Participant #1:
Hello, Cupcake, it's Me, a podcast with your host, Michael Peterson.

Participant #1:
Hey, everyone. Michael here with Hello, Cupcake, it's Me, a podcast. Today is June 10, 2022. And how are you? So June is Pride month, and this year I am showcasing prevalent characters and events that surround the LGBTQ community. And so far I've done several videos on the YouTube channel, and I really encourage you guys to go over there to check it out. It's Youtube.com. Hello, Cupcake, it's me. I've talked about how Grid and this huge driving actor in the gay community and then spilled over into the community in general. I talked about Harvey Milk and his role in changing a lot of legislation there in San Francisco. I've talked about Brandina and how he was the first transgender figure to really get notoriety for being a victim of bully, rape and eventually murder. And I've also talked about Matthew Shepherd and his story and how his mother really spearheaded a lot of legislation and gay rights and activism and so on and so forth. And so I'm going to continue to do that throughout the whole month of June. And so for those members of the community that are LGBT, what are you doing to show your pride? Like, are you displaying a flag in your front yard? Do you have something hanging on your front door? Do you have something like identifying you as part of the community? Why or why not? And I would genuinely like to talk to you and hear all the different things that you are doing and that you are just spearheading in your own community. Do you feel like you are able to display the fact that you are an LGBT member or do you even care to do so? Do you think that that is something that should remain private? But I would love to hear from you. So you can shoot me an email. HelloCupcakeitsme@gmail.com. Or leave me a message here on Anchor. Fm or wherever you happen to be listening to me at. And let's start a communication. I would really like to talk about all of this. So going into my latest trivia nights, I think we did pretty well this week. I'm not sure because towards the like last half an hour, 45 minutes, people started getting really dodgy and getting up and taking longer smoke breaks and talking with other people and just not like really connecting with the whole trivia aspect of it. But I still think we did pretty well. I haven't seen any of this week's results as to what may or may not have happened, but I did have to get on the community forum for the Tap TV trivia, and I made a little stink because one of the questions was very transphobic and it was something to the extent of who did Kylie Jenner model her fashion after? And there were several answers that you could choose from. And one of them was like Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears. And I forget who the other person was, but the answer was that she modeled herself after Britney Spears. So after every question, there's usually like a little follow up quote or something like that. And down below it said, what would Bruce think? I was like, you transphobic bastards. I'm sorry. Regardless of what your thoughts and feelings are on the trans community or Bruce or Caitlin Jenner, like, whoever. Bruce Jenner is a dead name. And in the trans community and world, a dead name is a name that no longer represents who the person is. So, like, my name is Michael. But if I was trans and I changed my name to Sarah, calling me Michael would be highly, highly offensive and on the same level as, like, using the N word almost. And that's just like, you don't do that. That's uncool. To refer to Caitlin by her dead name is transphobic and very narrow minded and just disgusting. So I put it up there on the thing and I did it very respectful. And I said, hey, being that it is Pride Month, and the fact that Caitlyn Jenner has transitioned now using the name Bruce is derogatory and it's a dead name. And I explained it all in kind of detailed fashion without, like, really going into it or whatever. And there were a bunch of people that were just really disgusting and ugly about it or what have you. And there was another person that hopped on there and reiterated what I said and just took it a little bit further or whatever. And it's like, you know, it might not be for you, but opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one. And when it comes to somebody doing something that is not harmful to anyone else and genuinely makes them happy and they are undergoing this stigma of gender reassignment or gender identifying surgeries, that's their business. It doesn't matter. You don't think people like that should exist? Sorry. They've always existed. There's always been a queer populace throughout history. So, yeah, I wrote up a thing on there and like I said, I've had 50 50 positive and negative, but I don't know if they're going to change it or not, but hopefully they do. So last night I finally got to watch the newest Downton Abbey movie, Downton Abbey a New era. And it was good. And it was also kind of like somber at the same time because Maggie Smith, who played Gran in the show, she passes away at the end. And this is huge spoiler alerts. So I'm sorry, but she passes away at the end. And it's like right around the time where talking movies were coming into fashion versus the old timely silent films and how everything was just kind of transitioning and how the children were now older and kind of taking on the roles of their parents and grandmother and how Siby and George and all of them were like tweens and becoming young adults themselves and just really good. And I really hope that they can continue the