WEBVTT - The Role of Media in Advocacy 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.440 I'm Tamika D. Mallory and ship Boy. So generally we 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:05.440 are your host of t M I. 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:08.960 Tamika and my Son's Information, Truth, Motivation and. 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:11.280 Inspiration, New Name, New Energy. 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:18.520 How you doing today, Tamika D. Mallory, You're doing great. 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:22.840 You still got this little glam You're still I. 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:25.960 Still got the hairstyle, which is a mess a little 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:28.240 bit because I slept on it, but whatever, it'll work 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:33.000 for today. I still got the glitter makeup. 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:36.760 Yes that this is a good Harlem galla. You had 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:37.800 that Links. 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:42.640 Hallow, Well it's now it's the Metro chapter of the 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:47.559 Links incorporated. The Links is a women's organization. It's a 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:52.680 social organization that is very very focused on service. You 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:55.520 have to be invited to become a member, and it 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:58.280 would be on the list of the of the organizations 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:03.080 that they call the black Bourgeoisie because these are very, 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:07.280 very successful, powerful women. When it first started, there were 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:11.160 a lot of women who were wives of so the 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:14.959 husband had the resources. And not to say that those 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:18.760 women weren't also pretty powerful, but it did have an 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:21.679 element of women whose husbands were of stature and it 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:24.200 was a place that the women, the wives could get 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:26.720 together and do certain link and link up and do 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:31.640 service for the community, you know. But over time, obviously, 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:35.959 as women have made extreme, you know, incredible strides in 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:39.080 our careers and our professional lives, our personal lives and 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:43.400 all of that entrepreneurship, it has become a space where 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:45.320 a lot of women they don't even have to be well, 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:48.000 a lot of them are married, probably the majority are 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:52.440 least in very long standing relationships. But you don't have 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:56.960 to be to join the links. And again you do 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.720 have to be invited, and it's a very rigorous process 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:03.080 for how how people are selected. I find myself as 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:08.320 one who especially I've been a link now for ten years, 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:13.560 and so how I when I was introduced and invited 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:17.960 into LinkedIn, I knew I was different from many of 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:22.240 the other women as an activist organizer, didn't have a 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:26.280 lot of resources, you know, just kind of was finding 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:28.680 myself ten years ago, I was thirty four years old. 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:33.200 I was just getting myself in a really really comfortable space. 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:37.000 And so for them to bring me in let me 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:40.440 know that the vision is to expand beyond just like 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:43.520 one type of black woman. And now I look to 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:45.120 the right and the left of me and there's all 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:47.799 types of people, you know, somebody that might have an 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:51.160 art studio, somebody who might have an art gallery, you know, 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:57.760 So you've got that kind of interesting dynamic and Metro 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:02.480 Manhattan's chapters focus. My chapter's focus is on Harlem, our 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:06.640 services to youth, our national trends. All the things that 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:11.320 we do is about and we have an arts committee 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:14.639 as well. Everything that we do is about figuring out 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:17.200 how to help people in Harlem, how to support more 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:22.680 Harlem initiatives, how to bring our skill set to the 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:28.040 people of Harlem. We work with domestic Violence Shelter and 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:30.919 providing them. In fact, I've been in that shelter many 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.919 times for you know, whether it's talking with the women. 0:03:34.720 --> 0:03:38.280 Now we're in the process of raising donations and money 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:42.320 to support the women there. We work with Thurgood Marshall 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:47.280 School working with their young people, and some other schools. 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:51.200 And you know, Hazel Dukes, the Great Hazel Dukes is 0:03:51.280 --> 0:03:53.680 one of the charter members of the chapter. So of 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:57.160 course her energy is like built in and a lot 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:59.720 of what happens in the chapter in the direction of 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:04.400 the chain is based upon her big service to Harlem. 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:05.680 For I don't know how. 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:06.400 Many are dukes. 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:09.880 Yeah, so that's what the links are all about. 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.800 Or you know, you hear people online bashing people who 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:16.839 are in black organizations, the Boulet and. 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:16.880 All of that. 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:19.560 But in a lot of these groups, you have young 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:23.640 people who've been able to get education. I know for 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:28.800 a fact that sometimes when it's happened, it literally has 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:33.280 happened with myself and another person has SIGNI prats from 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:34.440 a different chapter. 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:37.400 She's been in Greater New York. 