Florida House of Representatives member Anna V. Eskamani joins Vin and Ola to talk about taking on The Empire, how to build victories with the odds stacked against you, and why she continues to champion LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights in hostile Florida.
Learn how you can support Anna and get involved in her campaign:
https://annaforflorida.com/
Ola: [00:00:00] This is minds blown.
Anna: So I think to, to my, my experience, and it is, it is Not for the faint of heart. Walking to the Florida legislature, I feel like I'm walking to the Death Star every day.
I'm a big Star Wars fan. And so I, I literally am in this environment where , this institution was not built for me. This institution, , was designed for wealthy white landowners. And I am neither of those things. And so , you have to understand the system and how it's built in order to influence it.
Ola: Hello and welcome to another electrifying episode of Minds Blown, the podcast where curiosity meets conversation. We're your hosts Olamide Samuel and
Vincent Intondi.
And today we're here to [00:01:00] spark your imagination, challenge your perspectives and leave you with your minds blown.
We're absolutely thrilled to have a powerhouse guest joining us. She's a trailblazer, an advocate, a voice for change. Welcome representative Anna Eskamani. Anna is known for her fearless approach to politics and her unwavering commitment to her constituents. Anna is here to share her insights on the pressing issues of our time.
From social justice to the power of young people in politics and everything in between. So buckle up and get ready for a conversation that is sure to inspire, inform, and ignite your passion for making a difference.
Vin: Ana flipped the legislative seat in 2018. It's actually the 42nd district, which is parts of Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Eatonville, Edgewood, and Belle Isle.
And she won a re election by an overwhelming majority in 2020 and 2022. She made history [00:02:00] as the first Iranian American elected to any public office in Florida, and she is a champion of economic justice, environmental protection, LGBTQ plus rights, public school funding. She fights for human trafficking victims and a big supporter of arts and cultural funding.
She actually succeeded in passing in what became a permanent tax break on children's diapers and adult incontinence products. This tax break will save Florida families over 100 million a year. She secured more than 7 million in local budget projects for her district, including funding to strengthen services for the homeless, human trafficking survivors, adult literacy, and disability services.
She secured close to 60 million for arts and cultural programs in Florida. And in 2023, Ana served as the chairwoman of the Orange County legislative delegation as a chairwoman for Florida's energy and climate caucus. And the state of Florida to be doing the work she's doing is absolutely incredible.[00:03:00]
So. We got the okay beforehand that she prefers to go by Anna. So representative Anna Ascomani, welcome to the show. wElcome Ana.
Thank you so much for
Anna: having me. It's so nice to have
Vin: you. Thank you so much. So just to get started, one of the reasons we wanted to have you on is being in the nuclear policy world, nuclear disarmament world. We know so many people and we've done so many studies on people that have gotten cancer from radiation exposure and through being at nuclear power plants and living close by and being tested on with nuclear weapons over the years.
And with your kind of origin story, with your, your mom, especially and losing your mom to cancer, this is something that is near and dear to our hearts. And so I was just hoping, we were just hoping you could tell the audience about the impact of your family. And growing up and how this impacted your decision to take the path that you've [00:04:00] taken.
Anna: Oh, yeah, absolutely. And it's, it's worth noting too, that, you know, my mom battled colon cancer and we've never had colon cancer in our, in our close family. So, and I think we're seeing more and more young people today be diagnosed with colon cancer, which of course brings up a lot of questions about the impact of diet, the impact of the air we breathe, and of course the impact of diabetes.
everything else that surrounds us in the United States. And so really do appreciate this question and any opportunity to honor the legacy of my mom is, it's not something I take for granted. And so it was mentioned, you know, my, my background grew up in Orlando. So I am the daughter of immigrants. My parents grew up in Iran, but met each other working at the same donut shop in Orlando.
