WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:02.750 The Inspired Insights podcast is for informational 00:00:02.750 --> 00:00:05.089 and entertainment purposes only and should not 00:00:05.089 --> 00:00:07.570 be considered health advice. This podcast is 00:00:07.570 --> 00:00:09.630 not intended to replace professional medical 00:00:09.630 --> 00:00:12.529 advice. Please note that this podcast may contain 00:00:12.529 --> 00:00:14.970 discussions on sensitive topics such as mental 00:00:14.970 --> 00:00:17.550 illness, suicide, and substance use. If you are 00:00:17.550 --> 00:00:19.969 experiencing a behavior health crisis or need 00:00:19.969 --> 00:00:23.109 support, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis 00:00:23.109 --> 00:00:29.050 Lifeline by calling 988 or visiting www .988lifeline 00:00:29.050 --> 00:00:56.520 .org. Sorid, welcome back! Yes, welcome back 00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:59.679 to this week's episode of the Inspired Insights 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:04.000 podcast. And we have guests. I love having guests. 00:01:04.459 --> 00:01:06.579 I'm going to let you both introduce yourself 00:01:06.579 --> 00:01:10.400 and then we'll learn more about what we want 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:12.560 to talk about. We're going to start? Yeah. I 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.900 am Sam White. My pronouns are she, her. I'm a 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:18.640 medical case manager for people living with HIV 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:21.719 and AIDS in the northernmost, the northernmost 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:25.060 counties in Maine. And I'm also one of the lead 00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:27.439 organizers for Bangor Pride. Yeah. And thanks 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:29.560 for doing what you do, both in your work life 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:34.379 and in your volunteer. My name is Emma. I work, 00:01:34.500 --> 00:01:37.379 do accounts receivable. So not the most exciting 00:01:37.379 --> 00:01:40.439 job, but outside. Important. Important. Important 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:42.760 nonetheless. But outside of work, I've been helping 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:47.689 with Pride. We have the art committee and the 00:01:47.689 --> 00:01:51.489 history committee. Hard to keep track. But, yeah, 00:01:51.530 --> 00:01:55.030 besides that, just, yeah, that's about it. Yeah. 00:01:55.230 --> 00:01:58.730 Thank you for doing what you do. Thank you. So 00:01:58.730 --> 00:02:00.689 we'll get to your inspired insights because I 00:02:00.689 --> 00:02:05.269 know you came really prepared. I'm going to start 00:02:05.269 --> 00:02:08.530 inspired insight this time. Yeah, I'm trying 00:02:08.530 --> 00:02:11.150 to remember what we planned for. Chris, it's 00:02:11.150 --> 00:02:13.930 all you. It's all me. So my inspired insight 00:02:13.930 --> 00:02:16.090 has nothing to do with Prague, or maybe it does. 00:02:16.189 --> 00:02:18.330 We'll see how the conversation goes. But I was 00:02:18.330 --> 00:02:21.169 thinking about language. And I was thinking about, 00:02:21.210 --> 00:02:25.150 partly because of your mom, I was thinking about 00:02:25.150 --> 00:02:29.990 how in other languages, they have words that 00:02:29.990 --> 00:02:33.969 summarize entire concepts that we might not have 00:02:33.969 --> 00:02:37.710 in the English language. And the example was 00:02:37.710 --> 00:02:41.189 the word... And I might not be saying that right, 00:02:41.270 --> 00:02:46.330 but it's Swedish, and it means just right. Not 00:02:46.330 --> 00:02:48.469 too hot, not too cold, not too hard, not too 00:02:48.469 --> 00:02:52.650 soft, just right. It's a word that I don't think 00:02:52.650 --> 00:02:55.810 we have an equivalent for in the English language. 00:02:55.909 --> 00:02:57.669 And I just think that's kind of cool and beautiful 00:02:57.669 --> 00:03:00.949 that these other languages have developed that 00:03:00.949 --> 00:03:05.590 take entire concepts that take us 14 words to 00:03:05.590 --> 00:03:09.189 describe, and they just do it in one. Six letter 00:03:09.189 --> 00:03:13.289 word. And yet we still have those same experiences 00:03:13.289 --> 00:03:15.569 that they're attempting to articulate. Right. 00:03:15.750 --> 00:03:18.610 Which really attaches to my inspired insight 00:03:18.610 --> 00:03:22.469 that I was interested in sharing. And that inspired 00:03:22.469 --> 00:03:28.629 insight is simply how universal art is. I think 00:03:28.629 --> 00:03:32.310 we as moderns tend to view art and eras of it 00:03:32.310 --> 00:03:36.379 as very time period distinct. However, I think 00:03:36.379 --> 00:03:38.639 the emotions that art attempts to articulate 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:43.659 are extremely universal. And what has sort of 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:46.180 put this at the top of mind for me is recently 00:03:46.180 --> 00:03:49.240 reading Shakespeare. I've had the opportunity 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:53.360 to read As You Like It in class for my AP Lit 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:57.219 class. And at first, I thought of it as highly 00:03:57.219 --> 00:04:00.039 derivative, as Shakespeare draws most of his 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:03.900 tropes from Greek New Comedy, a field of playwriting 00:04:03.900 --> 