Community is a Verb

In Season 2, Episode 9 of Community is a Verb, Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner discuss wealth and power. They break down the recently released details behind the net worth of the 5 Seattle Mayoral Candidates:

Andrew Grant Houston’s net worth: $0

source: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/from-0-to-15-million-what-seattles-mayoral-candidates-say-about-their-own-finances/?mc_cid=cfc87096bb&mc_eid=98adb54834

Other sources include:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9456145/Shell-pick-white-people-complain-BLM-founder-buys-1-4M-LA-home.html

Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled are both officially fully vaccinated. The two talk about their thoughts about receiving both doses over the past month and compare their different experiences in the process. 

This episode is called War on Voting Rights after the State of Georgia, and their Republican dominated legislature passed laws this past week to limit access to voting. Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner also react to some of the other major headlines this week including the start of the Derek Chauvin trial. 

Quotes from the show include:

Derek Chauvin trial from MSNBC - https://youtu.be/-S7RJxFau84

Voting Access from PBS News - https://youtu.be/-YytmK3As5s

Growing Calls of Boycott - https://youtu.be/yuGOej_OYgU

Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled meet this week to discuss the tragic, racist fueled shooting in Atlanta, Georgia and the response on social media. 

We honor those victims by saying their names:

Links from this episode include:

Atlanta Shootings: Asian Americans Speak Out About Hate Crimes - https://youtu.be/4VcH4XeG-i4

The Dark History of the Washington State Fairgrounds During WWII - http://www.southsoundtalk.com/2018/12/21/the-dark-history-of-the-washington-state-fairgrounds-during-wwii/ 

Daniel Dae Kim Speaks to Congress About Anti-Asian Hate - https://youtu.be/fRhkZ5EZnJo

Donate - https://stopaapihate.org/

The Making of Asian America: A History - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1476739412/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_RXGKAWGNPQSGT7A7GR8H

Mr. Well-Travelled and Conner are excited about Non Fungible Tokens aka NFTs. They have just discovered them recently and are still in the research phase of discovery, however, they already see the future of the technology and the benefits to communities. In this episode, they talk about what they've learned about the new technology and some of the future applications of NFT, Blockchain and how these intersect with the world of art, content and creation.

Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled discuss what it was like in Texas this week to experience the power grid failure.

Community is a Verb

WHY LOCAL ELECTIONS MATTER

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/seattle-and-sequim-show-why-local-elections-matter/

"Only 42.7% of King County voters turned out for the 2017 general election, which had dozens of local races on the ballot, including the county executive, sheriff, Seattle mayor and council seats. In contrast, the county’s voters showed up in droves — 85.9% turnout — for the high-profile presidential, congressional and legislative races in November."

https://crosscut.com/opinion/2021/01/lessons-2021-seattles-first-black-mayor

“People tend to make fun of Seattle process, which can be as slow as a banana slug on pavement. But Rice supports extensive civic engagement — he says he thinks every public college or university should have a Department of Civic Engagement devoted to keeping the public informed and involved, studying the ways “movements such as March for Our Lives or Black Lives Matter can move from marching to governing.” Activists, he says, are good at identifying problems; government’s task is to find answers.”

https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/dates-and-deadlines.aspx

http://www.seattle.gov/democracyvoucher/program-data

https://web6.seattle.gov/ethics/elections/campaigns.aspx?cycle=2021&type=contest&IDNum=188&leftmenu=collapsed

Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled start the show talking about Seattle's Democracy Voucher Program and having previous podcast guest, "Ace" Andrew Grant Houston, be Seattle's first name in the race for Mayor. 

The guys also answer an email question from a listener regarding the Seattle Freeze and dealing with relationships during the pandemic. Here's the questions:

"Dear Mr. Well-Travelled, and Conner,

Last week you shared your story about meeting each other in person after connecting on Instagram. Honestly, it made me a little sad, and a little jealous. I graduated from college in 2019 and moved from Florida to Seattle in November 2019 for my new job. With it being the holidays, I realized I might not have moved here at the best time, however, when Thanksgiving came around, one of my coworkers invited me over to celebrate with him and his family which took some of the worry away about being alone for the holidays. I spent Christmas by myself, but was lucky enough to again spend NYE with my coworkers. I had met some new people and thought I was starting to make friends, I even went on a date with a girl I met online.  I know this sounds good, but 3 months later, the pandemic had started, and my job moved to remote full time. Since then, I really haven't had many friends in Seattle. I haven't heard from my coworkers (outside of work) and the friends I thought I had been making haven't reached out. I heard about the Seattle Freeze when I moved here, but hearing you two share your story, made me wonder, what do you think of the Seattle Freeze and how have you made friends in Seattle?"

Welcome to season 2! We are going to try a different style this season by incorporating more from you! This week's episode includes a question that was sent to us from another listener, and some questions from Conner's Ask Me Anything on Instagram. 

Subject: My Friend Hates My Podcast!

Dear Conner and Mr. Well-Travelled,

I launched my first podcast in November 2020 after seeing so much misinformation being shared on social media throughout the election.

I have a master’s degree in political science from an Ivy League school, and the podcast gives me an opportunity to share my knowledge about how election systems work with others.

After recording two episodes, I sent a link to the show to a friend from Twitter, who I’ve known for a couple of years. We’ve met in person several times. And recently I attended a socially distanced housewarming at her beautiful new home.

While there, I asked her what she thought of the podcast. She said that it was wonderful and that she really enjoyed the guests. I haven’t had any guests on my podcast. I jokingly responded that I guess she hadn’t actually clicked the link and listened.

I guess she didn’t like that, because she loudly replied that she has been a good friend and supporter for many years. And that my podcast just wasn’t something she was interested in. I was surprised and kind of embarrassed. I left the housewarming after that exchange. We haven’t spoken since. And I have mixed feelings about moving forward as friends.

My question is: Are we really friends?

Welcome to Episode 09 of Community is a Verb, a show that talks about tools for social action - we talk about social media, systems, processes, and strategies - and what we’re doing to create the world we want to see. This week,  cohosts Conner Cayson, and Mr. Well-Travelled review the 2020 year from the Pandemic, Racial Justice Demonstrations, and Elections, and give a look toward 2021.

Seattle 2020 in Review

Pandemic

Racial Justice Demonstrations

Presidential Election

Announcements

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Seattle 2021 Themes:

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Referenced Links:

"How Defunding the Police is Working Out in Seattle" - https://youtu.be/NIboJ6uUBm8

"First Take: Handicapping Contenders for Seattle's Next Mayor" - https://www.postalley.org/2020/12/21/first-take-handicapping-contenders-for-seattles-next-mayor/