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Speaker 1: Previously on Meedian House.

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Speaker 2: You have to study. You have to study, and you

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Speaker 2: don't have to reinvent the wheel and make the same mistakes.

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Speaker 2: That is what's going to make us strong, what's going

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Speaker 2: to make us win, you know, and I say it's

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Speaker 2: bigger than everybody else.

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Speaker 3: Really, the culture of care, of like being like, look,

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Speaker 3: there's no separation between us and folks on the street,

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Speaker 3: like literally that is you, that's someone's uncle, that someone's brother.

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Speaker 3: And if we really can move away from this sort

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Speaker 3: of separation, right, you see someone hurting or seeing someone

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Speaker 3: needs help, you do something about it.

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Speaker 4: Welcome back to Weedian House. I'm your host, Theo Henderson. First,

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Speaker 4: this is the opportunity where I usually thank the listeners

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Speaker 4: who have reached out to me and giving encouraging words,

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Speaker 4: suggestions or just some facts about Weedian House. I would

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Speaker 4: like to take this moment to thank Amy Zamudio from

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Speaker 4: San Diego, a tireless activist who has been really pushing

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Speaker 4: for the rights of unhoused people in San Diego, who

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Speaker 4: has pulled my cotail Weedian House's hotel on the issue

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Speaker 4: of houseless patient dumping.

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Speaker 1: There are two main.

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Speaker 4: Hospitals that were culprits of this and this is a

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Speaker 4: perfect storm of disinterest, and I want to extend a

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Speaker 4: very deep appreciation and thank you for allowing me to

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Speaker 4: meet some of the residents and interview Zim, as well

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Speaker 4: as her hosting me as a gracious host. Our next

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Speaker 4: episode after this, we'll be covering San Diego and the

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Speaker 4: issues that beset it. This week, we're going to continue

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Speaker 4: the conversation we began last week with three prominent LA activists.

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Speaker 4: What are the differences between mutual aid, charity and philanthropy.

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Speaker 4: There's a lot more to say, but not before we

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Speaker 4: get into some unhoused news. Hypothermia is the leading cause

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Speaker 4: of death in Los Angeles, more so than the colder

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Speaker 4: climbs such as New York and Chicago. As the winner

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Speaker 4: drags on, the risk of hyperthermia is still a major

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Speaker 4: threat to the end house community, and as usual, the

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Speaker 4: city of Los Angeles is not doing enough to help.

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Speaker 4: At the time we're recording, no additional winter shelters have

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Speaker 4: been added. This means there are only three hundred and

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Speaker 4: eighty eight beds in winter shelters for over seventy five

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Speaker 4: thousand unhoused people in the Greater Los Angeles area if

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Speaker 4: you're interested in getting into a winter shelter, I wanted

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Speaker 4: to be sure to share the information for the shelters

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Speaker 4: that are currently accepting people. If you have been to

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Speaker 4: one of these shelters and want to share your experience,

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Speaker 4: please reach out to me at www weedianhouse dot com.

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Speaker 4: We aired this list during our last episode as well,

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Speaker 4: and I wanted to make a note that LASA has

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Speaker 4: not updated these numbers on their website since early January,

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Speaker 4: and Weedian House does not have access to the exact

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Speaker 4: number of beds available at the time of this recording.

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Speaker 4: The number of beds listed are a total number in

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Speaker 4: each shelter.

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Speaker 1: Here are the.

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Speaker 4: Facilities that are operating in the area until March thirty first,

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Speaker 4: twenty twenty four. Forty four beds at Volunteers of America

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Speaker 4: address forty five one hundred and fifty sixtieth Street in

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Speaker 4: West Lancaster, California. The population they serve is co ED

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Speaker 4: thirty five beds at Advancing Communities Together. It is at

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Speaker 4: thirty eight six hundred and twenty six ninth Street in

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Speaker 4: East Palmdale, California. Only open from seven pm to seven

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Speaker 4: am on weekdays and twenty four hours on Saturday and Sunday.

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Speaker 4: Population served co ED fifty beds at home at last.

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Speaker 4: Eighty seven sixty eight South Broadway, Los Angeles. Population served

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Speaker 4: women eleven beds at Assured Lifestyle Housing. Ninety five nineteen

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Speaker 4: South Figaroa At, Los Angeles. Population served co ed nine

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Speaker 4: beds at Assured Lifestyle Housing. Seven hundred West Florence, Los

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Speaker 4: Angeles population served co ed forty one beds at first

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Speaker 4: to serve. Seventeen eighteen West Vernon Avenue, Los Angeles. Population

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Speaker 4: served co ED sixty beds at Bryant Temple Community Development.

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Speaker 4: Fifty five hundred South Hoover Street, Los Angeles. Population served

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Speaker 4: men thirty two beds at Abundant Blessings. Eleven thirty three

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Speaker 4: South Ardmore Avenue, Los Angeles. Population served men fifty five

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Speaker 4: beds at New Reflections. Eighty three eleven Southwestern Avenue, Los Angeles.

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Speaker 4: Population served men eleven beds at Whittier First Day twelve,

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Speaker 4: four hundred and twenty six Whittier Boulevard, Whittier, California. Population

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Speaker 4: served co ed and forty beds at first to serve

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Speaker 4: seven hundred and two West Anaheon Street, Long Beach, California

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Speaker 4: population served co ed. Our next story is in San Diego,

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Speaker 4: Craig Foss, seventy four, has pled not guilty for the

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Speaker 4: deaths of unhoused members Rodney Diffendhal, Randy Ferris, and Walter Jones.

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Speaker 4: In San Diego, Craig Voss ran his vehicle into fifty

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Speaker 4: people in an encampment community on March fifteenth, two thousand

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Speaker 4: and one. He has recently had a mental competency hearing

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Speaker 4: and claimed he wasn'tcompetent for the acts that he committed

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Speaker 4: and shouldn't be responsible for running over fifty people. Our

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Speaker 4: next story. There has been a conscientious effort to criminalize

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Speaker 4: unhouse people across the country, and Kentucky is no exception,

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Speaker 4: using buzzwords susch as, safety, mentally ill, criminal, and dangerous

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Speaker 4: as the lead in to otherwise illegal unconstitutional laws. Kentucky

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Speaker 4: has a bill called Safer Kentucky. The act, otherwise known

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Speaker 4: as HP five is giving house people the legal authority

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Speaker 4: to kill or harm on the house people if they

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Speaker 4: find them sleeping near on their property. Imagining in clement

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Speaker 4: weather and unhoused people trying to find a place to

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Speaker 4: stay warm out of the elements, and this bill is

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Speaker 4: in effect this will give the legal right to use

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Speaker 4: deadly force against unhoused people. Because of that, the bill

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Speaker 4: has also banned street camping. This means that it will

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Speaker 4: be against the law for unhoused people to live on

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Speaker 4: the street, similarly to forty one to eighteen in Los Angeles, California.

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Speaker 4: The bill has met with vigorous opposition from housing advocates.

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Speaker 4: As you know, houselessness is a symptom of a larger

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Speaker 4: issue that has little to do for personal individual blame

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Speaker 4: or responsibility. There are nearly four thousand people in Kentucky

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Speaker 4: that are houseless according to the National Coalition of Homeless Statistics.

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Speaker 4: What this means for the unhoused is death. The last

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Speaker 4: time the Supreme Court was asked the way in the

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Speaker 4: houselessness was in twenty nineteen. They declined to hear the

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Speaker 4: appeal against Martin versus Boys In ruling Martin versus Boise

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Speaker 4: was a ruling that stated that it was cruel and

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Speaker 4: unusual punishment to criminalize unhoused people when there are no

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Speaker 4: places for unhoused people or shelters for.

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Speaker 1: Them to go.

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Speaker 4: Governor Gavin Newsoen has stated support of overturning Martin versus

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Speaker 4: boise to make it easier for encampments to be cleared

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Speaker 4: and claims that it would help the unhouse gain access

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Speaker 4: to services enter the care courts that he and marrying

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Speaker 4: Karen Bass have been arm in arm pushing to solve

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Speaker 4: the houseless problem using phrases like service resistance and offering

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Speaker 4: non existent services to an already beliegued community. They returned

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Speaker 4: the blame of houselessness onto the individual instead of systemic

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Speaker 4: issues of houselessness. This includes exploding rents, unlivable wages, and gentrification.

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Speaker 4: A lot of his resembles for they within eighteen in

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Speaker 4: Los Angeles, which we talked about on the show many times.

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Speaker 4: For eighteen is the Jim Crow of this era. It

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Speaker 4: is against the law for unhoused people to sit, sleep,

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Speaker 4: or lie where it is posted in businesses, schools, hospitals,

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Speaker 4: or anywhere a NIMBI or a business owner will claim

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Speaker 4: that unhoused people is detracting or a danger or using

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Speaker 4: those code words that I mentioned earlier. Finally, our Whedian

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Speaker 4: House Exclusive Interviews this week is a long standing ally

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Speaker 4: of the unhoused community. Danny Park and his family has

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Speaker 4: been a skid row in LA during the time of

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Speaker 4: great racial upheaval if you can remember, soon do Ju

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Speaker 4: was given a light sentence for murdering fifteen year old

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Speaker 4: Latasha Harlings for attempting to buy bottle orange juice. As

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Speaker 4: a result, tensions ran very high and an uprising ensued

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Speaker 4: in the community. Taking this opportunity to open bridges of

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Speaker 4: community and understanding, Hark's family opened a store in the

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Speaker 4: heart of Los Angeles in the unhoused communities.