00:04:06.900 that I... think myself quite familiar with, like 00:04:06.900 --> 00:04:11.000 writers such as Menander and such. And then obviously 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:18.519 you have Roman writers. But as I've started to 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:23.220 read more Shakespeare, I have sort of gained 00:04:23.220 --> 00:04:25.740 greater appreciation for it rather than viewing 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:30.199 it as derivative, which broadly it is. I view 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:34.199 it as a more intentional pursuit of these universal 00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:38.100 human concepts, right? I think all art is attempting 00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:42.399 to articulate feelings, thoughts, conflicts that 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:46.060 we all have internally. We are all the same specimen, 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.759 broadly speaking. And all art is trying to do 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:53.839 is articulate some of or rather show some of 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:58.220 these sort of idiosyncrasies of the human species. 00:04:59.100 --> 00:05:05.720 I've never read. Period. I know. I've never read. 00:05:05.740 --> 00:05:08.120 Was it As You Like It? Yeah. I've never read 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:11.019 As You Like It. What are the what would you say 00:05:11.019 --> 00:05:15.399 are the universal themes? I think in As You Like 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:19.279 It, we see a really big conflict between rationality 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:22.819 and human emotion. That being sort of the conflict 00:05:22.819 --> 00:05:26.100 between making a responsible decision in love 00:05:26.100 --> 00:05:30.959 and the brutish, raw emotion inspired by love. 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:36.839 And I think that's a very universal human concept, 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:39.019 this sort of battle that we have internally between 00:05:39.019 --> 00:05:42.279 our pathos and logos. Oh, you lost me again. 00:05:43.310 --> 00:05:45.689 They'll owe it to you. And you lost me again. 00:05:45.889 --> 00:05:48.209 Pathos being our more, like, emotional side and 00:05:48.209 --> 00:05:50.810 Lobos being our highly logical side. Okay, yeah. 00:05:51.709 --> 00:05:55.470 And I sort of see this development of this idea 00:05:55.470 --> 00:05:58.430 of, like, the Aristotelian ethic. That being 00:05:58.430 --> 00:06:02.629 that virtue lies in between two conflicting vices, 00:06:02.629 --> 00:06:07.430 yet exists on a continuum, right? Like, in the 00:06:07.430 --> 00:06:11.189 play As You Like It, The forest and the court 00:06:11.189 --> 00:06:14.829 are strongly contrasted as the court is highly 00:06:14.829 --> 00:06:19.629 superficial and the forest is very raw. However, 00:06:19.829 --> 00:06:23.170 sort of the rawness and brutishness of the forest 00:06:23.170 --> 00:06:25.870 is vilified on one end and the highly superficial 00:06:25.870 --> 00:06:28.870 hierarchy of the court is vilified on the other. 00:06:29.029 --> 00:06:31.689 And we see Shakespeare attempt to sort of weave 00:06:31.689 --> 00:06:35.490 together a idea of virtue that exists in between 00:06:35.490 --> 00:06:39.649 those two conflicting ideals. I think it's really 00:06:39.649 --> 00:06:43.430 beautiful that I can read classical works and 00:06:43.430 --> 00:06:46.290 then see the exact same ideas be articulated 00:06:46.290 --> 00:06:51.089 by works of the 1500s and modern works today. 00:06:52.189 --> 00:06:54.870 So it is something that I find really exciting 00:06:54.870 --> 00:06:57.889 about the humanities, although I don't intend 00:06:57.889 --> 00:07:01.329 to pursue them. It is something that I like spending 00:07:01.329 --> 00:07:03.449 my time on. And it will always be a passion of 00:07:03.449 --> 00:07:05.589 yours, whether you get a grade for it or not. 00:07:05.850 --> 00:07:11.060 Indeed. I love that. Thanks, Soren. And Emma, 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:13.939 Sam, you are going to share an inspired insight 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:17.800 with us. Yes. Sure. I think that off of what 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:19.899 Soren said, especially throughout time, I think 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:22.560 historically we're kind of history project inspired. 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:27.939 Part of it is all of the elder LGBTQ people that 00:07:27.939 --> 00:07:31.620 we've met and all their stories really do. they 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:34.160 cross space and time and and it doesn't matter 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:36.279 you know where you are in country or in the world 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:38.939 or time you know it's this kind of this connection 00:07:38.939 --> 00:07:42.379 of love um that we see and i think it's important 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:44.620 to to preserve that story because if we don't 00:07:44.620 --> 00:07:47.120 they're they're going to secure yeah so we're 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:49.860 just being spirited i'll scoop one they live 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:53.800 to know guys yeah anything you want to add to 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:59.509 that emma did a great job add on it um Working 00:07:59.509 --> 00:08:01.949 with a bunch of elder queers, I get to hear their 00:08:01.949 --> 00:08:05.129 stories, and it's more ogus on the 80s and 90s 00:08:05.129 --> 00:08:08.170 and the pandemic that the younger generation 00:08:08.170 --> 00:08:12.329 were over it. I was younger in the pandemic, 00:08:12.350 --> 00:08:15.250 too, so it's inspiring to hear their stories. 