So a true American love story. And. When they decided to make Orlando their home, a big part of that was they wanted to make sure that their kids had a safe place to grow up and access to great schools. And [00:05:00] I was really lucky to go to Orange County Public Schools, always be supportive of my teachers. And of course, I would eventually go to the University of Central Florida for my undergrad, graduate, and now getting my PhD as well.
And the loss of my mom is a major reason why I do what I do. She was one of the most selfless people you could ever meet. Never prioritized herself. Always prioritized family and, and friends over herself. In fact, I remember she was Very talented seamstress and she taught me how to sew and she actually made The bridesmaids dresses and flower gold dresses for many of her co workers that came are many of their weddings and it wasn't you know something she Did as a source of income.
It was just something that she did the goodness of her heart and so that that value of giving out that expectation is one that I absolutely haven't have embraced into adulthood, but I [00:06:00] also just think about the the experience that my sister my brother myself and my dad had in being her caregiver And and and that was a very difficult experience I mean to hold your mom's hair while she throws up and to see your mom get sicker and sicker she eventually developed jaundice to the end of her life, and of course had to have a bile sack replaced and clean and things like that.
And it was just very challenging and traumatizing to also see your mom just continue to get weaker and weaker and weaker. And again, you just don't want any family to ever go through that. You don't want every, any child ever go through that. And so from that experience, I only have, have I just learned to manage grief and have grown resilience in the face of that, which makes me.
A very empathetic colleague to others who go through that and someone who can really relate to those challenges, but it also inspired me to say, I don't want any other kid to go through [00:07:00] this, let alone a family. It's just not natural. You know, when I look at my grandmother, she lost her oldest daughter and it's just not natural for parents to lose their children.
And she did not go to any family events, celebratory events. For years one of the first events my grandmother ever went to after mom passing away was my brother's wedding, which was you know, six years ago. So for more than a decade, she just did not, she was so, so much in grief that she just did not go to any of these events.
And so again, it just reminds me of how that grief is a ripple effect and it impacts generations of families. And I just don't want other kids and loved ones. And anyone that I serve to go through that, and a part of it is, of course, emphasizing the importance of prevention and I do what I can to, to talk about that on my platforms.
You know, every [00:08:00] type of cancer, of course, colon cancer is unique to my family, but every type of cancer, we're always trying to promote resources and, and, and prevention. But of course, you know, part of it's about the health of our society, the health of our communities and mitigating risk in multiple ways.
Vin: Thank you.
Ola: Thank you so much, Anna. , as I'm from Nigeria I am under the age of 35 and I work in track two diplomacy in nuclear politics. And. I find that, you know, I'm usually a minority in most of the different conferences I go to.
Either a minority from the point of view of how I look, or a minority from the point of view of the views I hold, which are, you know, decidedly anti nuclear weapons and anti nuclear deterrence. Now, as someone who's relatively young, as a woman, as the first Iranian woman in the house in Florida with a Republican [00:09:00] super majority, you know, how is it like on a day to day in politics?
How do you get things done? How do you not get so frustrated and pissed off? Chuck a rug down the hall or something.
Anna: I mean, listening to your question, I was nodding. Cause I'm like, yep. I know what that's like. Oh, yep. I know. That's like two. So, so first of all, like, thank you for doing it because I know when you're swimming upstream, it is exhausting.
You do experience burnout. And someone as talented as, as you doesn't have to do this work. I mean, you could, It'd be contributing your skills into any private sector job, I'm sure. And, and probably be able to live a very comfortable life if not more so. And, and yet you're choosing to do this. So I, I honor that.
And I, and I think that that is. Such an incredible standard to set for the next generation of advocates to say that regardless of how hard the work is, it's so essential that we have leaders who are [00:10:00] willing to do it. So I think to, to my, my experience, and it is, it is Not for the faint of heart. Walking to the Florida legislature, I feel like I'm walking to the Death Star every day.
I'm a big Star Wars fan. And so I, I literally am in this environment where this, this, this institution was not built for me. This institution was designed for wealthy white landowners. And I am neither of those things. And so you, you have to understand the system and how it's built in order to influence it.
