Power and Purpose – Intergenerational Reflections on Mental Health in Activism

{QTtext}{timescale:100}{font:Verdana}{size:20}{backColor:0,0,0} {textColor:65280,65280,65280}{width:960}{justify:center} {plain} [00:00:00.01] - As I hear them talk, I'm reminded [00:00:01.04] of one of my favorite quotes, which is this idea that [00:00:03.06] "hope is belief in the plausibility of the possible, [00:00:06.01] as opposed to the necessity of the probable." [00:00:09.00] And so one of the things that we always think about [00:00:10.06] at the SNF Agora Institute is how we make [00:

00:12.05] the possible more probable, [00:00:16.03] which is one of the things that we're trying to do. [00:00:17.09] And so I think this next panel will help us think about [00:00:20.06] some of those questions. [00:00:21.08] Before we move into the next panel I should just say [00:00:24.02] that we were hoping to be joined today also by Nadia Abdala [00:00:27.09] who is gonna speak about her experience [00:00:30.04] grappling with questions about mental health and democracy. [00:00:33.03] But

connection bedevils us in many ways [00:00:36.01] and she was not able to connect this morning. [00:00:37.07] And so she was very sorry that she couldn't join us [00:00:39.05] for this conversation. [00:00:41.00] But I'd like to invite our next panel up to stage now. [00:00:44.01] And this next panel is gonna be called [00:00:45.07] Intergenerational Reflections on Mental Health and Activism. [00:00:49.08] And I think we'll really build on [00:00:51.00] the conversation that we just had this mor

ning. [00:00:53.02] We've asked two leaders [00:00:55.01] from different movements around the world [00:00:57.09] to share lessons that they've learned [00:00:59.09] about preserving their own mental health and sense of agency [00:01:02.07] in the face of repression and democratic failure. [00:01:05.06] So Veronica Matus is a lawyer and vice president [00:01:09.03] of La Morada Woman's Development Corporation in Chile. [00:01:12.08] She's been a feminist activist in her country [00:01:15.02] sin

ce the time of the Pinochet dictatorship [00:01:17.03] and has a wealth of experience to share with us. [00:01:20.01] David Hogg is a gun control advocate [00:01:21.09] and co-founder of March For Our Lives, [00:01:23.08] which is a youth-led movement [00:01:25.05] born out of a tragic school shooting that now promotes [00:01:28.05] civic engagement, education, and direct action. [00:01:32.05] And moderating their conversation is one of my colleagues, [00:01:35.01] Consuelo Amat, who is an SNF A

gora [00:01:37.04] assistant professor of political science, [00:01:39.00] an expert in state repression, resistance [00:01:41.04] and development of civil society in authoritarian regimes. [00:01:44.04] And I just wanna remind everyone again that, [00:01:45.08] for those of you who are joining us online, [00:01:47.02] you can use the online portal to ask questions, [00:01:49.01] and for everyone else, you can use the QR code [00:01:51.00] to submit any questions. [00:01:52.02] So I'll turn it o

ver to Consuelo. [00:01:53.04] - Thank you very much, Hahrie. [00:01:54.08] Good afternoon everyone, it's such a pleasure to be here [00:01:56.07] and to be able to moderate what I hope will be [00:01:59.04] a fascinating intergenerational discussion [00:02:02.03] about the intersection of mental health and democracy. [00:02:05.06] I wanted to start by framing the discussion [00:02:07.04] and telling you a little bit more [00:02:09.09] about these two inspiring movement leaders. [00:02:13.05] So

, Veronica Matus is a prominent feminist leader in Chile [00:02:17.08] who has been organizing for women's rights her entire life. [00:02:21.07] Before the Pinoche dictatorship, during the dictatorship [00:02:25.03] and after the transition in 1990. [00:02:28.06] The feminist movements across many countries in the world [00:02:32.06] have that privileged vantage point [00:02:35.00] of having gone through many different regime types, [00:02:38.06] from democracies to totalitarian governments, [00

:02:41.02] and therefore a deep legacy. [00:02:43.08] And the feminist movement Chile is no different. [00:02:46.04] Veronica has worked with many women [00:02:48.00] who have been victims of violence and discrimination. [00:02:50.09] And these victims sometimes speak up [00:02:53.01] and discover a sense of purpose through trauma. [00:02:55.05] And others remain deeply burdened and isolated. [00:02:58.09] These problems were even more acute [00:03:01.03] during the military dictatorship [00:03:

03.06] when people had to live underground and survive in secrecy. [00:03:11.01] But the mental health challenges [00:03:13.02] really for social movement leaders are not just limited [00:03:15.07] to those who live underground [00:03:17.02] and who suffer from state violence. [00:03:19.08] High visibility, as we've been discussing, [00:03:22.00] can also be very detrimental to mental health, [00:03:24.09] especially in difficult political environments [00:03:27.06] and polarization. [00:03:29.0