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Speaker 5: Here's history as a second generation Korean American taking this

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Speaker 5: door over. One of the privileges is that me and

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Speaker 5: my sister, we were able to go to school, college

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Speaker 5: opportunities that my mom and dad never had. We speak

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Speaker 5: the language, something that my mom and dad they just

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Speaker 5: access to the English language. And so a lot of

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Speaker 5: the work has been getting into those conversations with your

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Speaker 5: beloveds and really it's like that struggle and the creative

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Speaker 5: tension WHI also holding each other for everything that I've

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Speaker 5: been able to like learn, like being able to share

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Speaker 5: that with you know, my family, who is all part

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Speaker 5: of this door and which is all the understanding that

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Speaker 5: is all very important to how and why we operate

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Speaker 5: in the way we should.

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Speaker 4: For people that didn't know in Los Angeles did tensions

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Speaker 4: that they had with the LA riots with Latasha Harley.

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Speaker 4: I remember one time when I came into the store,

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Speaker 4: you guys had basically a memorial for her, and I

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Speaker 4: was really struck because most of the times, you know,

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Speaker 4: that conversation is a tiptoe conversation, or it doesn't being expressed,

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Speaker 4: or I was also warned by the attempt to have

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Speaker 4: a conversation or have I had to do a double take,

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Speaker 4: and I'm like, oh, okay, I'll even buys the juice

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Speaker 4: that he's got away here, so let me see what's

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Speaker 4: because that shows some a lot of bravery.

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Speaker 1: So what motivated you do to do that?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, like you said, soonja do with the murder of

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Speaker 5: Latasha Harlan's it's not something that's openly talked about in

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Speaker 5: the Korean community.

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Speaker 1: There's obviously a lot of.

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Speaker 5: Shame her and really like a lot of unprocessed feelings,

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Speaker 5: thoughts and emotions and also denial, and those are all

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Speaker 5: like the ingredients of what we call like racism genocide.

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Speaker 5: You do something bad to somebody, you deny you did that,

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Speaker 5: and then you forget that you ever denied it. Those

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Speaker 5: is what they say is like genocide. And really I

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Speaker 5: think that comes from you first do it to yourself.

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Speaker 5: And so a lot you know, a lot of Korean

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Speaker 5: Americans have they all have a lot of trauma coming

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Speaker 5: from war, and there's from that, there's also a lot

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Speaker 5: of self hatred. And so even it's amongst our own

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Speaker 5: communities where there's a lot of violence amongst our own

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Speaker 5: unfortunate thing is like we always find the scapebold or

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Speaker 5: the other right, the quote unquote other the other guys probably, yeah,

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Speaker 5: and so yeah, and so that's what we see with

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Speaker 5: mass shootings. All there's just you know, like.

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Speaker 4: I was wondering, what would you define this mutual aid

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Speaker 4: charity of philanthropy, because I think your community store is

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Speaker 4: a bit a little bit outside the crayon marks.

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Speaker 1: So tell us a little bit about that.

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Speaker 5: So a little bit about mutual aid working as a business,

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Speaker 5: community institution, even a service provider.

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Speaker 6: You know.

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Speaker 5: Really, I think comes from the idea that there is

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Speaker 5: no like privatization, in the fact that not one person owns.

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Speaker 1: Things.

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Speaker 5: The earth is something we honor, land, material resources, food, rice, plants, air, water,

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Speaker 5: and so these are meant to be shared. It really

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Speaker 5: comes from that, and and the honoring of that like cycle,

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Speaker 5: if you have, you give, and that is the like

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Speaker 5: the circulation of that. Unfortunately, yeah, it's also a response

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Speaker 5: from you know, immense just hoarding extreme capitalism. But really,

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Speaker 5: I think just the fundamental is like the the really

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Speaker 5: the sacred economy.

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Speaker 4: You know, capitalism always has winners and losers. And one

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Speaker 4: of the things that I wanted to point out too

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Speaker 4: is that because the fact that this system is a

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Speaker 4: broken system, we try to make the best that we can.

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Speaker 1: We have to look out for each other.

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Speaker 5: You know. Yeah, yeah, we have to look out for

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Speaker 5: each other.

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Speaker 1: I think that's where it's at and that's in House

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Speaker 1: news for this week.

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Speaker 4: Up next, we get to talk to the people at

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Speaker 4: the forefront of the LA activist community and get into

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Speaker 4: the nitty gritty around what it really takes to have

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Speaker 4: a consistent and positive impact on the community.

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Speaker 7: Stay with us, Welcome back to Weedy and House.

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Speaker 4: In our last episode, I gathered three activists and organizers

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Speaker 4: in the LA area who are close to my heart

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Speaker 4: to talk about mutual aid, charity and philanthropy. There are

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Speaker 4: a lot of common misconceptions and Melissa Asadero of the

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Speaker 4: Polo's Pantry Food Distribution Project. Then Sekisawa, Jatown Action Solidarity

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Speaker 4: and Neil Blakemore had a lot to share about their

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Speaker 4: journeys into mutual aids. This week, we continued our conversation

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Speaker 4: let's listen in. One of the things that I would like,

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Speaker 4: if there's anything to foresight, is that the movement is

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Speaker 4: changing with as well as technologically advances, and we must well,

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Speaker 4: there's some people that still want to go back to

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Speaker 4: the seventies eighties, but we must really look at understanding

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Speaker 4: our current generation is not going to be able to

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Speaker 4: do what we did in the seventies. They're going to

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Speaker 4: have to be as innovative, creative, daring and bold as

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Speaker 4: our leaders from the past because mutual aid requires it,

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Speaker 4: in this movement requires it. Just as the enemy gets

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Speaker 4: much more creative, we must get rid. We cannot rely

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Speaker 4: on antiquated kind of ideas to trap us into it

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Speaker 4: because that's like because it doesn't know, it doesn't nobody,

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Speaker 4: that's all conditioning. That's that's that's one of the things

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Speaker 4: that I noticed, Like, and we already know we've had

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Speaker 4: to talk like they're like, okay, we eight in the seventies.

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Speaker 4: We ate work right around you know, this is not

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Speaker 4: gonna work like that. This is a little bit different,

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Speaker 4: but we can also yet there is principles that we

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Speaker 4: can look through. But we also have to not turn

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Speaker 4: off our when I used to say, I think in

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Speaker 4: cap in school, so I'll my teacher talk.

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Speaker 1: Oh, but it's okay to.

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Speaker 4: Be innovative because you have to find your place in

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Speaker 4: the movement because there is a place for everyone.

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Speaker 3: We have to be innovative because we cannot build from

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Speaker 3: the same lens as before. So it's like we literally

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Speaker 3: cannot be thinking in the same terms. We cannot be

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Speaker 3: like we're not we can't think on the same barriers,

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Speaker 3: and we have to really it's almost like we have

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Speaker 3: to heal ourselves out of like the programming that we've

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Speaker 3: been built, because sometimes like I'll be doing some thing

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Speaker 3: and then you know, like I'll be talking to someone

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Speaker 3: like your vision is too small or something, and I'm

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Speaker 3: just like, ah, I thought it was big enough, and

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Speaker 3: then you forget that you really have to like, okay,

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Speaker 3: then what does that actually look like? And so now

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Speaker 3: I'm grateful. This year has been pretty massive for me.

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Speaker 3: I got to fellowships a national and a local one.

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Speaker 3: When you say, like you and I share that. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: the actor was in residence. Yeah, that has been life changing.

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Speaker 3: And then my National Food Justice Fellowship in Castanea is

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Speaker 3: also like also incredibly life changing. And so now that

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Speaker 3: I have a year of that sort of fellowship, it's

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Speaker 3: been phenomenal just because now I have all this sort

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Speaker 3: of like weaving of ancestral knowledge and language and policy

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Speaker 3: and all the things that I think I had just

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Speaker 3: sort of been missing and like just the way that

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Speaker 3: I was processing stuff. And it's also nice just to

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Speaker 3: kind of be around farmers and lawyers and folks who

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Speaker 3: are in like working on funding and just like folks

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Speaker 3: for different parts to the food system, but really like

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Speaker 3: the conversations that we have with each other.

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I know.

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Speaker 6: Wanted man, it's your own podcast.

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Speaker 7: Seriously.

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Speaker 4: I had people that have listened to my podcast responding

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Speaker 4: and thank you for.

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Speaker 3: Well.

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Speaker 7: I think, like, I.

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Speaker 3: Mean, like THEO like you've created such a like the space,

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Speaker 3: you know, And I think that's what we're all meant

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Speaker 3: to do, is create these spaces for people to come

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Speaker 3: in and then figure out like, oh I think what

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Speaker 3: I again going back to to to Jazz's model, Like

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Speaker 3: I love how it's grown so much organically and like

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Speaker 3: sometimes you look and I'm like, oh my god, they're like,

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Speaker 3: you know, you guys are doing different things. You have speakers,

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Speaker 3: and I love the I love the variety. And it's

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Speaker 3: almost like a garden, like oh we have like you know,

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Speaker 3: we have like roses this week. Now next week you

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Speaker 3: have like daisy. I mean, but it's just like it's

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Speaker 3: just a beautiful garden of different things.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think it's a response to what

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Speaker 2: the folks need.

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So like we're just constantly you know, they like

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Speaker 2: we have uh we call it power Up Broadcasting System PUBES,

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Speaker 2: and it's for people to talk about stuff like you know,

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Speaker 2: I keep on going back to like sharing information, exposing politicians, uh,

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Speaker 2: just sharing your stories and we have a mic, an

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Speaker 2: open mic, and people just share their things or like

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Speaker 2: they'll even share a poem or an announcement or anything

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Speaker 2: like that. And I think that's like super crucial. And

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Speaker 2: I think, like I want to also touch based on

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Speaker 2: like how mutual aid is a really good starting point

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Speaker 2: for organizing. It is not the end point at all whatsoever.