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:40.719 She and I have literally helped to pay for the 0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:44.360 college education of one of the young people who comes 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:48.880 from a struggling beginning and has dealt with some extreme 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:55.120 issues and disadvantages. But we helped her to get through Hampton. 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:58.840 Whenever she needed something books not paid for, need more 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:01.560 money to close the gap with the rest of the tuition, 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:03.320 need pocket change. 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:04.040 We helped her. 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:07.919 And now not only did she graduate for Hampton from Hampton, 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:10.840 but she's on her way to law school on a 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:16.400 scholarship for her entire time in law school. So this 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:20.360 is what the links is all about. And so when 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:22.640 you know, you hear people talking and maybe you've never 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:26.920 encountered someone from these types of organizations, and there's enough 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:31.360 critique to go around. We should definitely critique all organizations, 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:34.400 including Until Freedom should have people to say, well what 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:36.159 about this? You could do more here, You could be 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:40.920 deep on these issues. But overall, the goal of these women, 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:44.880 aside from social events which we have, is really to 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:46.400 do service to our community. 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:48.960 Well, yeah, I did a service yesterday. 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:49.720 We did. 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:50.960 We raise a lot of money. 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:55.200 Beautiful event, you know, and then they party. Good fool 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:00.200 you know what I'm saying. Everybody was dead. It was. 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:01.160 It was a beautiful event. 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:01.360 Man. 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:04.280 It's it's good to see you just to see black 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:07.680 people in that element, right, to see it in the 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.880 professional element. You just watch it goes. You see all 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:14.479 types of preachers, you see successful people from all over 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:17.719 the world that come, y'all they could. Lady was on 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:20.680 there talking about how people flew from all over to 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.159 come to this thing because this is this is that thing, 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:24.719 you know what I'm saying. So it was it was 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:27.080 a good event, man, it was. The energy was good, 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:30.320 you know, and it's it's always good to see people, 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:34.320 you know, thriving in those spaces. So shout out to 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:40.360 the Manhattan chapter of the Link, the Met Chapter and 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:41.800 their good Old. 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:47.640 Holiday. It was called a toast harl But. 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:50.039 You know, the only thing I was wondering, It's like 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:53.640 it was in Chipriani's Wall Street and which is a 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:57.120 dope dope spat. But why is it not in Harlem? Like? 0:06:57.160 --> 0:07:00.000 Why since the Harlem? Why you don't do it in Hallow? 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:04.640 Well there, you know, if you notice, we have a 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:08.719 lot of people, and our assessment every year, which is 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:11.800 the dues that you pay for the organization to keep going, 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:17.920 requires that every gala, which is every two years, each 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:20.800 member of the chapter must participate because you got to 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:22.840 have some skin in the game in order to stay 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:25.520 in this network. And by the way, there are people 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.320 who've done deals with just like any other you know, 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:31.720 I don't know what happens. Our community is the only 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:34.800 community that people get mad at you for being in 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:38.400 a club where you can go across the table and say, hey, 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:41.280 you know what, we're building this business or we're doing 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:43.200 this thing. Would you like to come in, would you 0:07:43.280 --> 0:07:44.000 like to invest? 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:44.520 You? 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:46.080 Can you help me? Can you guide me? Hey? I 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:46.760 need a job? 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:50.400 Hey my son is can he interview? Can he be 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:53.600 your intern for the summer? Can you know, I don't 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:55.840 know why can get a recommendation letter? 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:58.840 People be what because they. 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:01.200 Don't have access all the time. And I get it, 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:04.440 but you gotta build your own networks. I'm in fifty 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:07.040 networks of different types of people. 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:09.640 I got people that do all types of things. 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:11.880 You got to anyway, I was getting raided to started 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.440 saying illegal stuff. I was gonna say, you got to sue, 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:17.200 sue people, but not for nothing. I don't invest in 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:19.320 that because I don't see how I love. I don't 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:21.840 see how it comes back. It just doesn't make sense. Nah, 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:23.960 doesn't make sense to me. So I don't do it anymore. 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:26.080 I used to, but I don't do it anymore anyway. 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:30.840 People still have all different types of networks to help 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:33.160 them get through life, and you should build them. Don't 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.400 wait for somebody to invite you to this or that 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:38.200 or whatever. You think you gotta be all of this 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.959 to get in the room. I wasn't all of that, 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:43.600 and I was invited because of my work and the 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:45.960 fact that I grew up in Harlem and you know, 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.280 and people were like, Okay, she's somebody we should have. 