Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Founder of Cat Ladies for America, comedian, and angry optimist, Blaire Postman, conducts real-talk, claws-out interviews with people trying to make things suck less in new and different ways.
hi Gritty Kitties welcome to another episode of Catty Chats
where we talk to people who are making things suck less
in new and different ways
today we're talking to Cori Herbig from Project Ninja
and a lot of other organizations in northern New Jersey
he's been on the ground for many days at Delaney Hall in New York
and has also been fighting consistently
over the last weeks and months
to fight the would be detention center in Roxbury
New Jersey in the county in which she lives
welcome Corey
how are you hi
I'm good thanks for having me
thank you for being here it has been a crazy
I was gonna say week it's been a crazy decade
it's been a crazy decade
first of all shout out to home state of New Jersey
I grew up in Bergen County
next door to where you are in Morris County
and that's where my whole family still lives
and so all things Jersey especially
especially Northern Jersey
still really get my attention
I know that you work with the Morris Ice Rapid response
as well as the group with roxberry
who's been fighting the Roxberry detention center and more
and I'd come across your
your feed and some of the testimony you've been giving
so glad to have you here so thanks for being here
I appreciate it I know we're all juggling a lot right now
so many things so many things
first of all as
just so everybody knows verified cat lady
hundred percent not surprising
not surprising three
three cats yes
that's like extra credit for more than two
so verified cat ladies
so by which doesn't surprise us at all
we're a very we know our people are very claws out
even the introverts are claws out
but like they
they type a hell of an email
and they can organize the shit out of an event
so I am extra glad to be talking to you
it's for a cat lady from New Jersey
it's just it's just
we were meant to be you have been working a lot
protesting ice in a few different ways and all things related to that
can you tell me how you got involved
what came first and um
sort of the history yeah
if I can try to remember it
so sorry
the last year is like a giant blur
so bear with me while I piece it back together
you are you are fine
and also yes yeah
um
so I have a very good friend who was working a few months back for a
an immigrant rights organization in New Jersey
and you know
we started to hear that I think you guys probably remember
there was like
a Washington Post article that broke
I know Hagerstown folks saw this too
yes like
listed out all the sites for the warehouses
the proposed yes
so we saw that and like
Roxbury is a couple towns away from me
and so I was like what
like this is
this is not happening here
like this is not no
we're not doing this and so I reached out to him
and we just started doing
because I just do uh
my friend who works for an immigrant rights organization
OK OK
thank you yeah
and we just started doing some like
very gritty scrappy research about what warehouses existed in roxberry
and like doing like
tax record search to figure it out
figure out who owns them like who
you know we
a lot of us in the space were doing this work and just like
trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together so we could fight this
there's a lot of like
murder she wrote ice division stuff going on
whether it's Hagerstown rapid response or the folks out in Utah or
you know all over the place
and it's really impressive
and it's a lot of people who are like oh
I was a real estate agent
and I know about you know
this land totally zoning
you know or whatever
and it turns out to be really helpful stuff
yes yeah
I did housing law for like
a hot minute out of law school
and so I was like wait
I actually know something about it
I was a lawyer for a hot minute too
then wasn't ever again right
anyway so you've been
you were doing all this the murder she wrote ice edition
you and this person you started gathering others
yeah and then
well
so he reached out to some contacts he had at a New Jersey non profit
and turned out he couldn't make the first call that we had
so I found myself on the phone alone with them
and like somehow
I mean as it happens right
I just got sucked into it
and then
more and more people started to sort of come in and talk about like
okay how do we actually stop this
what do we need from the town of Roxbury
what can they legally do what should we be asking them to do
what do we need from the state
what can they legally do what should we be asking them for
and so it it sort of snowballed
and like
you know Sussex Visibility Brigade had a protest back in like
December or January it was cold
it was really cold
yeah it was a very cold winter when we were all yeah
it was really bitter cold January February
the number of times I have said
if I'm gonna keep fighting fascism
it needs to get warmer beyond me
right right
but so we had that first protest
and I think there were maybe like
between 50 and 100 people there
which was a big turnout for a town the size of that
you will notice that and then yeah yeah
and like
what we saw was like
all these people driving by
giving us confused looks like
what are they out there what did their signs say
because nobody knew what was happening
right so that was sort of like
like breaking the door open on awareness
and as more and more people started to realize what was happening
we started to drive people to the town council meetings in roxberry
so I like
I activated the FDP coffee clutch
and I said who's coming to roxberry with me
right and like
all these people started to flood into the
the Roxberry Town Council meetings
we were you know
testifying before them for like hours
and they hate us they absolutely hate us
but like
this is real and they don't want it
yep cause I know
for example so I worked a lot with Hagerstown Rapid Response
and that sort of got me in deeper and deeper into this
but the it's about an hour and a half from Baltimore
but it's also an hour and a half from DT DC
it's its own little island in Maryland in a way
and it is it's not deep Ruby red
but compared to a lot of Maryland it's
you know it's purple
leaning red and the board of County Commissioners is 1,000% red
and I'm wondering what the makeup is in Roxbury
hundred percent red the entire town council and the mayor
all red um
so that was challenging not
it's in the New York greater region
but it's not like right next door
right across the river right
it's I grew up in Bergen County and it's west of that and north
and so it's yeah
it's about 45 minutes west of the city
and it is red it is a red county
like all of our county level elected are Republican
there are no blue elected county wide um
so it it's a challenge right
and we really
really had to hold their feet to the fire and call them out uh
and push them they still haven't done the things we wanted them to do
they you know
made some BS resolution about how they were against the warehouse
but didn't take any actual action
what what have you asked them
name a couple of the things that you're still trying to get them to do
well so
there's still a bunch of ordinances that they could pass
that we think would be effective
in helping to keep this thing from getting up and running
so the warehouse has been sold to DHS
that's done but there is a consent agreement at the court right now
so they saw what happened in Maryland
DHS saw what happened in Maryland
and they were like whoa okay
we know we're gonna lose in this hearing
the fact that like
Morris Ice Rapid Response and Project Ninja
which is no ice northern New Jersey
which is a like
Main Group fighting this warehouse in Roxbury
and like Project Saltbox and people from Utah
people from all over the country
are talking to each other and learning lessons about how to fight
this stuff is amazing like
it has become this like
nationwide network of activism to fight back against this regime
which I just find so incredible
that's how I found you to somebody I knew
yeah somebody I knew
and then I know them and then they gave me your name and uh
and I saw your video online
