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Speaker 1: Welcome to Worst Year Ever a production of I Heart

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Speaker 1: Radio Together Everything, So don't don't Welcome to Worst Year Ever.

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Speaker 1: That was Cody playing his version of free Bird, which

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Speaker 1: I believe is the original before those those fucking hacks

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Speaker 1: stole his song. Check out the demos. They're out there.

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Speaker 1: They're out there, much older than anyone thinks. Well, it's

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Speaker 1: also he has access to a time machine. Oh right,

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Speaker 1: that's what That's what the solo sounds like. The rest

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Speaker 1: of the episode will be nothing like this, UM promise.

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Speaker 1: So as I'm guessing, I don't know, probably at least

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Speaker 1: half of the people listening are aware of some ship

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Speaker 1: has been going down in Echo Park, Los Angeles, site

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Speaker 1: of probably the best warren Zevon song, or at least

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Speaker 1: the second best, and also site of a large encampment

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Speaker 1: UH where unhoused people had built a community UM and

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Speaker 1: we're trying to take care of each other in the

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Speaker 1: wake of the state's repeated failures UM, both as a

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Speaker 1: result of COVID and as a result of the fact

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Speaker 1: that the state's continuously fails to help those people in

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Speaker 1: any meaningful way. And it was shut down brutally UM

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Speaker 1: by a massive police response that was partly inspired by

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Speaker 1: a desire for local politicians to be able to say

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Speaker 1: that they, you know, cleaned up the park and all

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Speaker 1: that kind of ship. Anyway, we've got, we've we've brought,

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Speaker 1: we've got some people who were there, um some people

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Speaker 1: who were there and can kind of represent a couple

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Speaker 1: of different um um communities who were present at the

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Speaker 1: Echo Park action, if you want to call it that. Uh.

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Speaker 1: And most of today's episode is going to be an

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Speaker 1: interview with several of them um talking about what they

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Speaker 1: experienced and their feelings. And then after it were going

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Speaker 1: to come back and we're gonna kind of give our

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Speaker 1: thoughts on the matter because we didn't just want to

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Speaker 1: be monologueing during their time. Yeah, good job on the intro, Robert,

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Speaker 1: thank you. You facilitated the whole interview, so I love that.

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Speaker 1: And Katie Oh Cody played freebird, so I could we

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Speaker 1: all contribute? Everyone contributed, all right, we'll see you guys

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Speaker 1: after the interview. So we are joined today by Jamie Loftus,

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Speaker 1: John Peltz, and Kate Gallagher from Knock l A, as

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Speaker 1: well as I'm in and Queen, who are both former

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Speaker 1: residents of Echo Park Lake. Thank you so much for

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Speaker 1: joining us today. Guys, we really really really appreciate it.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for having us. Yeah. So we're gonna get

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Speaker 1: into a lot of stuff, and I want you guys

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Speaker 1: to do most of the talking. But I just wanted

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Speaker 1: to start by giving a little bit of an overview,

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Speaker 1: uh for those of us listening who aren't from Los Angeles. UM.

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Speaker 1: Echo Park Lake is located in Echo Park, which is

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Speaker 1: in the central the east side of Los Angeles, and

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Speaker 1: it's kind of a cross section of neighborhoods. The property

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Speaker 1: there uh is very expensive. UH. It's a cool area,

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Speaker 1: trendy area. It's also heavily gentrified, and there's a vast

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Speaker 1: history of gentrification and UM housing discrimination and all sorts

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Speaker 1: of other issues that have happened there. UM. It's also

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Speaker 1: near downtown. UH. Even before the pandemic, UH, this area

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Speaker 1: has had uh a rapidly expanding housing crisis. UH. But

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Speaker 1: it's gotten uh much bigger since the pandemic UM and

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Speaker 1: the encamp the the lake has expanded and developed into

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Speaker 1: almost a commune like society. UH. And until last week,

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Speaker 1: that is when UH, I'm sorry, I'm reading my notes

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Speaker 1: in a bad way. Reset that Daniel. Until last week

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Speaker 1: when Los Angeles City Council Member Mitch O'Farrell ordered it's

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Speaker 1: shut down under the guise of park improvements. Uh, but

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Speaker 1: let's be real, that's not actually what's at issue here.

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Speaker 1: And they put up a fence, you know, to keep

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Speaker 1: people out. Hundreds of people protested, but the police has

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Speaker 1: showed up in force repeatedly to arrest and dismantle the homes.

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Speaker 1: Uh that that had been created. Um So, guys, that's

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Speaker 1: just a very broad overview. You all know much more

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Speaker 1: about this than I do. Uh, can you talk to

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Speaker 1: me about We'll start with with um Mitchell Ferrell and

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Speaker 1: and the closing down of the space and the you know,

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Speaker 1: the protests. What's been happening. Well, I guess um, I've

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Speaker 1: never heard of a park renovation and taking a military occupation.

