Episode 27: Matthew Mackey aka Carbie the Dragtivist - I'm A Non-Binary Drag Queen and Running for Office

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Hello, beautiful humans.
Welcome to another episode of

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Role Models GC conversations
with beautiful humans.

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I'm Jennifer Norman founder of
the human Beauty movement and

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your host.
It's my goal to survive

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inspiration on this podcast.
So, if you like what you hear,

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subscribe rate and review us and
share this episode with

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everyone, you know, across your
networks.

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Most of you know that I'm a big
proponent Opponents of humans

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who live life at the
intersection and my guest

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doesn't just live life at the
intersection Z is the

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intersection.
It is my great honor to

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introduce you to Matthew Mackey.
Otherwise known as Carvey the

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dragged to this.
Matthew is running for office as

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a candidate for New York State
Assembly District. 101.

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If Matthew is elected Z would be
the first non binary state

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legislator in New York state and
the second in the country.

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Now from a Edge.
Matthew has been an advocate for

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people from advocating for
accessibility resources.

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For is has two deaf parents to
helping stop the deportation of

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a same-sex binational.
Couple Matthew knows how the

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power of collective action can
create real change for people.

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Welcome, Matthew.
Thank you.

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Thank you for having me.
This is fabulous.

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It is fabulous.
I'm so delighted to have you and

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I am so intrigued by your whole
story.

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Story.
Because you grew up in Blooming

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Berg on a quaint little apple
farm called McKee Farms and

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Milton where your grandfather
and your uncle grew apples

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raised goats and other
livestock.

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So, you have to tell us what you
were like when you were younger

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and then how you would describe
yourself now.

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Yeah, so when I was younger, I
was a very happy-go-lucky child

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and, you know, I just tried to
live life to the extent that I

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could as child both, my mom and
dad are deaf.

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So I had to balance.
The life of being a child and

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having responsibility of
translating for my parents for

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the phone or even as something
as simple as going to the

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grocery store and translating
conversation between a cashier

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or Deli counter worker.
So as a child there was that

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kind of responsibility and as an
adult I'm still the same

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happy-go-lucky person as I was
and funny story.

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When I was a child I always used
to say that I wanted to be a

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Care Bear.
When I grew up everyone who asks

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me every Teacher.
I was like, I want to be careful

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when I grow up and lo and
behold.

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I'm a Care Bear.
So you learned sign language at

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a very young age because your
parents are deaf and you are

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advocating early on in life.
Can you tell us what it's been?

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Like, because I am actually the
mother of a disabled boy and I

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have become his biggest
Advocate, his biggest proponents

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and so when it starts from home,
it really means something more

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to you, doesn't it?
It really does.

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And as a child, In sign language
and growing up in a time period

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where we have the Americans
Disabilities Act?

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However it was just enacted
around the time period, I was

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born.
So sometimes with governmental

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policy, we don't think ahead of
how we're going to make sure

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something works and that was
very much the case with the

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Americans with Disabilities Act.
So there wasn't a lot of Public

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Access or resources for people
with disabilities, which is why.

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As a child, I had to step in and
be a translator.

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And advocate for my parents and
even going growing up and going

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through grade school, making
sure that my parents had the

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same access to events that were
going on at the school and

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having translators available so
that I didn't have to do it.

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And I could appreciate being a
child and was a very big part of

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my life growing up.
Most of my family didn't learn

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sign language.
So, I was really the only one

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that people relied on.
Wow.

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And so, you really have Taken
that on as being the Care Bear

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and not only helping your
parents but really thinking

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about how the act and maybe in
its progression and other sorts

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of policies.
Do help the greater good, the

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greater public?
Yeah.

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Absolutely.
I take a lot of the way I view

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policy and how we can create
change in our environment based

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off of the experiences I've had
in my life and sharing those

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experiences.
Makes that more powerful

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argument for making policy
change.

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Now, there is a story about the
disability awareness, art

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contest that you want in the 4th
grade.

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Can you tell us about that?
Yes, so when I was in the fourth

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grade, I had this great teacher,
her name was mrs.

