Matt Bernstein

I'm really looking forward to this conversation.

Yeah, so I think I think to start because I didn't expect to be here talking to you at all this having this conversation.

Why are you here right now?

Like what what brought you here?

You read your response to my question, which was about your previous bigotry against trans people.

I think that was like a pretty brave thing to do.

You knew what would happen.

You knew that all these people would swarm in.

And I saw that it was like very heartfelt and very reflective that you had sort of thought about this for a while, that you sort of observed some past behaviors and sort of reconvened

Matt, you and I, if I had to guess, this is the first time we're talking, but I think you and I are both optimists in a sense that we assume that if people see the harm that they cause people, which let's be real, a lot of conservatives, including you in the past, have caused a lot of damage to people, that there is like...

that room to reflect.

And I'm curious, I don't remember where you said this, but you said that you want to see a kinder world for your kid than you saw the world becoming.

What was the moment that it clicked in your mind that you were like, oh my God, what I am doing is contributing to this hate tsunami?

Was there a specific moment?

This is something that I am very curious in.

Just how, especially these days, during COVID, but especially post-COVID, a lot of people sort of rely on

So at the time you would post, I don't know, a video of a flamboyant gay person or whatever it might be that the right those days was melting down about.

I guess I'm just curious because whenever I interact with most people or just anyone, even if it's someone that's politically opposed to me, I want to consider how they feel.

feel.

Just the average person, you know, like we might disagree on some things.