls. That is the next step. No, it's been great. And I definitely want to say that we have to make sure to put in our votes. That's the most important thing. I will also just make a note about Walls that, you know, he's great. But I do think that people are probably going to challenge him a little bit on the fact that, yeah, he's probably not the most politically
00:53:09
Speaker
experience VP we've had thus far and maybe saying that, oh, he doesn't have this fancy degree. Does that then put him out at this disadvantage? So of course we weren't going to see like try and challenge and push back on some of
00:53:20
Speaker
the aspects of his background as is he really qualified? But I think that this is really the time that we need someone to break the status quo of who can lead this country. And I think that Tim is a perfect example of really representing true America and not just the version that we want people to see. And so we do have more to come in this political. It's been a lot of politics. There's more to come. We do have the debate that's coming up
00:53:50
Speaker
on the 10th of next month, September 10th, it is going to, I can't wait. I really want to know what they have to say. You know, tell, tell us more. What are you looking forward to in terms of the economy? I don't know about y'all, man. Goodbye. Go to the grocery store. I picked the items is $50.
00:54:13
Speaker
you believe that you're paying money like what's going on? I really don't have a hundred games over here on what's going on so at the end of the day you know for me politicians make promises but at least I need you to promise me something right? I'm waiting on the promises. I'm still sitting here waiting on the promises that God gave me and y'all not fulfilling it. Yo.
00:54:39
Speaker
It's really any crazy. I think the debate is going to be. This is going to be interesting because, you know, this is a a showdown for the ages in the sense of what it represents. Old, rich, white man versus HBCU educated.
00:55:05
Speaker
black woman on the greatest stage in the country. I think the way that Trump speaks to people, the way his rhetoric comes off, the way that he tries to attack one another, the way he tries to attack the people, the people heard the people around her versus that good old black woman with
00:55:30
Speaker
Okay, cuz you can't fight it right you can't beat it. All right, and you you can't beat it and it's gonna be something To see it happen Like I said, this this has just been vibes and I feel like this is gonna be another one of those events
00:55:47
Speaker
That's vibes, you know, I feel like we gonna be recording the september episode and we're gonna say go watch the highlights of That debate that you know I'm saying. Yeah, because yeah, man. Yeah, man. Wow Wow, I get goosebumps just thinking about it
00:56:05
Speaker
Mm hmm. And I think it's going to be amazing because it's actually going to be moderated by David Muir with ABC News, who was the ABC News Live prime anchor and Lindsay Davis.
00:56:18
Speaker
who also is an anchor on ABC. So David Muir, he is a young white male who has been rumored to be gay or bisexual and Lindsay Davis, who's a black woman. And so these are very, they're very accomplished in their background as anchors and journalists. So what do you guys think? How do you think the vibe of this debate is going to go having them kind of moderated? I mean, we're not really having cisgender male like kind of energy here. It's giving more of a diverse diversity here. Vibes.
00:56:49
Speaker
It is it is adding so so, you know America is a melting pot and for too long The political scene has not been truly representative of the country at large
00:57:05
Speaker
Just add a little spice, you know, just add, just add a little bit of what we can actually see on the day to day, what we see at work, what we'll see on public transportation, what we'll see in these medical spaces that we, that we have it. Just add a little bit of that to this scene on TV. And yeah, man. Yeah, man. No, for sure. It's yep.
00:57:30
Speaker
100%, it's giving DI the same thing that Trump and his goons are trying to knock down with Friday, 2025. Heavy on goons. And his goons, okay, because the same ones that ransacked on that Capitol building in January 6 are the same ones probably coming here and making up this convoluted plan to bring us back 100 years. We are hip to your game.
00:57:57
Speaker
Redman okay, so so I got a question for you. I got a question for y'all If it's one topic that you want to see Trump and Kamala go at it on What do you guys think it would be? Just one just one probably abortion
00:58:15
Speaker
Ooh. I know for a fact I definitely want to see them talk about the DEI that's getting threatened in institutions, like all institutions of all forms. So I feel like that has been something that we're hearing about, but it's not really getting advertised as much as I feel like it should be getting advertised. We know about it because we're being affected by it, but then it's not actually being pulled to the forefront.