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Speaker 1: How many of you all were there Thursday or Wednesday?

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Speaker 1: I was not, are you guys? Weren't there? All right?

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Speaker 1: And basically it was it was an armed occupation on

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Speaker 1: a peaceful protest. It was just like the first night,

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Speaker 1: the second night, hundreds of police officers, enough firepower to

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Speaker 1: take over like a country. Like the whole thing was weird,

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Speaker 1: you know, Yeah, definitely very shady. Um. I'm talking about

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Speaker 1: like I lived, and I lived right across basically the bathrooms,

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Speaker 1: like the one of the main and there was no notice,

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Speaker 1: there was no there was nothing there in the time

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Speaker 1: when they I hasn't used the restroom like I took

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Speaker 1: three in the morning, which is when I saw the paper.

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Speaker 1: Um that morning of that we were that we were

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Speaker 1: being um displaced. Um. It was dated at nine o'clock

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Speaker 1: at night. They didn't they put it like at two

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Speaker 1: in the morning or whatever. And you're gonna tell me

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Speaker 1: that you can mope at two in the morning being

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Speaker 1: dated in time and stamped at nine pm. That wasn't there.

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Speaker 1: We would have seen it. And not only that, but

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Speaker 1: on the paper it said it said itself it's at

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Speaker 1: ten thirty. We were getting report sept Police were trying

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Speaker 1: to enter at seven thirty. So, I mean, I understand

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Speaker 1: that from what I understand, it's a chain of command.

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Speaker 1: Something is either broken or something is not right with

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Speaker 1: that chain of command because people are not getting the

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Speaker 1: message message a message across. One of the things that

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Speaker 1: we've struggled up most in anything is the communication. There

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Speaker 1: is no communication. There is not even communication from the

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Speaker 1: leaders to the basic police officers to the police guard.

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Speaker 1: One says this, another says this, But at the end

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Speaker 1: of the day, you can't hide the fact that they

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Speaker 1: did this under the darker night build It took them

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Speaker 1: three or four hours to build up that whole fence

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Speaker 1: around that park. There was a lock on the what

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Speaker 1: how are we supposed to leave if they bottle necked us?

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Speaker 1: And then the yeah, we could, we could have gone

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Speaker 1: under the fence, but what so they could say that

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Speaker 1: We're like, we're trespassing. We're doing something they wanted us

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Speaker 1: to do, something illegal, and yet we're not in like

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Speaker 1: the Coach Carter movie here where there's a lock on

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Speaker 1: the on the gate, on the door. They put a

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Speaker 1: lock on that gate. We weren't even what we're gonna

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Speaker 1: do exit the park, going underneath the fence, having twenty

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Speaker 1: armed officers with swat gear pointing at us. We couldn't

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Speaker 1: even our supporters couldn't even get to us because and

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Speaker 1: he would not metro, He would not even dignify, dignify

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Speaker 1: the fact that he could come out. I live in

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Speaker 1: the tents building. I lived there for thirty years, so

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Speaker 1: that I've seen that community from that balcony. I grew

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Speaker 1: up there. Never since I came from Mexico, I stayed there.

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Speaker 1: I saw my community coming together. I saw it didn't

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Speaker 1: matter what race you were. I saw it didn't matter

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Speaker 1: what gender or religion, where you belong to, what you

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Speaker 1: look like. You could be the Gothic person in the world.

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Speaker 1: You could be the most Mexican person in the world.

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Speaker 1: You could be the most you know, American person in

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Speaker 1: the world. We don't judge. We the Echo Park in

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Speaker 1: the Sanctuary for the Constitutional Rights, which is speak your mind,

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Speaker 1: be free and have the basic necessities of a human being.

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Speaker 1: Can can I clarify? So they they fenced people in. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we were. We woke up in an open air prison

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Speaker 1: like and they did it fast and like it was

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Speaker 1: it was our mistake because okay, here's what happened. When

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Speaker 1: Wednesday hit and they came last night or on that

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Speaker 1: night of Wednesday, we had the road blocked off and

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Speaker 1: we were fighting off the police. But it was getting

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Speaker 1: real bad. It was like twelve o'clock at night one am.

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Speaker 1: We had started from seven am, so it's been a

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Speaker 1: long day. Captain Lopez, the commanding officer on the scene,

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Speaker 1: told us we have from ten o'clock that night until

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Speaker 1: ten o'clock the next night. So we're like, okay, we

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Speaker 1: won the night, let's end it. For escalates to violence

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Speaker 1: because it was real close to cops are getting like

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Speaker 1: they were just ready to start shooting and beaton and people. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and they did. They broke a guy's arm, and so

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Speaker 1: we were telling everybody go home. We won the night.