6] Our other panelists, David Hogg, knows this all too well [00:03:33.00] as he has been thrust into the hotly contested issue [00:03:36.08] of gun control in the United States [00:03:39.02] after he survived a horrific mass shooting [00:03:41.01] in his high school in Florida. [00:03:43.04] David is an inspiring figure who has turned to agency [00:03:46.06] and solidarity through the March For Our Lives Movement, [00:03:49.05] which continues to seek political change in the country. [00:03:53.0

2] So now let's get started with the first question. [00:03:55.00] And I'd like to start with you, David. [00:03:57.00] Could you share with us a personal story [00:04:00.03] about your experience with March For Our Lives [00:04:02.07] that has deeply moved you? [00:04:05.01] - Sure. [00:04:07.01] I think one of the most powerful stories [00:04:09.07] in my experience with March For Our Lives [00:04:11.08] was in Dallas, Texas in 2018. [00:04:16.03] After we did our marches around the country an

d the world, [00:04:21.00] for context, we had 800 marches [00:04:23.02] about a month and a half after the shooting. [00:04:25.03] The point of which was to rally our generation [00:04:28.04] and people of all ages to unite against gun violence [00:04:31.03] and call for stronger gun laws [00:04:33.01] and to stand up against the gun industry and lobby. [00:04:36.09] That prevented changing gun laws [00:04:39.09] in line with the majority will of the American people. [00:04:43.03] So we had abo

ut 800,000 people with us [00:04:45.06] in Washington, DC marching with us [00:04:47.05] and the largest youth-led protest since the Vietnam War. [00:04:51.09] And after that we did a tour across the country [00:04:54.06] to go where young people had marched. [00:04:56.04] But youth voter turnout had historically been low, [00:04:59.01] but they could defeat NRA backed incumbents [00:05:01.01] if they just turned out and voted more. [00:05:03.03] And one of the places that we ended up visiting o

n this tour [00:05:06.05] was in Dallas, Texas and at these events [00:05:11.03] we would have town halls where we would have [00:05:13.06] members of the community, survivors of gun violence, [00:05:17.01] activists and others talking together [00:05:20.00] about what we can do about this. [00:05:22.08] And outside of a lot of these events we would be protested [00:05:25.07] by armed counter protestors. [00:05:28.00] So many of you are not American, [00:05:30.06] so this may not make sense to y

ou, [00:05:32.05] but in America, in many states, [00:05:35.01] it's legal for you to fully carry a military grade weapon [00:05:38.09] in public, including to protest children [00:05:42.06] that don't want to die from gun violence. [00:05:44.08] And Dallas, Texas was one of those instances. [00:05:48.03] There we had about 20 people standing outside of our events [00:05:51.07] screaming that we weren't real, that the government created [00:05:56.00] the school shooting at our school [00:05:57.0

3] because they want to take everybody's guns away [00:06:00.01] to create a totalitarian regime [00:06:02.08] and spreading ridiculous conspiracy theories about it. [00:06:05.09] And one of these armed counter protestors [00:06:07.07] was screaming that I was a paid FBI agent, I know. [00:06:14.04] That I was paid to work for the government, [00:06:16.03] that I was part of some massive conspiracy [00:06:18.03] to take everybody's guns away. [00:06:21.00] And I went out and did what any sane pe

rson would do [00:06:23.06] as an 18 year old, [00:06:24.09] and I talked to this armed 45 plus year old, [00:06:27.09] 220 pound plus man, I don't know what that is in kilograms, [00:06:32.06] but it's a good amount. [00:06:33.08] And he screams at me and he says, [00:06:38.00] "why are you trying to take my guns away?" [00:06:39.03] And I say, "well, you know, are you trying to hurt yourself [00:06:42.00] or somebody else?" [00:06:43.00] And he says, "no, of course I'm not." [00:06:44.06] And

I said, "okay, well I'm not trying [00:06:46.05] to take your guns away and if i was, [00:06:48.00] it'd be through due process with the right to counsel [00:06:50.05] and a court order." [00:06:51.07] Because like Deb mentioned earlier, [00:06:54.00] I explained my own story next and I said, [00:06:56.04] "in Parkland, the shooter at my high school [00:06:59.05] made multiple threats against my high school. [00:07:02.08] He threatened to shoot kids in my school [00:07:05.03] and owned an AR 15

legally as a 19 year old. [00:07:09.09] Do you think?" And I said to this man, I said, [00:07:11.08] "do you think somebody in Dallas that owns the same gun [00:07:16.02] that you're holding right now, a 19 year old [00:07:17.08] that owns the same gun you're holding right now, [00:07:19.08] should be able to go out [00:07:20.07] and threaten to shoot a high school, [00:07:22.04] your local high school up [00:07:24.01] and continue to legally own that gun?" [00:07:26.04] And he said, "no, of cou

rse not." [00:07:28.02] And I said, "well, guess what? [00:07:29.05] They can, that's why we're here right now, [00:07:31.09] 'cause we're trying to stop Dallas [00:07:33.00] from becoming the next Parkland." [00:07:35.01] And then from that he started to realize [00:07:36.06] that he agreed with us on some of our stuff. [00:07:38.04] And this perception that he had created, [00:07:41.00] that he had been fed through social media, right? [00:07:45.03] Was false, that we really were just kids, [0

