What are we willing to tolerate to stay close to power—and what would it take to choose something different? In this episode of The Arise Podcast, Rebecca, Jenny, and Danielle move from a candid disagreement about presidential electability into a deeper conversation about white male power, patriarchal violence, consent, and collective responsibility. Rebecca asks what kinds of leadership the country is actually willing to accept, while Jenny and Danielle question whether pursuing politically familiar candidates can deliver the change people need. Discussing allegations of sexual violence and group-chat complicity involving Cornell fraternity members, the hosts examine how belonging and proximity to power can become incentives to protect harm. Jenny introduces “patriarchal bargaining,” Rebecca challenges the idea that bystanders bear no responsibility, and Danielle explores how people separate their stated morality from their actions through the framework she calls “white psychosis.” Together, they consider the relationship between dissociation, dehumanization, and accountability. The episode closes with a call to informed, engaged voting: research candidates beyond party labels, follow through on your ballot, and consider how your choices affect those most vulnerable to harm. Throughout the conversation, the hosts return to a central question: What does responsibility require when we are not the people most directly affected?
Patriarchal bargaining, belonging, and complicity
Jenny | 14:55
“They were preserving themselves in the male dominated space of, if I call this out, then I'm going to be ostracized, exiled, whatever. And so all of it then becomes this performance of bargaining to continue to try to get power in proximity to patriarchy and white patriarchy.”
Rebecca | 16:45
“Is it that we need to have a better conversation about power in general and not just the people who are at the center of it, but the people who are in proximity to it and what we're willing to do to stay there, or is there something unique about how that power manifests in white male circles that is distinct?”
Danielle | 18:03
“The anger was that he got caught. Not that he actually messed up. There was not a sense of remorse, but in the meeting, this is a person that would say all the right things, try to do all the right things in a group sense. But when leaving that place, after having been told, ‘Don't do X or please do X,’ literally goes and does their own entire thing.”