storyline. I would love to see it continued through the 1930s and 40s clear up into like present day. And I know that that's probably not going to happen, but I would really love to see it transitioned like that. But yeah, if you haven't had a chance to watch it and you're a fan of Downton Abbey, I'm sorry for ruining it for you, but if you have seen it, I would love to hear what you thought about it. And I also love the fact that Mr. Burrows had the opportunity to move to California to be with that producer or that actor out the producer. So they really didn't wrap anything up. They kind of left it open ended. So I'm hoping that there are continuations, but was still really nice. And I also like the fact that it showed the actors and actresses aged and I don't know if it was like makeup or if it was actually because they did age or not, but it was very tasteful, very classy, and the whole cast was there, which I appreciated. So yeah, I thought that was really cool. Yesterday I had to go do my grocery shopping and with the price of gas, the last time I had to fill up was actually yesterday and I found a place that I could do. So it said that it was 519, but when I went to do it because of a credit charge, it was actually like 529, but it was still cheaper than any of the areas that I had been in. But I don't know how you all are doing it. I'm scared to fucking death that come July or August or whatever else that I'm just not going to have the money to be able to go do my grocery shopping, let alone be able to drive my car into town, which is about ten to 15 miles, give or take, to go to my doctor's appointment. This is ridiculous. Something has got to stop and it has to change regardless of what your political affiliation is. If you're red, if you're blue, whatever it is, we need to come together and say enough is enough. And if we went a day or two where no one put gas in their cars, like if everyone just filled up their car on Monday and didn't put gas back in their car until Thursday, we would drop those prices quick, faster than a hurry. But people aren't going to do that. And it's sad that we can't come together over something like that. There really needs to be strikes held at the gas stations. Make conical Phillips or whatever the hell they're called AMPM, shell, mobile. Make all of the different gas stations responsible. Like if we could have walk outs for abortion rights and we can have walkouts for this and the other thing. And we can have Union strikes and whatever else. We need to have some kind of strike to say enough is enough. Because once we become comfortable paying five or $6 a gallon, it's never going to go back to the dollar or $2 a gallon. That it could be because we are a greedy, money grubbing nation and it's all about supply and demand. And that's what they do. They make up these false inflation. And even in the grocery stores, like we've had, how many grocery warehouse burned down and that's causing a food supply, like demand or whatever. And it's like early Hunger Games days if you kind of look at it in those in that sense. Like, seriously, guys, what are we going to do? Are we going to continue to allow ourselves to be repressed, told that less is more, and continue to work ourselves to death? Or are we going to actually stop and say, listen, you are elected by us to do a job for us. We don't give a goddamn about your payouts. We don't give a damn about whose hand is in whose pockets we are now telling you, you work for us. We the people want this change and we need this change. If you're not going to do it, we're going to overthrow whatever governances we have and put into power people who have the interest of the community at whole, not special interest groups. But there again, as long as bribery and greed exists, people are never going to do the right thing until it directly affects them. And then it's too late.

Participant #1:
First of all, I have to drive like 40 or 50 miles away from where I live just to get a somewhat decent price on my groceries. Because if I did local grocery shopping, there's absolutely no way that I could afford it, not on the $300 a month that I have to put toward groceries. And so you couple that with the price of gas and it's like, are you actually saving money this month? Yes, I saved money, but what is it going to be next month when gas prices are $6? And if the gas prices continue to raise, what is it going to be in August or September? September to December is like a stressful time of year for me anyways, because I'm thinking about the holidays and I have things coming up on my car, like my registration and everything else that I got to worry about. And if the cost of living and transportation and all that continues to go up, then that means that the services that I would utilize are going to go up. And what's the person that has little to no money supposed to do, how are they supposed to live in life? And I know that there's going to be some of you on here that's going to be like, oh, well, you could just get a job or blah, blah, blah. And that's not an answer for a lot of people, especially people who are on disability and things like that. They can't just hop up and go get a job because they want a job. There's so much more that factors into that. And I'm not even going to get into all of that right now. But it's just like, come on, there has to be a breaking point that isn't the people's back. I'm sorry for how political this post has become. I did not mean for it to take on this connotation, but you guys know that I do things unscripted and I speak directly from the heart 99% of the time and I'm enraged and I'm