And so I don't find the, the systemic restrictions to be deflating. I find it to be a call to action to try to make it accessible to people who come from diverse backgrounds, to young people, people of color, you know, folks of diverse perspectives. So I take that as a challenge [00:11:00] to, to help pave the way for others.
And I've learned a few things in the past six years of how can we still get things done to your point. And I do think part of it is how do we measure success? So I do encourage, especially folks who are navigating environments where you are, you are in the minority, if you will. I think you do have to measure success in different ways to give yourself some grace.
You know, oftentimes the legislature, we measure success by the number of bills you pass, number of money you bring back to the district. Those are kind of the more tangible and I think historic definition of success. I think those are important and I, and I do, I do weigh those, I do value those, but I'd also argue there are other amazing, both qualitative and quantitative measures of success.
And for me, it includes a number of constituents we're able to assist. So I take a lot of pride in delivering the best constituent services. I mean, other offices come to me for guidance on how we champion constituent services. We're constantly solving problems every single day, helping folks who are, navigating housing and [00:12:00] security, find a place to live.
So we really do measure success on that front. I also measure success by just our, our, our, our civic engagement. You know, are we helping more people become civically engaged, more everyday people understand state government? That is a success to me. If I can see, if I can measure and and collect quotes and testimonies of folks who do not know anything about state government, but now now do, I feel like that's a win.
You know, the number of people who tell me that I am their source of Florida news. I mean, that is a big pressure I carry, but I'm glad they trust me right to be that source of information. So my first piece of advice is, you know, think about Think about how to measure success in forms that make sense to your, your purpose, your mission.
And then the last point I'll make on this front is relationships do matter. And so as you mentioned, I serve in a legislature with very diverging viewpoints for my own. And yet I still can find opportunities to [00:13:00] work across the aisle when there is commonality. And the only reason why I'm able to do that is I'm not destructive in my advocacy, which I will say is very hard to do because it's easy to succumb to rage.
Every person, like, has the right to be angry with what they see happening 100%, especially in Florida, where you have policies that are taking away people's fundamental freedoms and rights. And I worked at Planned Parenthood before I ran for office, so one of my biggest issues is abortion advocacy, and I'm dealing with a legislature that's banned abortion at six weeks.
But I know I have a decision when I hold that microphone in my hand. Do I use a microphone? just shame people and get them in a place of defensive posturing where they're not listening to me anymore, or I use that microphone to speak truth to power, to tell personal stories and to really pull out people's heartstrings more so than, you know, shame them.
I think there's, I think it'll get to the same goal, but it's a different tactic. [00:14:00] And if you, if you're inspirational, you know, versus going down a path of, of just more vitriol, Then you can pull in people who maybe are not your likely supporters, but at least there's a sense of respect there. And I think that respect is how you can get things done long term.
Doesn't mean I'm going to vote for your bill. Doesn't mean I'm going to, you know, not ask you hard questions on your terrible ideas. It doesn't mean I'm going to debate you, but at the same time, separating the person from the policy, I think is key to getting things done in an environment where you're not surrounded by friends.
Thanks. And you'll never know people do evolve and I think that's another important factor is that people do change. I believe fully in the power of, of human evolution and if I didn't, I, I couldn't survive this job cause it would be constantly depressing, but there are folks who were some of my biggest opponents in 2018 who now support me today and part of that is because I always kept [00:15:00] the door open.
I never shut it. So I think that's part of it is being willing to welcome untraditional allies folks who have come to understand your position and agree with it. Always keeping that door open, I think is also key to our long term success.
Ola: Thank you so much for those insights over to you, Vin.
Vin: Yeah. So we're in pride month and living in Orlando.
My wife and I are our house was right next to pulse nightclub. And I have students there that night.
Pulse News Report: Flags across the state flying at half staff to remember the people killed in the pulse nightclub shooting eight years ago, a gunman killing 49 people and injuring 53 more at the time. That was the deadliest shooting in modern U. S. History.