00:58:42
Speaker
So anyway, I do think that these moderators are going to give diversity, they're going to give DEI and I like that because I feel like Kamala gives DEI, she gives black job, she gives all the things that are not typical and
00:59:01
Speaker
People are mad at that. And especially from the sentiment of, like, if there were certain things about Kamala that say she wasn't married at all, or say, like, if her husband was a Black guy, how would that influence how this election could go? Because I really do think that marriage and children are very much weaponized against women, and Kamala's in a position where people are going to think about that and talk about that now that she's running for president.
00:59:31
Speaker
So I do think that it is something that we need to think about in terms of like how how is her as a Black Southeast Asian woman with no biological kids of her own, even though she does, she is a stepmother to her her husband's kids and then her husband being a white Jewish man. How do you guys feel like that is going to affect her campaigning and just like her visibility in this match, in this democratic race?
01:00:02
Speaker
I was just going to say, I think that, um, there was going to weaponize it regardless just because, you know, and this is me taking back to when Obama was running.
01:00:13
Speaker
The question of who his parents were, where he's from and all those kinds of things came up way too many times. You know, it was always a question of, oh, well, how black is he? Is he even American? His middle name is Hussein. They're going to find something to weaponize. You know what I'm saying? They're going to, uh,
01:00:35
Speaker
ensure some way shape or form that Policy the issues that that's not the main factor here. You know what I'm saying? And I think it's one of those things were like
01:00:46
Speaker
I'm not gonna lie, I like Kamala's situation. She has her family. I feel like she's had her family for a long enough time. I don't really think it should play much of a factor into the election because we don't bring up Trump's wife very often. You know what I'm saying? We brought her up when she was like the first lady. But in the election scene, we didn't bring her up very often.
01:01:14
Speaker
I think Trump has some kids and stuff like that. We don't bring them up very often, right? And I think the same should go Yeah, I think you got a kid or two floating around I don't know what he was doing. He got like a Donald Trump jr. Don't eat. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah
01:01:38
Speaker
I don't know what he'd be doing, but you know, but like I said, but you see, we don't talk about him. Then the same way we don't talk about his family as a part of this election process. You don't need to talk about her family as a part of this election process. And I feel like that's just like, like you see how I said, like the, the, the, the landscape is transitioning. I think that that's a worthy part of it to transition. It shouldn't be completely like ignored. It's something in the rug, but it also does not need to be like,
01:02:08
Speaker
a, a, anything that's on the news or anything that is heavily covered. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think for one, I hope this also just highlights that family can take different shapes, right? And there's so many people around the world that are, whether they're adopted
01:02:27
Speaker
Um, um, you know, parents or no, sorry, when they have adopted kids or they have blended family, they've taken in a foster child as your own. So family can really look, it can look, it could take different shapes, right? So the fact that she doesn't have any biological.
01:02:47
Speaker
kids of her own, does that mean she's not really a mom to those, those other children that she has? But I think ultimately, I don't think it's really a place to put her up for scrutiny. It'll be, it'll be more worthwhile to really focus on the politics. And it's just unfortunate that just by mere fact of being a woman, we already know, you know, as you said, Jar, that that's definitely going to be a conversation that will be, yeah, that'll just be in the headlines, unfortunately.
01:03:18
Speaker
Whereas with the Trump, yeah, no one's talking about the floating around children and the. No one's talking about them. No one's talking about them. Yeah. Mm hmm. No, people literally no one's talking about it. And it is a double standard for women, specifically black women, when it comes to like how our lives should look right.
01:03:42
Speaker
People, of course, are and I want all those hotel and what's what's the name of that dude that always has something to say on social media. That dude, I don't know the way you talk about the hotel guy that's big.
01:04:05
Speaker
Oh, you're talking about Dr. Omar. Yes. Okay. I want all the Dr. Omar warriors to go to the side because y'all want to say, Oh, she should have, she, if she should be married to a black woman, you guys didn't, you guys weren't on her level. And so she chose the right man to be her partner.
01:04:23
Speaker
And i'm sure how do how do we get here? She won't wish she was celebrated, you know, so go where you're celebrating. We go. We we go. Exactly. Because we have to talk about that because some people are saying that, you know, if she was married to a black man, oh, maybe she would have been more relatable. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear. I don't. I don't. I don't. It's like.
01:04:46
Speaker
I don't want to hear it. I just wanted to make that clear. I just wanted to make that clear. Kamala can do what she wants the same way that Tracy Ellis Ross decided to do what she wanted on her own social media. People had a lot to say. Okay.