and so when we're talking about
I'd love to hear one or two
of the things that you're trying to get them to do
that might be a little different
cause every Geo has its own quirks and
and sort of depends on how far along the project is
and whether they own the building and
and other zoning and lots of other things
but so I'd love to know what you're trying to get them to do
but I also would love to know any sort of creative
slightly different things
actions that you all have taken
and they don't have to be
you know a clown parade a little
although that sounds like a good idea
a literal clown parade sounds like a thing
if we could have poodles riding tricycles but
but just anything that you've done that's been effective
that maybe it took you a couple of actions to get to that idea
yeah so
you know I think right now there's a focus on like
what can this what can the town enforce
like there are fencing permits right
and they want to put up temporary fencing
so how do we get the town to deny those permits
so things like that um
I think there's a lot of creativity that can be had in those systems
those permitting systems within each town
and every town is a little different
like you said when I took that New Jersey bar at
the day after the New York bar
what was the big what was the big thing they
they studied on the in the
in the prep class now
mine was like
30 years ago but in the prep class
what was that it was zoning
my friends so yes
zoning nobody has stricter zoning than the state of New Jersey
that was a big add on in the bar exam
yeah so like
lot of lot of exploration in that space
trying to figure out what the town does
and doesn't have authority to do
and then honestly like
just accountability like
showing up at those town council meetings every week to be like
why aren't you doing this thing
what are you doing about this
why aren't you being transparent about any communications you've had
with the attorney general's office
or with DHS or with whoever
right so there's a lot of holding feet to the fire
um because frankly
with a fully Republican town council
they're not gonna do that if we don't force them to
um we've had some really
really amazing activists testifying in super effective ways
like there's one woman who got up repeatedly for a number of weeks
and read quotes from
from concentration camps like
Nazi Germany concentration camps
wow and would throw in a quote from detainees at Delaney Hall and say
which one which one
that's an amazing that's amazing
and it makes so much sense
and I had never thought of that exact thing never
that's amazing it was so moving
like people were crying in the council meetings
um it like
so there are some really effective tactics and um
uh you know
things being done to keep the town council accountable
um we've been urging them
and it sort of
Segways into the other part of what I'm working on right now
but it sort of Segways into the conversation around Delaney Hall
we've been trying to get the Roxbury Town Council members
to go visit Delaney Hall to see what is happening there
none of them have gone
I think there were one or two who expressed interest in going
and then haven't followed through on doing that
not that they would be allowed inside anyway
but we want them to go
and meet the families of the people being held in Delaney Hall
and talk to them about that experience
and see what it's like there
to be able to say to them like
this is not what you want in your town
right and when I got up last week
in the Roxbury Town Council meeting and testified
it was after I had been pepper sprayed at Delaney Hall
when Andy when Senator Kim was there
and we were all really sort of reeling from that experience
um and I tried really hard to draw that through line for them like
this is what is coming to your town if you don't stand up and stop it
right like
we will be out here protesting in Roxbury
and your police chief is gonna have to deal with it
when ice pepper sprays us
like this is what ice brings to town
in addition to disease in addition to um
over burdening the 9 1 1 system
in addition to over burdening the sewers and the
and the any kind of emergency need
because they don't they don't with their billion dollar contract
they don't keep medical care on staff
they're always gonna be in the er or calling ambulances
they're not going to be
you're not getting tax revenue from that property anymore
everything else along those lines
if we're just looking at it in a nuts and bolts sort of way
even if you are dead set on not paying attention to the humanity part
there's a lot it's gonna impact you and your family
you know county board
like as much as I hate to say it
like people like you and I care about the humanitarian side of this
right like
I don't think anybody should be kept in the kinds of conditions
that people are being kept in
in these camps it is absolutely heartbreaking and makes me like
literally sick to my stomach
there are some people who are not gonna be moved by that
they just don't care and we can't make them care
you know you can't make somebody care about other people
that's just it's not how it works
so for those people guess what
the Musconetcong Sewer Authority
is going to be completely overburdened
and there's not going to be anywhere for the sewage to go
yep right
so it's I think
you know a lot of different approaches
a lot of different tactics
um just so that you can try to sweep everybody in
property values are gonna decline right
the reputation of the town is gonna go down
that got a lot of people out to the bigger protests
that started to grow in Roxbury
um so
you know there's in like
the left world I'm sure you're no stranger to this
there is this like
sense of purity test that people try to carry through it
and I get that like
we want people to care about people
but sometimes you also have to talk about super right right
like sometimes it's a
sometimes it's shit running through the streets
that's going to get their attention
for some people exactly
like it's a yes
and situation it's a yes
and because if we care about the humanity
and we are going to use all the tools we can
to get people to care
about the thing that gets the humanity taken care of
even if it's not them caring about the humanity
as directly as we would expect
or like exactly
um and so I wanted to shift gears a little bit and um
because it sounds like Roxbury
like a lot of places
feels like it's in a little bit of this holding pattern
but it feels like they're trying to gather their strength
their resources their
it's feels like they're in a staging moment
even though they're not supposed to be doing certain things
they clearly are case in point in Hagerstown today
so I wanted to just confirm that that is
first of all where you guys find yourself right now on
on the Rocksbury front
yeah we actually are pretty sure that
they're literally using the Roxberry warehouse right now
as an ice staging facility
so there are a ton of ice cars going in and out of there
on any given day
we have folks tracking that so that we know which cars are ice cars
right where
there's a lot of license plate tracking happening
I'm not that girly but I know the people who are that
I can't be that girl but same yeah same
I'm not that person but I
there are people doing it
I'm super grateful for them
um but we're pretty sure that's kind of like
where they're launching out of
when they're hitting the the surrounding towns
and detaining people and taking them to Delaney Hall
right so it's like
all interconnected of course yes
that's and they've been pretty blunt about it
they they're taking it
once they had that loss in federal court here in Baltimore
and I was there in the courtroom that day they uh
they've kind of put it on the download
but as we can see they are looking for every way to get around
even an injunction from a federal judge
so what was the thing or
when did you start
going to Delaney Hall and trying to help those people there
who have you met there and
and what can you tell us
before we get to what has happened just in the last few days
yeah so um
first of all I met so many incredible people
I mean the network of people is just beyond anything I can describe
um so
