My daily affirmation is: "If Joe Rogan can do this, so can I."
Joe Rogan and the dudes who like him don't fact-check. They piece together words, most likely from a woman they were half listening to, and then spew out whatever nonsense fits their opinion that hour.
He's not toning down his language to appear like he's not racist, sexist, or homophobic. He's not worried about publicly sharing damaging stereotypes. He celebrates his idiocy, bigotry, and mansplaining.
And he makes a profit off it.
Meanwhile, I have so many fears about sharing my writing, podcast, and opinions.
I'm worried about all the obvious things – that my writing is terrible, that I spelled something wrong or misused a word. That my audio sounds like shit, my editing skills are crap, I don't look good in a video, and it's too long. Or that I have vocal fry or upspeak, something I learned from Terry Gross in 2015 that women do that men don't like.
I also constantly worry about saying the wrong thing. Getting a fact wrong. Hurting someone because I didn't know everything,
I worry about wielding my thoughts and opinions poorly, resulting in more harm than good.
I didn't use to be like that. As a young woman, I was probably precisely like Joe Rogan: I had very little knowledge or expertise, I did just enough research to get by, and I thought everything I said, or shit, was gold. At that time, I had what many would call "Confidence-of-a mediocre-white-man" Syndrome.
As I grew older, this syndrome resolved itself, but the overcorrecting effects became severe.
If I didn't get something perfect on the first try, had my facts slightly wrong, or something I produced didn't absolutely blow you away, then I sucked. I wasn't smart. I didn't know anything.
And when I didn't do something perfectly, someone was there to tell me. Often, I asked for it.
That's when I started to see the first signs of Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter Syndrome is a disease that affects primarily young women but can occur in both men and women and in all age groups. It's passed through conversation and can cause permanent damage to a woman's self-esteem. It's like Chlamydia because men rarely notice the symptoms.
Women may experience the following:
Feelings of anxiousness or worry when sending emails, finalized reports, drafts for review, etc.
Often thinking to oneself, "It's not good enough."
Tendencies to not publish or share something self-created.
Getting interrupted and talked over when making a valid point.
Having good ideas that somehow get credited to someone else.
Getting vaguely threatening messages that say, "Shut the fuck up," "Dumb little girl," or "Ugly-ass bitch" after sharing a perspective publicly.
My Imposter Syndrome really began to flare up when I was first appointed to the State Legislature.
While Imposter Syndrome is treatable and can be caught early, unlike Chlamydia, many of the symptoms will continue to persist, even after treatment.
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When Rogan was called out in 2022 for the use of racist language and was forced to apologize, he shared in the live video that it was "a teachable moment." Later, he edited himself to say it was a political hit job.
Joe Rogan and his followers are not interested in learning, understanding, or trying to fix the world's problems; they are capitalizing on them.
Why am I so worried about offending you when God knows he's not?
His audio sound isn't the best quality, he doesn't exactly look fabulous on camera, and he rants about nonsense for three fucking hours.
The standard is low. Even if my mine is high.
And if this asshat with his shitty opinions can continue to spread his disease by taking down women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ folks, and many more – If he can do whatever his dick is pointing him to each day, then my pussy can lead me to talk freely about him, asshats like him, the fucked-up policies they support, and the hateful things they believe. And I can do so without the fear of being imperfect.
I will mess up, but I will, and do, own up to my mistakes. I like to get my facts straight and correct misinformation. I keep trying to be better—to do better—to be part of the solution instead of the problem. And that's much more than I can say for Mr. Rogan.
I'm not going to be afraid of failure, not being perfect, or worried that an opinion I've formed based on real people, real situations, and facts, and a desire to do the right thing could risk failure.
Because what I produce, even with its flaws, deserves to be shared.
And if Joe Rogan and JD Vance don't even bat an eye when they're dead wrong, then I won't let bad sound or vocal fry make me.
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