01:05:01
Speaker
my good sis Tracey Ellis Ross, the daughter of the amazing and legendary Diana Ross, who has still created her own platform and her own name outside of her mother, right? We know that she has been an actress literally since like the 90s, maybe even before that, acting on girlfriends and just having a very like notable platform.
01:05:22
Speaker
Okay, she decided to, you know, post her little thirst trap on Instagram, and she did have the girls out, okay? But well, actually, no, she didn't. She had the girls out, but she was covering it with her art. They were covered, yeah. They were covered. And so I think that we need to understand that Tracy is rich.
01:05:46
Speaker
she is beautiful. She doesn't want any of you dusties in her messages telling her how she should post on her social media page. And I think that it's a, to me, it all ties together in terms of people just always feel like they need to have a say over women's bodies and what they do and how they live their life. Tracy is
01:06:03
Speaker
on marriage. She has zero kids and that angers a lot of people, right? That may not necessarily be a common story, but I think that it is still a story that differs from what is traditional for women, which is you need to have kids, you need to be married, you need to, you know, do blah, blah, blah. And even our good boy, our good friend, sorry, our good friend and religious leader Kirk Franklin
01:06:24
Speaker
supported women not being defined by those standards. He actually said how Western Christianities flawed views on marriage. I believe that marriage has been weaponized in Western Christianity. It's very much that quote, you live in sin, you need to get married without realizing that marriage doesn't fix sin. And so that is something that people need to understand is that like,
01:06:44
Speaker
A lot of the times you guys like to hide behind, you know, either if it's religious jargon, societal jargon in terms of telling women how they need to present themselves to the world. Kamala is going to be the President of the United States by God's grace with or without your sentiments about her marriage and her womb. And Tracy's going to continue to be rich and beautiful without your sentiments and she's going to keep posting her thirst traps.
01:07:09
Speaker
And that's just it. And I just want people to, to just be okay with that. And let's not have a comment about everything that people do. And I'm very, yeah, I'm a big advocate on people just living their lives and people just like being okay with people doing what they want to do. But hopefully I'm not the only person that thinks that on this call, Jared, you've been very quiet over there in the corner. I know. You look like you have a lot. You've been very quiet over there in the corner.
01:07:37
Speaker
I wish, I wish I could see Isabella pointing right now. Isabella is pointing and she, she, you know what? I'm gonna just answer the question. I'm just, I always get to the conversation. I think that it is a very interesting duality that professional women in particular are dealt. Yeah.
01:08:04
Speaker
If a man chooses to be career, career, career single into his thirties, forties, fifties, no kids, nobody bats an eyelash. If a woman decides to put career first.
01:08:18
Speaker
And then let's say family comes a little later into the picture. Let's say she gets a husband down the line, whether they all or something's wrong with her. Oh, she did it the wrong way. She, there's so many more opinions that come with that. Um, and I think that it's an awful, I guess it's double standard. I think it's awful double standard because you know, I think that's what a lot of the movements of the past I've been about, you know, the right to be able to,
01:08:47
Speaker
Have your own job the right to be able to own your own property make your own money all those kinds of things those kinds of things The summation of that is what we have today where you should be able if I choose to be a family woman
01:09:00
Speaker
That's me. If I choose to not be a family woman, I want to be a career woman and I want to run for president of the United States. That's also me. If I want to be a neurosurgeon and not have a family, that can also be me. You know what I'm saying? And I think it's, um, I'm not going to say I disagree with you. You know what I'm saying? It was just more so that, uh, I was in awe at the emphatic way that you put that out there. You know what I mean?
01:09:30
Speaker
That's a great way to save yourself. Okay. You're off the hook. Those points caught me off guard. Okay. All right. Come on, man. I'm a black man in America. You can't be pointing no fingers at me like that.
01:09:47
Speaker
Okay, don't worry next time I'll do the double I'll do the double Of course of course we got to make sure that we take it easy on Jane right now she says two against one right now So we gotta we gotta take it. I'm not gonna lie. It's been two. It's two against one mostly these days. So Well, you know
Immunization Awareness Month
01:10:14
Speaker
A lot has been said about politics and we're in the company of people that are in medicine. So how about talking about our medical awareness month for a change? Yeah. So August is immunization awareness month. So we'd like to bring some awareness to that. Immunizations are one of the most effective and accessible tools we have for protecting public health, which is why we start early. Shout out to all the pediatricians out there.