I went to another ice protest in a small town in New Jersey
called Roseland
where they're trying to open one of their field offices
right and the town of Roseland is starting to come out
and protest against that and push back against it
so I was out in you know
the freezing cold pouring rain with my 15 year old kid by my side
protesting the Roseland Ice Field office
and I met this woman whose husband had been detained
and was being held at Delaney Hall
that woman turned out to be Gabby Petito
oh who
her husband Martin was the one who
no spark she and her husband were the ones who sparked
everything happening in Selene House right
so she's incredible she's incredible
but so I was talking to her at the Roseland protest
and I was like you know
let me scan your gofundme
I bet you the FTP coffee clutch can raise some money to help
like let's just connect right
so we exchanged phone numbers
and I got her gofundme and FTP raised some money for her and
you know she and I started to talk about the other things she needed
like she needed help with babysitting
cause her husband was detained and she needed to go work
and so FTP jumped in to try to fundraise for some babysitting for her
like it's all about community care right
and then you know
she called me and said you know
can you come on Friday can you put a time frame on this for me
when did you first meet her
sure yeah
that was gosh
it's June that was probably
April
middle to end of April it was only a few months ago
wasn't that long ago that's 10 years
I honestly time is like molasses
people I've known since February and March
and I feel like I've known them for five years
and I have not
100% yeah
same same
but so Gabby called me and said
we're gonna have this rally at Delaney Hall on Friday
can you come you know
we're gonna like uplift the voices of the families of people inside
and you know
so I went to that rally on Friday morning
and this was Friday I guess like two weeks ago
so it would have been around the May 15th ish
somewhere around there the past Friday was May 29th
I'm just trying to this is for my own head
I'm gonna keep it this so this past Friday was the 29th of may
yeah it was
OK so around the 15th ish
it was maybe the it was either the 15th or the 22nd
sure mm hmm
that's about the the week
Memorial Day weekend I went to this rally
and that's when it started really
not that it wasn't I mean
these folks have been out there for a year
but around Memorial Day weekend
it really started to seem to
from my outside view to heat up again
so that that makes sense
yeah yeah
so you actually raise a really important point there
Blair that I just want to point to
there are protesters and organizers
who have been on the ground at Delaney Hall for like
a year right
and in January there was like
an initial uprising at Delaney Hall
and there were a lot of protests that happened
if you remember it was when like
Mayor Baraka was detained and Monica Maciver was arrested
she's the congresswoman for New York
um like
yeah so like
this has been going on for a long time
it has escalated and it
now that you said that it was the Friday right before Memorial Day
right so I went for the rally
and then I got a call saying
can you so what happened at the rally was one of the long time um
protesters there said you know what
the detainees have just announced a hunger strike
it happened like
in real time while we were there
a hunger and labor strike inside
and she said while they are striking
we're gonna stand in solidarity with them outside
through this weekend we're gonna hold a 24 hour a day vigil
and so I left and I came back right
because 24 hours a day they needed people there through the night
so I was there with a couple friends
like into the late hours
and it just escalated from there
they tried to take Martin Soto out
and protesters blocked the van
and that sort of busted it wide open
so it became this like
sort of chaotic escalated situation
and it just grew and grew and grew and grew and grew
and I've I've been there uh
a number of days over the last two weeks
and so you know
what I want to make sure I say here
is that I think it's really important
that everybody on the ground at Delaney Hall
follow the lead of the folks inside Delaney Hall
they are this like
incredibly brave shining example of peaceful
disciplined resistance they are doing a hunger strike
they are doing a labor strike
they are protecting each other inside
they are organizing with each other inside
which I can't even imagine how challenging that must be right
but they are doing it peacefully
and they have a very clear list of demands
they want to meet with Governor Sheryl
they want the most vulnerable people
so the elderly and the sick and pregnant women
and young kids still in high school released
they want them out they want everybody out right
they want freedom for everybody
they want an end to coercive tactics to get people
like they tried to trick Martin Soto into signing deportation papers
I originally had heard and from a couple of sources
that they had gotten him to sign that
yes they did
that is not a enforceable
you couldn't even enforce a sales contract under that kind of dress
I it just
the lack of due process seems like there are a
a lot of humanitarian rights being violated that any court
from the outside looking in
would absolutely agree were obscene
absolutely
and due process is on the list of demands that they've put out right
they have like
they can't even get a court hearing
yes
yes they have
like there was a day last week where there were 74 cases on the docket
for one immigration judge
so they're each getting like
three minutes
that's crazy that's not due process
like that's not even an opportunity to plead your case
um so
and like
these are people who are not criminals
and not been convicted of anything
like half of them were swept up during their immigration process
right so really
really disturbing stuff um
and we're trying really hard
like I've been talking a lot with organizers on the ground
who have been there for a long time
to make sure that we are uplifting those voices in an appropriate way
and trying to ground everybody's actions in that
so that we're all sort of pushing for the same things
and you know look
the New Jersey State Police came in and escalated the crap out of well
I'm gonna ask you about that in a
I'm in a second too
so if you don't yeah
but finish your thought about uplifting the people
that you were talking about
yeah I think that's actually the most critical thing right
so I I would love to see
and I know long time organizers on the ground would love to see
the people in the streets
standing in solidarity with the people inside
in a way that reflects what the people inside are doing
not in a way that brings violence and fires in the streets
and you know
look I
I know I understand that
the protesters out in the streets
are not the ones bringing the violence
ice is the one bringing the violence
the state police are the ones bringing the violence
I understand that
and it's really hard not to react violently in response to that
but the people inside Delaney Hall
the people inside Delaney Hall are not reacting with violence
they are being brutalized
and they are maintaining the discipline
and the network and the organization to continue to resist peacefully
and in like
a very disciplined structured way
so like
I personally think we all need to follow their lead
they're the ones being oppressed right
so we should be following their lead
Gabby Soto
what is the name of the main organization is
it is it Cocha
um that she works with right
so and we've
we've tag several times that organization and
and food for New Jersey NJ and some others
yeah um
and the accounts that are funding the commissary
because even though they have a billion dollar contract
they don't give out feminine hygiene
napkins or toilet paper or anything else
or bottles of water that's drinkable
and that's why they work for a dollar a day to a phone call
it's wild cost $5 to your lawyer
you're paying $5 in America to talk to your lawyer
which is your right so I just wanna yeah
work that in there that was just for me
um so yeah
I'm wondering now if you could tell me a bit more about this
