WEBVTT 00:00:02.410 --> 00:00:04.509 Hey, everybody. Rich here at Leaving MAGA at 00:00:04.509 --> 00:00:06.990 leavingmaga .org. As always, want to thank you 00:00:06.990 --> 00:00:10.990 for watching and supporting all of our conversations 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:13.869 that we have with our leaders who also left MAGA. 00:00:14.330 --> 00:00:17.109 We got a brand new testimonial video for you 00:00:17.109 --> 00:00:20.129 today. We are joined by Miss Addie Lugers in 00:00:20.129 --> 00:00:23.969 the state of Hawaii. Addie, welcome. It's good 00:00:23.969 --> 00:00:27.420 to see you. Hi, it's good to see you. So let's 00:00:27.420 --> 00:00:29.780 get right into this here, because I already know 00:00:29.780 --> 00:00:32.799 what most of our viewers are going to say when 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:35.159 they meet you and they're going to say, wow, 00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:40.880 she is so young. So tell us about how you were 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:44.740 really MAGA before you could even vote and what 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:48.619 that was like. I grew up in a very far right 00:00:48.619 --> 00:00:52.640 conservative household and I was homeschooled 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:56.969 and my dad worked from home. So everyone was 00:00:56.969 --> 00:01:00.890 just all together all the time in my house, which 00:01:00.890 --> 00:01:03.549 was fine. I loved my family. My mom was very 00:01:03.549 --> 00:01:07.290 caring. My dad was an alcoholic until I was about 00:01:07.290 --> 00:01:12.170 13 or 14. And one of the only things we were 00:01:12.170 --> 00:01:15.950 allowed to watch on TV, we had some cartoons 00:01:15.950 --> 00:01:17.569 and things we could watch, but the predominant 00:01:17.569 --> 00:01:21.709 thing that we watched was Fox News. That, I feel 00:01:21.709 --> 00:01:24.930 like, is what set me up to have kind of more 00:01:24.930 --> 00:01:30.750 of an extremist viewpoint on politics because 00:01:30.750 --> 00:01:34.810 I was only getting my information from one source. 00:01:35.109 --> 00:01:38.549 And then growing up homeschooled, my dad really 00:01:38.549 --> 00:01:41.890 monitored what I did on the computer. And so 00:01:41.890 --> 00:01:46.329 I really wasn't able to fact check too well. 00:01:46.430 --> 00:01:48.090 I didn't really know what fact checking was. 00:01:48.530 --> 00:01:51.730 The narrative was always like, oh, you can trust 00:01:51.730 --> 00:01:55.689 the news. That's what they're for. I slowly just 00:01:55.689 --> 00:01:58.530 fell down this rabbit hole of getting more and 00:01:58.530 --> 00:02:02.030 more extreme and justifying it by like, well, 00:02:02.090 --> 00:02:03.969 this is how my parents raised me or this is what 00:02:03.969 --> 00:02:07.069 it says in the Bible or this is what my friends 00:02:07.069 --> 00:02:13.289 believed. And it became very closed minded very 00:02:13.289 --> 00:02:16.449 quickly. I became really like politically active 00:02:16.449 --> 00:02:21.189 when I was like 16. I didn't have the availability 00:02:21.189 --> 00:02:24.750 of resources. Or, like, the availability of the 00:02:24.750 --> 00:02:28.150 adults in my life to guide me through, like, 00:02:28.189 --> 00:02:32.030 politics. It wasn't something we, like, talked 00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:34.110 about and, like, discussed. Like, okay, you saw 00:02:34.110 --> 00:02:36.909 this. Now let's talk about it. It was just, like, 00:02:37.009 --> 00:02:42.090 on a constant loop of this is the news and this 00:02:42.090 --> 00:02:43.669 is what's going on in the world. And we didn't 00:02:43.669 --> 00:02:46.490 talk about it. So it was a very, like, echo chamber. 00:02:47.449 --> 00:02:50.349 I'm going to leave it the way that it is. We're 00:02:50.349 --> 00:02:51.889 not going to, like, critically think through 00:02:51.889 --> 00:02:55.080 what's going on. Do you feel like all of those 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:59.659 facts made you a little more susceptible to MAGA? 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:03.719 I feel like that part of your upbringing made 00:03:03.719 --> 00:03:07.400 you somewhat ready -made for the MAGA movement. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:10.379 Living in an echo chamber, being a child, not 00:03:10.379 --> 00:03:13.319 having access to resources, having undiagnosed 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:17.000 mental illnesses, it was just kind of a perfect 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:19.639 storm that set me up to just fall right into 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:24.020 it. Especially... In certain, like, religious 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:26.800 backgrounds, also, you become very dedicated 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:29.620 to, like, the church leader and, like, you learn 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:31.520 to, like, respect the church leader and listen 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:33.599 to what they