When the weather gets cold, we break out the gumbo. This week on Surly Voices, the hosts held an open roundtable for callers, inviting them to speak on any number of important topics society faces.
Listen to the full episode here:
Freedom or Restriction?
Starting off the discussion was a look into the bills that are continuing to pass through the Florida legislature, such as SB-1834, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics. The bill would prohibit classrooms from discussing topics such as gender identity and sexuality and is one of a slew of ‘anti-woke’ bills being passed through the Senate and House of Representatives.
The Surly Fems noted how twisted the connotations of words have become, especially in the midst of these bills and the organizations supporting them.
“They’ve couched themselves with words like ‘patriot’,” Liz said. “Now I’ve gotta be suspect of any kind of organization that comes along posting things if the word ‘patriot’ is in it. It’s code word now.”
Where is your power?
Donna called for dialogue on organization and tactics to fight back against the legislation and restrictions that are being proposed. Instead of being mad and upset, she said, the conversation ought to be about how we can best organize and effectively challenge it.
“Where is your agency, where is your power, where is your strategy?” Instead of throwing in the towel and allowing negative changes to come to pass, the hosts agree that it is a time to stand up and not let the playground bullies that made it into the legislature get their way without a fight.
Ingredients in the Surly Gumbo
Taking messages, emails and calls from listeners, other topics were thrown into the mix of the Surly Gumbo. They include
- Publicly-funded elections
- Legislation regarding the Florida solar-power industry
- Steps against revenge pornography
- Looking at other countries’ tactics for handling fascist threats
- The biblical and ethical arguments for not eating meat