00:08:15.490 --> 00:08:18.470 In your work world. Yeah, in my work world. Yeah, 00:08:18.769 --> 00:08:25.149 so in the context of meeting clients, it is inspiring 00:08:25.149 --> 00:08:29.160 you to... Do something with those. Their stories. 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:33.899 Their stories, yeah. I have a question. Do you 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:38.080 guys feel that stories are valuable because of 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:41.759 their social utility and their teaching aspect 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:45.960 or inherently valuable as they are part of sort 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:48.620 of the human experience, right? That's a good 00:08:48.620 --> 00:08:51.059 question. I think both. I think both. Yeah, I 00:08:51.059 --> 00:08:55.139 think both as well. Is there a ratio that you 00:08:55.139 --> 00:08:58.240 would assign? Or, like, why do you guys value 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:00.899 these stories in particular? And why have you 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:04.899 guys taken it onto yourself to elevate these 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:09.120 stories? I know that, personally, going through, 00:09:09.220 --> 00:09:10.940 you know, trying to figure out who you are and 00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:13.000 growing up and everything like that, I think 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:16.740 that there's value in the universality of it. 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:19.279 I know that, personally. I actually, when I grew 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:23.720 up, I personally was an elder. So I was the youngest 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:27.539 by like 50 years. By then all and we play games 00:09:27.539 --> 00:09:31.039 and it's great. But it's sort of hearing all 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:32.299 their stories and sort of hearing, you know, 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:34.259 like they went through their first marriage and, 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:36.340 you know, figure out who they were until after 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:38.980 or whatever. Sort of makes you feel a little 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:41.500 more human and that life isn't perfect. There 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:44.919 are errors, but there are errors. There are misjudgments 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:47.379 that actually help you find the right path. And 00:09:47.379 --> 00:09:50.120 I think that there's there's value in that as. 00:09:50.620 --> 00:09:52.419 wow, I can identify with that, but then I think 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:54.240 there's also value in it as like, wow, I'm a 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.159 person who did this and I'm able to share this 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:01.600 with someone. Yeah. I think when we first chatted 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:06.580 about your project and thinking about Pride and 00:10:06.580 --> 00:10:11.039 how this project kind of ties in to Pride, because 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:13.440 I know you're actively recruiting folks who might 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:15.340 be interested in sharing their stories as part 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:19.629 of this project. Can you talk a little bit about 00:10:19.629 --> 00:10:23.049 how you plan on collecting? What are your thoughts 00:10:23.049 --> 00:10:24.950 on how you're going to gather those stories? 00:10:25.610 --> 00:10:28.049 I just want to hear from you what your plans 00:10:28.049 --> 00:10:31.850 are. So we're doing basically how people want 00:10:31.850 --> 00:10:34.889 to share. So we've reached out to you both where 00:10:34.889 --> 00:10:37.610 you're more familiar with collecting audio of 00:10:37.610 --> 00:10:39.250 videos that people are comfortable with that. 00:10:39.509 --> 00:10:42.309 Some people might have photos to share or just 00:10:42.309 --> 00:10:45.909 prefer to write down their showery. We're letting 00:10:45.909 --> 00:10:49.929 people do anonymous shows. Yeah. And now that 00:10:49.929 --> 00:10:52.490 you've seen how the sausage gets made, are you 00:10:52.490 --> 00:10:57.909 regretting absolutely reaching out? Now that 00:10:57.909 --> 00:11:02.149 the high -tech studio... The minute we chatted, 00:11:02.190 --> 00:11:05.769 I was like, yep, this is important. And Sorin 00:11:05.769 --> 00:11:08.129 and I talk about these different generational 00:11:08.129 --> 00:11:11.509 perspectives and how much has changed, but also 00:11:11.509 --> 00:11:13.570 how much has stayed the same. That's a theme 00:11:13.570 --> 00:11:17.909 that keeps coming up over and over again. And 00:11:17.909 --> 00:11:21.590 just recognizing that