WEBVTT - How Do We Deal with Violence Within our Own Community? 0:00:05.440 --> 0:00:08.400 What's Good Family. I'm Tamika D. Mallory and it's your 0:00:08.400 --> 0:00:12.440 boys in general. And this is street Politicians, the place 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:15.840 where the streets and politics meet, the place where the 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:20.680 streets and politics meet. What's good Nice, it's going to Amica. 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:25.280 You are traveling. UM. I was on vacation. I had 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:31.400 a very long, amazing vacation. But we're back back and loaded. Um. 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:35.000 And unfortunately the Internet does not want me to be 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:38.560 great today, so I think I have a pixelated view. 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:41.920 But hopefully folks can hear me and see me well enough, 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:47.360 because today's show is going to be really powerful. UM. 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:51.360 It's something that has been impacting my life and and 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.600 something that's touched me for so long. We've been talking 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:58.120 about the issue of violence and how violence is on 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:02.360 the rise across the nation and particularly looking at what's 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:05.720 happening in our communities. I don't think we've ever stopped 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:09.200 talking about violence in the black community, but we know 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:13.240 that there is an uptick. The pandemic has caused so 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:17.280 many different issues for so many people. UM, and we're 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:20.960 seeing violence at an all time high. Although if you 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:24.000 listen to the stats, there's some um, you know, some 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:27.440 things that might be a little different, but anyway, we're 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:31.160 seeing some dangerous numbers coming out in terms of what's 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:36.319 happening across the country with guns and with violence in general. 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:39.800 And so for the next several weeks, we're gonna be 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:43.480 really really focused on this issue and bringing people from 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:47.640 different states and different areas, folks who deal with different 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:52.840 types of issues that may cause people to pick up guns. 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:55.920 We're gonna be talking to mothers, We're gonna be talking 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.200 to people who've actually pulled a gun, who've been shooters 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:01.840 in the past US. We're gonna be talking to folks 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:05.960 who have been who are victims of gun violence, UM, 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:10.079 and also elected officials and other community members who are 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:13.400 working to make a change UM. And so it's not 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.680 the type of show that you can do in one week. 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:19.320 We had a great show just recently where we talked 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.280 about the issue of gun violence. We had our brother 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:26.040 Shanon Duke mcfadder from g MAC and Brooklyn on to 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.040 talk about how he works on gun violence. And actually 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:32.959 Shan Duke lost his brother, UM, you know, in and 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:36.239 in in a terrible incident that took place in a 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:38.880 nightclub in New York City where he was shot and 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:42.600 killed on camera, um, and so we've been covering the 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:46.760 issue already, but we're really gonna be intentional going forward 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:51.160 about making sure that all the different elements of how 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.760 we deal with violence in our communities it's out there, 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.840 so people won't be able to say they didn't know 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:01.079 or they don't know what to do and how they 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:04.520 can support. We want to pull folks in to the 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:07.239 world that we live in every day because we are 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:12.160 actively engaged in the movement to to curb and try 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:16.320 to end to the degree of which we can gun 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:21.560 violence and violence in general. Um. Also, mass shootings. Mass 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:24.880 shootings is a real thing. You know, some people believe 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:29.160 that mass shootings is only something that happens in white 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.600 schools and white communities, but if you think about the 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:37.640 shootings that have taken place in grocery stores, malls and 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:41.560 other very public places, anyone can be harmed. And to 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.400 be clear on street politicians, we don't want mass shootings 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:48.400 to happen to white folks either. We want to try 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:52.600 to figure out what is causing this type of disturbance 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:56.400 and danger um in all sectors of our communities and 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.000 of our lives. And so um, you know, I am, 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.640 I guess excited might not be the best word, but 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:05.680 I am excited to have an opportunity to showcase the 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:08.200 work that I've been involved in, that we've been involved 