Vin: And so that was the first time that a mass shooting happened in what I considered my home, like you attacked my home city, like, you know, and so that's why in part why, or even if I don't live there anymore, Orlando has such a special place [00:16:00] in my heart.
And so when I With LGBTQ rights and you're such a champion in this cause, where, since you started this and where you are now and where the state is, do you see, Orlando I know is somewhat different in terms of, of this, but in terms of the state as a whole, where are we with, with LGBTQ rights?
Anna: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the state of Florida is dramatically regressing and it's incredibly painful to. To watch and to, of course, be at the front lines fighting back because of Pulse, you know, I think we should know better in a state like Florida and Florida is so incredibly diverse and we've always been in.
historically a state that welcomes the immigrant, that welcomes people of diverse backgrounds who caters, caters to unique experiences for every type of person, you know, whether it's multilingual spaces, spaces that, that are culturally specific spaces that, that take pride [00:17:00] in the LGBTQ plus community. We are known for that.
And in the last six years, there's just been this just really gross and. manufactured platform for regression. And I'm speaking to, you know, those who have created policies that they don't say gay trans legislation, who've accused members of the LGBTQ plus community of being dangerous. And a lot of this is, it's just a regurgitation of the past, you know, in Florida, the 1970s and eighties saw the same type of rhetoric and, and just been repackaged.
And. Rearing its ugly head, but it is, it is really pronounced in a lot of spaces. I mean, I'm shocked by it, to be honest, because again, I just feel like we know better, and we've moved on, right? And yet, even just on, I mean, and granted, social media is not a reflection of real life, thank God. But, you know, You know, we will post something about pride in our social media.
And it's just some of these comments are just so egregious and hurtful. And [00:18:00] they're not just words. You know, words mobilize people to take action in really scary ways. And so, I consider myself to not just be an ally, I'm an accomplice. And so what does that mean? Allyship is important, but allyship can be very transactional, meaning you're not going to be there when things get tough.
And it's great to go to pride and to, you know, look cute, you know, with your rainbow tutu, which like I will, I'm planning out my pride outfit right now. So like there's value to that. I totally get it. But at the same time, We need you to show up at every board of medicine meeting to defend trans kids. We need you to come to the legislature and, and, and be there to fight back against these dangerous policies.
We need you to help raise money for black and brown led LGBTQ plus organizations who are fighting on the ground doing this work every single day. We need you to support our LGBTQ plus businesses who are being targeted all the time. [00:19:00] Defend, defend trans lives. I mean, there's just so much more that each one of us need to do who call ourselves allies to, to really show up as accomplices because end of the day, that's what it's going to take for us to push back against this pendulum.
And as the pendulum swings, back towards equality, back towards inclusivity. The question we need to ask ourselves is where will it land? Is it going to land in a place that is bringing us back in time? Where we have to fight again for these rights? Or can it land in a place that, that carries us forward?
That reflects, What we've had to fight back against and then we land in a place that was far than, much far than any one of us ever expected or imagined. So I really am pushing for that pendulum to swing in a healthy place where for all the regressive nature and regressive policies we're going through right now, my hope is that when that pendulum lands, it, it, this fight would have been worth it in the sense [00:20:00] that we're going to be in a much more advanced place.
And so that's, that's where a lot of us are. And these policies, to recap very quickly, include, you know, the Don't Say Gay Trans Bill, which we've had wins in the courts, so a settlement was reached in the courts to say Florida basically admitted that they went too far. And so a settlement was reached with Equality Florida that does outline clarity for teachers and protections for our LGBTQ plus kids.
There's the bathroom ban basically saying that if you are trans, you cannot use a restroom in any government building, including airports that correctly reflects your gender. You're not allowed to do that. You have legislation that allows doctors to refuse care based on their Moral objection, which of course can mean if they don't want to serve a trans patient or a patient who is gay, they don't, they can refuse care.