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Speaker 2: But that's the beauty of mutual aid. When you do

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Speaker 2: it the right way, you realize how everything is connected

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Speaker 2: and everybody is connected. Like yeah, we say fuck capitalism, gentrification,

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Speaker 2: but the police, the b idea, like fuck all of

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Speaker 2: these things. Okay, but yeah, you know, I think a

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Speaker 2: lot of people don't really see the connections between why

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Speaker 2: we fight so hard with folks on the street and

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Speaker 2: how then we also take that same sort of fight

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Speaker 2: to the developers, right to the politicians obviously the police.

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Speaker 2: Like I also think at power up, like the residents

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Speaker 2: that do come understand that from us, and then we

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Speaker 2: try to, you know, tell them why we're here. You know,

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Speaker 2: we're not funded by the city, We're not a charity,

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Speaker 2: you know, and like we talk about our values, how

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Speaker 2: we fundamentally are against the police and these are the

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Speaker 2: reasons why. And this is harm reduction and there's no

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Speaker 2: shame in it, you know, like all this kind of stuff,

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Speaker 2: and we have to pass out pamphlets that we write. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: it's great. And I think also like, yeah, we have

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Speaker 2: a lot of artists, but we have a lot of

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Speaker 2: very dedicated people who are very into political education. And

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Speaker 2: I think it's such a beautiful balance that we have

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Speaker 2: with practice and theory in jazz and like, yeah, I

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Speaker 2: can't believe it like it. I love everyone and everybody's

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Speaker 2: doing everything they can.

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Speaker 3: That's amazing. Yeah, you guys are Yeah, it really is. Again,

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Speaker 3: it's a celebration. Really you should. We should celebrate how

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Speaker 3: much jazz is bloomed and and and I want to

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Speaker 3: continue obviously to support you guys. And as Polos grows

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Speaker 3: and as we in the House, as all of us grow,

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Speaker 3: are are like our work, you know, like, yeah, how

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Speaker 3: do we how do we create more strength in jazz.

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Speaker 2: It's just like we have to create strength in everyone

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Speaker 2: other organizations because without a party backing up anybody, if

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Speaker 2: we're gonna fail, right, like, we need a vanguard party.

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Speaker 2: We need the masses.

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Speaker 4: We need unification, which brings the interesting you bring up,

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Speaker 4: because there's two things that when you were saying, it's

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Speaker 4: like when I first started we in House and because

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Speaker 4: it started partly because I had close friends in mine

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Speaker 4: that had some myopic views about houselessness, and they just couldn't,

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Speaker 4: for life of me, for the life of themselves, to

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Speaker 4: understand how it affected someone like me, an educated guy

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Speaker 4: arm ount on the street. Well, you can just magically

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Speaker 4: get a job and you can be away with the

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Speaker 4: riff raft and I could not necessarily articulate to my

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Speaker 4: satisfaction the the interlocking nemesis which is plaguing people like

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Speaker 4: me or others as well. I says, all it takes

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Speaker 4: is a medical emergency and your ass is on the street.

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Speaker 4: I don't give you have a PhD. You know, you know,

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Speaker 4: if you don't have a family support system, which is

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Speaker 4: like the nucleus of mutual aid or support system to

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Speaker 4: just whether there's hard times, you're not going to make

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Speaker 4: it in this system because it's designed for you to fail.

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Speaker 4: It is designed for you to be harmed, and it

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Speaker 4: is designed to gaslight you anytime that you take it

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Speaker 4: really an introspective lens and to look at the situation.

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Speaker 4: So when I did WITTI and Howes, I'm like, I know,

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Speaker 4: particularly this year, I was like, I really am drawn

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Speaker 4: upon my educational background to make sure like because of

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Speaker 4: the educational disinformation, it is incumbent upon me and other

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Speaker 4: places to create an educational information highway where people can

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Speaker 4: understand the nuances, the different conversational points and why we

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Speaker 4: do what we do. We just not out here doing

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Speaker 4: this willy nilly. We're doing this for purpose. We're doing

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Speaker 4: this for an aim we're doing this with connective understanding

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Speaker 4: and what what then accurately point out it is long

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Speaker 4: past time because I always say this. We may not

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Speaker 4: be plugged into the political system as well, but you

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Speaker 4: damn sure the opposition is plugged in and they are

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Speaker 4: working their ass off or if there's a beep this,

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Speaker 4: they're working their butts off to make sure that we

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Speaker 4: are not plugged in. And it is incumbent upon us

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Speaker 4: to look at how to figure out what creative ways

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Speaker 4: or what systems that we can create ourselves in order

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Speaker 4: for us to have our voice at our motive and

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Speaker 4: our missions pushed. Because once we get into these offices,

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Speaker 4: you know, if you're there to get the work done,

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Speaker 4: you know, get you your pool and support, Let's get

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Speaker 4: this done. Let's not you know, sit on our hands,

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Speaker 4: you know, or drink the pool of you know, the

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Speaker 4: money and the same and next thing, you know, and

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Speaker 4: you just you just useless waste of space.

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Speaker 3: So I've I've been trying to also kind of unplug

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Speaker 3: and really just sort of listening. I literally have been

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Speaker 3: like writing everything down that I'm thinking about, and I'm

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Speaker 3: trying to figure out too, how do we how do

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Speaker 3: we like with everything happening in the heaviness of it all, Like,

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Speaker 3: how do we pierce through all that, you know, and

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Speaker 3: just stay connected to like our work and just the

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Speaker 3: principle of it. How do we keep ourselves fired up?

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Speaker 3: It looks terrifying.

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Speaker 4: Well, you know, I think one of the things that

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Speaker 4: I like this web page I'm on is black Women's.

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Speaker 1: That finding the joy.

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Speaker 4: I think people think when we're dealing with and I

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Speaker 4: will mention about the Palestinian and things of that nature,

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Speaker 4: even throughout of the tragedy, they are looking for joy

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Speaker 4: in order to keep themselves music, And I think that's

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Speaker 4: one of the things that we sometimes we could be,

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Speaker 4: you know, you know, a fussy gus or you know,

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Speaker 4: you know doomsayer and things are abysmal no matter what.

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Speaker 4: But I come from a tradition that we utilize joy

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Speaker 4: and different things, mitigated pain through different elements in order

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Speaker 4: for us to keep going.

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Speaker 1: And that's the same thing we have to do. We

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Speaker 1: have to create with.

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Speaker 4: Our music, theater, you know, any kind of way to

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Speaker 4: advance our cause, but also to keep rekindle our spirits

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Speaker 4: and keep it going. And I think that's another thing,

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Speaker 4: and it's innovative, Like I have to say I have

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Speaker 4: to give up. Shout out to Ruth lesser. Ruth is

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Speaker 4: like she is one of those firebrands. She's an un

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Speaker 4: housed activist, but she finds the creativity, she finds the beauty,

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Speaker 4: but she finds a way to keep the message across.

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Speaker 4: But she keeps that fire going. And I will just say,

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Speaker 4: you know, one of the I mentioned her in the

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Speaker 4: last episode. But the point is is that that's this

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Speaker 4: is what the spirit is, this is what activism is.

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Speaker 4: We must as us keep doing it, not get where.

435
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:44,400
Speaker 4: You know, we can get tired, but we can't give out.

436
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:46,000
Speaker 4: That's old fashioned saying.

437
00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:49,200
Speaker 6: But yeah, and I think, like you know, one of

438
00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:52,840
Speaker 6: the you were talking earlier Husan about how mutually it

439
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:54,560
Speaker 6: is the starting point, but it's not the endpoint. And

440
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,399
Speaker 6: I think you know, it's about building trust. You know,

441
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,880
Speaker 6: the task ahead of us as organizers, as people are

442
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:07,000
Speaker 6: fighting for liberation is involves a lot of risk, but

443
00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:09,199
Speaker 6: it's also it can be fun to make fun of

444
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:13,400
Speaker 6: the police, So you know, building those like relationships where

445
00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:15,600
Speaker 6: you can joke and have fun with the ship that

446
00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:19,560
Speaker 6: you're doing. Stuff that you're doing is so important and

447
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:24,520
Speaker 6: and can help like keep your spirit elevated and because

448
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:29,520
Speaker 6: you're absolutely right it is. It is heavy and and

449
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:31,880
Speaker 6: the things going on in the world, the streams images

450
00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:34,919
Speaker 6: that are streaming across all of our phones and computers

451
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:40,720
Speaker 6: are are really upsetting. And you know, just maybe you

452
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:42,399
Speaker 6: get some paint and throw it on a couple of

453
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:42,840
Speaker 6: cop cars.

454
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:48,600
Speaker 2: I mean, that's the least you can do. I mean, really,

455
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,439
Speaker 2: the like I think, you know, we always get a

456
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:55,840
Speaker 2: lot of heat from our community about like our aggressive tactics,

457
00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:01,040
Speaker 2: and you know, it's such a it's such a disconnected

458
00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:06,640
Speaker 2: like viewpoint of people who don't really understand the violence

459
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:10,119
Speaker 2: that we come across every single day, and they do

460
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 2: it too. They just choose to ignore it. Like they

461
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:17,359
Speaker 2: can't you cannot unsee what's happening in LA with people

462
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:21,800
Speaker 2: being on the street, right, but they choose to So then, yeah,

463
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,479
Speaker 2: it's just really wild, like to think that like yelling

464
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:31,720
Speaker 2: at a politician is too much, or like I mean,

465
00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:35,080
Speaker 2: or just calling out somebody in the community is too much.

466
00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,879
Speaker 2: It's just like, I don't know, you probably killed a

467
00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:41,760
Speaker 2: bunch of people in this community and we're just saying

468
00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,400
Speaker 2: you suck, and now your feelings are hurt, and now

469
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:46,840
Speaker 2: it's a problem.