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:11.120 in for so many years, and also to give an 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:15.200 opportunity for people to speak on solutions and things that 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:19.760 can be done to to fight this terrible, terrible epidemic 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:24.200 within our society. Yeah, definitely when I when I look 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:26.600 at these numbers, you know, they say more than two 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:29.720 hundred thirty people were fatally shot across the US on 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.320 the fourth of July weekend, and about six eighteen people 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.440 were injured by gun violence, and more than five hundred 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:41.640 shootings across the country. Like that's crazy. I was just unfortunately, 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:45.400 I was on the internet and there's this video that's 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:49.000 been viral and it's about two young men, you know, 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:51.160 and they're sitting there talking to each other and one 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:54.600 of them just gets shot, like literally why they're on 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:58.359 camera on a live conversation on Instagram. The boy works 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:01.520 up being shot. It sounds a a shots and he 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.080 was pronounced dead on on the scene when you know, 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:06.839 when the ambulance showed up, and it's just like the 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:10.800 disregard for human life and it's dealing is with the trauma, 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.279 you know, with the epidemic and the pandemic has cars 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:16.600 and and and when you look at trauma, you know, 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:22.520 me being formally incarcerated, understanding what being secluded right, being 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:25.720 the reason why we fought against to end the box 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:30.800 and end um solidtable confinement because we understood the ramifications 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.360 of that. Right, A lot of people that come out 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:38.080 of those situations come out more traumatic, come out way 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:40.359 more violent. They don't want to be around people they have. 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:43.600 You're dealing with mental issues, you know, you're dealing with anxiety, 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.599 dealing with all types of stress and those things of causes. 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:50.560 So we're looking at the ramifications of what came after 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.160 the epidemic and the pandemic. So, you know, I think 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:55.599 it's really important that we have this conversation and we 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.400 bring people from all different levels. Like you said, we're 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:00.839 gonna have some government official is, we're gonna have people 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:03.560 who actually wore shooters, we're gonna have victims, we're gonna 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:06.280 have family members, we're gonna have everybody, so we can 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:09.560 talk about this in totality because it's really something that 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:12.440 needs to be focused on. I don't think that you know, 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:14.680 I think that people are talking about it, but I 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:18.120 don't think that people are delving into what are the 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:21.279 causes of this violence and and how do we actually 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:23.360 stop the violence? What are the things that's needed to 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:25.920 stop that. Everybody's saying, oh, it's a problem, you know, 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:27.640 and and and a lot of people, oh, we just 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:30.920 need more police and and I'm so anti that because, 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:34.159 like I always say, police have never stopped violence in 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:37.159 our community. The only thing they've ever done is arrest 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:40.200 the people who committed the violence, right, So we we 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:43.039 don't need just people being arrested. We were trying to 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:46.080 get We're trying to interceed before there is an actual 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:48.320 crime committed. We want to figure out how do we 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:51.160 mediate situations, How do we give these people in the 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.080 communities the resources needed so they don't have to feel 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:56.800 like violence, How do we get the mental health situations 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:59.040 that they need to make sure that they're okay. So 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:01.440 I'm just glad that we're going to be really delving 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:04.039 into this over the next few weeks, and you know, 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.880 I think it's it's very gonna be very informative. I 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:09.640 hope that people are paying attention, you know, because this 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:13.360 is a topic that is is definitely is literally between 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:17.360 life and death. It absolutely is. It absolutely isn't it. 