There are exceptions for emergency situations, but of course, it's still really scary for anyone who might find [00:21:00] themselves in an emergency because Those doctors may feel empowered not to help. You have legislation that has been filed, but doesn't, that hasn't passed yet that goes after pronouns in the private sector policies that would not allow for Any type of organization to do D.
I. trainings. It's just one thing after the other. So, a lot of these fights are still in the courts including efforts to ban access to gender affirming care. But but they're all fights that we are, are going to, are going to continue to push back on as long as we have them. I mean, we're not going to stop defending our, our LGBTQ plus community.
Ola: Thank you so much, Anna. You know, in your response, it just, I mean, my face was full of shock, right? Because I'm not from the U. S., never been, and I hear about the U. S. from an outsider's perspective, and it really shocked me. Seems to me as [00:22:00] though there is an implicit system that tends to weaponize the provision of healthcare or healthcare system to sort of control the general population to an extent where individual freedoms are curtailed.
And when you were talking about the pendulum swinging, you know, towards sustainable progress, I, one thing that came to my mind was, you know, Women's reproductive rights and how we've seen attacks on that as well, including using the healthcare system to try to control the individual freedoms of women.
And I know that this is a big issue that you fought behind, you know, women's reproductive rights. Where do you see this going? What do you see happening in the future? Thank you, mmm.
Anna: Well, I, I, I really just want to compliment your analysis of medicine being used as a tool of control. And that's unfortunately a very embedded part of American history.
I mean, you have, you know, birth control tested on Puerto Rican women. You have the forced [00:23:00] sterilization of indigenous people, of course, the experimental surgeries on, on enslaved black women. And so we have a very dark and sad, but, but nonetheless necessary to talk about history where medicine has, has been used as a tool of coercion and control and experimentation on vulnerable people.
And it's sad because we're still there today. I mean, medicine has been weaponized by the far right as a tool of, of control. Reproductive rights, I think is one of the And, you know, most, most prevalent examples, but I, I do want to highlight that gender affirming care, access to care for transgender community members is going through the same exact thing.
And many of the same fights used to attack abortion are also used to attack gender affirming care. Rhetoric that is sensational in nature, rhetoric that stigmatizes the procedure and the service, rhetoric that targets the [00:24:00] doctors who provide the care. The threats, bomb threats. I mean, it's just the Sam and Zach playbook, copy and pasted to attack another community and it's always been used as a scapegoat too, I think, from solving real problems because in the day, when you talk to everyday people, they, they, they actually mind their own business about this and they just want government to respond to things like it.
Housing affordability, transportation, safety, like basic responsibilities of government. And when government doesn't have the prioritization to solve those crises, mostly because big corporations are the ones causing the problems and most politicians don't want to challenge them, so they find other scapegoat issues to Polarize, mobilize, and, and, and take control over a percent of the population through those, through those tactics.
With that said, you know, when I look at where we are today, it's absolutely devastating. There's just no other way to describe it. You [00:25:00] know, following the Dobbs decision to follow Roe, the United States is less united. We are a collection of, of, of 50. Independent countries is what it feels like. And, you know, each one of these, of these states have completely had the ability to decide what access looks like for abortion.
And if you look at a map, the United States, I mean, it's, it's, it's pretty much, you know, the Southeast states have totally banned abortion. You have, you know, parts of the, the Midwest who done the same. And then you have these safe havens. It's kind of sprinkled across America. In Florida, now that we have a six week abortion ban, our closest option for access at 12 weeks would be North Carolina.
And if you're beyond 12 weeks, then your next closest option is Virginia. And you have to remember that a lot of women and abortion seekers who are in this situation, many have never even flown on a plane before, let alone left the state. I mean, we're talking about [00:26:00] a lot of working class folks, folks of marginalized communities.
