WEBVTT - Civil Rights Attorney Amy Owen Discusses the Rise in Hate Crimes  (Part 1)

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<v Speaker 1>Broadcasting from the Hip Hop Weekly Studios. I'd like to

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<v Speaker 1>welcome you to another episode of Civic Cipher, where our

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<v Speaker 1>mission is to foster allyship, empathy and understanding. I am

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<v Speaker 1>your host, Ramsey's job. Big shout out to Qboard, who

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<v Speaker 1>is still out of town handling business, but he has

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<v Speaker 1>assured me and everyone else that he will be back

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<v Speaker 1>next week, so we will be back to business as usual.

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<v Speaker 1>But have no fear. He has left us in capable hands.

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<v Speaker 1>Today we are joined by the one, the only, Amy

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<v Speaker 1>Owen aka Pineapple Lawyer. And for those that don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>Amy Owen is a civil rights attorney who has worked

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<v Speaker 1>major civil rights cases alongside Benjamin Crump. And she's known

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<v Speaker 1>for working alongside professional athletes and celebrities and other high

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<v Speaker 1>profile individuals. For those that are unfamiliar, you can find

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<v Speaker 1>her online as Pineapple Lawyer. Jeff And you know we

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<v Speaker 1>near and dear to our hearts, so welcome back to

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<v Speaker 1>the show.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much, Ramseys, thanks for having Civic Cipher

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<v Speaker 2>is one of my favorites of.

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<v Speaker 1>Course, yeah yeah. And then today we're going to be

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<v Speaker 1>talking about arise in hate crimes. We're going to have

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<v Speaker 1>a conversation about obviously the current administration and the undoing

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<v Speaker 1>of certain civil rights, certain logical, linear pieces of legislation

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<v Speaker 1>that really made the world safer for black and brown

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<v Speaker 1>and marginalized people. And we're going to have a conversation

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<v Speaker 1>with a lawyer who kind of works in this space

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<v Speaker 1>and determine how we can be maybe a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>more safer. Of course, we can't have conversations about everyone's

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<v Speaker 1>individual circumstances in their lives, but it's certainly a good

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<v Speaker 1>idea to have conversations like this with someone who's a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit more informed and engaged toward that end. So

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<v Speaker 1>stick around for that and a whole lot more. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>really excited to have this conversation because I think that

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people are going to learn some things

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<v Speaker 1>that they can take with them over the next four years.

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<v Speaker 1>But before we get started there, it's time for some

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<v Speaker 1>Ebony excellence. And today's Ebony excellence comes from the Black

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<v Speaker 1>Information Network. Today we're shouting out Maxwell Frost, Florida Representative.

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<v Speaker 1>Frost was silenced and faced threat of removal after he

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<v Speaker 1>called President Donald Trump a grifter during a house meeting.

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<v Speaker 1>The threat came on February twenty fifth, so I understand

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<v Speaker 1>this is a little old, but we're just getting to it.

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<v Speaker 1>From Kentucky Representative James Comer, the House Oversight and Government

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<v Speaker 1>Reform Committee chair, who took issue with Frost calling out

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<v Speaker 1>Trump and ally Elon Musk for abusing their power. Quote,

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<v Speaker 1>people like the grifter and Chief Trump and President Musk

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<v Speaker 1>are openly using their public offices to enrich themselves to

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<v Speaker 1>the tune of billions of dollars, Frost said during Tuesday's

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<v Speaker 1>House meeting. It goes on to say, so, if we

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<v Speaker 1>want to look at waste, fraud, and abuse, which I'm

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<v Speaker 1>down to do, why is there a complete silence on

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<v Speaker 1>the other side of the aisle about looking at the

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<v Speaker 1>complete grifter that is the President of the United States

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<v Speaker 1>and the richest man on earth? He added. Komer asked

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<v Speaker 1>Frost if he sought to quote revise your remark with

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<v Speaker 1>respect to improperly identifying the President of the United States unquote,

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<v Speaker 1>Frost says, I'll say President Musk and grifter in Chief Trump.