there's so much power in 00:11:21.590 --> 00:11:25.980 the sharing of that story, both... As the teller 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:29.960 of the story, maybe there's some healing or some 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:33.620 just coming to terms with some pieces of our 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:36.460 stories that that process can bring about. And 00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:39.019 they're being open to learning from it. And so 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:41.159 there's the validation that might come up in 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:44.220 other folks who can resonate with the pieces 00:11:44.220 --> 00:11:47.779 of the story that maybe for the storyteller brought 00:11:47.779 --> 00:11:50.600 some pain. But for the listener, it might bring 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:54.960 some healing or some growth opportunity. Yeah, 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:56.720 absolutely. I think that's a really important 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:01.080 way to learn. I mean, just culturally, I think 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:03.220 that we've spoken word and learning from each 00:12:03.220 --> 00:12:05.159 other's histories has always been something that 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:07.559 we've done. And I think that it can get muddled, 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:10.340 potentially, especially how we're hearing stories 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:12.259 and whether they're true or not. So I think that 00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:15.399 getting out from the sources of people who have 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:18.700 lived these experiences is really, really important. 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:23.980 Yeah. And what I... know now, and Sorin and I 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:28.139 talk about current events all the time, is it 00:12:28.139 --> 00:12:33.039 feels like there is such an intentional, coordinated 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:39.279 effort to erase members of our community, members 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:43.799 of our country, our planet, our world. And so 00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:46.940 I think the word preserving is a really important 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:49.620 word that you used in describing a project that 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:55.000 By preserving stories, you're really allowing 00:12:55.000 --> 00:13:00.220 those voices to carry on in spite of all these 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:03.379 attempts to silence that are happening. And for 00:13:03.379 --> 00:13:09.639 me, that's beautiful and so essential that we 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:13.019 provide people an opportunity to be heard and 00:13:13.019 --> 00:13:17.220 make sure that those voices, regardless of what's 00:13:17.220 --> 00:13:20.500 happening around us, stay. in the conversation 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:23.779 yes uh for our listeners how are you guys going 00:13:23.779 --> 00:13:27.679 to be distributing uh these stories uh and this 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:29.639 is sort of a separate question but do you guys 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:32.600 have any uh particular anecdotes in your quest 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:36.620 to collect uh queer history um that were particularly 00:13:36.620 --> 00:13:40.500 striking to you um so i don't know if we have 00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:43.419 like an official plan yet to share it we're gonna 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:46.759 hopefully have stuff on our website I know that 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:49.399 we're also potentially maybe going to be collaborating 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:51.399 with some other groups who have been collecting 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:53.659 stories already, especially Southern Name and 00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:56.240 then Seacoast in Hampshire has also been doing 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:57.899 some stuff as well, which we're already collaborating 00:13:57.899 --> 00:13:59.700 some stuff with the Charlie Howard Vigil that 00:13:59.700 --> 00:14:02.759 we're going to be doing. And I think that looking 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:04.980 at it, I don't know, I get excited. I get excited 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:07.220 thinking about it on a grand scale because like 00:14:07.220 --> 00:14:08.779 thinking years from now, like what if we could 00:14:08.779 --> 00:14:11.259 do like a whole New England collective? Weird 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:14.360 history. And I just, I think that's so... That's 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:17.679 really inspiring to me to think about. So we 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:21.450 might not know the exact platform yet. But I 00:14:21.450 --> 00:14:23.110 do know that we've had some interest already. 