last four or five days we're talk
what the hell day is we're talking on Tuesday
so over this past weekend
so we're talking on June 2nd
so you know
the 29th 30th
31st that's when we've seen an even bigger escalation
I personally
and I realized that it may be different on the ground
so I'd like to know your opinion
and I agree with you on on the people need to reflect
the folks who have been out there for a year
the folks who are supporting the people who are inside
they the people on the inside know how bad things are
um so I'm interested in hearing
about your experience the day that Andy Kim came and seemed
to have this wave of realization come over him in real time
let's start with that one
yeah so one
I want to give a super big shout out to Senator Kim
I think he's doing an extraordinary job
in very challenging circumstances
I was mad for an hour because I didn't want him negotiating with ice
because you cannot negotiate with narcissist
but y'all were right I came back
I bounced back he figured it out quickly
I'm just wondering what your experience
cause you were there that day in very close proximity
cause they weren't they weren't
yeah I was um
so
I also just want to give a super quick shout out to one other person
who showed up there which is Congressman Menendez
he came at
like six o'clock at night and literally stood outside the gate
like inside the gates
outside the building for the entire night
they wouldn't let him in he wouldn't leave
he stayed outside in the rain
by himself inside those gates for an entire night
to try to get eyes on Gabby's husband for her
so just wanted to mention that
like that was for everyone who may be watching this and doesn't know
if you are a member of Congress
a senator or a US representative
you have an absolute right to check in on detention centers
and there has been some legal clarification from courts around that
that they do not need to give you any fucking notice
okay but they made him wait for 18 hours
yes hundred percent
because this corporation decided they didn't have to follow the law
please continue sorry I'm yes
so alright
so let me shift to I
I am right there with you
so right there with you
but let me tell you about what happened with Senator Kim
so um
I was there was actually live streaming for a lot of what happened
while it was safe to do so
I was live streaming when we all got pepper balled
pepper sprayed um
so you know
it had gotten to a point where
protesters were blocking every vehicle
that was trying to come out of that facility
because they there were rumors
that they were gonna take a whole bunch of the hunger strikers out
and transport them to like
Louisiana and Texas to deport them
right so like
everybody was trying to block the vehicles and see inside
to see if there were detainees inside
um and it just
it really escalated things
and so
Senator Kim came to try to deescalate and try to get eyes on people
and had asked ice excuse me
if he could see inside the vehicles before they came out
he had tried to bring an on the ground organizer in with him
they wouldn't let him because there
you know there's trust issues
like the protesters wanna know that somebody they trust was inside
somebody who knows what ice has been up to um
they wouldn't let him do that
he was waiting my understanding is that he was waiting to like
be able to inspect those vehicles when a freaking bear cat
which is a giant armored vehicle
came out um
and had essentially a pepper ball rifle
so it looks like an AR it looks like an assault rifle
but it shoots pepper balls not yeah
and they had that at one point
I was listening to Senator Kim literally try to de escalate the crowd
while a pepper ball rifle was trained directly on him
and those of us around him
like they were literally pointing it at him
and it was just wild right
and he's still trying to de escalate and trying to like
you know bring the tensions down
understandably and you know admirably
but then that bear cat pulled out
sirens started blaring and they
what happened was they they drove this like
cavalcade of ice vehicles out behind that barricade
bear cat so it was using
they were using it to block the entrance and block the protesters
but right before that happened
a whole bunch of ace agents came out
and tried to push the crowd of protesters back
to let those vehicles come through
it got really violent there were protesters thrown to the ground
people who literally were just standing there
Senator Kim tried to put himself physically
between the protesters and ice
to try to like
separate and deescalate um
and then sorry
I don't know if y'all can hear that
that's my cat in the litter box behind me
I apologize for the background noise
um this is the perfect show for that
and showing their opinion of ice
that's how I exactly
right on cue right on cue
at some point they shot a pepper ball
like almost directly at Senator Kim's feet
and you can watch it in the videos
you can see it happen it just like
explodes in this cloud of pepper dust around him
um and
you know I saw where
from where I was standing
I saw people starting to run towards me
and I was like oh
my god what's happening
and I'm like you know
trying to get in there a little bit so I could like
show people what was happening
people need to know what's going on
this all needs to be documented
and suddenly I was like
oh my god
I can't breathe right
like the
the pepper spray had accumulated in the entire area
so literally everyone around me was
including me was like
coughing and gasping for air
like I was sneezing uncontrollably
my eyes were watering uncontrollably
everything hurt like it was
it was awful and I wasn't even like
in the direct line of fire
right right
so while all of this is going on
Senator Kim is literally standing in front of a pack of ice agents
who have a protester on the ground like
reaching in trying to get that protester out
and trying to get the ice agents off of that person
um and meanwhile
he's covered in pepper spray
I know he was injured his hand was injured at some point
he doesn't know how it just was um
and it like
it was just complete chaos
so it was this like
inexplicable unnecessary escalation by ice
when PAX Christi folks which is one of the organizations on the ground
and Senator Kim were in the middle of trying to deescalate the crowd
and instead of giving them a chance to do that
they came out literally
with guns ablazing and pepper sprayed the entire crowd and like
dragged people to the ground
no these rhinestone cowboys wanted to come out
and they wanted an excuse to like
fire the stuff that they had
you know they have it and they want to use it
and they thought that would be really cool
and if they could hit a senator
even better extra points
um yeah
and then what has happened in the last few days
um
so
much to my dismay
uh the Governor Mcsherry has called in the New Jersey State Police
they came in in full riot gear
she said they weren't they came in mounted police
she they have
we have all seen video if you're not just watching like
broadcast TV news you have seen mounted police and pushing people
you have seen people it seems from everything I've seen
um you've seen cops who've been pushing barricades
and Mickey Sheryl has said that it was the protesters who
now I'm not saying every protester who showed up was a perfect person
um but on the whole
the people to me
it seemed like who started this violence were ice to begin with
and then it was the New Jersey State Police
that is what it seems to me
I have not been there on site
I could not get there I had other obligations this weekend but the
the I just want to hear from someone who was there
and you were there this past weekend
what was your I was experience
and maybe it's different from what I saw no
so I want to be clear I was there this weekend over a number of days
I was not there at night when the state trooper
state troopers rolled in
because I'm not a person that's gonna put myself in that situation
I have two kids three cats
a dog like
I'm not I'm not doing that
but so
you know I've been talking to a lot of people who are on the ground
who were there and essentially
what it sounds like happened was there were a couple of protesters