470
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:51,119
Speaker 3: Like I feel like it's just again back to the humanization,

471
00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:55,240
Speaker 3: like you just it's the humunication is separation, it's it's

472
00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:58,119
Speaker 3: it's it's saying who's who's worthy of care, who's not.

473
00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:02,719
Speaker 3: And if you're if you're able to successfully say like

474
00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:06,879
Speaker 3: to other people, then it makes it easier for the

475
00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:10,720
Speaker 3: public to consume. Oh okay, exterminating them is of course

476
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:15,119
Speaker 3: like for our for our safety and the separation and

477
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,720
Speaker 3: the war and really the warring is really like part

478
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,639
Speaker 3: of also the mechanism of the system to keep us separated.

479
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:25,600
Speaker 3: So even us talking right now, even us organizing together

480
00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:29,600
Speaker 3: is also a threat. And I think even talking to friends,

481
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,879
Speaker 3: even friends in Oakland and other places, I feel like

482
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,359
Speaker 3: it's the first time LA in a way has just

483
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,200
Speaker 3: really super activated in a way that like a lot

484
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:42,400
Speaker 3: of people haven't seen. And it's it's really exciting a

485
00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:44,680
Speaker 3: lot of people the way that we've been organizing together.

486
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,720
Speaker 2: They're like, something's going together. We need a united front.

487
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,640
Speaker 2: We do, we do, We need a united front. We

488
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:58,240
Speaker 2: need unity, criticism unity that builds a united front. Right now,

489
00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:04,160
Speaker 2: on the left, it's criticism, no unity, more criticism, right,

490
00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:07,680
Speaker 2: and like we need to stop that we need to

491
00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:11,400
Speaker 2: hold our note. We don't have to like each other.

492
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:17,760
Speaker 2: I mean, we have to respect each other because we're

493
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:20,400
Speaker 2: all fighting for the same thing. We have to get

494
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,080
Speaker 2: on that page. And if we can all just believe

495
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,840
Speaker 2: that we're fighting for one thing and forget the rest.

496
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:30,240
Speaker 2: Let's just focus on that one thing. We're fighting for liberation.

497
00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,640
Speaker 2: Let's go right, Who cares what you did in the

498
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:38,360
Speaker 2: zoom room like ten years ago and you said, that's ship.

499
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:42,240
Speaker 2: That's fine, it's fucked up, it's messed up. That's for

500
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:44,440
Speaker 2: a space. That's not this right.

501
00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,480
Speaker 3: I think we're going to quickly learn as things get worse,

502
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:49,920
Speaker 3: because we know it's going to get bad.

503
00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,280
Speaker 2: And that's the thing, Like, yeah, we don't why. I

504
00:29:53,360 --> 00:30:01,040
Speaker 2: know that's the struggle, right, but like look what's IMpower? Yeah,

505
00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:05,920
Speaker 2: it's unbelievable, it's disgusting. It's the worst case scenario. But

506
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:08,720
Speaker 2: this has been going on for how long? For how long?

507
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,040
Speaker 2: And we've let it go on for how long? And

508
00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:12,880
Speaker 2: now it's this right.

509
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:14,920
Speaker 4: We'll be back in just a moment for the rest

510
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:17,160
Speaker 4: of our conversations.

511
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:23,480
Speaker 1: And we're back.

512
00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:27,240
Speaker 3: I love that we're going here because I think that's

513
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:31,560
Speaker 3: important because Palestine, I see a lot of people calling

514
00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:34,080
Speaker 3: it the litmus test right like where it's like it

515
00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:39,800
Speaker 3: created a very strong line between right, it's a huge

516
00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:42,520
Speaker 3: division now, and so we're beginning to really see the

517
00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:46,560
Speaker 3: folks who are still still staying with the old, seeing

518
00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:50,160
Speaker 3: the old paradigm of like really kind of like still

519
00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:54,560
Speaker 3: carrying Western and like white supremacy and all that thought,

520
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,200
Speaker 3: and the rest of us thinking like, I mean, we're

521
00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:01,240
Speaker 3: all looking at this and no that this is literally

522
00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:04,560
Speaker 3: them telling us like this could be any of you,

523
00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,080
Speaker 3: you know what I mean, that's literally what they're trying

524
00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:11,080
Speaker 3: to say, especially with all the doubling down, and so

525
00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,200
Speaker 3: for the rest of us, we're like, oh shit, like

526
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,280
Speaker 3: no one is stopping them. And even the goddamn fucking UN,

527
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:23,239
Speaker 3: which is worthless, Like let's just talk about this. All

528
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:27,160
Speaker 3: the international humanitarian groups, even the fucking UN, like, you know,

529
00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:29,680
Speaker 3: like it's just none of them are useful for what

530
00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,280
Speaker 3: we're seeing. And we all have been like kind of

531
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:37,160
Speaker 3: duped into thinking that having those sort of like kind

532
00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:40,760
Speaker 3: of structures that construction is gonna like protect us.

533
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:42,000
Speaker 7: No, it's not.

534
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:43,360
Speaker 3: It's literally showing.

535
00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:46,960
Speaker 2: Us that, Yeah, I mean, the UN is just like

536
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,200
Speaker 2: a reformact situation imperialism.

537
00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,800
Speaker 6: Right, and if you know, if you have five, five

538
00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:57,720
Speaker 6: or seven countries that can unilaterally decide against something and

539
00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:01,800
Speaker 6: one of them is perpetuating or funding a genocide, then

540
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 6: of course it's a completely useless organization. They're not going

541
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:06,000
Speaker 6: to hold themselves.

542
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:10,360
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think we understand the levels of just

543
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:13,760
Speaker 3: like not just like actual destruction, but the destruction in

544
00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,160
Speaker 3: people's minds of just how fucked up this country is.

545
00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:18,800
Speaker 3: Like I think, I think really.

546
00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:20,960
Speaker 6: And and you know, going back to that point about

547
00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,360
Speaker 6: them sort of saying this is our plan right now,

548
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,320
Speaker 6: billionaires are trying to privatize all the water and that's

549
00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:29,160
Speaker 6: going to become something that we all fight for.

550
00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:33,600
Speaker 3: And agricultural land, like Bill Gates literally like I forgot that.

551
00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,240
Speaker 3: I was literally I've just been I'm going to find

552
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:38,520
Speaker 3: the tweet I said it, like literally as soon as

553
00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,840
Speaker 3: he started buying agricultural land, I'm like, this is going

554
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,920
Speaker 3: to be a problem. He is stapping into farmland.

555
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:46,880
Speaker 6: He is He's got a quarter of a million acres

556
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:48,680
Speaker 6: acres of farmland in the United States.

557
00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:52,280
Speaker 2: I mean, okay, the odds are in our favor absolutely,

558
00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:55,360
Speaker 2: so it's one percent of them. Yeah, Yeah, right, and

559
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:57,959
Speaker 2: nine percent of us. We just have to get that

560
00:32:59,200 --> 00:32:59,680
Speaker 2: people are.

561
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:08,960
Speaker 6: Really you know, it's about disillusioning people because like it's

562
00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:12,200
Speaker 6: it's getting over that fear that that what's on the

563
00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:14,600
Speaker 6: other side is going to be worse. It's like so

564
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:17,800
Speaker 6: many people you talk to them about some liberated future,

565
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,560
Speaker 6: their responses, well, what about the warlords? And I'm like,

566
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:25,760
Speaker 6: you know, we're actively trying to construct something better. We're

567
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:31,320
Speaker 6: not just like haphazardly throwing ourselves into chaos or something.

568
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:34,160
Speaker 6: So I don't think we really need to worry about

569
00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:36,680
Speaker 6: that in that and to the degree that it comes up,

570
00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:39,080
Speaker 6: but it's about getting people past that so that they

571
00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:41,880
Speaker 6: can see like, oh, this could be a better.

572
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:43,760
Speaker 3: Ste And you know what I love though, is that

573
00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:47,000
Speaker 3: what I love is that it's the labor movement that's

574
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:50,840
Speaker 3: just giving me life too, because watching them disrupt like

575
00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:55,520
Speaker 3: capitalism has been fire, and I feel like labor organizing

576
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:58,360
Speaker 3: is going to help us like really create the big

577
00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:00,440
Speaker 3: like the big hits.

578
00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:04,080
Speaker 1: Let me interject there because this is why this.

579
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,440
Speaker 4: Very same point is why I say we need to

580
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:13,480
Speaker 4: pay attention to this obsession with cop cities, because the

581
00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:17,280
Speaker 4: enemy does know that they that they are getting skinnier,

582
00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:20,520
Speaker 4: and their packs are coming in from all directions. Why

583
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,480
Speaker 4: do you think that they're getting military new military equipment,

584
00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,560
Speaker 4: Why do you think that they're getting training from Israel

585
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:30,080
Speaker 4: to do these kinds of things here? Because they know

586
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:34,480
Speaker 4: that eventually that you can't keep like I said, capitalism,

587
00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:36,399
Speaker 4: you can't sustain it. But the point of it is

588
00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:40,479
Speaker 4: is that they know that somewhere that someone is going

589
00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:42,799
Speaker 4: to be the one that's not going to care and

590
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:44,880
Speaker 4: it's going to risk it all and it's going to

591
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,600
Speaker 4: set a cascade event that people will just follow suit.

592
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:50,040
Speaker 1: But that's exact.