01:10:44
Speaker
When we talk about the benefits of vaccines, it's really not just about that protection for you, but the community at large herd immunity is very, very important. So it's really, really alarming that cervical cancer has been on the rise, despite there being an HPV vaccine. So it prompts us to wonder why
01:11:11
Speaker
why the incidence of cervical cancer is still climbing. I'd say that they are linked to late stage diagnosis, especially in minority communities. A significant number of women who are 65 and older are being diagnosed with late stage cervical cancer. And at that point, it's just really advanced, very hard to treat and just associated with leading higher, leading in higher mortality rates.
01:11:38
Speaker
An example will be Jessica Putway, which is actually very, very sad. I used to follow her on Instagram. I liked all her fashion tips on Instagram and it's super sad to have seen, yeah, that she actually went to the physician and just wasn't
01:11:55
Speaker
wasn't treated on time for cervical cancer. She was young too, literally her 30s. She was misdiagnosed, no? She was misdiagnosed. She was very much misdiagnosed. And then when she was correctly diagnosed, it was late stage, right? But she was in her 30s. So it's inexcusable. But yeah. Yeah, very inexcusable. And, you know, super sad that we lost another young black woman to
01:12:25
Speaker
cervical cancer. So yeah, it's really important to talk about this. Sometimes screen can also be very inadequate. So current screening guidelines may fail older women.
01:12:35
Speaker
Um, so I do really have a lot of empathy for a geriatric folks out there. I really appreciate everyone who's going into geriatric medicine because I think it's really pop is good population that can be vulnerable sometimes. Um, right. And sometimes they are overlooked or just wearing screen before the cutoff and things of that nature. We also have screen disparities. So disadvantaged women, especially those who are uninsured.
01:13:03
Speaker
who come from low-income backgrounds, who really cannot make the appointment, can't take days off work, also are less likely to be up to date with screenings, including cervical cancer screening, which ultimately contributes to a late diagnosis. And I mean, if everyone has been keeping up with the media, we know that we have our anti-vaxxers out there.
01:13:27
Speaker
I don't know if y'all have any need to say about our special group of anti-vaxxers. So I'm not too familiar with them overall, but I would just say like, have you ever heard like what the agreed upon rhetoric with the group is? Like what is the thing that they're concerned about vaccine wise?
01:13:52
Speaker
Like, like, because, you know, most vaccines are made of different materials. Yeah. Most of them are trying to combat different illnesses, ailments. What is the collective bad about vaccines? You know, I've heard things of like, oh, it causes autism in children. It causes like, I don't know, like some kind of like neurological damage. I think people are just like thinking that it damages kids bodies in some way, shape or form. And I don't necessarily know where they're getting that.
01:14:21
Speaker
Like where they're getting that information. Maybe it is a government conspiracy do maybe like I really don't understand way where Sorry guys, like so we are talking to not just each other but we have a general collective team who is Here with us how we're recording. So of course we got a we are responding So if you guys hear me saying another name that hasn't been introduced yet, that is why anyway, um, yeah, who knows maybe it is a conspiracy and
01:14:45
Speaker
Because literally, I think that it always seems to be something different as to why people shouldn't get certain vaccines. I think there's just a lot of fear. People kind of implement this fear factor around it, and then everybody just kind of goes along with whatever the fear is. And it never makes too much sense. Granted,
01:15:05
Speaker
If you're not in medicine, I can understand why you may not know all the little nuances, maybe get confused or tripped up over some stuff. But it doesn't, I don't know how that then leads to like these very big sweeping statements about vaccines that have never been said before, like not scientifically proven by any means. So I don't know. I think it's just a lot of fear and maybe just like, he say, she say, like telephone games.
01:15:32
Speaker
I think there is a degree of fair mongering in there. I think it's some degree of not understanding it completely. It's a little silly to me. I feel like any pediatrician can explain to you the risks, the potential side effects, and the fact that you know you're doing this for the greater good. But yeah, I digress.
01:16:01
Speaker
Right. No, I agree. I think some some efforts to educate as well. Shout out to all our pediatricians out there who are really having conversations with parents. It's really, really, really important. I'd also say that there's a distrust of the community just due to history of
01:16:20
Speaker
medical experimentation, especially on black and brown folks. So I think the hesitancy is well justified, but at the end of the day, the benefits definitely does outweigh the risk of not having the vaccine. So it's just important, especially in our local communities, to keep on having this discussion about vaccine education, vaccine promotion. Right.