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:22.640 It makes me, um think about like how I got started, 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.760 you know, outside of my personal issue, which you know, 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:29.160 everybody knows or at least many people as have listened 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:32.520 to me at any point. You know that my son's 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:37.440 father was shot and killed, and um, Oftentimes people say, well, 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:39.960 you know, I can't believe that you guys don't work 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:43.800 on violence in the community and whatever. And I think 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:45.800 a lot of times there are some people who are 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:48.480 just trolling, but there are other people who really just 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:52.280 don't know. They don't know because either you know, one 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:58.560 thing I think that's important is that folks are they 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:02.120 only know what they see on the media every single day. 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:06.320 And so when a Brianna Taylor is killed, or George 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:10.160 Floyd or the names go on and on and on, 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:15.520 you're going to see that more often because unfortunately it's 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:20.080 the media that makes it, uh, they make it salacious, 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:23.280 um sort of, which is unfortunate to have to use 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:28.240 that language, but it's true they in in many ways, um, 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:33.360 not so much glorified, but they certainly exploit uh these issues. 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:35.560 And then of course you have many people who run 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:40.840 to these incidents and get involved because of the fact that, um, 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:43.480 you know, it is high profile and and it's in 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:48.400 those moments that you see the intersection of racism that 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:53.319 is really, really present, and it's clear as it connects 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:56.199 with the loss of black life or the loss of 0:08:56.280 --> 0:09:00.520 brown life. And so folks find their ability to fight 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:04.120 in the struggle in those moments. Uh, they feel like, yes, 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:07.599 this is this is when I get to confront the system. 0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:11.000 But in our situation, and for as long as I 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:13.680 can now remember, in terms of my career and as 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:16.760 long as I have been working in this movement, I 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:21.320 have understood that the violence happening in our community is 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:26.280 also a form of systemic oppression. That racism and white 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.920 supremacy and all of those things play a role in 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:34.120 why the ray Rays and others of our community feel 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:38.440 like violence maybe the only choice. And so we have 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:42.319 to look at confronting the system on many different levels, 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:46.520 because once once we confront the system, so many different 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:50.200 things will be corrected, if you will, in our in 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:54.719 our society, I believe that confronting the system gives us 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:57.560 the ability, as they say, to take one stone and 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:01.640 hit several different licks. Um. And that's and that for 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.280 me is why this show and and this this this 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:07.160 time period is so important because I think we get 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:11.560 the opportunity to educate people on how they can also 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:14.720 be a part of this movement. Now. What I do 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:18.720 understand though, and what I will never ever allow people 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:22.480 to make us feel, is like, if you are in 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:26.559 the police accountability movement, you're no good if you're not 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:30.360 also in the movement to end gun violence, or in 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.920 the education space, or in the housing space. I think 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:37.959 each person has the right to be in the fight 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:41.440 and to focus on the thing that is most passionate 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:43.959 for them and the thing that they have some level 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:48.600 of expertise in and what impacts them on a daily basis. 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:52.040 I do not think that we should get into trying 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:55.400 to force folks that, well, if you do this one thing, 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.280 what the only thing that will make you credible is 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:00.600 if you work on these other issue us as well. 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:03.080 I think it's a false narrative. I think it is 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.760 a form. It is being used, if you will, as 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:10.800 a way to uh to diminish our movements on many 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:15.679 different levels. Um, we all have something that has impacted us, 0:11:15.679 --> 0:11:18.520 has touched us in a certain way, and you know, 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:20.800 I was online one day. I won't I think we 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:23.600 already talked about the individuals, so we won't bring up 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:26.160 his name today. I saw you know this person on 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:29.880 a TV show again, won't name him today on Twitter 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:33.560 basically saying, oh, you know, we get so upset about 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:36.280 everything else. But does black violence or you know, the 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.800 death of black people, particularly a young black girl, does 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:43.360 that mean anything to us? And I find that offensive. 