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So Much to Do

2020-06-05 · collab / interview · Hank, Maya Rupert · 28:27 · watch on YouTube

Topic: US politics & society (also: Nerdfighteria) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: guest or collab, timely hook, heavy topic, civic or action cta, self correction

Hank talks with longtime Nerdfighter and political strategist Maya Rupert about police violence and policy fixes, young activists, money in politics, learning to talk about race, and privilege as power to use for others rather than a source of guilt.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Hank introduces Maya Rupert, a Nerdfighter since 2007 and political strategist

  • ★★ Hank introduces Maya Rupert, part of the community since her first Vlogbrothers video in 2007, an advocate and writer who managed Julian Castro's campaign and now works with Elizabeth Warren. — 00:00:00 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:29 — How Maya is feeling; police violence has policy solutions; calling elected officials

  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says the last couple of weeks have hit her very hard despite her experience, and she takes solace in people making community and being there for each other. — 00:00:29
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says hopelessness about police violence is misplaced: policy lets officers act dangerously without accountability, so there are policy solutions. — 00:01:40
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya is heartened by work pointing to policy fixes such as national use-of-force standards and requiring police to de-escalate before using fatal force. — 00:02:38
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says now is the time to call elected officials, make this a priority at every level of government, and elect people who take it seriously. — 00:03:08

00:03:37 — Young people, humility and grace between generations of a movement

  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says she is always taken by young people activating in crises and excited to see them demanding more. — 00:03:37
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya urges older people in a movement to have the humility to see it changing, and younger people the grace to see that elders had different formative experiences. — 00:04:06
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya has faith that this generation of organizers, unwilling to compromise, can make this time actually different. — 00:05:02

00:05:31 — Fixing government: people getting involved, money in politics, racial justice as everyone's issue, awkward conversations

  • ★★ Hank says government has broken parts, but the response cannot be to abandon, hobble or ignore it: it has to be fixing it. — 00:05:31
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says people for whom this crisis is formative will be different leaders, and anyone called to do better should run for office or get involved. — 00:06:03
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says politics has a cost of entry: those with resources get attention, so our politics is too consumed by who can get money in, and campaign finance reform matters. — 00:06:49
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says racial justice is not an issue only for communities of color: this moment is about policing and also a system of white supremacy. — 00:07:27
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says Americans talk about race only in crises, so the national conversation is between people who don't care about sounding racist and people whose career it is. — 00:08:52
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya urges people to challenge themselves to have awkward conversations about race, where good faith earns grace in return. — 00:09:21

00:10:20 — Learning about race without burdening others: books, diverse friend groups, community

  • ★★★ Hank says it is important to be curious and informed about race, without making informing yourself someone else's burden; it should be part of education and citizenship. — 00:10:20
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says asking someone puts a burden on them; 'Google and read' is good advice, but the material is not easy to start from ground zero. — 00:10:50
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya recommends So You Want to Talk About Race as an incredible book that meets people where they are. — 00:11:39
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says diverse friendships make people willing to carry the burden and give grace, but segregation, especially of white people, makes it a chicken-and-egg problem; the answer is community. — 00:12:09

00:13:26 — Privilege: the Census, two bad reactions, Superman, using white privilege, helping others makes you happier, privilege is situational