01:16:49
Speaker
Here are some of the vaccines that you can encourage you or your loved ones to get. I'd say RSV for older adults and young babies, especially now that we're transitioning into the fall.
01:17:02
Speaker
People are just coughing all the time. You don't want to get sick. Just go ahead and get it. A lot of coughing, a lot of sneezing, a lot of coughing, a lot of sneezing. And then we know that the seasonal flu, right? The flu virus is one that just always is transforming. So sorry, that flu vaccine from last year ain't going to work.
01:17:27
Speaker
Go ahead and get a shot. So you're protected and covered this flu season. And of course, the vid, you know, the vid is on the rise. It really is, especially for older adults who maybe have other comorbidities or are more vulnerable. Definitely, definitely encourage you all to get your COVID-19 boosters. Anything else that you all can think of?
01:17:55
Speaker
No, I think you covered the majority. I think the bottom line is, oh, and of course the Gardasil vaccine, which is also known as the HPV vaccine, so we encourage that for starting at the age of 11 for all youth, both men and women. Yep, because y'all men be giving women. We see you guys, okay?
01:18:16
Speaker
And a lot of the times it manifests, Jared, Jared, let me just let it win. Let it win. So, you know, cause a lot of the time when it comes to HPV, we are the one that gets the cervical cancer. You guys don't get, you guys don't get that, right? So it actually manifests
01:18:37
Speaker
horribly in women while men can be carriers of HPV and not have anything adverse happen. That's why I'm saying that men and women, because men, if you guys don't give it to us, we can then live longer lives. You see how it all works together? Amen. You see what happens when you let it land? I'm not I'm not like I just I just have a question. Sure.
01:19:08
Speaker
Can a woman be given it if she got the vaccine? Can a woman be given if she got the vaccine? If she got the vaccine, can she still get HPV? Yeah.
01:19:21
Speaker
I think anything in life can happen, but I will say that the chance greatly reduces. I agree. I'm going to put this in the group chat. I'm going to tell the boys. Our resident OBGYN in training says that there are different strains of the HPV virus, which I do know, and that if a woman is vaccinated against it, she can actually clear it better.
01:19:51
Speaker
like from her system. If she has the vaccine, um, just kind of like similarly to like a COVID shot, right? Like you get the COVID shot and you can still get COVID, right? But it's probably not going to manifest as horribly as if compared to if you didn't have the vaccine. So I think that is how the vaccine makes a huge difference, especially the HPV. You gotta close it out like, you gotta close it out like how Jerry Springer used to Jerry Springer. So let's make sure we take care of ourselves and each other.
01:20:22
Speaker
Well, I will say guys, you know, go out there and vote. Make sure to get your shots because I'm not trying to get sick.
01:20:31
Speaker
Because wait, wait, wait, make sure you register to vote, register, register to vote. Okay. You can't just show up and you're not registered. Please register. Make sure you're registered. I think there's a website and like every state you can just check real quick that you're registered. Do the mail-in ballot. And if you're, and if you're, yeah, if you're like somewhere for like medical school or something like that, absentee ballot, mail-in ballots, it's very important election year that you vote, know who you're voting for, not just for president, but for your state and local elections as well.
01:21:00
Speaker
Yep, exactly. And get your shots. I'm just echoing that because a lot of you guys in the back didn't hear me get me in the bros. The bros, the bros is going to make a collective trip. We going to put it in the group chat. We all going to go and get our period. OK, you see, you guys see the difference.
01:21:19
Speaker
Now also last time he learned that sunscreen. He got to protect that. I was just about to say I was just about to say I use zero sunscreen on that cruise. Are you not a lick?
Episode Wrap-Up
01:21:32
Speaker
You learn nothing guys. That's what he's telling. He learned nothing. Let me send drilled into you, but that's the screen and you still didn't do it. All right. Well, you know, it's a thought that counts. Anyway, this is a great episode. We unpacked a lot.
01:21:48
Speaker
That is our show. Thank you guys so much for joining us on this episode of The Lounge. Let us know your thoughts about the discussion we had today, or if you have any questions, or if you want a chance to be featured on the show by emailing us at the podcast at snma.org. And be sure to follow the SNMA on all our social media platforms to stay up to date on any and all upcoming events. That's our show. We'll see you next time.
01:22:19
Speaker
Bye, everyone. Bye.