say. And, like, it kind of became 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:37.120 a parallel of, like, the Bible and church and 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:40.340 then, like, MAGA and Trump. What was it? If you 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:43.520 take yourself back when you first started to 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:46.620 become enamored with MAGA and with Turning Point, 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:50.159 do you remember what kind of feelings did you 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.939 have about it? Did they provide you with a feeling 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:55.139 of community? Because I say all the time that 00:03:55.139 --> 00:03:58.039 I feel like MAGA and what the right wing does 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:01.800 very well is it creates community. Yeah. So I 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:05.199 think part of it was because I had very limited 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:09.620 friends and I found community. I felt like I 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:11.759 was a part of something bigger. I've always like 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:13.819 ever since I was little, I wanted to make a difference. 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:15.620 I wanted to be a part of something bigger than 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:20.220 me. Yeah. And so for you, when was the first 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:22.879 time that you voted? Take us through what that 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:26.000 was like for you. I voted for the first time 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:30.100 in November of 2020. So it was Trump versus Biden. 00:04:31.379 --> 00:04:36.360 And well, we all know how it went. We were all 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:43.490 there. And it just, the night before election 00:04:43.490 --> 00:04:46.769 day, I'm going to see if I can pull up this picture 00:04:46.769 --> 00:04:50.769 for you. I'm wearing a Make America Great Again 00:04:50.769 --> 00:04:54.870 sweatshirt. And then I put a bunch of, like, 00:04:54.870 --> 00:04:57.449 Trump emoji stickers all over it. And it says, 00:04:57.529 --> 00:05:00.990 like, four more years, vote, team Trump. There's 00:05:00.990 --> 00:05:03.110 one of Trump riding, like, a missile that says 00:05:03.110 --> 00:05:06.589 America on it. And I posted that on my social 00:05:06.589 --> 00:05:11.629 media the night before the election. And that's 00:05:11.629 --> 00:05:13.970 what I show my friends when I'm like, I used 00:05:13.970 --> 00:05:16.089 to be MAGA. They're like, no, you weren't. It 00:05:16.089 --> 00:05:18.750 was my first election. I had turned 18, not even 00:05:18.750 --> 00:05:22.430 six months prior. And I was just like, this is 00:05:22.430 --> 00:05:24.189 it. This is what being an American is all about. 00:05:24.290 --> 00:05:27.990 I get to exercise my right to vote. I can tell, 00:05:28.230 --> 00:05:30.889 even the way you're describing it now, how... 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:33.939 exciting it was for you to vote for the first 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:39.500 time. And did you have feelings at the time of, 00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:45.259 I need to vote to save America and save democracy? 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:49.759 Take us through what the mindset was like about 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:53.019 being just so excited for casting this vote for 00:05:53.019 --> 00:06:00.220 Trump and MAGA. When it comes to like... the 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:02.579 MAGA concept of, like, I'm voting to save democracy. 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:07.060 I'm voting to save America. I think part of that 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:11.920 was there in the sense of, like, I was wanting 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:16.899 to participate in the democracy of voting. I 00:06:16.899 --> 00:06:22.660 think at the time, I was very, like, well, I 00:06:22.660 --> 00:06:25.779 had lived through Trump's first presidency. I 00:06:25.779 --> 00:06:29.550 was a teenager. I was still in high school. And 00:06:29.550 --> 00:06:31.290 I remember sitting with my friend. I was like 00:06:31.290 --> 00:06:34.829 this the day after the election, the weekend 00:06:34.829 --> 00:06:39.149 after the election. I'm not sure in 2016. And 00:06:39.149 --> 00:06:41.110 I told my friend those with me. I was like, this 00:06:41.110 --> 00:06:43.709 is going to change my life. Like having Trump 00:06:43.709 --> 00:06:45.149 as the president is going to change all of our 00:06:45.149 --> 00:06:46.670 lives. And she was like, you're being dramatic. 00:06:47.370 --> 00:06:54.089 I was like, no, I'm not. But I do think that 00:06:54.089 --> 00:06:58.189 it kind of was like a vote for the greater good. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.879 in my opinion, like because all the things that 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:03.800 he promised and said he was going to run on, 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:06.759 like lowering prices and putting money back in 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:08.779 families' pockets. And like I grew up in like 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:11.899 a middle class family. My dad had his own business. 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:15.120 So the recession hit in 2008. It hit us pretty 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:19.060 hard. But it was just like everything that he 00:07:19.060 --> 00:07:21.980 ran on, I was just like in awe of. I was like, 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:24.879 these are all amazing things. Like, why wouldn't 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:29.600 we want? to secure American borders and lower 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:34.199 the price of gas and eggs. And it just seemed 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:38.160 perfect in my head almost. I was like, this is 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:41.000 going to be the presidency that changes America. 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:47.319 I wasn't wrong. Just what kind of change it ushered 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:51.220 in, right? Yeah. Yeah. Well, it was the same. 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:54.639 It was similar for me. I wanted a disruptor. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:58.379 Someone to disrupt the status quo. And we got 00:07:58.379 --> 00:08:00.879 a disruptor. Just unfortunately, it's a disruption 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:05.180 that is anathema and antithetical to our democracy 00:08:05.180 --> 00:08:08.540 and our democratic, lowercase d, institutions. 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:13.240 But you were not able to vote, but yet you were 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:18.139 so excited. And I relate so much to that, how 00:08:18.139 --> 00:08:22.790 enthralling. MAGA was for me and how exciting 00:08:22.790 --> 00:08:25.189 it was and it was new and it was novel and it 00:08:25.189 --> 00:08:28.430 was a community and then finally you had a chance 00:08:28.430 --> 00:08:32.470 to exercise that vote in 20 and and it was you 00:08:32.470 --> 00:08:35.070 know all of the embodiment of that excitement 00:08:35.070 --> 00:08:38.049 you finally could take action on yeah exactly 00:08:38.049 --> 00:08:42.549 and I was excited and it was like this like voting 00:08:42.549 --> 00:08:46.830 is a part of the great like American setup. Like 00:08:46.830 --> 00:08:48.990 that was our thing. We get to vote. We put the 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:51.250 people in power that the people want in power. 00:08:51.809 --> 00:08:55.889 And like, it just, it was also fascinating and 00:08:55.889 --> 00:08:59.129 so cool to me. Like I was so politically active 00:08:59.129 --> 00:09:02.870 online. It was, I was playing a lot of nonsense, 00:09:02.990 --> 00:09:07.350 but I was, I was proud of my nonsense. Well, 00:09:07.429 --> 00:09:11.950 online is another community. Yes. It was, that's 00:09:11.950 --> 00:09:13.730 another thing growing up in like the tech era. 00:09:14.190 --> 00:09:17.950 is like you can spread information misinformation 00:09:17.950 --> 00:09:21.789 you can meet people you can it's all so fast 00:09:21.789 --> 00:09:24.370 yeah i if you don't check the misinformation 00:09:24.370 --> 00:09:27.950 especially like now we kind of people will put 00:09:27.950 --> 00:09:30.669 warnings under posts if it's misinformation now 00:09:30.669 --> 00:09:33.950 but even a couple years ago that wasn't really 00:09:33.950 --> 00:09:37.750 a thing well i i say in a lot of my interviews 00:09:37.750 --> 00:09:40.529 addy that we are in the united states of algorithms 00:09:41.710 --> 00:09:44.889 And, you know, and mis - and disinformation, 00:09:44.889 --> 00:09:49.710 I think, has reached a level of a crisis proportion 00:09:49.710 --> 00:09:54.909 in the U .S. And for me, you know, and I want 00:09:54.909 --> 00:09:57.669 to ask you about this because what led me on 00:09:57.669 --> 00:10:02.149 my own pathway of leaving MAGA was I started 00:10:02.149 --> 00:10:04.629 to diversify my news and information sources. 