like maybe three right
who were kind of shaking the barricades where
that the police were behind
and that started it just like
lit the fuse and instead of the police coming in and like
addressing those three protesters
they came in in full riot gear with Shields and mounted police
and announced everybody had 15 minutes to leave the area
or they would be in violation of the riot laws in New Jersey
and
sorry OK sorry
you can take the girl out of New Jersey
but you cannot take New Jersey out of the girl
oh my god
I've been resisting dropping F bombs this whole time
so you're good why no
this is a full fuck podcast this is a full fuck up
just never know um
fuck a Rama go ahead
but so the police roll in
they say you have 15 minutes to leave or
you know unlawful assembly
violation of the riot laws whatever
and within less than 10 minutes
they started pushing the crowd back right
and then within minutes of that
they were launching tear gas at the crowds
a lot of tear gas and started their own fire
because they they launched so much
I don't know if these
these were just guys fresh out of the academy or something
but they they were launching tear gas like
blocks away yes
people who could have been retreating
they launch so much so often they
fires were started not by protesters right
by the New Jersey State Police
yes so like
what I saw was that they launched tear gas right
if the crowd was here
they launched tear gas in front of them to push them back
and then they fired tear gas over their heads to kettle them in
right so that they could literally couldn't go back where police were
do you want them to leave or not
you want to leave or not it doesn't seem like you want to leave
it seems like you want to kettle them
and beat the shit out of some of them
and then maybe arrest them
because they were I'm
I was a First Amendment attorney for a hot minute 30 years ago
and I'm sorry but you
you know when you are
it's not just free speech
it's also the right to assemble
it's also the right to petition the government
so you are allowed to have some restrictions
now we're in a situation where the police
I feel like have been escalating this violence
um I
and I feel like I feel gaslit by Governor Sheryl
now I do not live there
and I have not been to Delaney Hall
and I don't know what the people
the people who have been on the ground for a year
I think get to have sort of the final say on this
but to me she is not living up to her promises
and is treating us like we are all either idiots or children
or both I don't know what it feels like to you and more importantly
the people who have been on the ground for so many months
yeah so
you know I will say that there is an overwhelming sense of like
disappointment and anger
in how Governor Sheryl has handled this situation
the representation that was made initially
was that the state police were gonna come in
to try to help deescalate the situation
which is the exact opposite of what they did
and you know I
I had a conversation today
with one of the original organizers on the ground and
you know we were sort of musing over the fact that
Mikey Sheryl is former military
yup right
and like
she approached this like
from a military strategy not as a governor
we are not the enemy we are the citizens
right right
there is a deep deep sense of disappointment and anger from pretty
almost everybody in my circles
about how Governor Sheryl has handled this situation
and look
I say that as somebody who supported her through her campaigns
I know a lot of creators who have supported her as well
I support I mean
I wasn't a New Jersey voter at that time
but I did my video about a Bang Chickareli
you know
as much as anything um
in the hopes that um
maybe not perfect but much
much better and now I feel like um
and the idea what really enraged me was when she said that somehow the
if if everyone wasn't good boys and girls and weren't quiet
then ice could have more of a justification to come in and surge babe
they're surging right now
they're working out of Roxbury
they're everywhere all the time
they're just not you that you do not negotiate with narcissists
you cannot they only
the only thing they are or well
a lot of times they're the same
and you have to stand up to them
but also I mean
what do you ask women what they were wearing
because that's what it felt like to me
yeah you know
the way that I felt like if you're not
if you're not quiet right
then you're gonna make surge hit us right
it feels like battered family
it's it's horrific
and I don't use that phrase lightly
yeah because it
I understand that everyone's traumatized
hell maybe she's traumatized
but she's also the governor
and so we need better judgment
yeah the way that it rings to me
the way that I characterize what she has said
is basically that she said
we're gonna come in and protect you from the brutalization of ice
and we're gonna do that by brutalizing you ourselves first
so that ice can't do it
right and it's like
that's not helpful
and when we get to the point where
now they're making the First Amendment zone and look
that is a thing there is a thing where you have a First Amendment zone
but it's not a half mile away
it's usually like we're gonna keep these two groups like
a few yards from each other so they can't get into fist fights
but everyone's still right there
maybe you're maybe you're across the street
that's about as far
but to send people a half mile away and then to go arrest
how many people 100 people over the weekend
who were protesters 63
63 peaceful protesters who were
many of them from what I see reports
were outside that half mile
which is a huge distance for a First Amendment zone
a half mile yeah
and initially so like
initially the like
First Amendment zone that they set up was this
like pen right
it was right in front and I was like
there's no way in hell I'm going in there
like ice is just gonna round us all up
like everybody was scared to go in there
like it's like a fucking mouse trap
and they put cheese in there
foot in that trap like
that is not a bad not a good idea
and we had honestly
like we had
some of us have been having conversations with folks on the ground and
who were on the ground in Minnesota and in Chicago and LA
who've been dealing with this for longer than we have here
in New Jersey and they warned us about that
they were like listen
like they're gonna kettle you in there
like you need to not be in that
right so
and I swear it was like
everything they said was gonna happen
happened like a freaking playbook
it was like literally play by play
they told us exactly can you give us a couple of yeah
you don't have to remember everything
I'm just curious for people who might
you need to know this yeah
I mean the kettling
for one right
like they had said they're gonna call in the state police
and the state police are gonna kettle you and arrest
like mass arrest right
and they're gonna do it under the guise of deescalating
like they literally called it before it happened
and they're like it's exactly what happened in Minnesota
it's exactly what's been happening at Broadview Illinois
right like it
like they
all these blue states and blue cities
yes and so it was like
literally watching it play out exactly as they had laid it out
and I was like oh
my god we're all the same
like they are all the same
it doesn't matter if you have an R or a d next to your name
this is radicalizing say that in a general way
I don't mean that it's actually radical
when you stand and think about it
but what they would call radicalizing the left
this has been such a moment yes
of suburban people with office jobs having their first
not the first experience for black people
not the first experience for brown people
not the first experience for indigenous people
but let's face it people like you and me
and you may have believed all those other people when they said they
were being abused but it's very different to experience it
absolutely and that's when we say to people like hey
they're not just coming for immigrants
that should be fucking bad enough
they're coming for everyone they don't like and who doesn't behave
and these folks are just the test
because they have the most legal wiggle room