593
00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:53,719
Speaker 3: The labor movement is really labor. The labor movement has

594
00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:56,840
Speaker 3: started it because because they're doing this in waves and

595
00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:59,319
Speaker 3: not going to stop. Like I have really good friends

596
00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,839
Speaker 3: who are batter as organizers in labor organizing, and they're

597
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:04,919
Speaker 3: just they're not going to stop, dude, They're gonna they're

598
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:07,880
Speaker 3: literally going to start slaying that basis. So now we

599
00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 3: have to go in waves. So if they're if it's

600
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:14,120
Speaker 3: literally just I feel like we just got to think

601
00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:16,400
Speaker 3: of it as a beast, it's gonna we just have

602
00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:18,400
Speaker 3: to weaken it and weaken it and weaken it. And

603
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,719
Speaker 3: most of us can start killing it, and I feel

604
00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:24,320
Speaker 3: like labor has to cripple it first, and like I

605
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:25,160
Speaker 3: got to cripple it.

606
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:28,480
Speaker 6: Personally, I'm not going to argue against the reform or something,

607
00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:30,960
Speaker 6: but the reform is not the win. The reform is

608
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,640
Speaker 6: just a step towards a thing, and we we need

609
00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:36,120
Speaker 6: to be at a place where we are thinking of

610
00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:40,239
Speaker 6: what the long term because I think, you know, one

611
00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:43,240
Speaker 6: hundred years ago there was a wave of revolutions, people

612
00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:46,799
Speaker 6: sort of rested on their laurels, and we can't do that.

613
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:49,759
Speaker 6: We can't get comfortable until we can achieved Yeah, and

614
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:52,920
Speaker 6: I think we're in a moment because of the climate,

615
00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:59,480
Speaker 6: we have a more intense existential sort of crisis that

616
00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:03,120
Speaker 6: that we can rise up to meet that moment. And

617
00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:05,680
Speaker 6: you know, one thing you were talking about what the

618
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:09,280
Speaker 6: enemy is doing Albeit Systems, a company that built the

619
00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:14,200
Speaker 6: AI gun turrets on the walls around Gaza, they built

620
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:19,200
Speaker 6: a surveillance system around the Ta tahona Otum reservation in Arizona,

621
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:21,560
Speaker 6: and they're putting those similar kinds of things on the

622
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:24,880
Speaker 6: wall in Mexico. So it literally is their plan to

623
00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:27,160
Speaker 6: do the same thing here.

624
00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:30,560
Speaker 3: That what's going on, And I think, like I think

625
00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:34,160
Speaker 3: like the actions and the direct actions that have been around,

626
00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:39,600
Speaker 3: like disrupting the movement of those weapons or the manufacturing

627
00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:43,040
Speaker 3: of those things, if we could really get people really

628
00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:45,960
Speaker 3: really kind of just to because even I think that

629
00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:49,080
Speaker 3: even now, even if we still see violence from police,

630
00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:51,680
Speaker 3: we also have to remember that the police force two

631
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:54,560
Speaker 3: has also declined, like they don't have new recruit like

632
00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:58,239
Speaker 3: they're struggling. I see a lot of like asking folks

633
00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:01,279
Speaker 3: to sign up to be a police and it's becoming like, like,

634
00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:05,120
Speaker 3: I think us shifting the culture is helping, even if

635
00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,120
Speaker 3: you don't think that it's not. Even if we still

636
00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:10,200
Speaker 3: have violence on our streets, it's helping because it's changing

637
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:14,799
Speaker 3: the consciousness of people out there. And like, you know,

638
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:17,480
Speaker 3: there's not enough. I mean you're thinking about that there's

639
00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:20,799
Speaker 3: not enough people going into the police force. Yeah, so

640
00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:22,560
Speaker 3: we got to squeeze that out right, And I think

641
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:25,160
Speaker 3: we're doing it. It might not feel that way, but

642
00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:26,840
Speaker 3: I feel like I feel like it's I feel like

643
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:28,640
Speaker 3: we're I feel like we do have to remind each

644
00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:30,719
Speaker 3: other that we're winning in some way and not only

645
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:31,640
Speaker 3: shifting the culture.

646
00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,040
Speaker 4: And mostly I want to also do two things too.

647
00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:37,560
Speaker 4: You see how they are also trying to throw in

648
00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:41,400
Speaker 4: the migrant and in house dichotomy to make it seem

649
00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:43,640
Speaker 4: like we fight against each other. And I think that's

650
00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:47,600
Speaker 4: an integral communication and definitely a connection that we need

651
00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:50,360
Speaker 4: to start the band together because no matter if you

652
00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:53,839
Speaker 4: displaces from Mexico here, when displays with honor speaks here,

653
00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:56,160
Speaker 4: we all suffer the same base against it. We need food,

654
00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,280
Speaker 4: we need the safety we need to be able to survive.

655
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:03,760
Speaker 4: And system that is very hostile to anybody person, brown

656
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:07,080
Speaker 4: or black or whatever that's poor, that's the that's the

657
00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,920
Speaker 4: enemy right there. And most of the second thing is

658
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:12,160
Speaker 4: is from my education I is.

659
00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:13,000
Speaker 1: I know.

660
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:17,200
Speaker 4: In order for this to be successful, because I'm and

661
00:38:17,239 --> 00:38:30,040
Speaker 4: you guys are younger than me, I know, I have

662
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:34,520
Speaker 4: to say that you know that the sharpening up and

663
00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:37,720
Speaker 4: gearing up the younger generation because they will and I

664
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,879
Speaker 4: talked to I've always believed that the younger generation will

665
00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:45,000
Speaker 4: push to open the doors far more so than we

666
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:50,759
Speaker 4: and and and to you know, really reinvest into educating them,

667
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:53,520
Speaker 4: showing them how to do that, like what the things

668
00:38:53,520 --> 00:38:55,560
Speaker 4: when you were doing and during the pandemic, you were

669
00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:58,879
Speaker 4: engaging with the high school students into food and justice

670
00:38:58,920 --> 00:38:59,399
Speaker 4: and justice.

671
00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:02,040
Speaker 3: And I think that's the part of Polos that I

672
00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:06,160
Speaker 3: really want to I really want to strengthen is political

673
00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:10,920
Speaker 3: education and really getting getting a strong pillar around education

674
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:14,359
Speaker 3: around food justice and sort of like the like kind

675
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,759
Speaker 3: of the huge network of it, and also mirroring that

676
00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:21,840
Speaker 3: to EJ like environmental justice because that also has strong.

677
00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:23,440
Speaker 2: Like it's all connected.

678
00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:26,960
Speaker 3: Yeah, but I think for anyone, because right now, we

679
00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:29,280
Speaker 3: just have to draw them in, right the entry point

680
00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:31,680
Speaker 3: people are like ooh, like just he kind of again,

681
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:34,840
Speaker 3: make it sexy, like draw them in, draw them in

682
00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:39,680
Speaker 3: and an educate Look, it's all connected, kids, It's kind

683
00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:41,880
Speaker 3: of like it's kind of like we have to create

684
00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:44,440
Speaker 3: this mall of like social justice. So it's like, all right,

685
00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:46,880
Speaker 3: you want food justice, Polos, you want to go you know,

686
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:52,160
Speaker 3: like and you have like jazz everything selling speaking stupid

687
00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:55,680
Speaker 3: capitalist terms, like we're selling different ship. It's all the

688
00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:58,640
Speaker 3: same shit. It's all the same thing. We're all working

689
00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:01,680
Speaker 3: for the same thing. But but it's basically like we

690
00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:05,319
Speaker 3: have to we have to really make work, this work attractive.

691
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:08,680
Speaker 3: And it's like we all have different gifts to you, right,

692
00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:10,680
Speaker 3: some of them want to cook, or someone might want

693
00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:13,120
Speaker 3: to just you know, like perform or do something like

694
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:14,680
Speaker 3: on the street with folks and just like.

695
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:19,840
Speaker 4: Some people are activists that need to go out and protest. Yes,

696
00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:24,719
Speaker 4: we needed, but you know, we have to have we

697
00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:26,399
Speaker 4: have some We have to have the ones that love

698
00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:28,920
Speaker 4: to do the banners. We have to have the agitators.

699
00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,520
Speaker 4: I know people didn't you know look e side eyed,

700
00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:34,640
Speaker 4: but you have like we're to attack them from all sides,

701
00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:36,880
Speaker 4: and we need to understand they're going to attack us

702
00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:38,520
Speaker 4: from all They're going to infiltrate our movements.

703
00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:40,560
Speaker 1: They're going to do everything they can the vision.

704
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:44,760
Speaker 4: So we have to be able to have that same

705
00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:48,040
Speaker 4: kind of foresight to understand. And we have to like,

706
00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:52,640
Speaker 4: for example, understand that the ability because I've noticed that

707
00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:55,000
Speaker 4: a lot of times, and the older movements were always

708
00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:58,040
Speaker 4: talking about forgiving and turning other cheek. We need to

709
00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:01,000
Speaker 4: extend that to the younger community too, because they are new,

710
00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:03,480
Speaker 4: they are going to make mistakes, they are going to

711
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:04,080
Speaker 4: screw up.

712
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:06,680
Speaker 1: We have to have the same grace.

713
00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:09,560
Speaker 4: For them to be able to be able to make

714
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:13,360
Speaker 4: the mistakes be old they because even though I knew better,

715
00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:17,279
Speaker 4: I still jumped off you know of you know, a

716
00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:19,920
Speaker 4: certain spot on in the house that I knew I

717
00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:22,680
Speaker 4: wasn't supposed to do it. I did it anyway. I

718
00:41:22,719 --> 00:41:26,279
Speaker 4: got my well, well I got you know, I had

719
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:28,399
Speaker 4: to come to Jesus meeting. But the point of it

720
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:30,440
Speaker 4: is I knew it not to do that, so I

721
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:32,920
Speaker 4: had to get creative in order how to sneak out

722
00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:34,680
Speaker 4: of the you know, a certain part of the house

723
00:41:34,719 --> 00:41:37,120
Speaker 4: to do some stuff. But the point of it is

724
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:39,800
Speaker 4: that we have one of the things in the education

725
00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:43,239
Speaker 4: thing that we keep forgetting. We have to allow the

726
00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:47,000
Speaker 4: room to make mistakes. That's how innovation starts, That's how

727
00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:50,400
Speaker 4: creativity starts, and that's how we're basically honestly going to

728
00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:53,600
Speaker 4: win in this movement because we cannot squelch it. We

729
00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:57,719
Speaker 4: have to allow that to really foment, and we have

730
00:41:57,840 --> 00:41:59,560
Speaker 4: to say it's okay that we screwed up.