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Moore, Jackie.
And she was inspired by my life

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story to have all of the
students in her class learn a

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little bit of sign language but
also bring awareness to lots of

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different disabilities and so We
all were in an art contest and

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she submitted every single
Student Art to New York state

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for a disability.
Awareness art contest and I am

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not by any means a good artist.
Okay, I don't try, I would, I

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would actually disagree with
that but we were in the fourth

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game.
So yeah, so I drew a picture of

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me and my dad signing to each
other and we both signing the

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sign language for.
I love you, which is this.

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This for everyone.
I know that it's getting a

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little worried that there you
go.

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So it means I love you in sign
language and so I drew this

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picture of us signing back and
forth and misspelled the word

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sign to sing and sent it to New
York State.

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And I got third place and they
brought us all up to Albany,

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this really awesome.
That's amazing when I was

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learning sign language as a
youngster.

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I think I learned, I love you as
I love you.

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So it's been Court handed which
I Is great.

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Yes.
Wow.

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So are you comfortable giving us
some background on your

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coming-out story?
Oh absolutely.

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So my coming out story has like
three main parts.

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I grew up in a very rural
conservative environment where

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everyone was really religious
and I grew up in a church that

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essentially said you're better
off being dead than being gay

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and so it New York.
This is an Upstate New York.

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Yeah.
So so growing up as a young

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person and trying to figure out
my life, it was all very

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confusing and unfortunately I
also fall into the category of

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lgbtq people.
That's very common to have a

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negative coming out story and
Trigger warning.

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I'm going to talk about suicide.
So I had a lot of suicidal

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ideation because there was that
message being drilled into my

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head.
You know, you're better off

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being dead than being gay and at
the I meant I started having

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these really bad negative
thoughts about myself and what I

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could do to end it all.
Really I call it divine

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intervention, call it
coincidence, but my stereo alarm

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went off and it just played this
really bright music that I had

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never heard before almost
verging on classical music and

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whatever it was.
In that moment made me stop and

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really made me go.
You are worthy.

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You are worthy of Happiness,
you're worthy of joy.

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You're worthy of love.
You don't need to worry about

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this, so I decided then I was
going to live my life the way I

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wanted to and be open and out
and honest.

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So I told my mom and my mom
cried and then I was like, why

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are you crying?
And my mom said because I'm so

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happy that you finally, you
know, discovered who you are.

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I've always known that, you were
different than most people, but

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there was that.
And then my dad had a more

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negative reaction.
He essentially told me I was

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going to go to hell, and I was
going to die of AIDS and that he

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wishes that I could have told
him sooner so that he could have

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quote-unquote fixed me.
So, it was very heartbreaking.

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And that's when I decided I
needed to get away from all of

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that, negativity, and all of
that pressure and really start

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somewhere new where I could live
my truth and be happy.

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Yeah, well, thank you for
sharing.

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And all of that.
And your story is not uncommon,

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and especially when it comes to
rural communities where there's

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a heavy influence of religion.
And, you know, there's just this

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sense of control and an old.
So, you know, patriarchal type

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of thinking and I congratulate
you also just like your mom

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because I kind of consider
myself a big mama bear to, I

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mean, I congratulate you for
having the courage to step out

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and be yourself.
It is not easy, especially when

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Faced with those kinds of
reactions and, you know, that

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they're coming.
But it's more important for you

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to live your truth than to die
in a lie.

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And it takes time.
It takes healing.

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It takes a bit more
understanding and now thank

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goodness years have gone.
By there is a bit more openness

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and society when it comes to
lgbtq communities and support

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and rallying but it's still
there.

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And yeah, the whole influence of
the, you know, this narrow

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mindset.
Of not letting live and live is,

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unfortunately, it's very much
still pervasive, which is why

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you're doing what you're doing
right now making.

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Yeah, it's representation
matters.

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And you know, those stories
being heard by people makes

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change, I always lived my life
in a way of, you know, change

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and growth happens through
uncomfortable circumstances and

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uncomfortability.
So getting that story out there

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and, you know, either most
comfortable, Story for people to

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hear but that story will
resonate with them and hopefully

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make change in their lives.
Yeah, the only way out is

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through.
It's true.

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Amen.
For you doing that now.

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You created the first lgbtq+,
student organization on Mary

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mounts campus, in 2008 when you
were there and then the

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following year, you helped
organize Marymount students to

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attend the national equality
March in Washington.