in some cases not nearly what they take
and so when you this has
I think by the time we get to the midterm elections
at through this summer
between that and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act
this is um
this is a sea change it it
this is not the result that the authoritarian were hoping for
it's going to have the opposite result
I hope I hope and believe today
I believe that I hope I
I honestly like
I'm gonna go down the like
dystopian rabbit hole right
that I think so many of us try to avoid
but like
so like I
my biggest fear and I think the biggest fear for many of us
is that the election integrity of the midterms won't hold right
that they will mess with it
well I think ice is part of that plan
ice is part of that plan and they've said as much
it's not me it's
I'm not a conspiracy theorist
they said it that's not a conspiracy theory
they've talked about they've talked about it very blatantly
they're they're trying to take voter rules
they're trying to do all the stuff yeah
so like I
I hope that you are right
and I do think we will see massive
massive turnout for this election
I just hope the integrity holds and that it's enough
we're gonna have to we're just gonna yeah
it's gonna be it's gonna have to be overwhelming
you know it's gonna be
have to be hungry yes
we gotta we gotta do hungry numbers exactly
and it's harder because it's not a national vote here
it's Jerry Mandered state by Jerry Mandered state
and let me ask you a couple
and I guess I've taken up much more of your time than I was expecting
although I should know better by now
um based on myself
not on you um
so what um
people have also been I'm rather upset with Senator Cory Booker now uh
fun fact Cory Booker went to my sister
high school uh
about three miles from where I grew up
uh we played each other in sports
uh I didn't
he was a year ahead of me
I didn't know him uh
some of my friends did um
and um
I've been very disappointed with him
at least
since he voted for Jerry Kushner's father to be ambassador to France
but I mean
probably stuff before that
too that's just leaping out at me now
um
what the fuck where
I mean I know he went there
like by himself and didn't talk to anyone
well he said he did
and I think he
someone interviewed him either on the way out or something
yeah what the fuck's going on
what the fuck's going on there
I don't know but it's so
you know but you're on the ground there
so I'm just no
it is like so
so deeply disappointing like
he has been completely absent
but listen
from what the long time organizers on the ground have told me
that is nothing new with Senator Booker
yes I've heard that too
I don't think I've ever been a New Jersey resident
while he was senator so I would only see it from the outside
yeah yeah
like he shows out for like
the photo ops and like
the big shiny moments but he doesn't actually show up and do the work
like he doesn't actually meet with detainees and hear their stories
he doesn't actually talk to the families
like he just comes
hold the press conference
takes a couple photos and then leaves
which doesn't help anybody
no
um Andy Kemp getting reelected um
sure as hell is yeah
you know this is the man who was picking up
very pointedly picking up the track
I remember talking my relatives uh
when that Senate say
Senate race was was it two years ago and about two and a half and um
oh my God
Murphy's uh
wife was running in the primary
Sammy Murphy yeah
person I knew was like very
very works in political world
in advocacy world and oh
she's gonna win she's gonna win
I'm like I don't think she is
I don't think she is you're not talking to the weirdos I talk to
I'm telling you the weirdos
not the weirdos but
you know I like
they're they're sick of this shit
and Andy Kim has this amazing story
and you know
I grew up in my in Bergen County
where I grew up in Bergen County in the 80s
my high school was 30% um
first second generation Korean um yeah
other Asian Southeast Asian too
but largely it was South Korean folks
like there's a huge pop
there's a huge um
New Jersey has everything
but there's a huge Asian and South Asian community there
and so I was just like it's about
it makes sense that you know
they've been building this state up for years
as they're like I'm Italian and Jewish
and the immigrant you know
the few couple
few decades later that's when you've worked your way up
and the second third generation start getting elected to things
and it makes perfect sense
and my relatives like no no no
and I'm like and he won
and I was like yep
he's just he's
I don't know what it is and that's why I was
I was angry but not shocked about Booker at this stage of the game
but when it felt like Andy Kim was trying to negotiate
like in a way
that Cheryl seemed to be negotiating
except she wasn't negotiating with
he was she was um
abdicating in advance in my point of mind
that's um
I was disappointed for an hour with him
and I'm like okay I
I take it back
yeah I think we all
a lot of us had that evolution with him
like he needed to see honestly
yes yes yes
and listen Andy
Kim
is one of the most exceptionally decent human beings I've ever known
like he is just a good human right
and I that's nice to hear about somebody haha hey
I'm a Senator Van Holland down here in Maryland
I'd like to introduce you
to you
yes exactly
exactly the state of play is now what
in your knowledge talking to groups on the ground that you've been
yeah again
folks who have been there for a year
folks like Gabby Soto and other people and other organizations
what is their yeah
state of play right now well
so right now that you know the
the one piece we didn't talk about
which is just I think
one of the most heartbreaking pieces of all of this
the organizations on the ground had set up a year ago this like
white hospitality tent yes
for families yes
um and that tent has like
clothes for people so that they can meet the dress code
when they come to visit their families
they're not allowed to wear like
spaghetti straps or leggings
so they give them clothes
like going into the Vatican
right right
like toys for little kids to play with while they're waiting in a
in line for hours they feed them
they give them a shady place to stand in the heat inside the tent
like it's just straight up mutual aid
community support right
visitation days right and so this weekend
FBI and um
I think DHS
ransacked that tent
they went in and completely destroyed everything inside
and they soaked everything in pepper spray and tear gas
so there's nothing in there that is usable
which is just there's no reason for it other than cruelty
and it makes me like
simultaneously so filled with rage and so filled with sadness
that I don't really know what to do with it but
so the very first thing is getting that tent back up and running
which some of us on the ground are working to do yes
so the tent itself is still there
it just needs to be cleaned out
decontaminated and restocked
so there's a few of us working to make that happen
with the folks on the ground
I will have more information about that soon
but that is with an eye towards getting family visitation restored
in a meaningful way right now
it's very sporadic it's very unclear
families don't know when they can or can't visit
what the process is or is not
so hopefully by this weekend
that will be restored
now that the street has been blocked off for a few days and it's like
under control from a safety perspective
the question remains once that street is reopened
what will happen will protesters go back in
and will they be able to keep it peaceful and actually like
not necessarily non disruptive
but peaceful no no right
non violent being an asshole and saying jerk
not violent saying jerking things is not being violent
it's not it's not
you know
but there is a de escalation that needs to happen on that street
and like
some of that jerkiness is stoking violence and escalation
but let's be clear about like
what that is and what
like somebody saying hey
ice guy you're an asshole from 10 feet away
doesn't mean you get to go beat the shit out of him
right right right
yeah and there's any more than real life
right right
so you know
I think that's the number one goal right now
is to get family visitation restored in a meaningful way