731
00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:00,120
Speaker 7: Hell we.

732
00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:04,560
Speaker 1: All exactly. That's the thing I would.

733
00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:07,880
Speaker 6: Say, going to back to that conversation about leadership. To me,

734
00:42:08,239 --> 00:42:11,399
Speaker 6: when I think of a leader, I or at least

735
00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:15,560
Speaker 6: my own self in a leadership position, my goal is

736
00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:19,200
Speaker 6: not to you know, be the guy. My goal is

737
00:42:19,239 --> 00:42:21,040
Speaker 6: to give people the skills that they need to go

738
00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:24,080
Speaker 6: out and do their own like organizing and leading so

739
00:42:24,120 --> 00:42:26,360
Speaker 6: that at some point they don't need me anymore, exactly.

740
00:42:27,239 --> 00:42:29,960
Speaker 6: And so because it's not really about me, it's about

741
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:32,440
Speaker 6: getting as many people into this as possible.

742
00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:36,000
Speaker 3: That's exactly how I feel like we have to literally

743
00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:38,919
Speaker 3: drive ourselves out of business, right, like we if we're

744
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:41,560
Speaker 3: doing this right, if we're finding for liberation, there shouldn't

745
00:42:41,560 --> 00:42:43,960
Speaker 3: be a jazz. There shouldn't be a polos pantry, you know,

746
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:45,759
Speaker 3: there shouldn't be there shouldn't be all the work that

747
00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:48,440
Speaker 3: we do. If justice really exists, it wouldn't have to

748
00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:50,520
Speaker 3: do that just as exists, and the work that we

749
00:42:50,520 --> 00:42:53,120
Speaker 3: were doing wouldn't have to exist. So how do we

750
00:42:53,239 --> 00:42:57,800
Speaker 3: drive ourselves to being out of business? For me, I

751
00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:00,600
Speaker 3: want to just give the people the tools. These This

752
00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:02,480
Speaker 3: is how you grow food, This is how you build

753
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:06,440
Speaker 3: mutual aid networks. This is all the things free for you,

754
00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:09,279
Speaker 3: guys to ought to educate not only yourselves but your

755
00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:12,240
Speaker 3: children and your children's children, like, this is how you build.

756
00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:14,200
Speaker 3: This is how you This is how you build a

757
00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:17,480
Speaker 3: community garden and make that accessible to the people. And

758
00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:19,160
Speaker 3: I and I love that we keep going back to

759
00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:23,000
Speaker 3: education because it really is the thing, yes, that will

760
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:28,520
Speaker 3: really propel us because again it's like I think what

761
00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:33,319
Speaker 3: we've we've we've shown other states or other cities. A

762
00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:35,400
Speaker 3: lot of people are looking at Los Angeles right now.

763
00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:38,520
Speaker 3: And I even have friends from Oakland, freaking Oakland who's

764
00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:41,520
Speaker 3: like just og and all this a lot of this

765
00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:44,520
Speaker 3: ship to get respect from Oakland is fucking fire. Like,

766
00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,000
Speaker 3: I love that we're building places where people can come

767
00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:51,080
Speaker 3: as themselves and be part of this work.

768
00:43:52,000 --> 00:44:01,960
Speaker 4: Will finish this conversation after the break, Welcome back to

769
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:04,680
Speaker 4: Weedian House. Here's our grand finale, the rest of my

770
00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:06,600
Speaker 4: conversation with Melissa neil as In.

771
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:10,440
Speaker 3: And I think it's crazy because we have to also

772
00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:15,319
Speaker 3: deconstruct this sort of like political elector like electropolitics. To me,

773
00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:19,640
Speaker 3: I don't have no faith in it, absolutely zero. I

774
00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:22,319
Speaker 3: have zero faith in it. And I think people need

775
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:25,640
Speaker 3: to hear that. Even like in the last election cycle,

776
00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:27,520
Speaker 3: people were still throwing my name in the hat to

777
00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:30,160
Speaker 3: like to run and people think that I do this

778
00:44:30,239 --> 00:44:32,600
Speaker 3: work to I'm like, no, dude, Like I literally just

779
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:35,600
Speaker 3: do this work because I want to, not because I

780
00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:38,319
Speaker 3: have some fucking plan to like become like to run

781
00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:42,040
Speaker 3: for CD two or whatever. No, I don't care this

782
00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:44,200
Speaker 3: stuff is like, because we have to take care of

783
00:44:44,239 --> 00:44:46,640
Speaker 3: each other, and I think that we also have to

784
00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:51,560
Speaker 3: be discerning of the people who come into our spaces.

785
00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:56,960
Speaker 3: And also, dude, there's a difference between discernment and being discriminated.

786
00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:01,280
Speaker 3: Like discriminating folks if you can see what is their motive?

787
00:45:01,719 --> 00:45:03,760
Speaker 3: Why are you doing this work? Why are you organizing

788
00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:05,239
Speaker 3: the jazz? All Well said, we don't know who you are,

789
00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:06,279
Speaker 3: you know.

790
00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:11,320
Speaker 2: I mean we have now an onboarding process, amazing, amazing,

791
00:45:11,360 --> 00:45:15,520
Speaker 2: very important onboarding and that has a lot to do

792
00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:19,799
Speaker 2: with political education and values like here, let's just start here.

793
00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:22,759
Speaker 2: We don't we stand for this as an organization as

794
00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:26,160
Speaker 2: all of us agreed that these are our values. If

795
00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:29,520
Speaker 2: this does not apply to you or you're not interested

796
00:45:29,719 --> 00:45:32,480
Speaker 2: in it, whatsoever are you have the opposite us? Is

797
00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:33,839
Speaker 2: this not the space for you?

798
00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:33,960
Speaker 5: Like?

799
00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:38,160
Speaker 6: Fine, and that's fine. You can point somebody in the

800
00:45:38,200 --> 00:45:39,759
Speaker 6: direction to the space where they would fit.

801
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:42,600
Speaker 3: But I think it's good to vet folks, because again,

802
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:46,319
Speaker 3: our movements can can get co optedmuzine, get infiltrated, and

803
00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:49,480
Speaker 3: we know that they have been. We have to betect

804
00:45:49,520 --> 00:45:52,560
Speaker 3: each other and we have to have honest conversations with

805
00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:54,520
Speaker 3: you and I have had honest conversation with each other

806
00:45:55,480 --> 00:45:58,560
Speaker 3: about about just different things. And I think we need

807
00:45:58,600 --> 00:46:01,000
Speaker 3: to have more of those kinds of conversations so that

808
00:46:01,200 --> 00:46:04,280
Speaker 3: we're able to protect each other in a way that's

809
00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:06,719
Speaker 3: like that that keeps it going right.

810
00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:10,319
Speaker 6: And I think, you know that's I've seen it firsthand

811
00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:21,240
Speaker 6: here locally. So that's how organizations fall apart. Traumatizes everybody involved,

812
00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:23,440
Speaker 6: it does.

813
00:46:23,840 --> 00:46:29,359
Speaker 4: But I am optimistic because I told Zen earlier this year,

814
00:46:29,400 --> 00:46:31,440
Speaker 4: I'm like, you know, this is a new year, the

815
00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:35,480
Speaker 4: fresh beginning. Many of us have had some come comes,

816
00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:39,240
Speaker 4: some through some challenges, get the second win back. We

817
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:41,120
Speaker 4: have got to keep it into them, you know, Like

818
00:46:41,160 --> 00:46:43,359
Speaker 4: I say, you can get tired, but you can't give out.

819
00:46:43,719 --> 00:46:46,719
Speaker 4: So I think this is where a perfect place to

820
00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:50,040
Speaker 4: really re emphasize that because we are human beings, we're

821
00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:54,200
Speaker 4: not automatons. We're going to be impacted by because we're

822
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:56,960
Speaker 4: dealing with violence, we've been We're coming with backgrounds for

823
00:46:57,080 --> 00:47:00,799
Speaker 4: trauma and we need to acknowledge that. And as well

824
00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:03,600
Speaker 4: as though we are dealing with the trauma, we also

825
00:47:03,719 --> 00:47:07,319
Speaker 4: must make sure we cannot re retransmitted that trauma to

826
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:09,480
Speaker 4: other people. And if that means you have to take

827
00:47:09,960 --> 00:47:14,120
Speaker 4: a step back and not at best all on everybody else.

828
00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:17,080
Speaker 4: Then please do that and then come back, and then

829
00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:20,360
Speaker 4: you can come back in a place that you are productive.