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:47.240 I find it offensive because there are a number of 0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:51.240 activists who are out here every single day who really 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:54.680 don't work in the police accountability space. A lot of them, 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:57.520 some of them do, but many of them are deeply 0:11:57.640 --> 0:12:01.480 in the gun violence awareness and and really working to 0:12:01.640 --> 0:12:05.440 combat gun violence. They are out there every single day. 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:09.559 They do protests, they show up at their elected officials offices, 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:13.839 they organize, They do a great deal of work. But 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:16.800 we don't help them. We don't support them in the 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:18.920 ways in which we should. And I say we as 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:23.040 a greater community because me personally and you personally, my son, 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:27.439 we do actually support them. We do actually help to 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:31.280 bring their the fights that they're involved in. Um, you know, 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:35.640 to bring more awareness. You have led several marches and 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:40.520 and other occasions and efforts to try to bring gang 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:44.440 members together and to and to to actually mitigate violence. 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:48.200 I've watched you in the projects late at night working 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.400 with Erica Ford and others to try to address some 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:55.000 of the issues that's happening. Like really, I mean in 0:12:55.080 --> 0:12:59.000 the details, the granulate details of going out there and 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:02.080 talking to young men, not just standing up at a podium, 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:05.520 but literally being in the middle of two people who 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:08.520 could kill each other the next minute, not the next day, 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:11.480 not the next week, but the next minute. And so 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.400 we do do that work, but as a greater community, 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:18.120 we do not focus as much of our attention on 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:21.880 helping these individuals who are out there doing that work 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.440 every day. And that's where I think we need to 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:28.080 put more of our efforts, not in saying that if 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:31.440 someone is doing gun violence work that they're they're no 0:13:31.640 --> 0:13:35.600 good if they're not working as much on uh, you know, 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:37.960 on some other area. I think what we need to 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:41.199 do is focus on uplifting those who are actually doing 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:45.679 the work, because there are thousands, thousands of people who 0:13:45.720 --> 0:13:50.600 are out here with organizations and other initiatives and campaigns 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:53.640 to help deal with gun violence. So that's what I 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:57.000 have to say on that that's pretty much it I 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:59.080 think for me, man, it's it's just it's really just 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:02.280 disingenuous when people make that argument, it's just to try 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:05.000 to discredit, you know, or because they don't want to 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.960 do any work right. It's it's a lazy argument. It's 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:10.280 like all lives matter, you know, I say, I'm saying 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.480 it's it's it's just something to distract from what's going on. 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.319 And it's like it's every it's so much violence and 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:18.600 this in our communities that we deal with every day. 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:22.840 I know how your inboxes flooded with people about this happen, 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:25.880 and this happened, and this happened. And unfortunately we can't 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:28.800 talk about everything right because what happens is it gets 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:31.400 overwhelmed and this one when we're trying to focus on this, 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:33.520 and we just keep on talking about all the things 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:37.000 that happened. We we don't have the capacity, No one organization, 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:40.840 no one individual has the capacity to talk to talk 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.800 about every act of violence that goes on in the community. 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:46.960 So what happens is people want to utilize that to 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:49.520 discredit the fact that you're talking about something, and they 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:51.400 don't they don't look at the fact that it's not 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:54.400 that you're especially in our case. It's not that we 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:58.600 talk about the cases that are getting highlighted. It's that 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:01.520 the cases that we talk a about tend to get highlighted. 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:05.000 We don't jump on cases that everybody's, oh, let's do this. 