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D.c., tell us about all of this
because you started to develop

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even more activism as you.
I started getting into college

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and Beyond yeah.
So when I went to college, you

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know, I used a lot of the same
advocacy skills that I learned

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as a child.
And I recognized, here's this

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group of lgbtq people.
And I went to a liberal arts

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college that had a large theater
and dance program, so like the

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largest Department in the whole
school.

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So there was a ton of lgbtq
people and none of them had a

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voice.
None of them had a place that

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they could go.
Two and really share the

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experiences that they've had or
even, you know, talk about

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inclusive, sex education.
And so I created this group, it

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was a gay-straight Alliance in
the day and we had about 50

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people sign up within the first
week of us being an organization

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and we started meeting monthly
at first and then weekly, and we

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talked about tons of different
lgbtq and queer issues.

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And then started making change
in the school to make us more

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visible.
Yeah.

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And doesn't it give you that
sense that you're not alone

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because I think when you're
going through something like

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this, you feel alienated and
ostracized.

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And that's a lonely existence.
But then all of a sudden you

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discover your people, you
discover your community and

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there's nothing but love.
And it feels so good to know

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that you're in the right place.
You're in the place where you

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belong.
Yes.

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Absolutely growing up in a rural
area where I didn't even think I

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had known another.
Person growing up and then all

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of a sudden having a ton to
create this Vibrant Community of

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support and people that, you
know, you can go to who've had

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similar experiences in your life
was life-changing.

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So when the National Quality
March was happening, I had found

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out about it a week before the
March was supposed to go.

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And so, I, rallied, everyone
together went right up to the

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student organization and the
student board and said, Hey,

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listen, There's this March we
should all go.

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We should do it, we should
represent the school and it was

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like three days later.
They gave us permission.

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Got a bus and we all went down.
That is so beautiful.

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You know, this reminds me of a
story when my son was first

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diagnosed with his disability,
he had a nurse that had started

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with us, 21 years old right out
of, you know, nursing school.

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And he was openly gay.
And I remember my mom who was a

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very religious person, always
like all of my life.

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Hot the same exact thing.
As you know, your family had

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been taught is that oh you're
going to hell if your perverted

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person you know gay people or
just going to be condemned.

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And when she saw the love that
this person had for my son and

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how very much he cared for him.
And just his overarching Spirit

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00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,800
after spending some time with
him, she literally said to me

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00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:25,600
there's no way he's going to
hell.

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00:13:27,300 --> 00:13:31,600
And I said yeah.
And it just shows you.

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00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,500
There's a lot of ignorance, it's
just, you know, people just

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00:13:34,500 --> 00:13:37,300
don't understand and they're
fearful of what they don't know.

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00:13:37,700 --> 00:13:41,400
And so I think that now that
we're helping with awareness and

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00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,500
education and, you know, they
always say the best way to get

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00:13:44,500 --> 00:13:47,600
rid of fear is exposure.
It's just no, get in front of

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00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,300
people that you don't normally
spend time with and that's what

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00:13:51,300 --> 00:13:54,100
diversity and inclusion is all
about.

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00:13:54,100 --> 00:13:57,100
It's like not being afraid of
somebody who's different from

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00:13:57,100 --> 00:13:59,600
you and being okay with letting
them live their lives.

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00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:02,600
The way that they wish to, As
Long As nobody's hurting each

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00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,600
other or doing any harm, then,
you know, it's all in good fun

244
00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,600
and it's all about Joy.
It's all about yeah, we're all

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00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,700
human beings at the end of the
day trying to make our lives

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00:14:11,700 --> 00:14:13,400
better.
Beautiful humans.

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00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:17,500
That's what I say.
Now you're running for New York

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00:14:17,500 --> 00:14:21,300
State Assembly, District 101.
Did you always know you wanted

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00:14:21,300 --> 00:14:23,700
to be a politics?
Absolutely.

250
00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:31,000
Not the hardest thing from
honestly, The I never thought I

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00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,800
was going to be a politician.
I never thought I was going to

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00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:37,500
get involved in politics.
I always had an interest in

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00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:41,800
policy and how it affects
Community groups, but never

254
00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,700
really thought.
Okay, I'm gonna go do something

255
00:14:45,100 --> 00:14:49,700
and that really changed when I
was a family advocate for

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00:14:49,700 --> 00:14:53,100
children who have special needs.
And so, I spent a lot of time

257
00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:56,600
arguing with insurance companies
and to make sure they had

258
00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,100
benefits and they paid the
benefits.