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:50.080 And I'm sure in those meetings that I'm not a 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.520 part of. So don't you don't get to know what 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:56.160 happened before. It's like the zoom chat. When you come 0:08:56.200 --> 0:08:58.520 into the zoom chat, the only thing you could see 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:02.000 is when you came in the little chat section. 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:03.760 But before that. 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:06.880 Other people were probably having plenty of conversation, but you 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:08.280 don't know until you get added. 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:10.480 And it's the same thing with this. I don't know 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:11.440 what was discussed. 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:14.200 I don't know what they said before I got there, 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:17.400 but I'm sure that if Hazel has anything to do 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:19.160 with it, she's sitting in the room saying, all of 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:21.600 us are cute, we look cute. Well, we need some 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:24.240 of these young folks that's out here in the movement 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:25.080 doing the work. 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:25.280 You know. 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.800 I can imagine her saying that, And so that's how 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:32.080 I made it, and so, you know whatever. But to 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:37.440 answer your question about why it's there, it's because there 0:09:37.559 --> 0:09:44.920 really are not enough venues that can handle the size. 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:47.600 Of our group. You know, we got over seventy people. 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:52.320 Yeah, and so each person has to have between ten 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:56.960 to twelve people at this event. That's a lot of people. 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:00.440 The venues just really don't hold they really don't. And 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:05.000 even some of the larger venues we have, they are not. 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:06.319 Up to the. 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:13.640 It's aesthetics of what people are trying to do. But nonetheless, 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:17.120 we can show you when you open our books line 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:19.800 item of where the money goes and the money that 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:21.839 we raise goes into Harlem. 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:25.800 It definitely does. That was an exquisite event and you 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.640 can tell that people paid a lot of money for it. 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:32.920 They do, we pay, Yes, I paid, So shout out 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:33.600 to y'all for that. 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:34.079 Yeah. 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:34.400 Cool. 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:38.120 So let's talk about my thought of the day. 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:41.600 I got a call from someone who was really concerned 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:43.160 about a case that's happening. 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:47.280 Terrible situation. Horrible situation. 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:52.480 Uh, And I was involved with it in the very 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:56.600 beginning for a short period of time. I think we 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:59.040 may have gone and we visited the family or we 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:02.800 did something, and so I'm not I was not involved 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:05.040 with it until the last day. 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:07.120 And so a person called. And when I say the. 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.520 Last day, that's usually something happens in court or you know, 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:15.160 you have some developments. And then that's that's what I 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:18.319 mean by that, because when we get involved, we stay 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:22.960 all the way. But in this situation and in a 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:26.800 few other situations, people will see us and then you don't. 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.199 And so the so the person that wrote me said, 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:33.520 I thought that you were on this, like what happened. 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:35.840 They weren't upset or anything. They just was like what happened? 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:38.800 Like where did you go? Curious about it? And it 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:42.240 made me sit and think that I can't explain to 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:47.079 that person the details, because that's just not what we do, right, 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:51.640 We don't. We don't go out and tell people why 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:54.720 or what's going on behind the scenes and cases. 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:56.960 You know, I was getting all of this flack. 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:00.960 I think you remember, this is a separate issue about 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:05.920 Shanquala Robinson and her father had been making statements about, 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:08.040 you know, how we got involved, and then all these 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:10.920 bloggers picked it up and they were talking about us 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:15.320 as if or me, especially as if I was somehow 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:21.640 encouraging Shanquala's her mother and her sister to do something 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:25.600 without the father. And I've never said a thing, you know. 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.720 All I have really pretty much ever said, was like, hmm, 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.840 you know, y'all believe what y'all want to believe. But 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:36.200 I know the facts of what's going on behind the scenes. 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:38.240 But we don't go out and say, oh, let me 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:41.400 tell you this happened, that happened, or whatever. All we 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:43.640 can do is say. All we can do is say 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:48.880 I've had many conversations. Everybody involved knows exactly what's going on, 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:50.959 and you kind of leave it at that because you're 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:54.240 trying to make sure the integrity of what you're doing 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:57.880 that you don't get a reputation for running around spreading 0:12:58.000 --> 0:12:59.960 gossip and stuff about people's face. 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:02.320 This nasty? Is this not what we're gonna do. 