If you've ever wondered how we got to a place where grandmothers defend ICE killing protesters, business leaders stay silent on human rights violations, and empathy itself is called a "weakness"—this episode is your group therapy session.

Chris opens with justified rage at the "Necessary Conversation" podcast, where a MAGA mom twists herself into pretzels defending the ICE killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Desiree provides the historical context this moment demands: from lynchings as family entertainment to Indian boarding schools to the Nazi playbook built on American Jim Crow.

But this isn't just about pointing fingers. We break down the two groups who've lost empathy (the sheltered and the angry), why "economic system justification" makes people defend systems that hurt them, and what actually works when trying to reach people trapped in propaganda.

You'll learn:
- Why the right wing explicitly attacks empathy as "weakness"
- How caste systems train us to dehumanize
- The difference between people who can't see beyond their bubble vs those weaponizing their rage
- Deep canvassing techniques that don't make you want to scream
- How to welcome people changing their minds (SNL got it right)

Resources mentioned:
- Dan Ariely's "Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things"
- Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents"
- Beth Macy's "Paper Girl: The Ruined American Dream and the Hunt for Financial Salvation"
- Tish Jones' "The Children Are Watching" (performed at Timberwolves MLK Day)

This is group therapy disguised as cultural commentary. You're not crazy for feeling exhausted by this—the system is.

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