00:10:05.610 --> 00:10:09.360 Did you... happened to do that also what was 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.639 that like for you when you started to go through 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:14.960 your own deconstruction and what were some of 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:18.299 the reasons that made you start to that gave 00:10:18.299 --> 00:10:21.620 you pause in your support for maga having access 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:29.120 to the internet it's at least now as an adult 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:32.200 i know that like if you choose to not be educated 00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:34.580 on what's going on right now like that's a choice 00:10:34.580 --> 00:10:37.639 you're making you can't avoid it Unless it's 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:44.740 intentional. But I think back then. I think I 00:10:44.740 --> 00:10:47.659 had a handful of friends that would post stuff 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:50.679 on like their Instagram story. And it's like 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:52.820 their post. I'm posting stuff. They're posting 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:55.419 stuff. I'm like reading what they're posting. 00:10:56.039 --> 00:11:00.299 And I'm seeing like it's not quite lining up 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:03.740 with what I've seen. And like I started to kind 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:08.120 of fall into the like. I realized that each news 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:14.059 outlet is very different and that whatever political 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:19.740 affiliation that news outlet has can really affect 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:22.639 the quality of news that you're getting. But 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:27.159 I did start to diversify my media intake because 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:31.480 that was the thing for me. I was like, I was 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:34.100 okay with not being right, I guess. I just wanted 00:11:34.100 --> 00:11:39.009 to be. as informed as I could be. But what were 00:11:39.009 --> 00:11:42.230 some of the reasons for you that eventually led 00:11:42.230 --> 00:11:46.350 you to stop and think about your support? There 00:11:46.350 --> 00:11:50.309 were small things that I definitely had started 00:11:50.309 --> 00:11:53.629 to kind of start questioning and catch up on. 00:11:54.090 --> 00:11:58.149 But it all came to a head when George Floyd was 00:11:58.149 --> 00:12:02.120 murdered. There was all the Black Lives Matter 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:07.419 protests. And I, like, spout nonsense on the 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:10.320 internet. And I was like, he wasn't murdered. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:14.460 He was a drug addict. Like, all the things that 00:12:14.460 --> 00:12:18.700 they were saying. Like, the police officer did 00:12:18.700 --> 00:12:20.700 what he had to do. Like, if you don't want to 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:22.700 die, then, like... Basically, it was like, if 00:12:22.700 --> 00:12:24.659 you don't want to die, then do what the law says 00:12:24.659 --> 00:12:28.159 kind of thing. Which, like, is really not cool 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:32.519 now. to like think that and that was the one 00:12:32.519 --> 00:12:35.240 that my friends like started calling me out on 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:39.620 and they're like you you have this all wrong 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:42.159 like you do not understand what's going on you 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:45.980 are being so loud with your political ideologies 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:48.220 like you're shouting into the void and no one 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:50.460 is going to answer you basically was what my 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:53.759 friends were telling me and I was like you're 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:56.080 wrong like I don't understand like all lives 00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:59.659 matter like black lives matter so like exclusive 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:05.600 like I think for me it was like I felt personally 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:08.980 attacked by the Black Lives Matter movement because 00:13:08.980 --> 00:13:12.639 I'm a white woman I was like well it does not 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:14.399 make all lives matter why are you saying that 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:17.720 just one matters like what about me and it's 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:22.100 not about me and that was where I finally started 00:13:22.100 --> 00:13:26.720 to cave when I realized like I have been an adult 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:30.399 for like a year, like 18, 19 for a little while. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:34.000 And I just finally started to realize I was like, 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:39.539 this isn't about me. Like, I'm a part of this 00:13:39.539 --> 00:13:43.679 and I'm a part of America and I'm a part of the 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:46.480 concepts and hopes and dreams that Americans 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:52.039 and American people have. But I am a page in 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:56.179 this book. I am not the whole book. And that 00:13:56.179 --> 00:14:01.860 was what really started to shake my beliefs in 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:07.799 MAGA was that it was very focused on me, me, 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:10.120 me, I, I, I. What does that have to do with me? 