0:07:47.06] not part of some shadowy government conspiracy [00:07:50.00] to take everybody's guns, that we just don't want [00:07:51.09] our friends to die in school anymore. [00:07:53.07] And what it reminded me of a little bit was, you know, [00:07:55.09] to bring it back to Greece, [00:07:57.01] Plato's "Allegory Of The Cave," right? [00:07:59.05] Social media had painted him this projection [00:08:02.02] of what he thought reality was. [00:08:04.03] But when we took him to the outside world

[00:08:06.07] and showed him the actual reality, [00:08:10.02] he realized that it wasn't correct anymore. [00:08:12.09] And he actually ended up breaking down and crying. [00:08:15.09] And I, 20 minutes after starting talking to this man, [00:08:20.06] found myself having to comfort the man [00:08:22.01] that was just previously threatening us, right? [00:08:25.08] And I think that was really moving to me [00:08:27.03] 'cause it showed me the power of education. [00:08:29.01] And even though it

would've been easy, [00:08:32.08] and I've done it many times before, [00:08:33.09] to go out to him and scream, you know, [00:08:35.05] different expletives at him and justifiably so. [00:08:39.03] That's not what's gonna make progress on this, right? [00:08:41.01] And I have to decide, do I wanna just continue [00:08:44.06] the fight from social media in person [00:08:47.05] or do I actually wanna make change? [00:08:49.00] And I wanna make change. [00:08:49.09] Because I don't wanna have to

be on stages like this anymore [00:08:51.07] talking about this 'cause I want these stories [00:08:53.01] to be in our history books and not our headlines, right? [00:08:56.08] So if I have to make that sacrifice and talk to that guy [00:08:59.03] and do that, even though he should be the adult in the room, [00:09:02.04] I'm willing to do that. [00:09:04.00] - Thank you, David, that's really inspiring. [00:09:06.01] Especially speaking earlier about the power of dialogue [00:09:10.02] coming fro

m stories, powerful stories, personal stories. [00:09:13.03] So now it's on to Veronica [00:09:15.06] and a slightly different question for you, but related, [00:09:18.04] given, I just wanted to get started with personal story [00:09:22.01] so we can get to know you more. [00:09:23.07] But could you share with us a story about your life [00:09:26.03] that reflects how you keep the joy and the motivation [00:09:29.00] in your movement, given how important I think, [00:09:31.09] for movements to

stay alive [00:09:33.03] and sustained during difficult times, [00:09:35.00] there has to be some joy in it as well. [00:09:38.01] - Well, more than seven decades. (chuckles) [00:09:41.09] You have a long time and you have many experience to share. [00:09:48.00] I would say first, I was 21 years [00:09:54.04] for the coup in Chile, 50 years ago. [00:09:59.04] Suddenly history changed absolutely. [00:10:03.03] And in that context where we began to see [00:10:08.03] the most horrible human rights

violations, [00:10:14.08] at the same time women were out in the streets [00:10:18.02] at that moment and they were trying to do everything [00:10:22.03] to help the other. [00:10:25.05] So this feminist movement that was raised [00:10:29.04] during a dictatorship shows you how [00:10:36.07] power and purpose has these two sides. [00:10:41.03] You have the terrific things you're living, [00:10:44.01] but also you have the purpose. [00:10:46.07] And behind the purpose is the desire [00:10:49.06]

to put an end to all these experiences. [00:10:55.00] And I think that the women could do it very well [00:10:59.01] during the dictatorship because we had a motto that said, [00:11:03.03] "democracy in the country and democracy at home." [00:11:07.06] And this breaks the public and the private spheres. [00:11:12.06] We want to change it in the public, [00:11:16.06] but we also have to change politics in the private. [00:11:22.09] And this motto, [00:11:26.02] every woman of every age could feel

that was a part of it. [00:11:34.01] It was not like the other mottoes, [00:11:37.06] they're always calling for success [00:11:40.03] and we're going to have a exit or that. [00:11:47.00] And this movement grew during the dictatorship. [00:11:52.05] When in 2019 there was a revolt in Chile, [00:11:56.08] the feminist movement came out with all the force. [00:12:01.01] It was a young feminist movement. [00:12:03.04] I don't know if you know, that performance of LasTesis [00:12:07.04] called "A