and then to start you know
start to tick through those demands of the detainees inside
and their families like
fight to get as much as I hate to say it
get Governor Sheryl inside there um
let's get their due process rights back in
in check here
let's make sure that they're releasing the most vulnerable people
you know like
there are a whole there's a whole slew of demands
you can see them on everybody's feeds right now
anybody on the ground from Cosecha to PAX Christi to eyes on ice to uh
DSA which is the Democratic Socialists of America
like everybody on the ground is trying really hard to like
uplift those demands and keep them as the grounding focus
so that whatever comes next is rooted in that
that I think
is the next challenge right
including the people who maybe
and I disagree with Governor Sheryl
I think it's fine for people from out of state to come
in fact how would we
not maybe you and me but how would the hundreds
thousands millions
of other people who saw this stuff for the first time
over the last three or four days
have seen it if
I don't know status quo or right
here's why Kevin or
you know all these other people
if they weren't there well
here's why Kevin
I think is from New Jersey
but you know
if these people weren't coming in with these cameras
and who had experience
who had resources to have the tech and the backup and the thing
and the batteries if they weren't there
then we wouldn't know we wouldn't know
and everyone be in worse shape
this is not about where you're coming from
it's about how you're contributing to the end goal of
of lifting all this up and ending
getting the most vulnerable out
getting people their due process rights
making sure they can have reasonable mutual aid
making sure they have humanitarian
normal things like clean water and food
I can't believe when they put out the fucking menus
I'm like oh yeah
that proves everything doesn't it
um and the right
and then ultimately the release
and ultimately the release
so um
you're you're a
government affairs person um
are you gonna write us a draft Bill
to ban private prisons in the United States
how about just New Jersey
just New Jersey just start with New Jersey
so there are interestingly
there are some bills at the New Jersey State House
there are some awesome Assembly members in New Jersey who have um
like
one of the bills would tax revenue from private detention facilities
at like
100% or something insane like that right
some creative things that could be done legislatively um
I would love to see a state try to implement state level oversight
or city level oversight at least
for like health violations
like
they're not even letting in the New Jersey State health department
you know Rocca in
in New York is suing them
and I thought what he said made a lot of sense
this is not the federal government
this is a private company
these are private employees
there's not a federal employee here most of the time
these are a contractor right
just like every other contractor in the United States who uh
Boeing is a contractor I bet if there's a Boeing commissary
the health inspector goes in there sometimes
you know right
and so right
he's ABS I was like
that is interesting I am here to hear this one thing may not work
but that's the kind of thinking we have to have
because you often can get somewhere in the courts
not fucking everywhere with the Supreme Court
although sometimes you can New Jersey
sometimes you can every once in a while with the Supreme Court
sometimes kinda
my wish for Governor Sheryl is that she
if she doesn't go herself
that she has to sit there and talk to the family members
or for that matter the senator from her own state
Andy Kim
and talk about the maggots in the food and the disgusting water
and the no
no toilet paper and working for a dollar a day
which is literal slavery
so you can make money to pay to make a phone call to your lawyer
which is your legal right in America
be so um
tell me a little bit though
you right
you haven't always been doing this
what were you doing before Donald Trump's second term
what were you doing in your life
it's like hard to even remember the before times
um that's a real question
so I have always been in like
cause work professionally
I was in cause work at that time
you guys will love this I worked for the ASPCA for like 13 years
um so
huge animal lover what are we even talking about
first of all we have
an idea for a nationwide campaign
for people to donate food and vet services
for pets who have been left behind
very sadly by nobody's choice
either because their family was deported or detained by ice
or because people have been put into atrocious financial circumstances
and can't even afford healthcare
and so guess what sorry
after this after this interview
we're gonna be talking about who to get in touch with alright
in that world alright
yeah and I
so after that I worked at Everytown for Gun Safety for a while
doing gun violence prevention
I I do like state legislative campaigns
I do government affairs and state legislative work
um now I'm in like big bad corporate America
so I'm scratching that itch in my personal life
which means I'm involved in way too many things
while also working a totally unrelated full time job
and raising two kids I have no idea what you're talking about
none of our listeners this is so hahaha
I don't know how this happened to all of us
but here we are here we are exactly
and I was I was a touring comedian
not full time that was my second job
yeah I mean honestly
like people ask me who I am
why I do what I do and I'm really like
my response is usually like
I'm just a mom like
I'm just a random mom from the suburbs who is like
I have a perhaps like inflated sense of empathy
which is where my handle came from on
on Instagram right
and I empathy is my superpower
yes empathy is my superpower on Instagram
I like
I just feel things really deeply
and when I see people suffering
I'm like
compelled to act I can't not
and so I find myself acting and then like
bringing others along with me inadvertently
um
so you're a mom you're working
you're busy you um
you work in corporate America
they expect you to show up
they expect very specific sorts of things
what do you think was the spark that lit
the current level of your activism right now
you know it's hard to pinpoint an exact moment
what I can tell you is that around February ish or March of last year
I hit a moment where I was like
oh my god
what is happening and so I'm very staunchly anti patriarchy
and I I am old as well
so I put up a post on Facebook
and I was like okay ladies
like
I need to connect with more women
like I'm really feeling like I need to connect with more women
like like minded women
and just talk about the dumpster fire that we're living in and like
maybe identify some like
local actions we can all take
to feel a little bit better about the world living in
and feel like we're doing some good
and so I thought I was gonna grab coffee
with like
you know five people
and so many people responded to that post
that I ended up having to rent a space
and thus was born the FTP coffee clutch
yeah
can I interest you in a position in the Cat Ladies for America
alright go ahead
perhaps we'll talk about it
we'll talk about it later
we'll talk about it later
go ahead perhaps
but yeah
so like what
what I think has been like
really eye opening for me is that I
I have realized that there is this huge need from a lot of people
like a lot of people to do something
and nobody knows what the hell to do right
we're in this weird
crazy time where it's really hard to know what to do
because the old rules don't apply and oh
here's one of my cats and I'm gonna
so you know
I'm gonna
I'm gonna need to know that cat's name
this is Luna
alright Luna Luna
we're Luna you're very welcome here
but we are doing business
we are um
she'll chill but so
you know I
I realized I do I do government affairs work right
like that's what I do
I do like lobbying
but good lobbying and I started to like
script some actions for people on Instagram
because there were a lot of people in my world
who were reaching out to me and saying
what do you think about this
like