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.919 And why should I care if it doesn't affect me? 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:16.480 Why should I care about immigrants? Why should 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.159 I care about Black people? Why should I care 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:21.440 about Hispanic people and people under the poverty 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:25.889 line? Why should I care? I'm doing just fine. 00:14:26.110 --> 00:14:29.250 I'm a white woman that was born, like, basically 00:14:29.250 --> 00:14:31.769 with a spoon in my mouth of, like, my parents 00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:36.870 were middle to upper middle class, and I had 00:14:36.870 --> 00:14:38.330 nothing to worry about. I grew up in a predominantly 00:14:38.330 --> 00:14:41.230 white neighborhood. I was Christian. I was homeschooled. 00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:43.830 All my friends were white. I know at one point 00:14:43.830 --> 00:14:45.330 in time, I even pulled the, like, well, I have 00:14:45.330 --> 00:14:51.250 a black friend, so I can't be racist. Okay. But 00:14:51.250 --> 00:14:54.730 I finally just, the big thing that made me leave 00:14:54.730 --> 00:14:57.169 was I realized that MAGA had killed my empathy 00:14:57.169 --> 00:15:02.110 for others. And it was all just like, whatever 00:15:02.110 --> 00:15:03.929 the president wants, whatever the president, 00:15:04.250 --> 00:15:06.029 like he's doing what's best for this country. 00:15:06.049 --> 00:15:11.070 He knows what's best. And I realized I just didn't 00:15:11.070 --> 00:15:13.850 care about my neighbors anymore. Like it became 00:15:13.850 --> 00:15:19.389 just this grandized thing of. Like, we have to 00:15:19.389 --> 00:15:21.509 protect America and, like, illegal immigrants 00:15:21.509 --> 00:15:24.289 are sneaking drugs and children across the border. 00:15:24.570 --> 00:15:29.110 And it just, I realized that's not who I wanted 00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:32.409 to be. Like, I want to care more about my neighbor 00:15:32.409 --> 00:15:37.509 and helping the people in my community and doing, 00:15:37.529 --> 00:15:41.230 like, my religious deconstruction was something 00:15:41.230 --> 00:15:43.750 else. But I deconstructed religiously around 00:15:43.750 --> 00:15:49.559 the same time. like to truly live by like the 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:51.740 teachings of Jesus is very like, love your neighbor, 00:15:51.779 --> 00:15:56.679 welcome the immigrant type of thinking. And like 00:15:56.679 --> 00:16:00.019 my worldview shattered. I was like, this isn't, 00:16:00.019 --> 00:16:04.480 this isn't who I want to be. And I realized like 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.940 my friends have been telling me since the George 00:16:06.940 --> 00:16:09.840 Floyd thing into like 2021, when I finally realized 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:13.179 they were like, you have no empathy. You have 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:15.759 no empathy. You have no compassion. You only 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:18.240 care about you and why people like you. And I 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:20.220 was like, that's not true. Like, I'm such an 00:16:20.220 --> 00:16:22.659 empathetic person. I'm so kind, blah, blah, blah. 00:16:23.419 --> 00:16:25.779 I was missing the point on pretty much everything. 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:31.240 There's the, there's like a sticker out there. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:34.100 It was a post someone made, but it's like, more 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:36.799 rights for others is not less rights for you. 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:41.100 Like, it's not pie. And that was what really 00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:43.399 clicked in my head for me. I was like, why I 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:46.580 left. I was like. I am being hateful and I am 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:49.159 pushing a political agenda that at the end of 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:52.379 the day doesn't even care about me. But I realized 00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:54.039 that like I don't want to be that person that 00:16:54.039 --> 00:16:56.580 pushes my friends away. I don't want to be that 00:16:56.580 --> 00:17:00.559 person that pushes minorities and people who 00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:03.019 are struggling away. Like now as an adult, like 00:17:03.019 --> 00:17:06.839 I work in a mental health field and I just want 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:09.339 to be a safe space for other people. And I realized 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:12.220 I couldn't do that and be MAGA at the same time. 