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00:14:59,700 --> 00:15:05,100
And what really changed that
was, I had a client whose child

260
00:15:05,100 --> 00:15:08,800
had traumatic brain injury due
to an accidental gunshot wound

261
00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:14,200
to the head and they were in an
inpatient rehabilitation center

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00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,700
learning how to walk and talk
again for eight months.

263
00:15:17,700 --> 00:15:21,500
And I had spent eight months
fighting the insurance company

264
00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:24,800
to pay about two million dollars
worth of medical bills and this

265
00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,400
is right around when covid-19
arting.

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00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:31,500
So, the medical team came To me
and the insurance company.

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00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:35,700
And said, hey, if this child
gets covid, their immune system

268
00:15:35,700 --> 00:15:39,100
is not going to be able to
handle it and they will not make

269
00:15:39,100 --> 00:15:45,100
it and the insurance company
kept denying at home therapy so

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00:15:45,100 --> 00:15:47,200
that he could continue to walk
and talk.

271
00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,700
So we fought with the insurance
company for three months, trying

272
00:15:51,700 --> 00:15:56,500
to get the outpatient services
that they needed, and,

273
00:15:56,500 --> 00:16:01,000
unfortunately, because of the
bureaucracy, And loopholes of

274
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,400
insurance.
They just kept denying.

275
00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:07,300
And unfortunately, the child,
contracted covid and died a

276
00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:14,200
month later and that sparked a
lot of frustration and a lot of

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00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:18,300
anger and sadness for me because
I treat everyone, as if they

278
00:16:18,300 --> 00:16:22,800
were my own family.
And I was like, I'm fed up.

279
00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:25,300
I'm tired.
Enough is enough things have got

280
00:16:25,300 --> 00:16:28,800
to change.
This shouldn't be legal that

281
00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,600
insurance.
Companies could just deny this

282
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,300
so I decided I was going to
start running for office and I

283
00:16:35,308 --> 00:16:38,900
was going to social work school
at the same time and found out,

284
00:16:38,900 --> 00:16:41,500
there's such a thing as
legislative and policy social

285
00:16:41,500 --> 00:16:44,300
work.
So I changed my focus to that.

286
00:16:44,300 --> 00:16:49,300
And then used my time in school,
to create a platform, based off

287
00:16:49,300 --> 00:16:52,700
of all of the different issues
that my district needs.

288
00:16:53,500 --> 00:16:55,500
Gosh, wow.
What a catalyst.

289
00:16:55,500 --> 00:17:00,000
I'm so sorry that that happened
but I know that sometimes These

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00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,600
things will help to lead to
change so that perhaps it won't

291
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,200
happen as much in the future,
for sure.

292
00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:08,700
Yeah.
So can you give us an insight

293
00:17:08,700 --> 00:17:11,400
into your platform?
What are those changes that you

294
00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:16,400
wish to see more specifically?
So, specifically in my district,

295
00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:19,800
we have a huge issue with rural
Healthcare and Rural mental

296
00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,099
health.
There are portions in my

297
00:17:22,099 --> 00:17:25,300
district, where it takes two
hours to drive, to find a

298
00:17:25,308 --> 00:17:29,300
doctor, and then you have to
wait, six months to be seen by a

299
00:17:29,308 --> 00:17:30,900
car.
Mary care physician or even

300
00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:32,500
longer.
If you're seeing a specialty

301
00:17:32,500 --> 00:17:35,600
care provider, there are some
counties in my district, where

302
00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,900
there's only one mental health
facility in the whole County.

303
00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:44,800
And so, the access and the
resources are just not there for

304
00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,100
any type of health care, or
mental health care.

305
00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:51,000
We also struggle with broadband
and cell phone service which I

306
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,500
know is not the most popular
topic to in the world to talk

307
00:17:53,500 --> 00:17:55,600
about.
But there are times when I'm

308
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,100
driving through the district and
I don't have cell service for

309
00:17:58,100 --> 00:18:02,600
two hours and Back roads.
God forbid anything happens.

310
00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,000
There's a real public safety
issue there.

311
00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:09,600
And then of course, you know I
want to enact New York Health,

312
00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,900
the New York Health act which is
a Universal Health Care system

313
00:18:13,900 --> 00:18:17,400
that would guarantee healthcare
for every single person in this

314
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:21,800
state regardless of your income
regardless of where you work and

315
00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:26,300
it just opens up multitude of
different providers for people

316
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,500
within the state.
That's amazing, I wish.