830
00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:25,319
Speaker 4: You are halfway healed or healed to do what we

831
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:27,520
Speaker 4: need to be doing. And I think that's I think

832
00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:29,680
Speaker 4: that's the added part I'm going to put into this

833
00:47:29,719 --> 00:47:35,000
Speaker 4: conversation because I do believe what we went through we

834
00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:38,920
Speaker 4: needed to really because I'm like, Okay, there was a

835
00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:41,520
Speaker 4: lot of trauma. We need to work together, but you

836
00:47:41,560 --> 00:47:45,160
Speaker 4: know we need to first let's because this was it

837
00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:47,520
Speaker 4: was a mess. But like I said, we really tried

838
00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:52,280
Speaker 4: in our way to cling and get get stay together,

839
00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:55,160
Speaker 4: and we have to understand, well, let's just take a moment,

840
00:47:55,520 --> 00:47:59,440
Speaker 4: take a breath. You know, whatever happens, hopefully they go

841
00:47:59,680 --> 00:48:01,919
Speaker 4: and we will just come back and we, like I said,

842
00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:05,440
Speaker 4: we get our second win. And I think that's important too.

843
00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:08,800
Speaker 3: We have to create spaces where it's like we're fighting

844
00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:12,160
Speaker 3: violent systems, so we have to counter that with creating

845
00:48:12,239 --> 00:48:17,040
Speaker 3: spaces that feel safe. And I think, like I here

846
00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:26,360
Speaker 3: or more violent defense important and and and it's like

847
00:48:26,520 --> 00:48:28,640
Speaker 3: it's like you have to go back to like say

848
00:48:28,640 --> 00:48:31,080
Speaker 3: like what do little babies need like feel safe and

849
00:48:31,320 --> 00:48:35,080
Speaker 3: feel connected, loved, feel seen and heard, and also like celebrated.

850
00:48:35,960 --> 00:48:38,600
Speaker 3: And we all need that inherently as human beings. We

851
00:48:38,680 --> 00:48:41,239
Speaker 3: all need that ship and the government for sure is

852
00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:43,520
Speaker 3: not giving us any of these things. So if we

853
00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:47,799
Speaker 3: create models of care in that way, what does that

854
00:48:47,840 --> 00:48:49,880
Speaker 3: look like? I'm just trying to throw that out there

855
00:48:49,920 --> 00:48:53,600
Speaker 3: so people can envision what that's like. What what's what

856
00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:55,760
Speaker 3: is little zen? What is you know, what is little us?

857
00:48:55,800 --> 00:48:58,160
Speaker 3: All of us? Like, what is little us? Like? You know,

858
00:48:58,239 --> 00:49:01,279
Speaker 3: what is it? And so give that like create the

859
00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:05,239
Speaker 3: create this, create like the you know, create the wonderland

860
00:49:05,239 --> 00:49:07,799
Speaker 3: for that for that little person. And I think if

861
00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:10,839
Speaker 3: we could continue to create those things, then we you know,

862
00:49:10,920 --> 00:49:13,359
Speaker 3: like you're not going to have healed people fighting each other,

863
00:49:14,719 --> 00:49:17,200
Speaker 3: like if you if you can support folks to really

864
00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:19,719
Speaker 3: be at a space where like, Okay, there's something going

865
00:49:19,760 --> 00:49:21,960
Speaker 3: on with you, there's something going on with you.

866
00:49:22,040 --> 00:49:23,080
Speaker 1: What is it? What is it?

867
00:49:23,080 --> 00:49:25,960
Speaker 3: Because it's not for sure anyone here. You're bringing some

868
00:49:26,120 --> 00:49:28,879
Speaker 3: energy that is not part of the space exactly, So

869
00:49:29,080 --> 00:49:32,120
Speaker 3: what is it that's going on? Let's unpack that. So

870
00:49:32,360 --> 00:49:36,919
Speaker 3: how can we create spaces where we can have honest conversations,

871
00:49:37,040 --> 00:49:40,319
Speaker 3: be like something's going on with the like what's what's

872
00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:42,759
Speaker 3: going on? How can we support what's happening with you?

873
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:46,360
Speaker 3: And if finally they're like, well I had a you know,

874
00:49:46,560 --> 00:49:49,200
Speaker 3: or like it could be one thing, but there's always

875
00:49:49,239 --> 00:49:51,719
Speaker 3: a route to why they're feeling away, and we just

876
00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:54,640
Speaker 3: have to like be like, look, I'm sorry that happened.

877
00:49:54,719 --> 00:49:57,480
Speaker 3: I just create a space where like, yeah, I mean

878
00:49:57,480 --> 00:49:59,359
Speaker 3: to for people to be seen. And I think that's

879
00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:02,440
Speaker 3: really what's me in a lot of our movement spaces

880
00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:05,600
Speaker 3: and organizing spaces, like like I'm sorry that happened to you,

881
00:50:05,760 --> 00:50:08,480
Speaker 3: And even maybe that shift will allow people to be like,

882
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:11,920
Speaker 3: you know, people see me in that space.

883
00:50:12,160 --> 00:50:14,319
Speaker 4: And I think that's a good point because I think

884
00:50:14,400 --> 00:50:17,319
Speaker 4: that's what you said, you know, creating and understanding you know,

885
00:50:17,400 --> 00:50:19,640
Speaker 4: you know, we we got to deal with that. But

886
00:50:19,920 --> 00:50:22,680
Speaker 4: we can't keep letting you come in harm or whatever

887
00:50:22,840 --> 00:50:26,919
Speaker 4: however we deal with the situation. But I think this

888
00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:29,880
Speaker 4: is where a good place where we could end. I

889
00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:33,360
Speaker 4: will end with this by the great singer Stephen Wonder

890
00:50:33,440 --> 00:50:36,480
Speaker 4: when he says, if you have a heart, love somebody,

891
00:50:36,960 --> 00:50:40,719
Speaker 4: and if your heart is big enough, love everybody, So

892
00:50:40,760 --> 00:50:41,080
Speaker 4: what do you.

893
00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:44,680
Speaker 1: Think I think this episode gonna be good to.

894
00:50:52,719 --> 00:50:54,600
Speaker 4: Before we close out, I wanted to share a few

895
00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:56,759
Speaker 4: more thoughts from me who I spoke with one on what.

896
00:50:58,719 --> 00:51:01,840
Speaker 6: And so. The other thing I did was I connected

897
00:51:01,880 --> 00:51:06,439
Speaker 6: to a local mutual aid organization and started just doing

898
00:51:06,520 --> 00:51:10,200
Speaker 6: mutual aid on the street, harm reduction, you know, food distribution,

899
00:51:10,320 --> 00:51:13,360
Speaker 6: trying to connect people to services, and just building community,

900
00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:14,280
Speaker 6: doing community events.

901
00:51:14,320 --> 00:51:17,360
Speaker 4: And so what's the difference between that mutual aid and

902
00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:21,400
Speaker 4: then for example, someone that's going like because normally house

903
00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:23,560
Speaker 4: people say, why don't they just go to a shelter?

904
00:51:23,760 --> 00:51:26,320
Speaker 4: Why don't they just do this? What is the difference

905
00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:29,520
Speaker 4: between mutual aid? Because I see the city is right

906
00:51:29,719 --> 00:51:33,200
Speaker 4: to hijack that term, and there's there is seemed to

907
00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:36,560
Speaker 4: be some definitely delineations that need to be made.

908
00:51:36,719 --> 00:51:40,480
Speaker 6: So sure, I mean, to me, I think a mutual

909
00:51:40,520 --> 00:51:44,080
Speaker 6: aid in the simplest possible way is neighbors helping neighbors,

910
00:51:44,120 --> 00:51:47,080
Speaker 6: people helping people to survive. And you know that's what

911
00:51:47,080 --> 00:51:50,960
Speaker 6: we've been doing. Survive against what, survive against well, anything

912
00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:56,040
Speaker 6: that comes our way, but particularly in the sort of healthscape, death,

913
00:51:56,760 --> 00:52:03,920
Speaker 6: cult of capitalism. Our survival is becoming increasingly precarious. Especially

914
00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:07,160
Speaker 6: you know, you think about the climate, and you know,

915
00:52:07,440 --> 00:52:10,719
Speaker 6: income inequality and all these things. It's really difficult for

916
00:52:10,760 --> 00:52:12,640
Speaker 6: people just to get the basic things that they need.

917
00:52:13,480 --> 00:52:17,480
Speaker 6: And so I think of mutual aid as people directly

918
00:52:18,160 --> 00:52:20,880
Speaker 6: building community through helping each other get the things that

919
00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:21,239
Speaker 6: we need.

920
00:52:21,600 --> 00:52:24,600
Speaker 1: Doesn't shelters do that? Doesn't the city do that? Well?

921
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:26,960
Speaker 6: I would never tell a person who wants to go

922
00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:29,200
Speaker 6: into a shelter they shouldn't go into a shelter if

923
00:52:29,200 --> 00:52:32,120
Speaker 6: that's what they want to do. I've had many friends

924
00:52:32,200 --> 00:52:34,759
Speaker 6: who have been woken up in the middle of the

925
00:52:34,840 --> 00:52:38,799
Speaker 6: night with someone with a knife threatening to kill them,

926
00:52:39,080 --> 00:52:41,040
Speaker 6: and when they defended themselves, they were the one that

927
00:52:41,080 --> 00:52:43,920
Speaker 6: got kicked out. They come with these rules. People get

928
00:52:43,960 --> 00:52:46,400
Speaker 6: separated from their partners, they can't bring their pets like

929
00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:49,359
Speaker 6: and you know, and for women who are alone, there

930
00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:52,279
Speaker 6: can be other sort of dangers that come.