Rapist In Your Path" [00:12:12.01] where were 5,000 women doing this performance, huh. [00:12:17.07] And young women had taken this legacy [00:12:23.09] that the old feminist had brought there. [00:12:28.01] That's why I really believe in this intergenerational [00:12:34.03] conversations are developing of these dialogues. [00:12:38.06] It's much more than be sitting together. [00:12:41.02] It's to see and to dive in the memory that's there. [00:12:50.03] After this performance of many women [00

:12:55.00] with the performance of "The Rapist In Your Path," [00:13:00.01] I was sitting in the entry hall where I work, [00:13:03.09] and many women rang the bell many times [00:13:08.04] to tell about the stories of abuse [00:13:11.01] they had been many years ago [00:13:15.00] and that's why it's so important. [00:13:19.06] After this performance, women that never talked [00:13:23.02] during 50, 40, 60 years were able to ring a bell, [00:13:29.01] go to a place where women could listen to he

r stories [00:13:33.00] and say, "this happened to me." [00:13:36.09] And that's the importance of movement, huh? [00:13:40.04] And that's why I was thinking about purpose. [00:13:44.05] Because in purpose it's also our desire, [00:13:48.09] it's personal and it's politic, [00:13:52.03] it's personal and it's collective, it's desire. [00:13:56.05] And when desire gets to, it cannot work in isolation. [00:14:05.01] You need collective action. [00:14:07.05] I need to see your faces. [00:14:09.04]

I need to talk with others. [00:14:11.00] I need to see the difference. [00:14:14.01] So I could say that well, in life there's joy [00:14:19.03] and also it's the other side. [00:14:21.02] But I would say that my humanity is not [00:14:26.09] me only sitting in this chair. [00:14:29.00] It's all of us and it's all of the women [00:14:32.04] that have been doing for many years, stubbornly getting [00:14:41.04] and opening their experience, huh? [00:14:44.08] To build better democracies. [00:14:4

7.07] Because democracy is the way of daily living we have. [00:14:54.04] And I think that the experience of the woman's movement [00:14:57.06] brings that to politics, huh? [00:15:01.00] It's daily living, it's not abstraction. [00:15:03.09] It's our bodies, huh? [00:15:05.09] With our ages, with our colors, with our race, [00:15:09.04] whatever it is, huh? [00:15:12.02] So, I would say that movements today [00:15:16.02] are very important to learn, [00:15:21.05] but by listening to the purpose

, [00:15:25.01] because behind the purpose is the desire. [00:15:28.04] Desire of the young people to change the world, [00:15:30.06] to put an end for this horrible things [00:15:33.00] we are seeing every day. [00:15:34.06] And well, that's it. (laughs) [00:15:38.02] - Thank you, Vero. [00:15:39.07] One thing that I've seen, you know, [00:15:40.09] I study mainly state repression, [00:15:42.09] but I see a lot of connections [00:15:44.02] between what you're two talking about in terms of, [00:

15:47.00] it's a different type of political violence, [00:15:49.00] but it's really, we were talking earlier about [00:15:51.01] kind of cultural violence in society, [00:15:52.09] whether it's against women or whether it's again, [00:15:55.03] you know, against children in schools. [00:15:57.09] And there's a lot of interesting things [00:15:59.09] that we could talk about. [00:16:01.09] How these movements can get connected. [00:16:03.09] How can the youth movement for gun control [00:16:06.0

9] get together with the feminist movement in the United States [00:16:09.04] or even globally to talk about political violence [00:16:12.07] from the grassroots rather than this state violence, [00:16:16.04] which is what we're discussing today. [00:16:18.07] All right, so next question I wanted to talk about [00:16:20.07] was the challenges at the intersection [00:16:23.02] of democracy and mental health. [00:16:25.02] So, if you could, David, if you could tell us [00:16:29.06] a little bit fr

om your experience, the connection [00:16:32.03] and the intersection between democracy and mental health, [00:16:34.02] some of the challenges that you've lived with the movement. [00:16:38.03] - Well, I mean, it's one of those things [00:16:40.05] where you can talk about the symptom all you want, [00:16:42.03] or you could talk about the cause. [00:16:43.05] The symptom is mental health [00:16:44.07] and the cause is our democracy and our government is failing [00:16:48.03] in the United Stat

es, frankly. [00:16:50.03] I mean, it's enshrined in our preamble in the Constitution [00:16:53.01] the need for our government [00:16:54.07] to help ensure the domestic tranquility. [00:16:57.03] If our kids are dying every day in school practically. [00:17:00.07] And every day in their communities [00:17:03.09] and our government cannot do the very minimal thing [00:17:07.07] of keeping us safe, right? [00:17:10.06] I could talk all day about mental health, right? [00:17:14.05] But I need to t

alk about [00:17:15.06] what's actually causing the mental health crisis in America. [00:17:17.09] Which I think the biggest part of that, [00:17:19.05] part of it is social media, certainly, [00:17:21.06] but I think it's also the fact [00:17:22.05] that our government is failing. [00:17:24.09] The US government is failing our people, right? [00:17:27.03] It's not failing corporations, certainly. [00:17:29.05] It's not failing the 1%, but it's failing the 99%. [00:17:34.00] And it's especially