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:07.760 So in this particular situation, they're asking why am I 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:09.079 not involved in this? 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:09.760 In this thing? 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:11.360 And so I was sitting in my thought of the 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:13.040 day at what I came here to say is that 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:18.880 oftentimes we don't talk about any of the details of 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:22.360 what's happening behind the scenes in cases, but there's a 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:26.600 lot of stuff happening behind the scenes in cases, and 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:31.480 I will often pull back from a situation where I 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:35.960 see that there is any level of toxicity with other 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:40.120 people getting involved. I can deal with a family that 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:46.200 might have struggles because you have unfortunate situations where someone 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.959 may be killed or harmed, and then you find out 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:52.400 there's a parent who's incarcerated, or a parent who is 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:58.280 on drugs or you know another or a parent who's 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:00.679 not been around but now that they're is a case 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:02.440 they want to be in the camera, or they think 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:04.880 they're supposed to get some money. We've dealt with all 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:08.000 of that, and I know how to navigate those conversations, 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:10.480 working closely with the lawyers the families, trying to give 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:14.680 the best advice, and also making sure to stay close 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:18.120 to who invited us to be a part of helping 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:21.000 them to fight for their loved one. But if I 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:26.480 see that other individuals are coming into the situation who 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:30.920 are toxic, it's especially in New York where we live, 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:36.520 I pull back my my business and support from the sidelines. 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.560 And the reason why I do that is one because 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:45.600 I have no intention to fight other people while working 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:50.720 on a situation that requires really all of our full 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:56.680 attention and our unity to help this family or these individuals. 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:58.080 Fight for their community or their loved one. 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:02.120 I have no intention of being in a knockdown drag out. 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:03.600 I've done that already. 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.680 I done had squabbles here and there with people, and 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.600 I'm just not doing it. Especially as I've gotten older, 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:12.760 I realize I'm not the only advocate. I realize that 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:15.400 I'm not the only voice. I realize that there are 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:19.000 many people that have different strategies, and Lord knows, I 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:23.360 pray that whatever their strategy is works. But for me, 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:28.560 especially in New York City where I live, I understand 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:32.200 that my family members and friends they don't really do 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:33.360 politically correct. 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:34.680 So all of this. 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.920 Like where people think they can be super aggressive with 0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:41.640 you and they outside yelling and talking about, oh, anybody 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:44.480 that's here, this is my shit then, and now, ain't 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.400 you ain't tough enough? You ain't this and doing all that. 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:51.560 I'm out because I'm not getting ready to have the 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:55.200 men in my family getting into it with you, because 0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:58.760 it's going to turn into some total street shit, Like, 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:01.480 ain't nobody trying to hear me telling them, well, we 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:04.280 gotta you out here people be threatening to slap people 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:06.400 like the things that I see. And we're even on 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:10.360 video getting into it with a group of weird ass 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:14.120 people out in Staten Island where they were videotaping my 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:16.200 license plate from when. 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:16.640 We pulled up. 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:18.960 They were videotape and my license plate and the type 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:20.880 of car that I have, and we asked them what's 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:23.440 up and the thing turned into a whole thing, and 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:25.360 the next thing you know, we back and forth and 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:28.960 people are saying what is going to happen? And they 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:32.560 clipped me saying something by slapping the shit out of someone, 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:36.040 and then there we go. And so but I don't 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:39.640 give a damn. I'm just saying I don't want to 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:42.080 be involved in none of that. So therefore, if I 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.600 see toxic organizations or people I don't work well with, 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.320 or people, and you know, and again if you call me, 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:49.840 if a family callsed me and say hey, do you 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.200 have this person's number or can you support me in 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:52.520 this way? 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:53.400 No problem. 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:57.240 But I am not going to be showing up every 0:16:57.320 --> 0:17:00.480 day in an environment where somebody that might me have 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:03.080 to hurt them or somebody and my family have to hurt. 