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<v Speaker 1>Virginia Representative Jerry Connolly told Comer that he didn't believe

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<v Speaker 1>that mister Musk is protected by the rules of the

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<v Speaker 1>House or the committee. Quote, we're looking at the disparaging

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<v Speaker 1>the president. Now Comer replied, but I don't believe mister

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<v Speaker 1>Frost disparaged the President. I believe he disparaged mister Musk,

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<v Speaker 1>Connolly said. Frost doubled down on his stance again, calling

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<v Speaker 1>out Trump for engaging in grifting. Quote President Musk and

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<v Speaker 1>the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who was

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<v Speaker 1>engaging in drifting. Grifting, Sorry of the American people often

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<v Speaker 1>use their public offices to enrich themselves. And so the

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<v Speaker 1>reason that this is ebony excellence is because you wanted

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<v Speaker 1>a spine, you wanted some pushback, you wanted something, and

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<v Speaker 1>this I hesitate to call it something, but it's not nothing. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to fight as much as we can. So

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<v Speaker 1>shout out to Representative Frost.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, yeah, he's stood on business right. He wasn't going

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<v Speaker 2>to be quieted.

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<v Speaker 1>So you know, Okay, So, Amy Owen, what a world

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<v Speaker 1>we live in?

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<v Speaker 2>A time to be alive?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, yeah, And you know, one of the things

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<v Speaker 1>that I think is really important is for you to

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<v Speaker 1>tell a little bit about your story so people kind

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<v Speaker 1>of get an idea of who it is that we're

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<v Speaker 1>listening to today. Now, I did mention that you work

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<v Speaker 1>with Benjamin Crump, but you know, talk about how long

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<v Speaker 1>you've been a lawyer, you know what motivated you, you

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<v Speaker 1>know all that sort of stuff, just so people kind

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<v Speaker 1>of get more of an idea of who we're talking about.

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<v Speaker 2>That sure, well, I think it started when I was

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<v Speaker 2>a young child. I was always about equality, right. I

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<v Speaker 2>tell a story about being in fifth grade and the

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<v Speaker 2>principle was going to give me an award and wanted

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<v Speaker 2>to send me home for my shorts being too short.

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<v Speaker 2>And I said, well, send the whole school home then,

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<v Speaker 2>because everybodys shorts are too short. So it started a

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<v Speaker 2>long time ago that I believed in equal treatment of everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>Right.

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<v Speaker 2>I grew up in a you know, in a white family.

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<v Speaker 2>That was difficult. So I always had to fight for

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<v Speaker 2>my own you know rights, and for the rights of

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<v Speaker 2>those that weren't white, I guess, even in my own family,

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<v Speaker 2>and then adopted correct So, you know, going to law

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<v Speaker 2>school for me was an empowering move because the law

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<v Speaker 2>touches everything. And now I'm able to use that power

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<v Speaker 2>and that law degree to help people who are discriminated

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<v Speaker 2>against or who are you know, in car accidents and

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<v Speaker 2>injured as well. So injuries come in lots of different forms, right,

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<v Speaker 2>And I really love helping people and that's my main thing.

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<v Speaker 2>So Pineapple Lawyer is my personal brand, and I use

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<v Speaker 2>that to market and brand myself because people can remember that.

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<v Speaker 2>Nobody forgets pineapp Yeah, you're right, you're going to forget

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<v Speaker 2>Owen Law Firm.

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<v Speaker 1>That's boring.

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<v Speaker 2>There's law firms of every other name. But so I

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<v Speaker 2>use that platform in order to get my message out

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<v Speaker 2>there and to make sure that people know how to

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<v Speaker 2>find me at any time, especially when they're in a

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<v Speaker 2>really bad situation. A lot of my celebrity clients, my

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<v Speaker 2>professional athlete clients, and their families reach out because you know,

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<v Speaker 2>everybody says, well, do you know Pineapple Lawyer? Oh yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I met her, you know, out at the All Star Game,

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<v Speaker 2>or I met her at this concert or that concert.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's a really great way for people to remember

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<v Speaker 2>me and call me in their times you need.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And I've you know, I've seen kind of how

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<v Speaker 1>that works because I've seen, you know, a number of

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<v Speaker 1>your videos going viral. You're giving out little bits and

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<v Speaker 1>pieces of advice and so forth, and that's part of

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<v Speaker 1>the reason why you know, we felt like you would

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<v Speaker 1>be a great person to have this conversation with, so

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<v Speaker 1>we won't keep the people waiting you. Thank you now.