failing our children and our future. [00:17:38.00] And it's failing to keep us safe in schools. [00:17:39.08] And it just worries me because we can talk all we want [00:17:43.06] about mental health over and over and over again. [00:17:46.03] But it's not gonna change the fact that, you know, [00:17:47.09] we could talk about how to treat bullet wounds better, [00:17:50.09] with better trauma surgeons. [00:17:52.03] Or we could talk about how to stop people from getting shot [00:17:54.05] in the

first place, right? [00:17:56.04] We could talk about how we can get black and brown kids [00:17:58.04] better mental health care for the shootings that happen [00:18:00.09] outside of schools every day in the United States [00:18:03.02] that don't make it on TV nearly as much as Parkland does. [00:18:06.07] Or we could talk about these systemic factors [00:18:09.02] that actually play into that, such as redlining [00:18:12.04] and systemic racism and inequality. [00:18:14.08] The reason why Pa

rkland [00:18:16.01] doesn't have shootings on a daily basis [00:18:18.01] isn't because we have the strongest gun laws in the country. [00:18:20.04] It's because our community is basically in the 1 to 2%. [00:18:23.06] The average median household income [00:18:25.05] in our community in Parkland [00:18:28.07] is well over $100,000 a year per household, right? [00:18:31.07] There are communities with the same gun laws [00:18:33.07] that experience substantially more gun violence [00:18:36.00] a

nd it's because they don't have resources, right? [00:18:39.05] Gun laws can help us, but we need to address [00:18:41.09] why these things are happening in the first place, [00:18:44.01] why somebody is picking up a gun. [00:18:45.07] And we need to stop acting as if, you know, [00:18:51.08] oftentimes people talk about the shooter at my high school [00:18:53.09] just being a mentally ill deranged individual. [00:18:55.08] And that's certainly true, right? [00:18:57.03] He did have mental illne

ss. [00:18:58.09] But the reality is this, two thirds of gun deaths [00:19:00.09] in the United States are suicides. [00:19:05.07] Too often, I think we hear [00:19:06.09] after there's been a mass shooting [00:19:08.06] typically committed by white man, [00:19:10.02] just statistically speaking in the United States, [00:19:12.09] such as a school shooting. [00:19:14.06] We just talk about mental health [00:19:15.07] over and over and over again, when the reality is this, [00:19:18.03] hatred is

not a mental illness. [00:19:20.08] Systemic racism is not a mental illness. [00:19:22.08] Inequality is not a mental illness, right? [00:19:25.05] These are systemic factors, [00:19:26.06] and we can talk about mental health all we want, [00:19:28.03] but ultimately we need to ask ourselves the question, [00:19:30.02] "when are we gonna actually challenge those in power [00:19:32.05] that are stopping us from making the change that we need [00:19:34.05] that are also making our mental health b

ad [00:19:36.00] in the first place?" [00:19:37.06] So that's the way that I see the connection [00:19:39.04] between mental health and democracy is, you know, [00:19:42.06] it's a symptom of a failing system. [00:19:47.03] - Right and I'll come back to you after Veronica, [00:19:49.07] if you could speak about later, David, [00:19:52.03] about challenges within the movement as well. [00:19:54.09] So you've been talking more about the external challenges [00:19:58.00] of facing the issues you're

facing in your movement, [00:20:00.04] but internally as a movement, [00:20:01.06] what are some of the challenges [00:20:03.00] related to democracy and mental health? [00:20:04.03] So Veronica, can you speak about some of the challenges [00:20:07.00] at the intersection of democracy and mental health [00:20:09.08] in your experience, in your movements? [00:20:11.08] - Well, first I feel that the intersectional perspective [00:20:18.02] opens the whole world or new world [00:20:21.06] or new w

ays of looking at the world too, huh? [00:20:26.07] The feminist movement learned about intersection first [00:20:30.03] with black women's movement, huh? [00:20:32.04] That came from the north. [00:20:34.00] And then the Latin American women had to develop [00:20:37.02] our own intersectional crosses to see how [00:20:41.05] the experience of gender, of race, of patriarchy, [00:20:46.07] it crosses everything, huh? [00:20:49.06] And this leads to different democracies. [00:20:53.03] What I'm ve

ry proud about it, and I've learned in feminism [00:20:59.06] is that we can't look the world as black and white, [00:21:04.03] or yes and no as the play decides [00:21:06.08] we've had in our country, huh? [00:21:08.07] Because there's a whole range, huh? [00:21:12.07] Between the yes and no. [00:21:15.06] And humanity has to develop this whole range [00:21:18.09] because the point to move through, it's not in this ends. [00:21:26.08] So dichotomic perspectives are always leaving aside [00:21:3