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:14.640 Like I had to pick one. I think it's remarkable 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:16.660 that you went through all that at such a young 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:21.420 age. And I say frequently that leaving MAGA was 00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:24.180 good for my soul, my psyche, and my mental health. 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.839 And that when you leave MAGA, anyone who leaves 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:35.059 reclaims their individuality, their agency, and 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:38.720 their empathy. And I think that's the case with 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:43.950 you. You said how MAGA killed your empathy. And 00:17:43.950 --> 00:17:46.289 then when you are going through the process of 00:17:46.289 --> 00:17:50.609 leaving, where there is that cognitive dissonance 00:17:50.609 --> 00:17:53.269 between your sincerely held beliefs and what 00:17:53.269 --> 00:17:56.750 your own eyes are showing you, but you came to 00:17:56.750 --> 00:18:00.769 the point where you said that you couldn't support 00:18:00.769 --> 00:18:03.890 this anymore. So I think it's pretty remarkable 00:18:03.890 --> 00:18:07.410 that you did it at such a young age. And the 00:18:07.410 --> 00:18:11.630 way you and I met is through threads. Yes. And 00:18:11.630 --> 00:18:14.029 I know you're very active on Thread. So what 00:18:14.029 --> 00:18:18.849 I want to ask you in closing is, given all of 00:18:18.849 --> 00:18:21.990 your activity, why do you feel it's important 00:18:21.990 --> 00:18:27.049 to keep speaking out? Things become less scary 00:18:27.049 --> 00:18:31.390 when we speak them into existence. It goes for 00:18:31.390 --> 00:18:36.089 mental health. It goes for traumas and struggles. 00:18:36.650 --> 00:18:39.210 When you speak it into existence, it has a name 00:18:39.210 --> 00:18:45.450 and it's... something you can face so by talking 00:18:45.450 --> 00:18:49.170 about my experience with maga and my upbringing 00:18:49.170 --> 00:18:52.730 not everyone's gonna believe me um there are 00:18:52.730 --> 00:18:56.390 people out there that say oh you've always been 00:18:56.390 --> 00:18:59.930 a liberal you look like a liberal like whatever 00:18:59.930 --> 00:19:03.529 it may be they they're it becomes a strawman 00:19:03.529 --> 00:19:05.549 argument and they just attack what they want 00:19:05.549 --> 00:19:07.589 to attack without realizing that people can change 00:19:08.779 --> 00:19:11.579 And for me, putting myself out on the Internet 00:19:11.579 --> 00:19:15.680 is terribly, terribly, terribly scary. I do not 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:19.859 like being on the Internet. But I can really. 00:19:21.180 --> 00:19:25.819 I feel like. It's almost a responsibility that 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:29.660 I carry now of like I. I was loud and put all 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:34.000 of this hatred out into the world. And now, like, 00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:37.779 I want to show the people like you can. walk 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:40.900 away from it you don't have to if it scares you 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:46.539 if you feel small if you start even if you started 00:19:46.539 --> 00:19:48.980 out like oh this is a great idea you very quickly 00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:53.200 realize like crap this isn't what it was marketed 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:57.000 to be like I don't want any part of this what 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.900 do I do and that was my thing like I went through 00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:05.299 my deconstruction and leaving MAGA by myself 00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:12.509 So I was 19, not even 20, and I had to navigate 00:20:12.509 --> 00:20:17.190 what to do, how to do it, how to diversify my 00:20:17.190 --> 00:20:22.569 newsfeed, how to apologize, how to admit that 00:20:22.569 --> 00:20:26.990 I was wrong. And I did it alone. And I don't 00:20:26.990 --> 00:20:30.170 want anyone to feel like they have to do it alone 00:20:30.170 --> 00:20:36.339 because we can find true community. when we stand 00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:39.039 up for each other and when we hold a hand out 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.319 and say like it's okay to be scared and I'm here 00:20:41.319 --> 00:20:43.420 with you and we're gonna get through this together 00:20:43.420 --> 00:20:45.839 I just don't want anyone to have to go through 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:49.480 what I went through even if like I wasn't in 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:52.440 it for years and I wasn't like donating money 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:54.160 to the movement like whatever people want to 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:56.759 say about their MAGA stories like leaving MAGA 00:20:56.759 --> 00:21:03.480 is it's valid and The people that leave are valid. 