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<v Speaker 1>Q sent over this story a while back, and we

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<v Speaker 1>knew that once the election had taken place and it

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<v Speaker 1>was determined that Donald Trump was going to be the

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<v Speaker 1>next president, there was a spike in hate crimes, right,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, it was a sign of, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>things to come. And obviously during his last administration we

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<v Speaker 1>saw something very similar. It really emboldens a base of

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<v Speaker 1>people that feel very much entitled and feel like they

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<v Speaker 1>that black and brown and marginalized bodies should be subject

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<v Speaker 1>to their whims. Okay, what stood out to this from

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<v Speaker 1>this story that Q sent over is that this was

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<v Speaker 1>in California, a place that's generally known for being a

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<v Speaker 1>very liberal place. Right. So I'm going to share a

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<v Speaker 1>bit from ABC ten. Hate incidents in California are on

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<v Speaker 1>the rise, according to a new report from the Commission

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<v Speaker 1>on This State of Hate. Quote, we have a problem

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<v Speaker 1>with racism in the United States unquote, said Russell Roibau,

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<v Speaker 1>chair of the Commission on the State of Hate, as

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<v Speaker 1>hate incidents in California are increasing. The report says nearly

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<v Speaker 1>seventy percent are reported as violent offenses, while less than

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<v Speaker 1>thirty percent are property crimes. The Black community remains the

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<v Speaker 1>most targeted group in California, with anti Black hate crimes

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<v Speaker 1>increasing more than twenty seven percent between twenty twenty one

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<v Speaker 1>and twenty twenty two, outpacing the overall increase in hate crimes,

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<v Speaker 1>which rose by twenty percent. Hate crimes against the Latino

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<v Speaker 1>community also saw a six point six percent increase. What's

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<v Speaker 1>the first thing someone should do? Oh, okay, let me

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<v Speaker 1>stop right here before we get there now. I also

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<v Speaker 1>read elsewhere in the article that there was incidents of

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<v Speaker 1>religious hate crimes. Particularly. It just stands out of my

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<v Speaker 1>mind Muslim American individuals and Jewish people as well. And

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<v Speaker 1>this is something that once upon a time we felt like, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>if something happens that's along the lines of a hate crime,

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<v Speaker 1>there exists a political infrastructure to protect us. And this

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<v Speaker 1>political infrastructure is in place to conceivably prevent these sorts

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<v Speaker 1>of things from happening in the first place. Now, with

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<v Speaker 1>this current administration, everybody's sense of how safe they are

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<v Speaker 1>is compromised. Okay, So let's put ourselves in the shoes

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<v Speaker 1>of an individual who now feels as though there's less

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<v Speaker 1>in the way of protection. If you feel like something

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<v Speaker 1>has happened to cause you harm as a result of

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<v Speaker 1>your race, sexual orientation, religion, etc. What are some of

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<v Speaker 1>the things, like, let's just start at the beginning. What

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<v Speaker 1>are some things that people should know about and maybe

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<v Speaker 1>some steps people should take if they're confronted with a

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<v Speaker 1>situation like this.

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<v Speaker 2>I love that question, Ramses. I do get asked that

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<v Speaker 2>a lot. The number one thing I tell everyone is

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<v Speaker 2>your cell phone is your greatest weapon. Take that thing

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<v Speaker 2>out and film whatever is happening, or if you're being detained,

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<v Speaker 2>have other people around you roll their cell phone cameras

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<v Speaker 2>because you can't dispute things that are on video.

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<v Speaker 1>Right.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's almost like having a gun in a war.

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<v Speaker 2>That arms you with facts. It arms you with proof

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<v Speaker 2>of what these people are doing that is horrific or discriminatory.

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<v Speaker 2>And Ben and I actually Ben Crump and I actually

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<v Speaker 2>spoke about this. He was in town, I believe it

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<v Speaker 2>was last month, and I said, you know, it's kind

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<v Speaker 2>of depressing what's going on, right, And I said, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>telling everyone to make sure that they roll their cell phones.

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<v Speaker 2>And he said, yes, that's the number one thing to do.

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<v Speaker 2>And also, you know, don't be afraid of reporting it.