4.03] a great part of humanity, huh? [00:21:38.04] And intersection brings that to democracy. [00:21:43.09] Another thing that is very important for us is, [00:21:47.01] and I insist in this of the public and the private sphere [00:21:51.07] and how we move between, for example, [00:21:56.03] the ideas of violence of the state [00:22:00.02] and violence in the private sphere, for example, [00:22:03.09] in the family, Latin America is one of the continents [00:22:07.05] that has much violence, it

's higher [00:22:12.08] and never deals with poverty and what's under that. [00:22:17.03] So, I think that the intersections, [00:22:20.00] mental health is the present of the humanity we are living. [00:22:28.04] And that shows us that we are very bad, huh? [00:22:32.04] So we have to open our minds and to listen to this [00:22:40.01] because when we talk about intersection, I'm talking here, [00:22:44.03] I'm not sure if the politicians of my country [00:22:47.00] could listen to me the way yo

u're doing, huh? [00:22:51.00] Politics doesn't easily listen [00:22:55.03] to what is happening in the movement. [00:22:57.03] And this is a sort of chaotic way of knowledge [00:23:00.09] that comes up from the experience. [00:23:04.07] And that is something wonderful of the movements. [00:23:09.03] - Thank you, so David, could you speak a little bit [00:23:11.01] about the internal challenges? [00:23:13.05] - Yeah, I mean, I think there are always internal challenges [00:23:16.04] in movement

spaces when it comes to mental health. [00:23:20.01] I think a lot of it comes from the fact that like [00:23:21.07] the most committed activists that you're gonna see [00:23:23.04] are gonna have the most kind of shades of oppression [00:23:26.03] that come together because they don't have the option [00:23:28.09] of being an activist or not. [00:23:30.04] You know, their very survival and existence is threatened [00:23:33.06] by being who they are, right? [00:23:35.08] And that's why I think i

n the United States, for example, [00:23:39.00] like the gun violence prevention movement was pioneered [00:23:41.08] and continues to be led by black women [00:23:44.01] as it has been for decades, that never get the credit [00:23:46.04] or attention that they deserve, right? [00:23:48.03] In March For Our Lives, what made the march possible [00:23:51.01] more than anything were two things, right? [00:23:53.05] It was feminist activists from the Women's March [00:23:56.00] that came together to

help us do the march [00:23:59.00] as the next march basically. [00:24:00.08] And then second with that was also frankly, [00:24:04.00] a lot of gay women and gay women of color [00:24:06.09] that never got the attention that they deserved, [00:24:09.01] that did the work behind the scenes and made things happen [00:24:11.07] as a lot of the men in the movement took credit for things [00:24:14.07] that they had no role in whatsoever, right? [00:24:17.03] Thankfully, a lot of those men are gone

now. [00:24:19.05] But it continued to be a problem. [00:24:23.04] And I think the way that that relates to mental health [00:24:26.05] is the fact that you're trying to both [00:24:28.08] put oxygen masks on other people [00:24:31.01] as you're trying to put one on yourself. [00:24:33.00] And it's really hard when you realize that, you know, [00:24:36.07] you're getting tunnel vision [00:24:38.06] and you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself [00:24:40.05] 'cause it feels very selfish. [00:24

:41.07] But you have to realize, [00:24:43.00] I think the most important thing that we've done [00:24:44.09] in march is realize that [00:24:49.02] movements are collective actions of individuals, [00:24:51.07] they're just people, right? [00:24:53.02] That's all a movement is, [00:24:55.00] if those individuals are not taking care of themselves, [00:24:57.06] they're not doing their job to be stewards to the movement, [00:25:00.03] to take care of the movement, [00:25:01.02] because they are t

he movement, right? [00:25:03.04] Each one of us is. [00:25:04.08] And what that looks like is proactively including stuff [00:25:08.02] so that when we were in Uvalde last summer, [00:25:10.08] you know, we were marching around demanding, [00:25:13.08] there was a long march in a hundred plus degree heat [00:25:16.04] in South Texas in the middle of the summer [00:25:18.05] to demand accountability from the police department [00:25:20.07] of which there were several hundred police officers [00:

25:22.05] waiting outside of this school [00:25:25.02] where over a dozen children were murdered, right? [00:25:29.02] The community was trying to demand action [00:25:30.08] from the police department [00:25:31.06] and they were holding this march around the city to do that. [00:25:34.06] When we were with them, [00:25:35.06] I was there with my other classmate, Sam Fuentes, [00:25:37.08] who literally still has shrapnel in her [00:25:39.09] from the shooting to this day. [00:25:43.00] When I w

as with her, [00:25:45.00] obviously that's a very draining experience [00:25:46.06] to be around all those parents and siblings [00:25:48.07] that have experienced the worst thing imaginable, [00:25:51.00] but what we did that was different from the past [00:25:53.07] is after that day, after those marches, [00:25:55.05] after meeting with those parents and protesting, [00:25:58.05] I said to our team and our colleagues [00:26:01.02] that were there with us, I said, [00:26:02.00] "okay, guys, l

ike today was obviously really exhausting." [00:26:04.06] In the past what we would've done [00:26:05.07] is we would've just gone and slept. [00:26:07.08] Like straight to bed, right? [00:26:09.07] Or just stared up at the hotel room ceiling [00:26:12.01] and thought about how messed up the world is. [00:26:14.04] But instead what I said is, [00:26:16.01] "okay, we're gonna go and do something completely different. [00:26:18.05] We're gonna go stargazing, we're gonna drive 30 minutes [00:26:21.