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:05.559 You're allowed to change your mind. It's normal 00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:08.339 to change your mind when you're presented with 00:21:08.339 --> 00:21:12.500 new information. And that's become such a crazy 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:14.380 rhetoric in today's day and age of like, you 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:16.140 can't change your mind. Like once you've made 00:21:16.140 --> 00:21:18.559 your bed, you have to sleep in it. And like, 00:21:18.579 --> 00:21:22.500 that's not true. Like everyone can change. Everyone 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:25.799 has the capacity to change. It's just sometimes 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:28.759 people need a little extra help to realize like, 00:21:28.819 --> 00:21:32.480 I can do this. it's like even if I'm just one 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:37.420 voice in the gigantic sea of internet like even 00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:39.960 if one person sees my account and sees what I 00:21:39.960 --> 00:21:42.359 say and say if she can do it I can do it you 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:45.160 can walk away from it it doesn't it'll be hard 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.079 and it'll challenge who you are and it'll challenge 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:50.480 your beliefs and your morals and your values 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:55.420 but after you get through it you really can find 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:59.440 a new sense of identity and a sense of belonging 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:03.519 And like your local community and like smaller 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:06.420 Internet communities and you can align yourself 00:22:06.420 --> 00:22:13.039 in ways that nourish your soul and align with 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:16.079 who you are as a person. I think your transformation 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:19.819 was remarkable. And, you know, I just I want 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:25.960 to express my gratitude to you for joining our 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:32.220 community at Leaving MAGA. Your intrepidity and 00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:34.900 your bravery have not gone unnoticed. And I would 00:22:34.900 --> 00:22:42.059 like to welcome you to our community as a newer 00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:46.980 and valuable member. Tell us where people can 00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:51.140 find you on Threads, your username. So on Threads 00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:55.640 and Instagram, my Threads is linked to my personal 00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:59.509 Instagram. So it's going to be under. um a lugers 00:22:59.509 --> 00:23:05.609 so a l e u g e r s zero two that's my personal 00:23:05.609 --> 00:23:11.250 instagram and then i have a political instagram 00:23:11.250 --> 00:23:14.589 and a political tiktok they don't have anything 00:23:14.589 --> 00:23:17.109 up yet because i'm working on it but that's under 00:23:17.109 --> 00:23:21.980 maga underscore survivor And I'll be posting 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:25.039 more there about my experiences, my deconstruction, 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:30.539 challenging different political viewpoints, and 00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:33.940 just being a resource for other people in the 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:36.920 community. I want to thank you for being with 00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:39.920 me today. It was great to talk to you and to 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:43.099 hear more of your story. We were with Addie Lugers 00:23:43.099 --> 00:23:46.740 from the great state of Hawaii. Addie, thank 00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:49.059 you for being here today. Of course. Thank you 00:23:49.059 --> 00:24:15.099 so much for having me. And any questions that 00:24:15.099 --> 00:24:17.220 you have, you can feel free to bring them to 00:24:17.220 --> 00:24:20.160 our weekly live stream, which is at Wednesday, 00:24:20.279 --> 00:24:23.019 one o 'clock Eastern across all of our socials. 00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:25.380 As always, we appreciate you watching. Thanks 00:24:25.380 --> 00:24:25.960 for your support.