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<v Speaker 2>Even if you think that the checks and balances aren't there,

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<v Speaker 2>you can still send a letter or post about it

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<v Speaker 2>on your social media. I don't always want people to post,

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<v Speaker 2>because sometimes that's your leverage if you're going to bring

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<v Speaker 2>a lawsuit. But a lot of these companies are afraid

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<v Speaker 2>of being called out because people will both boycott, Like

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<v Speaker 2>look at Target right, look at the different businesses that

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<v Speaker 2>people are starting to say, hey, I'm not going to

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<v Speaker 2>buy things from there, So you hit them in their pockets.

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<v Speaker 2>So even if you think, okay, the laws are changing

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<v Speaker 2>and my lawsuit may get dismissed by the Trump administration

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<v Speaker 2>and the judges that are out there, you cannot stop

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<v Speaker 2>the economic damn that will happen to a company if

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<v Speaker 2>they're boycotted, or if somebody says, you know, this hotel

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<v Speaker 2>did this to me, or this restaurant did that to me,

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<v Speaker 2>and you report that to the hotel themselves, right, they

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<v Speaker 2>that might strike some fear into the hotel that hey,

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<v Speaker 2>this is going on. It might blow up in our faces.

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<v Speaker 2>Their risk management people are going to get that letter.

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<v Speaker 2>They're at least going to read it right, So don't

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<v Speaker 2>give up completely. Yes, some of the checks and balances

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<v Speaker 2>with the court systems and having an administration who's kind

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<v Speaker 2>of okay, this is going to make the battle harder

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<v Speaker 2>for people like myself who represent people in this situation.

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<v Speaker 2>But that doesn't mean it's over. And these court cases

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<v Speaker 2>last for years, so we can kind of outlast the administration,

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<v Speaker 2>if you will, in some ways. Right, So I think

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<v Speaker 2>justice will still be served ultimately.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm glad you said that because that's one of

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<v Speaker 1>the things that I've been saying to people. I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to share gears just a bit here. Of course, we're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about, you know, hate crimes and discrimination, that sort

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<v Speaker 1>of thing. Well, we're kind of talking about them both.

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<v Speaker 1>It was originally it was hate crimes. We're going to

0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:10.800
<v Speaker 1>get to discrimination. But I'm glad you took us there. No, no, no, no,

0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.400
<v Speaker 1>I'm glad you took us there. But while we're here,

0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:18.840
<v Speaker 1>I think you make an excellent point in terms of

0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:28.320
<v Speaker 1>how politics works in this country. Lawsuit can last longer

0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:35.920
<v Speaker 1>than people. Sorry, a lawsuit can last longer than people

0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:39.600
<v Speaker 1>can be president. And you know, I'm a very petty

0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:44.640
<v Speaker 1>person and I hold grudges very well. Right, So places

0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:49.520
<v Speaker 1>like Target, places like Walmart, places like Amazon. Right, I cannot,

0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.679
<v Speaker 1>for the life of me believe that what they what

0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:58.640
<v Speaker 1>they did by kind of undoing their DII policies to

0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:02.439
<v Speaker 1>like bow down and kill Syring. Like even if Donald

0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:06.560
<v Speaker 1>Trump was the president for the rest of his life,

0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.880
<v Speaker 1>he's what seventy eighty years old something like that, he's

0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:10.520
<v Speaker 1>going to be dead soon.

0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:10.760
<v Speaker 2>Right.

0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:13.160
<v Speaker 1>Black people are going to be here a lot longer

0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:15.880
<v Speaker 1>than Donald Trump. And all of those companies have to

0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:19.360
<v Speaker 1>come back down this street. And remember what I said,

0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:23.720
<v Speaker 1>I'm very very petty, and I hold grudges very well.

0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:27.240
<v Speaker 1>So when Walmart tries to do their Juneteenth whatever, Nope,

0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:30.200
<v Speaker 1>I'm not shopping there. When Amazon is like, hey, we're

0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:34.720
<v Speaker 1>you know whatever, I'm not shopping there, right, you know, right,

0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:36.600
<v Speaker 1>And that's in terms of the economics. So I'm glad

0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:42.960
<v Speaker 1>you mentioned that. Now, let's let's revert back hate crimes. Well,

0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:48.720
<v Speaker 1>so let's say that you know, a person has kind

0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:56.600
<v Speaker 1>of suffered some sort of injury and they are you know,

0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:59.600
<v Speaker 1>we had a gentleman on the show. This was years ago,

0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.080
<v Speaker 1>but he came up and he said, you know, the

0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:05.920
<v Speaker 1>police came to my house. They were looking for someone else.