03] out of town and just look at the stars [00:26:24.01] and get some good Mexican food because we're near the border [00:26:27.01] and not talk about any of this awful stuff [00:26:32.05] that we dealt with today. [00:26:34.01] And we're just gonna breathe and look out there." [00:26:36.06] And in the past I would've thought [00:26:37.08] that was a really dumb, stupid and unnecessary thing to do. [00:26:41.01] But I see, after seeing so many people come [00:26:43.07] in and out of march burnin

g out and things like that, [00:26:48.06] I know that we have to proactively rest and see that. [00:26:51.05] And as a leader, I know that I have to make sure [00:26:53.04] that our staff knows that that's okay too. [00:26:55.04] Because if you don't come to positively associate things [00:26:57.06] within the movement, [00:26:58.04] if you don't celebrate the wins together, [00:27:00.06] and when there aren't wins, [00:27:02.00] if you don't just celebrate loving each other [00:27:03.08] as a c

ommunity, you're not gonna be able [00:27:05.06] to build the persistence necessary to succeed. [00:27:08.05] So, that's been the main way that I think mental health [00:27:11.01] relates to those movements, [00:27:12.05] is taking those necessary breaks before you need them. [00:27:15.04] - Thank you. [00:27:17.00] Veronica, next, how do we create a sense of purpose [00:27:20.02] and infuse people with agency to safeguard democracies? [00:27:24.06] And for those who live in dictatorships today,

[00:27:26.06] how do they, you know, how do we uplift them [00:27:30.01] so that they can continue struggling [00:27:31.06] for democracy and human rights? [00:27:34.03] - Well, I will say something that it's not new, [00:27:37.06] but I would say it's memory. [00:27:41.03] People live longer lives today. [00:27:45.01] In Chile there's a lot of people that lived imprisonment, [00:27:48.08] that lived torture, [00:27:50.07] those bodies are circulating in the city. [00:27:54.02] And memory, it's

not only the place where you go [00:28:00.05] and not when people is alive. [00:28:03.07] So I could say that one thing is all the silence [00:28:11.08] we had about the human right violations [00:28:15.05] and impunity is something that's working in our society [00:28:19.02] and we still can do something. [00:28:22.03] Something that we will not do 20 years ahead, huh? [00:28:27.07] Because I'm of the youngest of that generation, huh? [00:28:33.08] So I would say memory is a good result [00:28

:39.02] and memory is something that has to be very active. [00:28:43.02] And when I was listening to Dave [00:28:46.04] and in the conversations we have had yesterday, [00:28:51.04] I think that when we want to build the future [00:28:55.05] today we need the best. [00:28:59.09] I need to know what moved Dave from the first day [00:29:08.00] to bring up the movement. [00:29:10.06] As well as I knew during the dictatorship in Chile [00:29:14.03] why women could get out of the houses. [00:29:21.0

1] They said we brought out our voices. [00:29:27.01] Politicians or politics, nor leftists, nor right, [00:29:31.07] nor conservatives could have seen the power of women [00:29:36.00] in building democracies, huh? [00:29:39.01] It's like women's affairs were different. [00:29:43.05] So, I could say that memory is something [00:29:49.09] we have to bring to the present [00:29:52.04] that means to know the legacy but in the present now, huh? [00:29:59.00] And that establishes the experience of be

ing in the world. [00:30:06.00] You cannot live in a world that denies what you lived, [00:30:09.06] for example, imprisonment or torture, huh? [00:30:12.09] You cannot go through the streets or talk. [00:30:15.08] So, I think that it's very important in this conversation [00:30:21.05] of mental health and democracy [00:30:27.00] to look the old things that are happening [00:30:32.06] in the case of Chile in our society, [00:30:35.06] but also to see the new things [00:30:38.04] that young peopl

e is bringing out, huh? [00:30:41.05] And are putting over the table. [00:30:43.07] And for that you had to throw away the old glasses [00:30:47.06] and open your ears and listen to different things. [00:30:53.08] - [Consuelo] Thank you Veronica. [00:30:54.06] David, how would you answer that question about [00:30:56.07] how to create a sense of purpose [00:30:58.01] and fuse people with hope within the movement? [00:31:02.05] - I think it's just, [00:31:06.07] I think art plays a big role for s