317
00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,400
Is that the whole process of
getting through insurance and

318
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,400
claims and all of that was so
much smoother.

319
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,700
I am longing for that day
because it is a full time job

320
00:18:38,700 --> 00:18:42,000
advocating and sitting on the
phone and writing letters and

321
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,900
all of that, it's not easy and I
live in premature, you know, I

322
00:18:45,908 --> 00:18:49,800
live in Los Angeles.
It's a metropolis here and I

323
00:18:49,808 --> 00:18:52,900
don't take for granted that I
have both private and public

324
00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:56,500
insurance and and so if one is
denied, then I have, you know,

325
00:18:56,500 --> 00:19:00,100
others that I can rotate too.
But my heart goes out to People

326
00:19:00,100 --> 00:19:04,400
who don't have the opportunities
because of the lack of access.

327
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:08,500
It's not you.
It is extremely difficult,

328
00:19:08,500 --> 00:19:13,800
especially in rural communities,
and, you know, ironically, the

329
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,000
insurance company that I was
arguing with was also the

330
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,000
insurance company that hired me
to Advocate on behalf of the

331
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:21,500
families.
They were representing.

332
00:19:21,500 --> 00:19:27,000
So it became this whole process
where it's rather ironic, that

333
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,400
you're paying me to do something
that you should already.

334
00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,300
He be doing on behalf of the
clients that you serve, not.

335
00:19:33,300 --> 00:19:37,300
I mean, and it is necessary,
particularly with kids who have

336
00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:42,300
special needs, because the
statistics are that families who

337
00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:45,400
have children with special
needs, go to the doctor seven

338
00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:50,100
times more frequently and spend
seven times longer on the phone

339
00:19:50,100 --> 00:19:54,200
with insurance companies and
medical doctors when they could

340
00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,800
be focusing.
All of that time towards their

341
00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:01,400
child, which is more important.
Now, if you win, you'll become

342
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,900
the first non-binary elected
representative in the New York

343
00:20:04,900 --> 00:20:07,900
state government.
How does that make you feel?

344
00:20:08,100 --> 00:20:13,800
It makes me feel really proud of
the fact that it's 2022,

345
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,400
non-binary people have been here
forever, and just because we

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00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,500
have new terms for it doesn't
mean that it didn't exist in the

347
00:20:20,500 --> 00:20:24,500
15th, 1600s.
Yeah, and I would be extremely

348
00:20:24,500 --> 00:20:27,200
proud to be the first
non-binary, New York state

349
00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,500
legislator and I think it really
does give me.

350
00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:35,800
Me a different kind of insight
to how to run politics and how

351
00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:40,100
we can actually work together.
Instead of being so divisive,

352
00:20:40,100 --> 00:20:43,800
which is what we see our
politics, becoming because as a

353
00:20:43,808 --> 00:20:48,700
non-binary person I do recognize
that there is a spectrum of

354
00:20:48,700 --> 00:20:53,800
genders and it's not just this
binary issue and the same thing

355
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,300
happens in our politics is we
have a spectrum of different

356
00:20:57,300 --> 00:21:03,600
political beliefs but were Bind
to these two parties that really

357
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:07,400
are, is coming to a head in a
clash point with one another.

358
00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:12,300
That it becomes so divisive
versus, I'm running to represent

359
00:21:12,300 --> 00:21:16,000
everyone in my district.
So the way I look at it as you

360
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:21,000
know people over parties that
people matter more than one

361
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:25,200
party or the other and breaking
away from that cultural norm

362
00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:26,700
that we have.
Exactly.

363
00:21:26,700 --> 00:21:29,400
Are you running on an
independent ticket?

364
00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:33,300
No, so it's extremely hard to
run in New York state on an

365
00:21:33,300 --> 00:21:37,300
independent line because of how
the laws are created in my

366
00:21:37,300 --> 00:21:39,300
state.
It makes it that much more

367
00:21:39,300 --> 00:21:41,000
difficult to run as an
independent.