what should we be doing about this and how do we make a difference
because they know that's kind of the world I live in
and so I started just putting up videos of like okay
here's the action that you're gonna take today
here's your script here's your phone number
go ahead and make your call
here's your email
here's the comment period that's open with this agency for
you know trans rights or whatever the thing was
um and I
those were so well received
because I think there's such a hunger among so many people to find
like meaningful actions that they can take
we're also pressed for time
and we're also like
disgusted with everything that's happening
and I think a lot of people are put into this like
almost state of paralysis because they just don't know what to do
so I've tried to just funnel people into actions
and if you look at my old Instagram posts
I always end them with an action a day will keep the fascists away
like that was the thing that I was
and I initially was like okay
I'm gonna do one of these every day
like I'm gonna find the action every day
and like the world happens
so that didn't right right right
we all look we were all finding our footing
and that's amazing cause you were just giving somebody
if if you're overwhelmed and there's a million places to look
you need one thing to focus on
to get you out of that state a lot of the time
and I think that that is a
was a great way to great way to do it
and we
we were we've been doing something similar and evolving similarly
tell me about the first group that you created
I think you said it was called FTP Coffee Clutch
is that yeah
is that correct yeah
that's the one I was just talking about
that sort of happened by accident with like
people who I just wanted really
just needed like
some females to talk about the patriarchy with and talk about like
the dumpster fire um
and it it turned into this like
amazing fierce group of women who are like
my soulmates now right
and we are constantly in communication
it is a like
a complete safe space for us to all talk about like
everything from our families to our despair
to an action that we saw that we think other people might take to like
we do a lot of community support
we do um
like when snap benefits were suspended
we launched into action like
immediately and started a gift card a um
like a grocery store gift card drive
for some of the food pantries in our area
and within like
24 hours I think we raised enough money to buy gift cards for like
almost 200 local families to bridge that gap until snap was reinstated
right and so it's really local
but meaningful actions
that make a difference for people who are struggling
and it's also like hey
go out in the streets and protest at Seleni Hall right
it's like there's a spectrum
and I feel like everybody has something that they can do
not everybody's gonna do everything
and that's okay and like
not everybody's gonna be on the front lines screaming at ice
and that's okay
but like
maybe you could write a check to support the families at Delaney Hall
if you're not willing to come out right
or maybe you could organize a gift card drive
for your local food pantries
when benefits are getting cut
or like
I just feel like there's such an abundance of need right now
that there is literally something for everybody to do
it's finding that toehold
yes because before we were in such a dire situation
you know sometimes you'd run into a group and there was gatekeeping or
we try to keep our group really flat because like
they need tools and they need like
a little bit of like a
and so did I and so do I still
but need a little bit like
of little education a little whatever
people aren't stupid you know
like you don't have to like
you don't have to give them like
these super intense metrics and this incredibly stacked hierarchy
this has been great I'm gonna ask you a couple favors
sure uh
one favor is I would love for you to keep us up to date on actions
we do have a New Jersey chapter in North Jersey we need to connect
oh my gosh
the Lantern big a Lantern league
yeah yeah
but I'm sure I know so
I know the woman who started the Lantern League
she started in FTP in the FTP coffee clutch
and then spun off the Lantern League from that
so like
we're all interconnected I bet you she already knows her
and we can we can connect the dots
I'm gonna be a real problem for you
ha ha ha um
cause I have
I have some jobs we're all making Stone Soup
I don't know if anyone knows that reference but me
yes very interested in what actions we can ask our
not just our social media followers
but our in real life chapter followers
and it might be very specifically right now for Delaney in New Jersey
but for example
we have you know
our Minneapolis chapter our Salt Lake City chapter
our Baltimore and our two other chapters in Maryland
really um
all places that you know
they want detention centers everywhere eventually
so anything replicable is also great
just as an idea
but also very specifically to help these folks get back on their feet
with their mutual aid and it's ongoing
and people shouldn't forget about Minneapolis
and you shouldn't forget about Chicago
and you shouldn't forget about LA
we sometimes have to focus a little more here or there
but it's all gonna come back around for everyone eventually
so in our LA
we have Inland Empire and our LA chapters that work really um
a lot on ice related things out there
so keep us up to date on actions that we can take
that we can put out to our subscribers
and also I'm gonna
I'm gonna I'm gonna get some other ideas from you
I love it see
what kind of I
I love some legislative ideas
okay and other
we can kick some things around
Laura kick some things around
see we got
we got we have some tools
we have your action network
we have your other things
we got some stuff yes
we can we can use
so if there's any way that we can help with those tools that we have
and pay for I would love to use them to help y'all
ah this is nothing
to end this which one is this
this is Nova and the one back here on the desk is Karma
and they'll probably start hissing at each other any second
I think all all three of mine were here
and then they got bored with me
cause Mommy's talking at the screen again
so expect an email in like
10 minutes with a list of demands
awesome and is there anything else that you want us to know
or the people that you work with on the ground
who've been there for months and years
want us to know sort of the same things I've been saying
and I know I sound like a broken record
but really to center the voices of the people inside Delaney Hall
and their families and that goes across the board right
for every every one of these concentration camps
like the people inside are the ones that are being oppressed
at the level that none of us on the outside can really fathom
so I think it's really important that we follow their lead and uplift
uplift their voices not to say that like
they're on their own they should do what they wanna do
but like
we need to gather around them in support
not preach at them we need to be part of the Protection
we need to be part of the
they're gonna tell us what they need exactly
and then and they've been doing this
and it took it probably took them a little bit to figure it out
but they had to learn quickly yes
how to figure out this convoluted system
and how to survive within it and minimize damage
and then also when you're so desperate
you know when it's time to really
do really unthinkable things
like starting a hunger strike
is the the
the resistance of very abused and desperate people
um and that's who we
that's yes
you know that's
you get to that point um
apartheid South Africa that's yeah
that's where we are um
but we will we're big believer
enjoy and we uh
love cats are part of that for us
and I hope they're part of that for you
we are claws out
that's one of our mottos our big motto
claws out like
we're always ready right
so we like to end these with a little claws out meow
it's like claws out meow
you know what I'm saying so I'm gonna
are you up for it I'm up for it more
I'm gonna three
two one
claws out okay
three two one
claws out wow
perfect and you wore the New Jersey uniform of black
yeah of course
yeah yeah
got the message every day