  • ★★ Hank says he usually analyzes the community's yearly Census by now but hasn't because this year (2020) got busy. — 00:13:26
  • ★★ Hank says the Census asks about race and the majority of the audience is white. — 00:13:32 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★★ Hank sees two bad reactions to privilege: denying it because of one's hardships, or carrying guilt about it with nothing positive coming from it. — 00:13:55
  • ★★★ Hank resists treating privilege as shameful; citing Baratunde Thurston's point that nobody tells Superman to stop using his power, he says it's about what you do with what you have. — 00:14:45
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says guilt makes people want to hide, so working through privilege, acknowledging it and saying it out loud matters. — 00:15:10
  • ★★ Hank says shame is a terrible emotion no one wants to feel, so people get angry or lash out. — 00:15:10
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says that however friendly she is, raising race brings her more defensiveness, so she pays a bigger penalty for bringing it up. — 00:16:24
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says white privilege is very useful for raising issues people of color can't, and for using a platform to elevate others' work and voices. — 00:16:48
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya rejects the either-or idea that acknowledging privilege means you didn't work hard. — 00:17:44
  • ★★★ Hank says helping people, such as pointing attention to great people, is the best part of being successful. — 00:18:13
  • ★★ Hank cites a fairly famous study: people given 50 dollars would prefer to spend it on themselves but end up happier spending it on someone else. — 00:18:42
  • ★★★ Hank says privilege really is power, and using it makes him happier and the world better. — 00:19:11
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says privilege isn't binary: as a straight, cis, able-bodied person she can raise issues others can't, so privilege is situational. — 00:19:39

00:21:06 — What gives Maya hope: young leaders, friends reaching out, 'DM me' posts and private conversations

  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Asked what makes her hopeful, Maya names the young people leading this fight. — 00:21:06
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says friends have reached out asking how to talk with their white kids about race, since peers with Black kids already must. — 00:21:53
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya's favorite thing is social media posts inviting anyone who answers Black Lives Matter with 'all lives matter' to DM the poster. — 00:22:20
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says unfollowing people earns likes, but the helpful conversation is private, where you make yourself vulnerable so the other person does too. — 00:22:48
  • ★★ Hank adds that public, performative arguments leave no room to show weakness. — 00:23:39
  • ★★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says being an ally on some level sucks: it is uncomfortable hard work done behind closed doors, without likes or retweets. — 00:24:19
  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says her first Vlogbrothers video was Hank's Harry Potter song about Deathly Hallows, which she saw featured on YouTube's homepage and sent to her sister. — 00:25:08 · YouTube

00:25:22 — Maya's first Vlogbrothers video, the community, where to find her

  • ★★ Maya Rupert: Maya says she remains impressed by the community: people seeking community, grace and humility, which rarely find a home online, and wanting to do good together. — 00:26:11 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★ Maya Rupert: Maya says interns taught her TikTok and she made one, but she didn't understand the medium at all. (playful) — 00:27:38 · TikTok

00:28:10 — So You Want to Talk About Race and 8cantwait.org

  • ★★ Hank points viewers to So You Want to Talk About Race, linked in the description. — 00:28:10
  • ★★ Hank calls 8cantwait.org a fantastic resource for starting or continuing advocacy work. — 00:28:10

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says a section pointing to 8cantwait.org was removed, since the conversation moved beyond it and questions arose about how much it would reduce police violence. — video description
  • ★★ In a comment Hank says disagreement over 8cantwait reflects Maya's humility-and-grace point: people who broadly agree can differ on particulars, and both views are valuable. — creator comment
  • ★★ In a comment Hank says white people can talk about race when it comes from informed thought and care, and may reach white audiences more easily. — creator comment
  • ★ In a comment Hank says analyzing the Census takes hours he hasn't had free in four months; he hopes to do it next week (week of 8 June 2020). — creator comment

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: Maya Rupert · police brutality · racism · social privilege

Also: People: Baratunde Thurston · Elizabeth Warren · Julián Castro

Projects: Nerdfighteria Census

Works: Accio Deathly Hallows · So You Want to Talk About Race

Organizations: Black Lives Matter · Facebook · TikTok · Twitter · YouTube

Concepts: campaign finance · guilt · Happiness · Youth

Characters: Superman

Policies: 8 Can't Wait

Only in the description or credits: Pivot (podcast)

Also centred on police brutality: The Best and Worst of 2014

Also centred on racism: The Best and Worst of 2014 · Racism in the United States: By the Numbers · What I've Been Thinking About · ...Not My Proudest Moment · ---

Also centred on social privilege: Neck Beards and Fitness Challenges · Time for AWESOME · Started from the Bottom: Benjamin Franklin and Drake Compared · Deserving · Should I Feel Guilty? · How I (barely) Passed 11th Grade English

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