At the day, abortion bans impact everyone, but if you have resources, it's going to be a burden, but you can find a way to access care. The folks who are most impacted by abortion bans are poor people, are people who just don't have resources. We had a call come into our, one of our local Planned Parenthoods of a patient who was six weeks.
And two days pregnant and she missed the cutoff by two days and she's already a mom with children So her ability to travel even if she receives financial support her ability to travel is incredibly limited Because of her responsibilities the children she already has and most women who decide to have an abortion are mothers And they're making this decision as a mom like my mom did my mom became pregnant and After my sister and I were born, she was past the age of 40, very high risk pregnancy, but also, my parents cannot afford a fourth child.
[00:27:00] And that is why my mom decided, as a mother, to make the decision to end her pregnancy so she could support the kids that, that she, she had already in front of her. And so, it's, the landscape is, is hard, but the response has been, transformational. There's more I have been saying for years that abortion is a winning issue, and that you should not be afraid to talk about abortion.
When I first ran for office in 2018, A lot of the more establishment Democrats said that I was not a good fit for the district because I was too young. I was a person of color and not reflective. My district is actually about 75 percent white, so it's not a majority minority district. And so a lot of folks assume that You need a white person to run in the seat to win.
And then my work at Planned Parenthood also impacted their perception of me because I thought that it was too radical. And I kept saying, y'all like people care about abortion. Trust [00:28:00] me on this. And every person who, who had a, on a yard sign, you know, in their, in their front yard, Was doing that knowing that I worked at Planned Parenthood.
It was not something I ever hid away from. I was very proud about it. And, and now you fast forward and now there's this understanding, you know, that abortion is a winning issue. People who've never talked about abortion before, including president Biden, you know, now see it as like the winning issue that will rally Americans.
And, and so that, that momentum is fantastic, but of course it has to be constructive and it can't stop. It has to keep going to be sustained. It took anti abortion extremists 50 years to take away Roe from us. So it's going to be a long journey to not only get back to where we were, but to go beyond where we were.
Because even under Roe, not every person had access to an abortion. It was always meant to be the floor, not the ceiling for reproductive rights. And so right now in the Sunshine State, we [00:29:00] are leading a charge to codify abortion, our state constitution. It is the Yes on 4 initiative, led by a coalition called Floridians Protecting Freedom.
So we are on the path to secure these freedoms. Florida's hard. It does require 60 percent approval. So we have a higher threshold than other states, but we do feel very confident we're going to get there. And of course, have volunteer opportunities for anyone who's interested in helping because we need, we need all hands on deck in Florida, not just for Floridians, but again, if you look at that map of the, of the country, The entire Southeast is now an abortion ban region.
And when you bring abortion access back to Florida, it's not just for our people, it is for every other person in the South. It's for every state that touches Florida, from Georgia, you know, all the way to Mississippi and Alabama. Like access is critical to everyone in the South. And Florida has historically been that safe state and we, we got to get it [00:30:00] back.
So definitely encourage folks to get more involved in all these, all these issues. But this is, this is going to be an essential election come November.
Vin: . So we we have one last question for you and it kind of piggybacks on where you just left off, which is for those younger folks that are listening, especially those in Florida.
And they're like, you know what, from domestic politics to foreign policy, I'm just going to divorce myself from all of it. I'm not going to vote. I'm not going to get involved. I'm not going to do any of it. Again, especially in Florida, what is your message to those younger folks to make sure they do show up and to make sure they stay engaged in, in, in this whole process?
Anna: My message is that the answer to despair is action. And so when you feel most distraught and most disappointed, it is not. A pathway to disconnect. It is a pathway to get more involved. And I do think to some degree, this is like the final [00:31:00] gasp of, of the old school mentality, you know, I mean, Millennials and Gen Z in the next decade, we will be, Two of the large, we'll make up the majority of this country and many of us are going to be in charge, like we're going to be the CEOs, the elected officials, the board chairs, we are going to be in opportunities for more leadership.
as elected officials. And so we need to prepare for that. And preparing for that means learn everything you can understand the systems, get involved in a campaign. I, I feel so fortunate that I got, I got involved in politics really as a college student at UCF. Like my very first campaign was 2008 with president Obama.