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:07.320 It's not what we do. You know, we we see 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:10.520 a need for Southern If we find we find a 0:15:10.600 --> 0:15:14.720 family member or someone we notice into you know, into 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:17.960 in contact with family members, contacts us and say hey, 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:20.000 we need help with this, and we see the significancy, 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:21.960 right then this is something that we really need to 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.360 get on top of, you know, and and and and 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:27.920 and Another thing is we're we're fighting against a system 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:33.920 that has not figured out how to have reprimanding and 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:39.120 how to have consequences for the system. Right this Unfortunately, 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:42.680 we know that when Ray Ray shoots Johnny, he's going 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:45.160 to do jail time when he gets caught. This is 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:48.960 we're actually advocated for the system to be held accountable, 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:52.360 and we also want the resources and things needed in 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:55.200 our communities so that we can stop the violence in 0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:58.440 our communities. The police are being paid to protect and 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:01.280 serve us, The police of an oath that they live up. 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:04.480 These are professionals who went to school, They've studied, they 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:07.400 went two courses, they understand how to it's ject they're 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:10.600 supposed to have the escalation tactics. All of these things 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:13.280 are supposed to being played. So when we talk about that, 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:16.120 it's not to diminish the fact that Johnny and ray 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.200 Ray are shooting at each other, because we're going to 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:20.760 deal with that, but it's a different method in which 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:23.480 we deal with that. Because John john we understand that 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:26.040 they're dealing with mental health. They don't have resources. They're 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:28.280 gonna they're gonna do life in prison when they and 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:31.480 this is a that's why the jails are overwhelmed with 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:35.400 people who look like us, because there's accountability for those individuals. 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:38.840 We're looking at a system who does not have accountability. 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:42.280 We're looking at the system where officer Johnson decides that 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:44.680 he's gonna shoot and kill somebody, there's a very little 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.320 chance that he's gonna be held accountable for that. Right. 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:50.720 So these are two different issues. Yes, they are definitely 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:52.760 both black murder, and we will, we want to fight 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:54.680 for them, but they have to be fought on two 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:57.680 different fronts, and they have to be fought two different ways. 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:00.400 So do not try to diminish the fight that we 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:02.480 have to try to fight that the system is held 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:06.000 accountable for killing us, and and then try to interchange 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:08.480 it or interconnected with the fight that we have and 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:11.400 trying to stop the violence in our own communities. Yes, 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:13.960 they're definitely both violenced, but there are two different fights. 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.440 So start trying to connect all of them and try 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:18.000 to make it seem like if we fight for one, 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:20.720 we can't fight for both, or we don't fight for both. No, 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:22.600 I I agree with you, and I'll just say this 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:25.760 really quick point. I think that one thing we know 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.880 is that if we are able to win in our 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:34.359 efforts to defund police and refund our communities, that is 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:37.479 one way that the two things connect. Because if we 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:42.240 can take resources out of the six billion dollar budget 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:46.199 in a place like New York City that police officers 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:50.439 at this point now enjoy that the police department is 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:55.200 able to draw down on a six billion dollar budget, 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.320 If we're able to take a few billion dollars of 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:02.560 that budget away, and if it to our communities to build, 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:07.440 to uplift, to empower our people, we do believe that 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:10.600 it will help to mitigate much of the violence that 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:13.919 we see and that's why we will never stop talking 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:17.800 about defunding police. No matter what folks say the word 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:20.880 they don't like. Find come up with any word you want, 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:23.720 and I support it as long as the word is 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:29.399 attached to taking the resources and moving them to our community. 