passionate about this and I'm worried not only about myself, but other people who are in my position. Like if my grandmother was still alive, would she have the ability to pay for her cost of living? I know some of my friends have elderly parents. I'm worried about them. I'm worried about my next door neighbors. I'm worried about the people down the street that I don't even know. I'm worried about everyone being able to take care of themselves. And it's just getting worse and worse by the day, it seems. Which is why I've started taking more mental health classes. Because not only does it help me fix myself and help me to go through my own problems, but I want to be able to sit down with somebody and say, Listen, I understand where you're at and have the tools and the professional knowledge to talk them down from the ledge. And it's not because I feel like I'm superior or that I'm better than anyone or whatever else. Because you all know that I suffer with my own mental health problems and deal with suicide, isolation, and all this other stuff. And it's not the pot calling the kettle black or being hypocritical or any of that other stuff. I understand what it's like to be holding the gun to your head and the strength it takes to put it down. I understand the days and days and days of unfathomable sorrow where it hurts to just breathe and you can't cry anymore and your face is chapped and chafing from where you have cried. I understand the darkness that depression and mental health plays and we don't have mental health available, and there's a stigma around it. A friend of mine is going through some shit right now, and they have to get special permission from their primary care physician to even seek out mental health help. And I think that's absolutely bonkers. Why do I have to get permission from someone to get help from someone else? That's ridiculous to me, and I can't even begin to fathom that. And not only that, but this person has had their appointment moved almost two months out from what they're going through right now. Right now? Oh, we can get to you in two months. What the fuck? Two months? No, I'm experiencing a crisis right now. I'm feeling suicidal. I'm feeling depressed. I'm feeling this. I'm feeling that right the fuck now. I might not be here in two months, and I'm outraged for this person, and I want to do something for this person, but I can't because it's not my fight. But I understand the battle and I want to be able to help people. And I'm using my knowledge of mental health. I'm using my knowledge from these classes that I'm taking to do the best I can to help. And I'm not taking paid courses. I'm trying to do everything free. The one online classes that I do is through a company called Alison.com. Part of the buy me a cup of coffee thing that I have on my banner ads and stuff like that is to help me try to pay for those certificates so that I can print them out. And if I ever did go into an office environment or whatever, I can show people, look, I've completed this class dealing with this subject, and I know what I'm talking about. And this and the other thing. One of the classes that I'm getting ready to take is on abuse in the household and mental problems and how it affects animal abuse. And I never stopped to think about it. Like, if somebody is being physically abused or they have some kind of mental health problem, chances are they may take that out on the animal. I'm a huge animal rights activist in the fact that I don't want to see an animal hurt. Am I, like a card carrying member of PETA? Absolutely not. Like slaughterhouses and stuff like that. They need to be a little bit more ethical, yes. But it's not going to stop me from going out and ordering a burger. But cats, dogs, household pets, stuff like that, animal welfare in general, that is a passion of mine. Also, I put animals lives above human life because we as humans were intelligent and we're capable and we're able to make changes for ourselves where animals aren't. And a lot of times, nine times out of ten, animals suffer at the direct hand and interference of human beings. So I think it's going to be a very emotional class, but a class that is going to be good just regardless and give me yet another tool to put into my toolbox of helping others who may be suffering from mental health issues and abusive issues and so on and so forth. So I'm going to go ahead and wrap it up. I know it's been a long winded or whatever, but I really do hope that you take a moment to head over to the blog. Hellocupcakeitsme.com? And also head over to the YouTube channel, YouTube.com/hellocupcakeitsme and leave me a message, watch video, shoot me an email. HelloCupcakeitsme@gmail.com and all that other stuff. And let's become a community. I want to hear your thoughts I want you to voice your opinions, I want your input and if you would like to be on my show or if you would like to be on a YouTube video or just like have a roundtable talk I would love to do that and get a hold of me and we can try to work something out. We could do a collaboration if you have a YouTube channel or a podcast or whatever and we could just go from there. Thank you guys. Stay safe and sane and I will talk to you all later. Thank you so much for tuning in. You have been listening to hello cupcake, it's me a podcast with your host Michael Peterson. Please make sure to check back often as new episodes are released by weekly. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to send a message to HelloCupcakeitsme@gmail.com and until next time stay happy, safe and keep doing the best you can with what you have been given. Bye you.