ure [00:31:10.05] to help inspire people to make them feel something. [00:31:13.08] I know for me that's been one of the hardest things. [00:31:15.03] But I also think it's bringing in older people [00:31:18.03] to show that like, you're not alone in this [00:31:20.06] and like people have been doing, [00:31:21.09] especially like the older women [00:31:22.07] that have been doing the work and the movement [00:31:26.01] way before I was alive. [00:31:29.04] To make sure that the young people kno

w [00:31:32.06] and people of all ages know [00:31:33.06] that it's not just on them, right? [00:31:35.06] That, you know, as I'm in Greece, you know, [00:31:37.07] there was just a several days sit-in led [00:31:39.09] on the steps of Congress by an 18 year old [00:31:42.06] that was a cousin of one of the kids who died in Parkland [00:31:46.05] who led that sit-in in Congress [00:31:48.05] demanding a ban of assault weapons. [00:31:50.01] And there he was able [00:31:51.04] just by getting dif

ferent senators walking by [00:31:54.00] to get them to agree to co-sponsor [00:31:55.08] the assault weapons ban in the Senate. [00:31:58.01] And I think it's that really intergenerational component [00:32:01.05] as one final thing, you know? [00:32:04.02] It summed up well by us meeting John Lewis, [00:32:08.03] right after the shooting happened, [00:32:09.09] he met with a bunch of the student organizers [00:32:11.05] for March For Our Lives and he pulled out his suit [00:32:14.09] from like

the civil rights movement [00:32:16.06] that he bought at a thrift store for like $5 or whatever. [00:32:20.00] And he said, "I've had this suit for a long time basically, [00:32:22.08] and the number one thing that I need to instill in you [00:32:26.08] is that this is a marathon, not a sprint," right? [00:32:31.00] And I think sometimes movements are ultra marathons [00:32:33.08] with the baton pass between generations [00:32:35.08] and you have to include everybody in that. [00:32:38.08] And

that includes young people, [00:32:40.00] but that also includes older people too. [00:32:42.05] 'cause I hate when people come to me and say, you know, [00:32:45.03] "my generation really messed up. [00:32:46.08] Thank God you kids are here to save us," right? [00:32:50.07] When it's on all of us [00:32:51.09] and also there have been older people [00:32:53.03] that have been fighting for this for decades, [00:32:54.09] especially black and brown women [00:32:57.00] that have never gotten the c

redit that they deserve. [00:33:00.05] - Thank you, I wanted to end by asking one last question. [00:33:04.03] Veronica, if you could share some advice with David, [00:33:07.05] something that you would like him to know, [00:33:09.06] that you would've liked to know [00:33:10.08] as a young feminist activist. [00:33:14.01] - I'm very unsure of giving counsel. [00:33:19.01] No, I would say first, I share with David, [00:33:24.00] I'm sure I share and many people shares with you [00:33:28.07] the

energy and your beliefs, your desires and your purposes [00:33:34.07] when you brought up your movement. [00:33:37.08] I would say we have to trust in the way we realized [00:33:45.05] and what we have done, sometimes it's very hard [00:33:49.06] for a movement to believe themselves, huh? [00:33:55.00] You have no credit of authorities [00:33:58.00] or they believe that things you are saying, [00:34:02.08] they're out of place, their old ways, [00:34:05.04] there's no place for something new. [0

0:34:07.05] Actually, we have to make room in this institutions [00:34:12.05] or institutional practices or state practices [00:34:17.02] to bring up spaces for little cows, different views [00:34:23.03] to be there to sit there. [00:34:25.05] So I could say, let's go ahead [00:34:29.02] and be sure to realize everyone every time, [00:34:33.05] because you begin with your desires, your purposes. [00:34:39.06] And then in the way you see there are other movements [00:34:43.08] that we can share [

00:34:45.01] because humanity is about living every day life. [00:34:49.06] It's very concrete, huh? [00:34:52.00] So movements, we need to have this dialogue, these meetings [00:34:56.08] and also I will thank to you this invitation this morning. [00:35:05.00] - Thank you so much, Veronica. [00:35:06.00] Any responses to that or any final thoughts [00:35:10.00] you'd like to share, David? [00:35:11.09] - No, I completely agree. [00:35:14.07] I think the final thought that I'll have [00:35:18.01

] is just a point of hope that Veronica helps bring me. [00:35:21.00] I mean, we have to work against [00:35:23.01] the gun lobby in the United States. [00:35:24.06] You were working against the US government and the CIA [00:35:27.03] that was intervening in your country. [00:35:29.05] And if you guys can do that [00:35:30.09] and build a democracy from there, I have a lot of faith [00:35:34.03] that we can probably stop kids from dying in school too. [00:35:36.04] So, thank you. [00:35:37.05] -

Well, that's a good place to end. [00:35:38.06] Thank you so much everyone, for your attention to them. [00:35:41.04] (audience applauds) [00:35:43.09]