But I really got more involved in 2010, which was one of the worst years a progressive could get involved. That was a movement of the Tea Party. And in Florida, we lost everything.
AP Rubio News: This is an [00:32:00] AP Election Update. I'm Kelly Daschle. Polls are now closed throughout most East Coast states, including Florida, where the AP is ready to call another big win for opposition Republicans. Tea Party backed candidate Marco Rubio coasted to victory in the Florida Senate race over Independent Governor Charlie Crist and Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek.
Following Rand Paul's win in Kentucky, Rubio's victory is the second big gain for Tea Party backed candidates tonight.
Anna: And I absolutely had every opportunity to tap out and say, this was fun, guys, I'm leaving, right? But, but we didn't, we stayed because you can't let one loss set you back.
And again, I, I know I referenced this, but the anti abortion movement, it took them 50 years to take down Roe. And they had a lot of losses during that time. There were a lot of moments where we were celebrating and they, because they had lost, but they kept going, like they kept going in a very incremental way.
And I think as, as younger people, we kind of, we kind of, Hate the term incrementalism and we kind of, [00:33:00] you know, don't want it. We, we reject it, but I actually think that doing that is foolish because at the end of the day nothing in this country was meant to happen fast. Like the United States entire political system is built upon, you know, preventing the revolution, right?
And, and, and, and things moving slowly, which is torturous, especially when climate change as an example. We know what the problem is. And we know what the solutions are, and we just don't have the political will, and there's too much corporate influence where action is, is slowed down. And yet we've had some great wins recently, and I don't feel like we talk about it enough.
I mean, arguably this has been the, the, the, the past four years have seen some of the largest investments in clean energy technology, energy efficiency programs in our nation's history. And yet we don't talk about it. And so I think we also need to celebrate the wins that we do have to help keep us going.
I really do encourage folks to [00:34:00] not tap out. This is the time to get involved and I'll, I'll close at this point when you're voting because I, I know. Okay. A lot of, a lot of folks say that, you know, voting is, is the, is a solution and will solve all the problems. That is not true. Like voting is, is, is an item in your toolbox for collective liberation and peace and justice, but it is not the end all be all, but it is important.
And if you're faced with a ballot where you don't like anyone, I always encourage folks to think about who do you want your adversary to be? Who do you want across the table from you when you're trying to lobby, you're trying to influence, you're trying to protest, who's going to be more likely to listen to you than not?
Think about it as an organizing tactic versus this person is going to solve all my problems because it's not, that's not true. The representative democracy is not going to yield to that type of immediate result, but you do want to elect people that you're going to have a better ability to influence. So choose your adversary.
You don't always have to choose your friend. And I, and I [00:35:00] hope when people think in that framework, it can make the path to voting seem a little more optimistic, even if you don't like what your options are.
Vin: All right. Well we've taken up enough of your time Anna, you are a hero. There's no other way to put it.
And so you heard her. Don't tap out. We encourage our listeners, especially in Florida to vote support Anna, we will put all of her campaign information in our show notes. So you will have that we just want to thank you in this busy schedule. You have to take some time out for us.
We really, really appreciate it.
Anna: Thanks for having me. Thanks
Vin: so much.
, all right, Ola. Well, that was an amazing episode. So why don't you close us out?
Ola: Absolutely fantastic episode. I remember a quote from Anna, which really stuck to me and that is the answer. to despair is action. And that is, I think, very good food for thought for our listeners. And that is a wrap for today's [00:36:00] episode of Minds Blown.
We hope you enjoyed our conversation with the incredible representative, Anna Eskamani. Her insights and her passion have truly left us inspired and ready to take action. If today's discussion sparked any ideas or questions, we would love to hear from you. So why don't you connect with us on our social media, leave a comment or send us an email.
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