368
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,800
So I am running on the
Democratic ticket, but I'm also

369
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:49,100
running on the Working Families
party, which is a third party in

370
00:21:49,100 --> 00:21:53,200
New York state that represents
Working Families and individuals

371
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,300
and unions.
So I'm going to be running on

372
00:21:56,300 --> 00:21:59,000
their ticket as well.
Got it, got it and it makes

373
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,200
perfect sense.
And I completely understand.

374
00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:05,900
I'm wearing my blue and I'm
wearing my purple, blue red or

375
00:22:05,900 --> 00:22:09,900
purple here in between there you
go.

376
00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:13,800
I'm curious.
Do you have any role models that

377
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,100
help shape to you during your
whole life?

378
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:22,600
Probably my, grandmother on my
dad's side, she always had a way

379
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:28,000
of being kind and making sure
that everyone around her knew

380
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,600
her experiences as well.
Well, she wrote a book based off

381
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:36,500
of raising a deaf child and you
know, she had done so much for

382
00:22:36,500 --> 00:22:40,400
her community and advocacy.
So I really got those lessons

383
00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,000
from my grandmother.
She always used to say kindness

384
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:44,600
is something that everyone can
afford.

385
00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:49,100
And probably my grandmother, my
mom and dad were both very

386
00:22:49,100 --> 00:22:52,200
influential regardless of my
coming-out experience.

387
00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:57,000
My dad was a very kind and
giving person joyful and you

388
00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:03,400
know, everyone who knew him like
Knew what Joy was so that really

389
00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,900
resonates with me as well.
And same thing with my mom.

390
00:23:06,900 --> 00:23:12,200
She had her own struggles and
she powered through it, and she

391
00:23:12,300 --> 00:23:15,700
is a great person.
And she taught me the power of

392
00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:20,100
really getting uncomfortable,
and becoming a better person

393
00:23:20,100 --> 00:23:23,600
through that uncomfortability.
Yeah, that's amazing.

394
00:23:23,900 --> 00:23:26,000
And I think that that's so
important as you're entering

395
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,800
into politics.
Because I think once people get

396
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,600
into that, Whole round you think
about ruthlessness a lot of

397
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:36,000
broken promises you know doing
whatever you know you need to do

398
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,400
and possibly compromising your
integrity in order to do it.

399
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,800
And as long as you have that
strong Foundation of kindness

400
00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,800
and backbone, and really, being
for people and not power.

401
00:23:47,100 --> 00:23:50,200
And that's what being a public
servant is really all about.

402
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,100
And I congratulate you for
running and doing something that

403
00:23:53,100 --> 00:23:57,100
wasn't your whole life's, you
know, intention to begin with

404
00:23:57,100 --> 00:24:01,000
and is often the antithesis of
what people would All joy, but

405
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,200
we're hands.
It's very important.

406
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,100
Yeah, I like to bring joy back
into politics.

407
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,500
Everyone.
I meet, you know, sometimes I'll

408
00:24:09,700 --> 00:24:13,700
even sing while I'm doing a
campaign event, because, you

409
00:24:13,700 --> 00:24:16,800
know, why not?
We're all human beings and it's

410
00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,000
just good to connect on that
kind of level.

411
00:24:19,100 --> 00:24:21,400
Yeah.
And speaking of that, you are a

412
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,300
drag queen also.
So, when did you join the drag

413
00:24:25,300 --> 00:24:28,600
community and when did you
develop a love for makeup and

414
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:32,100
fashion?
So my first drag performance

415
00:24:32,100 --> 00:24:36,400
ever was, when I was a freshman
in college at Suny Fredonia, I

416
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:42,600
went there for one year and I
met a group of people that did

417
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:47,000
drag professionally and I was
like, what is this?

418
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:51,400
I have no idea because, you
know, growing up in a rural

419
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,800
conservative environment you
don't get exposed to that.

420
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:59,400
So I went to my first drag show
ever and I was flabbergasted.

421
00:24:59,500 --> 00:25:03,700
Gasps Ted I went to this bar
called March Hellas in Buffalo

422
00:25:03,700 --> 00:25:08,000
New York and I was like
completely.

423
00:25:08,100 --> 00:25:12,000
Like there was an epiphany in my
mind like I would really like to

424
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,400
do this.
So they did an on-campus drag

425
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:19,200
show and someone made a dress
for me.

426
00:25:19,300 --> 00:25:22,100
Someone let me borrow heels and
borrow makeup.