0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.840
<v Speaker 1>They thought that they had him, but they had me,

0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:13.000
<v Speaker 1>and then they beat me up in my house. They

0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:15.440
<v Speaker 1>knocked out my teeth. He's like, this is why I

0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:18.840
<v Speaker 1>sound like this. And he's like, now I'm trying to

0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:25.760
<v Speaker 1>like get some support, get some lawyers, get somebody to

0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:29.080
<v Speaker 1>take this case. As like, I have no money, I

0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:30.600
<v Speaker 1>have no idea what to do. And he's like, I'm

0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:32.400
<v Speaker 1>very fortunate that I was able to even get a

0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:36.000
<v Speaker 1>hold of you. So in a place like California, and

0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:38.480
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure places all around the country, because again California,

0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:40.160
<v Speaker 1>you would imagine this would be kind of on the

0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:43.120
<v Speaker 1>lower end of the increase in those sorts of things.

0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.280
<v Speaker 1>What are some like first steps, not in the immediate

0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:49.720
<v Speaker 1>aftermath after you've kind of had your cell phone and

0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:51.680
<v Speaker 1>all that sort of stuff. What does a person do?

0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:53.120
<v Speaker 1>Do you have to you need a ton of money

0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:54.920
<v Speaker 1>to get a lawyer? Do you need you know? How

0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:55.640
<v Speaker 1>does this work?

0:15:56.360 --> 0:16:00.960
<v Speaker 2>So, of course every case is different, but the main

0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:04.680
<v Speaker 2>thing would be to document your injuries. Take pictures of

0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:09.240
<v Speaker 2>like bruising or bleeding or broken bones, get medical treatment,

0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:14.080
<v Speaker 2>make sure that your medical treatment states in your records

0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:19.800
<v Speaker 2>that this was caused by someone doing something that was hateful,

0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:23.320
<v Speaker 2>or you know, just tell the facts of how it happened,

0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:26.920
<v Speaker 2>like somebody bashed my face in with a brick, and

0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.240
<v Speaker 2>I think that it was racially motivated. So the more

0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:31.680
<v Speaker 2>information that you give to the medical providers, the better

0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:36.000
<v Speaker 2>your medical records will be. So for me, since I'm

0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:39.320
<v Speaker 2>a personal injury and a civil rights lawyer, having good

0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:42.920
<v Speaker 2>medical records that describe exactly how someone's injury happened is

0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:45.600
<v Speaker 2>very important. So I would say that people who are

0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:48.880
<v Speaker 2>injured in that way be very careful how you state

0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:55.640
<v Speaker 2>your injuries to the treating providers. Get that medical all

0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:59.440
<v Speaker 2>that medical treatment, and then you know, keep a notebook

0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:03.880
<v Speaker 2>of everything that you miss, talk about your feelings like

0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:07.879
<v Speaker 2>missed works, if you miss a family reunion, or you

0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.600
<v Speaker 2>miss a trip or something like that. Document everything because

0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:14.000
<v Speaker 2>that goes into what's called your damages. So a lawyer

0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:17.119
<v Speaker 2>is going to only take a case where the damages

0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:20.320
<v Speaker 2>are high enough that I know that I can get

0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:23.520
<v Speaker 2>you a lot of money because you have, you know,

0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:26.639
<v Speaker 2>ten thousand dollars in medical bills, you have twenty thousand

0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:29.840
<v Speaker 2>dollars in lost wages. Things like that. If your damages

0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:31.879
<v Speaker 2>are only you go to the urgent care and it's

0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:34.600
<v Speaker 2>two hundred dollars and then you're back on your feet

0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:36.600
<v Speaker 2>in a couple weeks. Those damages are going to be

0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:38.520
<v Speaker 2>a lot less than somebody who lost a bunch of