00:14:23.490 --> 00:14:27.269 I know that Jim, with the Gay Men's Chorus, he 00:14:27.269 --> 00:14:29.990 has some memorabilia and some stories that he 00:14:29.990 --> 00:14:31.470 wants to share. So we're trying to figure out, 00:14:31.529 --> 00:14:33.990 you know, maybe we can house that at some point 00:14:33.990 --> 00:14:36.370 or have the historical societies figure that 00:14:36.370 --> 00:14:38.649 out. But just sort of all over preserving the 00:14:38.649 --> 00:14:40.710 history, whether it be, you know, stories, the 00:14:40.710 --> 00:14:42.730 actual, you know, buttons or anything like that. 00:14:42.830 --> 00:14:45.710 Yeah. And I love the multimedia approach to it. 00:14:45.769 --> 00:14:48.460 Like it might be audit. audio it might be written 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:52.600 it might be poetry it might be um art like soren 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:55.120 was chatting about too like i just i love that 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:58.440 you are providing a venue for people to share 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:03.340 that piece of themselves um in any way that feels 00:15:03.340 --> 00:15:06.980 authentic for them yeah and how important that 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:09.860 is and you've started the process right you've 00:15:09.860 --> 00:15:11.860 started collecting some stories yeah so i love 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:15.159 soren's question about Obviously, without naming 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.019 names or giving too much away, what are some 00:15:18.019 --> 00:15:20.879 of the themes you're picking up on already? So 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:23.100 somebody reached out. They have a bunch of photos 00:15:23.100 --> 00:15:25.679 of old protests and stuff. We do have to get 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:28.080 permission to use them because of the owner. 00:15:29.100 --> 00:15:31.539 I'm hoping some of my clients will be fine sharing 00:15:31.539 --> 00:15:34.980 their stories because when I first started, I 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:38.940 wanted to actually get to know them. And one 00:15:38.940 --> 00:15:41.899 of them told me his address book had to start 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:44.320 keeping it at pencil because he was going to 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:47.899 so many funerals a week. Oh, wow. And some of 00:15:47.899 --> 00:15:53.779 you believe in race. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. That would 00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:57.299 have been like the early to mid 80s. He wasn't 00:15:57.299 --> 00:16:02.299 diagnosed until the early 90s. Yeah. Yeah. And, 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:06.299 you know, I. You mentioned permission and obviously 00:16:06.299 --> 00:16:11.240 consent is a giant aspect here. And knowing you 00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:13.039 both, you're having those conversations with 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:15.240 people and people know what they're kind of getting 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:18.120 into. And there's choice, right? There's the 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:22.720 ability to participate or not. And maybe it's 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:26.700 never going to be done. But when it feels done 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:32.590 -ish for the two of you. What comes next? Like, 00:16:32.610 --> 00:16:36.250 what is your thought around? And maybe it's never 00:16:36.250 --> 00:16:40.450 going to be done. Probably volume two. I tend 00:16:40.450 --> 00:16:42.090 to like thinking of it as like this sort of like 00:16:42.090 --> 00:16:45.289 living documentary, ongoing, ongoing thing that 00:16:45.289 --> 00:16:47.269 I think, yeah, just growing. Like I said, like 00:16:47.269 --> 00:16:49.250 maybe not even just Maine or New England or whatever. 00:16:49.370 --> 00:16:52.809 Maybe it becomes a big, giant historical collective 00:16:52.809 --> 00:16:56.090 that we might be able to preserve somehow. Yeah. 00:16:57.289 --> 00:17:02.309 Pressure's on now. Yo, Maurice. But you've already 00:17:02.309 --> 00:17:04.890 mentioned a couple groups that are actively doing 00:17:04.890 --> 00:17:08.269 this work in northern New England. And I have 00:17:08.269 --> 00:17:11.769 to believe there are efforts going on across 00:17:11.769 --> 00:17:14.470 the country that maybe as our listeners are tapping 00:17:14.470 --> 00:17:17.670 into this particular episode, like if folks have 00:17:17.670 --> 00:17:21.369 suggestions or ideas to reach out to us and share 00:17:21.369 --> 00:17:27.329 information. I know for me. Growing up and I'm 00:17:27.329 --> 00:17:30.190 trying to like think about what ages that would 00:17:30.190 --> 00:17:36.630 have been probably my early 20 ish as I was coming 00:17:36.630 --> 00:17:41.869 in to terms with all of this stuff. One of my 00:17:41.869 --> 00:17:48.849 go to sources of validation and comfort maybe 00:17:48.849 --> 00:17:54.029 was anthologies of whether they were writers 00:17:54.029 --> 00:17:58.710 or just average folks telling their story. And 00:17:58.710 --> 00:18:02.170 one of the books that stands out to me that is, 00:18:02.289 --> 00:18:06.289 I have had it for decades now, was a book called 00:18:06.289 --> 00:18:12.369 Queer 13. And it was writers writing stories 00:18:12.369 --> 00:18:18.009 about them being 13 and just how awkward and 00:18:18.009 --> 00:18:22.519 painful and exciting and exhilarating. Being 00:18:22.519 --> 00:18:26.880 13 is for any human. And then you add this dimension 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:30.240 of sexual orientation or gender identity or a 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:33.680 feeling of a lack of gender and what that adds 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:37.500 to that 13 -year -old experience. And for me, 00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:42.339 it was so powerful to read words of other folks 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:46.240 who maybe knew a little bit of what I was feeling. 