427
00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:26,200
And I looked like a total hot
mess but it was like the best

428
00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:29,300
time of my life.
No.

429
00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:31,900
No makeup tutorials back then,
on YouTube.

430
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:37,000
So, that was my first drag
performance and, you know,

431
00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,500
throughout the years I've been
doing drag on and off and now

432
00:25:41,500 --> 00:25:45,900
I'm car be the drag tipis.
I do dragon activism on Tick.

433
00:25:45,900 --> 00:25:52,700
Tock, I do a lot of validating
lgbtq Youth and really letting

434
00:25:52,700 --> 00:25:57,100
them know you know your valid
you don't need to be afraid.

435
00:25:57,100 --> 00:26:01,900
It gets better and people do
come With a lot of heartbreaking

436
00:26:01,900 --> 00:26:07,900
stories from age 10 and up like
telling me their struggles and I

437
00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:10,700
let them know that they're valid
and it's okay to feel that the

438
00:26:10,700 --> 00:26:14,700
way they're feeling right now.
And then I do a lot of activism

439
00:26:14,700 --> 00:26:18,700
work on the side as well.
Oh, my gosh, what do you think

440
00:26:18,700 --> 00:26:21,500
about the current state of
inclusion within the political

441
00:26:21,500 --> 00:26:25,800
world?
I think that the current state

442
00:26:25,900 --> 00:26:29,100
of our political world is not
very inclusive.

443
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:34,100
To lgbtq people as a whole.
I mean I won't name parties but

444
00:26:34,100 --> 00:26:37,500
there's a party that's literally
trying to take away the rights

445
00:26:37,500 --> 00:26:43,100
of lgbtq people and erasing them
from existence in education and

446
00:26:43,100 --> 00:26:47,900
in books and literature by
Banning lgbtq stories and that

447
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,700
is really conducive to what we
were talking about before about

448
00:26:51,700 --> 00:26:56,400
this two-sided issue where our
politics is really coming into a

449
00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,300
turning point really.
And we have another party whose

450
00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:02,600
More inclusive.
But there isn't enough

451
00:27:02,700 --> 00:27:07,700
representation for lgbtq people,
and that is from local

452
00:27:07,700 --> 00:27:10,400
legislators.
All the way up to Federal

453
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,300
legislators like Congress.
And, you know, although I will

454
00:27:14,300 --> 00:27:17,500
say this, the current
Administration, the Biden

455
00:27:17,500 --> 00:27:22,700
Administration has the most
inclusive cabinet of any

456
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,500
Administration that has ever
happened.

457
00:27:25,500 --> 00:27:29,200
So we are making great strides,
but we're not 100% there yet.

458
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,300
Yeah, yeah.
Here's to forward progress.

459
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,600
And so I'm just curious.
Do you have any advice for those

460
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,400
that might be struggling to
follow their dreams?

461
00:27:39,900 --> 00:27:44,000
Yes.
So you're valid, you're worthy.

462
00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:50,100
Allow yourself the time to let
your dreams expand and create

463
00:27:50,100 --> 00:27:54,600
new Visions within yourself and
allow yourself the openness to

464
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,800
really discover who you are.
And as you grow through time,

465
00:27:57,900 --> 00:28:00,400
you'll see that your dreams.
Do you change?

466
00:28:00,500 --> 00:28:05,700
So if you're struggling to find
your place or even to know what

467
00:28:05,700 --> 00:28:10,500
your dreams are know that, it's
okay to not know and also it's

468
00:28:10,500 --> 00:28:13,300
okay for your dreams to change
over time.

469
00:28:13,500 --> 00:28:18,500
Absolutely Matthew Mackey
running for office, running for

470
00:28:18,500 --> 00:28:21,900
New York State Legislature and
in District 1 0 1.

471
00:28:21,900 --> 00:28:26,200
Those of you in District 1 0 1,
get-out-the-vote register, get

472
00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:30,700
out to vote on November 8, 2020.
Me too Matthew.

473
00:28:30,700 --> 00:28:33,800
Mackey is your choice Matthew
for change.

474
00:28:33,900 --> 00:28:35,900
It is a delight to speak to you
today.

475
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,900
I'm so so much Jennifer and
thanks to all of you, I'm

476
00:28:39,900 --> 00:28:42,100
honored as well.
So, thank you so much.