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:06.479 It's growth, and it's just understanding. A lot of people are, oh, 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:08.160 why you ain't on this and why you ain't all that, 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:12.120 and you know, a lot of times it's just it's 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:14.679 not the situation. You know, it's not a situation that 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:17.239 I feel like we should be attached to it. Like 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:19.679 you said, it's toxics. A lot of times, you know, 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:22.399 these a lot of times these families are forced into 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:26.320 situations that they didn't call for, right, and then with 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:30.119 media attention, it divides the family. Right, So when you 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:32.760 see that the family is divided and the father don't 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:35.000 want this, and the father don't want the mother ain't this, 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:38.359 and you know, the mother and the father's it's I 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:40.800 don't want to be involved in, right, because it turns 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:44.520 into SMAR campaigns, It turns into discrediting you and this 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:46.960 and that, and a lot of times, you know, we've 0:17:47.119 --> 0:17:50.360 we've we've experienced it firsthand in situations that we never 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:52.359 had anything to do with, when people just throw your 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:55.520 name out because you happen to be the most notable 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:58.560 person in the situation. So and they can get some 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:01.080 you know, views, and they can get some attention, and 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:04.080 the news is going to print as soon as they 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:06.800 try to discredit you. So we just these are things 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:09.800 that come along with the territory and actually really be 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:12.000 on the front line and doing this work, and we 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:15.080 we've learned how to navigate. We've learned how to say, oh, now, 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:17.280 this situation right here, we hope you get the best 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:19.359 you know that you can, but you know, it's just 0:18:19.400 --> 0:18:22.080 not something that we want to be involved, and we've 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:22.919 learned how to do that. 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:25.960 So, yeah, it's not an easy decision to make because 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:28.919 if we could be involved in everything, we would, but 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:32.000 it's the best situation for the family also because you know, 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:34.480 you don't even want to explain to them like, oh, 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:37.840 that's messy. You know this person they can't be trusted, 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:41.040 or they did this thing, or you know a lot 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:43.679 of times I get that's what they do. 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:51.360 And somebody's going and this person ain't that And then 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:54.080 if the family be like, well, that's not what i've 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:56.879 seen either. The first people that can't help me, you know, 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:59.720 before anybody was here, they actually was the people. You know, 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:01.840 but they'll try to do anything. Oh, they only came 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:04.000 for the world. They actually didn't come for that. They 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:06.840 actually was the people that brought the news here because 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:08.800 you know, we reached out to them and nobody was 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:11.840 paying attention. Like, but they don't say those things. Most 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:13.760 people don't know those things, only the family, and then 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:16.320 they won't they won't highlight that, you know, they won't 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:18.600 highlight the family members saying that. They just want to 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:21.840 highlight the people that's talking negative about you. So this, 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:24.760 you know, and in all of these situations, we know 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:27.520 what comes with this. You know, you've been doing this 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:29.880 way before me, but I know in the last decade 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:32.880 that I've been doing it, you know, I've learned and said, 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:36.040 oh that's what happened. Well, oh that's how they do. Damn, 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:38.360 I didn't think that. I'm thinking, you're fighting for people. 0:19:38.440 --> 0:19:40.440 It should be simple. We just out here. We want 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:43.080 to make sure. No, it's there's so much proper. 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.679 It gets to be very complicated, very competible. So I 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:47.800 just I tried and not so much that a mind 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:49.800 in my business. If you call on me, I'm here, 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:52.240 and I always make it clear I'm here. But at 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:54.919 the end, and I also don't bad mouth other people like, 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:57.800 oh but I can't be around because such such. I 0:19:57.800 --> 0:19:59.600 don't do that. They do that to me, but I 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:02.040 don't do well of that. I just find a way to, 0:20:02.280 --> 0:20:05.760 you know, ease myself on back. Let y'all go ahead, 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:07.879 get in front of the camera, do your thing. I 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:11.000 don't need it. We create our own media every every 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:14.040 week on this show and other things that we do. 0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:17.359 Our social media following is pretty strong. People are really 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:20.359 with us. We create our own media. I don't need it. 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:23.320 It would be nice if the mainstream media paid more 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:26.199 attention to what we do and promote us, but at 0:20:26.240 --> 0:20:28.000 the end of the day, if they don't, that's okay. 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:30.080 If you want to find us. We telling you the 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:33.439 story of what we're doing. I'm not running to stand 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:37.480 up and be in the face of the camera. So 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:40.600 and then having to go back and people threatening and 0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:43.359 talking crazy because they really not gonna do any of 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:46.199 the things that they're saying, but the mere fact that 0:20:46.240 --> 0:20:49.080 they are even trying to and it's not it's not 0:20:49.119 --> 0:20:53.000 really threatening us. It's just their their their their body 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:57.240 language and all of this ignorance. And just like I said, toxicity, 0:20:57.560 --> 0:20:59.360