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:31.600 Before we go to the next segment and have our 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:34.080 special guests joint, we're gonna take a quick break for 0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:40.080 our sponsors, I said, you know what, what what my 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:43.199 thought of the day is for today. I have a 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:47.520 friend who's a Republican and um, I follow him on 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:51.400 social media. I don't really know if his him being 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:57.280 Republican plays a role in this thought, but it's important 0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:01.680 to mention that for me because he and I often 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:06.280 have debate. However, he's a great guy. He's in New York. Um, 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:08.959 he's a very you know, he's a uh, he's not 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:12.040 really an elected official, but he's worked in government and 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:16.240 he's a pretty powerful person. And so I noticed that 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:21.040 lately he's been posting the shootings and you know the 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:25.600 aftermath of these violent situations, he's been posting stories that 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:28.439 I don't even know about. Um in the media that 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:32.760 shows you know, young girl, young man or whatever. Massive 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:36.119 shootings where multiple people are hurt in the hood, and 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:38.159 he's been saying, you know, what the hell are we 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:43.760 gonna do about this? He obviously is extremely frustrated and um, 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:47.119 and he should be, because what we're seeing happening in 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:53.840 this moment is definitely absolutely unacceptable, and it's happening all 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:58.239 too often. Um you know. But the other day I 0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:01.960 saw a post that he put up about a white 0:20:02.000 --> 0:20:07.240 woman who was attacked and mauled by mauled, I guess 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:11.200 by a white man. And um, you know, the woman said, 0:20:11.240 --> 0:20:14.159 just out of nowhere, this man attacked her. And the 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:17.119 one thing I will say is that this guy, my 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:21.560 my friend. He is an equal opportunity person who's frustrated 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:25.440 about everything. He gets frustrated with the Republicans. He certainly 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:28.080 was not a Trump supporter. Um you know, he gets 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:32.960 frustrated with the Democrats. He's all he's he's he's always um, 0:20:33.000 --> 0:20:36.600 you know, bringing attention to things that's happening that are wrong. 0:20:37.480 --> 0:20:41.360 But the statement he made as a part of this 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:45.119 particular post about the white man who harmed this white 0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:49.560 woman was at what point are we going to stop 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:53.359 and deal with the mental health issues happening in our nation. 0:20:54.320 --> 0:20:58.320 And I sat with that and said, I'm gonna write him, 0:20:58.480 --> 0:21:00.520 which I haven't done yet because I wanted to come 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:03.480 here and talk to you and get your feelings. I 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:07.359 didn't you and I haven't discussed this. I want to 0:21:07.480 --> 0:21:13.960 understand why is it that when that people seem to 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:18.800 go automatically to punitive measures, because he said, lock them 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:21.280 up when they've been shooting, you know, when he sees 0:21:21.280 --> 0:21:24.040 shootings and bad things happen, and lock them up. You know, 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:26.879 these guys need to be caught. You can't defund the 0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:29.960 police when you have this type of behavior. Where are 0:21:29.960 --> 0:21:32.240 the cops? They need all of that. But when it 0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:36.080 came to this white man attacking a white woman, his 0:21:36.359 --> 0:21:39.359 thing was when are we going to deal with mental 0:21:39.400 --> 0:21:43.280 health services? And I think for me, my thought of 0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:47.000 the day is that we need mental health support in 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:50.399 the black community today more than we probably ever have 0:21:51.200 --> 0:21:54.359 because coming out of this pandemic, as we have been saying, 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:58.199 and we'll talk about more during the show, people have 0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:05.560 been harmed in real substantive ways, being locked into their homes, 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:10.200 um you know, having beasts that have now started online 0:22:10.280 --> 0:22:14.000 because people weren't out interacting in the street, they don't 0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:17.920 have jobs, they have family members who may have died. Uh, 0:22:17.960 --> 0:22:21.399 they have lost in general. And as you used to 0:22:21.400 --> 0:22:24.720 say all the time, just watching the news every day 0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:29.200 had a mental impact, a negative mental impact on all 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:32.440 of us because of the fear and you know, just 0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:37.200 feeling so it was, it was uncomfortable. So why don't 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:42.280 people see the need for us to have the mental 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:46.240 health support that they automatically see when it comes to 0:22:46.320 --> 0:22:50.359 white people. You let me to answer that. It's the 0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:54.080 same reason why you know, when there was, uh, the 0:22:54.280 --> 0:22:57.840 the war on drugs, you know, and in the crown 0:22:57.920 --> 0:23:00.760 wars were to lock us up and then and when 0:23:01.280 --> 0:23:04.120 the drugs went to the white neighborhoods, it became a 0:23:04.119 --> 0:23:09.960 health crisis. Right, it's the same because unfortunately black people 0:23:10.040 --> 0:23:12.720 have been dehumanized. You know that, I've seen it. I 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:18.360 actually seen a video going around and it's this young 0:23:18.400 --> 0:23:22.040 man talking on the video and he's talking how there's 0:23:22.040 --> 0:23:25.920 a gene in black people that gives them perplexity to violence. 0:23:26.359 --> 0:23:28.199 Like I forgot the name of the gene, but he 0:23:28.320 --> 0:23:31.000 literally gave the name of the gene and said that 0:23:31.040 --> 0:23:34.399 black people have this gene in them that makes them 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:39.159 naturally more violent. I mean, listen, it's the dumbest sh 0:23:39.280 --> 0:23:43.080