0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:41.680
<v Speaker 2>teeth and has to get dental work to the tune of,

0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:44.280
<v Speaker 2>you know, twenty thousand dollars. Of course, those damages are

0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:47.920
<v Speaker 2>going to be higher. So it's very important for victims

0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:50.960
<v Speaker 2>of these types of crimes to get the medical care

0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:54.040
<v Speaker 2>and then keep all those bills and records, you know,

0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:56.200
<v Speaker 2>at your disposal, so that when you go to ask

0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:59.159
<v Speaker 2>a lawyer to represent you, you can say, hey, I

0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:04.119
<v Speaker 2>have amount of medical bills because a lot of times

0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:08.240
<v Speaker 2>as lawyers, we get a ton of calls and we

0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:12.399
<v Speaker 2>need people who are succinct who can communicate to us

0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:14.919
<v Speaker 2>exactly how you are injured and what you want to

0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:17.080
<v Speaker 2>be done. Do you want to be made whole through

0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:20.560
<v Speaker 2>monetary damages? Do you want that company or that business

0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:24.159
<v Speaker 2>to issue an apology. Would you like to see changes

0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:28.080
<v Speaker 2>in their policies about the way that they handle situations

0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:29.840
<v Speaker 2>like that. There's a lot of different ways to be

0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:33.680
<v Speaker 2>made whole, right, But I would say to our listeners

0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:36.439
<v Speaker 2>or to your listeners. You need to make sure that

0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:40.639
<v Speaker 2>you're documenting things. And then it does sometimes take money

0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:43.440
<v Speaker 2>hire a lawyer. And then other times we do what's

0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:47.000
<v Speaker 2>called contingency fee, and we will work to settle your

0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:49.520
<v Speaker 2>case without any money up front. But that's going to

0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:51.199
<v Speaker 2>be a really good case that we know that we

0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:53.720
<v Speaker 2>can win. Lawyers aren't going to be able to take

0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:58.080
<v Speaker 2>every single case. Sometimes I get, you know, ten twenty

0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:01.520
<v Speaker 2>thirty calls or emails in a week, but they're all

0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:04.360
<v Speaker 2>cases that I'm not going to be able to win

0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:07.159
<v Speaker 2>because there's maybe not enough evidence or the damages are

0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:09.720
<v Speaker 2>so low. And I tell people, hey, there's the Office

0:19:09.720 --> 0:19:12.760
<v Speaker 2>of Accountability, right, go and talk to them. They might

0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:14.760
<v Speaker 2>be able to send a letter for you or something.

0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:17.640
<v Speaker 2>But I'm so busy as a lawyer trying to fight

0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:20.280
<v Speaker 2>some of the other cases. I can't take every single

0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:25.760
<v Speaker 2>case on contingency. So your questions multifaceted. But there are

0:19:25.840 --> 0:19:29.119
<v Speaker 2>lawyers who can take it if it's egregious enough. And

0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:31.720
<v Speaker 2>you know, of course Ben Crump, he gets thousands of

0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:35.520
<v Speaker 2>calls a day and he takes the ones where people die.

0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:40.600
<v Speaker 2>People are you know, really seriously injured. Sure, and I

0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:43.240
<v Speaker 2>mean it sounds sad that the damages have to be

0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:46.879
<v Speaker 2>really high in order for certain attorneys to take it.

0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:49.359
<v Speaker 2>But those are the cases that move the needle and

0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.159
<v Speaker 2>help us to change the way the world.

0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and then the country works. Okay, that makes sense.

0:19:56.280 --> 0:20:02.120
<v Speaker 1>I did want to ask about kind of the thing

0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:10.240
<v Speaker 1>that distinguishes a regular assault type of thing or some

0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:14.399
<v Speaker 1>other sort of transgression from a bon fight hate crime.

0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:18.639
<v Speaker 1>And my understanding so far is that if two guys

0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:20.439
<v Speaker 1>get in the fight and one of them happens to

0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:22.880
<v Speaker 1>be a different race than the other guy, and they

0:20:22.960 --> 0:20:25.600
<v Speaker 1>just get into a fight with each other or one

0:20:25.600 --> 0:20:28.159
<v Speaker 1>assaults the other one, you know, and they happen to

0:20:28.200 --> 0:20:30.640
<v Speaker 1>be a different race, then that's just an assault charge.