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:49.819 Yeah. I feel like we as humans understand the 00:18:49.819 --> 00:18:52.160 world through narratives. We understand the world 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:56.019 through stories and interpersonal dynamics. And 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:59.720 I think what's really powerful about what you 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:02.940 guys are trying to do regarding history is you 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:07.380 are approaching queer history not as a concise 00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:11.220 narrative in which there were like broad, large 00:19:11.220 --> 00:19:15.259 plot points and like looking at it more microscopically 00:19:15.259 --> 00:19:18.779 rather than macroscopically. And I think that's 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:22.380 an extremely, as Chris said, extremely impactful 00:19:22.380 --> 00:19:29.700 tool for like social agitation and convincing 00:19:29.700 --> 00:19:35.440 individuals to stand up for others is utilizing 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:39.000 empathy. And the stories of individuals can utilize 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:43.519 empathy so much more than a bunch of aggregated 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:49.640 statistics. Yeah. Yeah, it's just, it's powerful. 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:53.140 Like, I just keep coming back to that word of 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:56.720 power. There's power in community. There's power 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:00.180 in feeling of belonging. There's power in knowing 00:20:00.180 --> 00:20:05.099 you're not the only one. And I think also it 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:08.740 cannot be underscored enough that in the times 00:20:08.740 --> 00:20:13.869 we're living in, that it is essential. to remember 00:20:13.869 --> 00:20:17.210 that there is a human behind every one of these 00:20:17.210 --> 00:20:21.130 stories. There's a human there. And I know the 00:20:21.130 --> 00:20:23.609 four of us around this table believe in the value 00:20:23.609 --> 00:20:28.849 of every human, their life as every human. And 00:20:28.849 --> 00:20:32.410 maybe three of us around the table of ours. But 00:20:32.410 --> 00:20:36.990 there's value in every human. And we cannot forget 00:20:36.990 --> 00:20:40.910 that with everything happening around us, every 00:20:40.910 --> 00:20:44.400 story matters. every story matters in this tapestry 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:47.940 of humanity that we're all kind of some of us 00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:50.599 are more threaded through it than others but 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:54.500 we're all upon this giant tapestry right and 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:59.319 and giving people voice in a world that's trying 00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:04.140 to silence that voice is giant yeah it's giant 00:21:05.430 --> 00:21:08.390 Regarding the modern circumstances, which we 00:21:08.390 --> 00:21:11.329 found ourselves in, do you guys think that some 00:21:11.329 --> 00:21:13.930 of your motivation to start this project was 00:21:13.930 --> 00:21:17.509 reactionary? That's a great question. For me, 00:21:17.509 --> 00:21:21.269 no. I think it was a little bit of both. I definitely 00:21:21.269 --> 00:21:23.289 think it's been something that I've been interested 00:21:23.289 --> 00:21:27.750 in doing for a long time, but I think my efforts 00:21:27.750 --> 00:21:31.289 have been increased in everything with the community. 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:33.859 As reactionary, yeah. So I don't think it's necessarily 00:21:33.859 --> 00:21:35.380 the preserving of the stories because I think 00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:37.220 that's overall important. But I do think that, 00:21:37.220 --> 00:21:39.119 yeah, trying to be more involved with the community 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:42.220 and just as much support as possible. Yeah, that's 00:21:42.220 --> 00:21:45.339 true. I've heard that Pride has been a lot more 00:21:45.339 --> 00:21:49.240 out there the previous years. But the History 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:51.400 Project itself is my reaction. You've been thinking 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:53.500 about this project for a while, it sounds like. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:55.700 Yeah. Yeah, and you've been working professionally 00:21:55.700 --> 00:21:59.700 with older folks for a while in the queer community. 00:22:00.410 --> 00:22:03.069 Yeah, for me, the word that comes up.