931
00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:56,680
Speaker 4: So also point out too, because there is another conversation

932
00:52:56,760 --> 00:53:00,040
Speaker 4: point we don't talk about if mothers have sons and

933
00:53:00,239 --> 00:53:02,480
Speaker 4: they can't go into the shelters, or because they are

934
00:53:02,480 --> 00:53:06,200
Speaker 4: afraid because they are not the daughters in order it's

935
00:53:06,200 --> 00:53:08,719
Speaker 4: a little bit easier, or the father has. You know,

936
00:53:08,760 --> 00:53:12,080
Speaker 4: it can be easier way, and it's not always accessible,

937
00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:14,359
Speaker 4: and it's not always you don't come as you are

938
00:53:14,560 --> 00:53:18,480
Speaker 4: what unfortunately like where mutual aid groups accept you where

939
00:53:18,480 --> 00:53:20,760
Speaker 4: you are, they meet you where you are. That's basically

940
00:53:21,080 --> 00:53:24,720
Speaker 4: the point I've been hovering. Where the shelters have carceral rules,

941
00:53:25,400 --> 00:53:29,880
Speaker 4: they constantly remind you that you are the low lowest degree,

942
00:53:29,920 --> 00:53:32,120
Speaker 4: a lower integer of humanity.

943
00:53:32,400 --> 00:53:37,080
Speaker 6: But that's absolutely and yeah, that's that's the difference I

944
00:53:37,120 --> 00:53:40,600
Speaker 6: think is that the shelter systems, the way that they've

945
00:53:40,600 --> 00:53:43,840
Speaker 6: been set up, there's any number of reasons why this

946
00:53:43,960 --> 00:53:47,640
Speaker 6: is the case, but they are coercive, and mutual aid

947
00:53:47,760 --> 00:53:50,560
Speaker 6: is fundamentally not coercive. We're not there to judge you

948
00:53:50,640 --> 00:53:55,520
Speaker 6: for your lifestyle. We're not there to you know, tell

949
00:53:55,560 --> 00:53:58,680
Speaker 6: you that you're doing the wrong things or whatever. We're

950
00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:00,920
Speaker 6: there to meet you where you are are, to offer

951
00:54:00,960 --> 00:54:03,040
Speaker 6: the support that you need, to make you a member

952
00:54:03,040 --> 00:54:05,479
Speaker 6: of the community, and to remind people that you matter

953
00:54:05,520 --> 00:54:09,800
Speaker 6: and that you deserve everything that you need to survive.

954
00:54:11,120 --> 00:54:14,040
Speaker 4: So the difference between shelters, if that's what the people

955
00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:16,600
Speaker 4: are looking for at mutual age, is a bit different. Okay,

956
00:54:16,640 --> 00:54:20,840
Speaker 4: let's talk about philanthropy. Philanthropy which I do have a

957
00:54:20,920 --> 00:54:23,520
Speaker 4: point that I'm going to make. I was reached out

958
00:54:23,600 --> 00:54:28,160
Speaker 4: and giving a filantrofic kind of I guess it's a

959
00:54:28,200 --> 00:54:31,960
Speaker 4: grant or something. Now, the grant is not a survivable

960
00:54:32,800 --> 00:54:35,239
Speaker 4: wage of me to survive out here. If I was

961
00:54:35,280 --> 00:54:38,600
Speaker 4: to apply for it. They have these long applications, they

962
00:54:38,600 --> 00:54:41,719
Speaker 4: have the short term kind of deadlines, and then they

963
00:54:41,760 --> 00:54:44,040
Speaker 4: want you to go in to giving a dissertation, a

964
00:54:44,120 --> 00:54:48,359
Speaker 4: doctoral dissertation on why you should be deserving of the help.

965
00:54:48,640 --> 00:54:52,080
Speaker 4: And once if you get this this modicum of money,

966
00:54:52,320 --> 00:54:57,880
Speaker 4: you're supposed to make these grand issues much more salient

967
00:54:58,360 --> 00:55:01,520
Speaker 4: or much more palatable in a way for the philanthropic

968
00:55:02,239 --> 00:55:04,960
Speaker 4: entity to feel that that they are doing something in

969
00:55:05,000 --> 00:55:08,280
Speaker 4: the community when they're just basically just throwing a few crumbs.

970
00:55:08,520 --> 00:55:11,960
Speaker 4: And when you know the effects of capitalism, you're trying

971
00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:15,600
Speaker 4: to survive. I was thinking, like, how in anybody to

972
00:55:15,719 --> 00:55:17,600
Speaker 4: do this kind of work is going to pay their rent?

973
00:55:17,920 --> 00:55:20,239
Speaker 4: How is anybody going to be able to be fat

974
00:55:20,320 --> 00:55:23,120
Speaker 4: because rents is expensive here. Even if you like I'm

975
00:55:23,120 --> 00:55:27,040
Speaker 4: living an SRO, Even if that's the case, you still

976
00:55:27,320 --> 00:55:29,640
Speaker 4: are not going to sustain Lord is not going to

977
00:55:29,640 --> 00:55:32,080
Speaker 4: be okay with you. Well, I got a grant, wonderful,

978
00:55:32,239 --> 00:55:34,480
Speaker 4: but you ain't paying the rent. You're going to have

979
00:55:34,560 --> 00:55:36,399
Speaker 4: a grant to be living out in the street. So

980
00:55:36,600 --> 00:55:38,719
Speaker 4: that's one of the things that that's one of the

981
00:55:38,719 --> 00:55:42,920
Speaker 4: sticking points that I have of these philanthropic entities that

982
00:55:43,040 --> 00:55:45,480
Speaker 4: love to dole out money and love to have their

983
00:55:45,560 --> 00:55:49,800
Speaker 4: names on these big glass walls or stairs or stars

984
00:55:49,800 --> 00:55:50,560
Speaker 4: and things like that.

985
00:55:50,800 --> 00:55:54,280
Speaker 6: Yeah, no, absolutely, And to me, the core difference between

986
00:55:54,320 --> 00:55:58,359
Speaker 6: philanthropic sort of giving and neutral aid is that in philanthropy,

987
00:55:58,480 --> 00:56:02,400
Speaker 6: the person who is giving the money holds the strengths,

988
00:56:02,680 --> 00:56:06,880
Speaker 6: and they are often very very strict about how that

989
00:56:06,920 --> 00:56:09,600
Speaker 6: money can be spent, and you know, can be fickle.

990
00:56:09,719 --> 00:56:12,440
Speaker 6: So one year they're willing to give that money, the

991
00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:14,719
Speaker 6: next year they're not, and so as a community it

992
00:56:14,840 --> 00:56:18,840
Speaker 6: becomes really difficult to rely on that. And they also

993
00:56:18,920 --> 00:56:23,400
Speaker 6: want to give through nonprofit organizations, and the nonprofits then

994
00:56:23,680 --> 00:56:27,879
Speaker 6: their whole reason for being is to maintain a funding level,

995
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:32,040
Speaker 6: and so it doesn't become about solving the problem or

996
00:56:32,480 --> 00:56:36,759
Speaker 6: or you know, ameliorating the harm. It becomes about like

997
00:56:37,200 --> 00:56:41,640
Speaker 6: the struggle for their survival. It's all a way I

998
00:56:41,680 --> 00:56:47,399
Speaker 6: think for honestly wealthy capitalists to control the system while

999
00:56:47,440 --> 00:56:49,080
Speaker 6: at the same time alleviating their guilt.

1000
00:56:49,280 --> 00:56:58,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, Thank you very much.

1001
00:56:58,800 --> 00:57:03,760
Speaker 4: Melissa's in and the Please follow and support their work online.

1002
00:57:03,800 --> 00:57:08,160
Speaker 4: Melissa can be found at www. Melissa Assadero dot com

1003
00:57:08,200 --> 00:57:12,880
Speaker 4: and www. Polospantry dot org. Zen's work could be found

1004
00:57:13,480 --> 00:57:17,400
Speaker 4: at Jatownaction dot com and you can follow Neil's substack

1005
00:57:17,680 --> 00:57:22,880
Speaker 4: at Neil Blakeport dot substack dot com. In the next episode,

1006
00:57:23,480 --> 00:57:28,960
Speaker 4: Widianhouse hits the road and lands in San Diego activists

1007
00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:32,560
Speaker 4: Amy Zamudio takes me around and I interview residents that

1008
00:57:32,640 --> 00:57:37,320
Speaker 4: were victims of hospital dumping as well as vigilanteism and

1009
00:57:37,440 --> 00:57:41,320
Speaker 4: the Crew San Diego camping band that has been recently enacted.

1010
00:57:42,440 --> 00:57:44,840
Speaker 4: Be ready to hear our next episode on San Diego

1011
00:57:44,880 --> 00:57:48,480
Speaker 4: hospital dumping and the impact has had on the community,

1012
00:57:49,960 --> 00:57:52,320
Speaker 4: and don't forget about us. You can stay up to

1013
00:57:52,440 --> 00:57:57,240
Speaker 4: date and in touch with Widianhouse at www dot Widianhouse

1014
00:57:57,280 --> 00:58:01,120
Speaker 4: dot com and on Instagram at Whidianhouse. It's been a

1015
00:58:01,160 --> 00:58:04,080
Speaker 4: pleasure hearing from you and returning listeners. If you want

1016
00:58:04,080 --> 00:58:06,760
Speaker 4: to submit your own story or a friend, don't hesitate

1017
00:58:06,760 --> 00:58:10,000
Speaker 4: to reach out that's it for this week. May we

1018
00:58:10,040 --> 00:58:15,040
Speaker 4: again meet in the light of understanding. William House is

1019
00:58:15,040 --> 00:58:19,320
Speaker 4: a production of iHeartRadio. It is written, posted, and created

1020
00:58:19,320 --> 00:58:23,959
Speaker 4: by me Theo Henderson. Our producers are Seamie Loftus, Lyra

1021
00:58:24,120 --> 00:58:28,280
Speaker 4: Smith and Katie fisherp Our editor is Adam Wong, and

1022
00:58:28,360 --> 00:58:30,760
Speaker 4: our logo art is also by Katie Fisherer.

1023
00:58:31,040 --> 00:58:31,920
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.