0:20:30.640 --> 0:20:34.520
<v Speaker 1>It doesn't become a hate crime until they either say

0:20:34.560 --> 0:20:38.640
<v Speaker 1>something that's like racially derogatory or otherwise have some sort

0:20:38.640 --> 0:20:44.840
<v Speaker 1>of something linking them to I guess what would fall

0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:46.440
<v Speaker 1>under the umbrella of hate? Do I have that correct?

0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:49.760
<v Speaker 2>Absolutely? It would be maybe if the two guys are

0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:52.399
<v Speaker 2>getting in the fight and one of the guys is

0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:57.080
<v Speaker 2>using a racially explicit term towards the other person, or

0:20:57.200 --> 0:21:04.200
<v Speaker 2>saying I hate all of you blank, so and There's

0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:08.119
<v Speaker 2>there's times when those facts come out later too, you know,

0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:10.560
<v Speaker 2>like you might not know why this person is upset

0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:14.159
<v Speaker 2>with this particular individual. And then a lot of times

0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:17.919
<v Speaker 2>with social media and everything, you can go research someone

0:21:18.000 --> 0:21:22.560
<v Speaker 2>and oftentimes it's implied, I would say, but to be

0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:27.840
<v Speaker 2>categorized as a hate crime, there's definitely boundaries and specific

0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:30.399
<v Speaker 2>pointers that have to be met in order for it

0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:31.639
<v Speaker 2>to be a hate crime.

0:21:31.760 --> 0:21:37.400
<v Speaker 1>Okay, okay, yeah, this is something that you know, I'm

0:21:37.440 --> 0:21:39.960
<v Speaker 1>beginning to understand that you know, a lot of people.

0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:44.199
<v Speaker 1>It's just like you you know, people reach out to

0:21:44.520 --> 0:21:47.520
<v Speaker 1>us on the show Myself and Q and they will

0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:50.720
<v Speaker 1>tell us their stories and you know, we have an

0:21:50.760 --> 0:21:54.000
<v Speaker 1>hour a week and yes we can bring some attention

0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:57.600
<v Speaker 1>to it, but we just don't have the time and

0:21:57.640 --> 0:22:00.680
<v Speaker 1>the bandwidth to tell every story. And so it's those

0:22:00.720 --> 0:22:05.480
<v Speaker 1>stories that we feel like, can we can get a

0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:07.640
<v Speaker 1>response from what, you know, whatever, we can get some

0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:10.359
<v Speaker 1>positive outcome for these folks that we try to you know,

0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:15.240
<v Speaker 1>share with people. But at the end of the day,

0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:17.800
<v Speaker 1>you know, if it if we can't get to everyone,

0:22:17.840 --> 0:22:21.240
<v Speaker 1>it's good so that they have this type of advice

0:22:21.280 --> 0:22:22.760
<v Speaker 1>and they know what they can do on their own

0:22:22.840 --> 0:22:26.600
<v Speaker 1>because again, we cannot highlight every single, you know, instance

0:22:26.680 --> 0:22:29.520
<v Speaker 1>of you know, a transgression or some sort of assault

0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:32.840
<v Speaker 1>or something like that, because you know, people do get jumped,

0:22:32.840 --> 0:22:34.480
<v Speaker 1>they get beat up, they get you know, all kinds

0:22:34.520 --> 0:22:36.439
<v Speaker 1>of stuff, and you know, we hear about it, we

0:22:36.480 --> 0:22:40.080
<v Speaker 1>get to in our inbox, and so you know, we

0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:45.600
<v Speaker 1>appreciate just kind of the the once sober. I know

0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:48.720
<v Speaker 1>it wasn't very long, and I know you're going to

0:22:48.760 --> 0:22:50.720
<v Speaker 1>stick around for the next part of the show, but

0:22:51.000 --> 0:22:52.800
<v Speaker 1>you know, I want to make sure that we plug

0:22:52.840 --> 0:22:55.560
<v Speaker 1>you one more time. It's Pineapple Lawyer on all platforms.

0:22:56.240 --> 0:22:58.520
<v Speaker 1>Lock in and get yourself educated, y'all.