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Speaker 1: We won the night, and one of the more hardcore

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Speaker 1: protesters who dealt with l APD said, no, they're lying,

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Speaker 1: let's stop that fence. But we made the call. Well

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Speaker 1: I made the call. It was my mistake, really, but

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Speaker 1: it was a lesson learned to never negotiate with the

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Speaker 1: with the police right now because we are in the

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Speaker 1: state of ten or their terrorists. And he said, don't

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Speaker 1: trust them, let's go stop the fence. I thought, knowing

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Speaker 1: the way the city usually works slowly, that they built

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Speaker 1: that one section of the fence, then they'll build the

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Speaker 1: un some days to fight back. Fucking four hours of

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Speaker 1: sleep later, woke up in an open air prison. Horrifying keeping.

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Speaker 1: You know, we haven't really had because at the end

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Speaker 1: of the at the end of the night, when everything

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Speaker 1: was said and then I think there was a total

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Speaker 1: of ten of us left. Um, you know, we I think.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I can speak for myself, but I've seen

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Speaker 1: the hard work that this Matt has done for the community,

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Speaker 1: you know, next to I'm honored to be next to

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Speaker 1: him because I was I was native there, but to

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Speaker 1: see someone that wasn't native but made it your home.

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Speaker 1: That's what about it is we really loved each other.

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Speaker 1: They can't see with all the lies they're saying. And

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Speaker 1: I didn't get to say this and a lot of

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Speaker 1: the Outlets podcast, so it's more intimate, but like they

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Speaker 1: don't get to speak on what our love was and

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Speaker 1: what it looked like. We were a community transient in

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Speaker 1: nature of people who didn't know each other, and we

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Speaker 1: genuinely loved each other and genuinely made it work, And

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Speaker 1: they don't get to speak on what that looked like

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Speaker 1: or the ups and downs, because there's always ups and downs. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: well that's hitting me, guys, This is uh horrifying story.

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Speaker 1: I want to talk about the police response. Um in

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Speaker 1: a little bit for right now, Can you tell me

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Speaker 1: a little bit more about the community that you guys

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Speaker 1: built there, because everything I've read about it has been

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Speaker 1: truly beautiful. And you're right. There are a lot of

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Speaker 1: talking points that people like to use, oh, you know,

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Speaker 1: drug use or crime, but that's not the case here.

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Speaker 1: What you had was a community of a supportive community

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Speaker 1: where from what I understand, there was like food sharing

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Speaker 1: and and you know, stations for charging, you know, a

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Speaker 1: place for a lot of people to finally feel a

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Speaker 1: little bit of safety when you know, government and the

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Speaker 1: communities do not look out for each other. And so

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Speaker 1: many people have been put in this position over the

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Speaker 1: last couple of years. UM, So I would love for

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Speaker 1: you to enlighten us and to spell some of the

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Speaker 1: myths that people have about um what is possible. So

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Speaker 1: basically what Echo Park was is that we asked the

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Speaker 1: city um for bathrooms. They wouldn't give us any So UM,

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Speaker 1: we built it as a community. We built it. There

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Speaker 1: was a set and there was one set that we

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Speaker 1: improvised whatever. Because one thing that Echo Park you have

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Speaker 1: to understand about Eco Park is that we're prideful in

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Speaker 1: our nature. We're prideful in our community. So you won't

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Speaker 1: give it to us. There's people out there that said, Okay,

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Speaker 1: if I need it, someone else needs it. If I

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Speaker 1: needed someone else is gonna help me build it because

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Speaker 1: they're gonna use it. And that's how it went on.

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Speaker 1: The city wouldn't give any really funding to the to

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Speaker 1: the park. There hasn't been any imprograms or nothing. We

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Speaker 1: need a kitchen. We built a kitchen. As a community

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Speaker 1: m hm. As a community. Yeah, it didn't matter, but

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Speaker 1: what the you know what community falls short of a family.

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Speaker 1: We were a family. We are a family. You got

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Speaker 1: to meet family members and not even some blood family

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Speaker 1: wouldn't even give what what we gave for each other. Um.

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Speaker 1: So we had bathrooms no, no, no, we had showers,

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Speaker 1: We had a kitchen. Um. We had a charging station

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Speaker 1: where it wasn't there was no charge and even if

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Speaker 1: you didn't have a cable, you know it happens where

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Speaker 1: you know they would do it for you, taking responsibility

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Speaker 1: and you know, trusting them. They trust you. We trusted

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Speaker 1: each other. That's what it was. It was the trust,

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Speaker 1: the bridge that we all made because of the circumstances

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Speaker 1: that life had brought us to that park. Now you

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Speaker 1: mentioned drugs, Yes, of course, I'm not gonna sit here

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Speaker 1: and be a hypocrite and be a liar. Yes of course,

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Speaker 1: Like in every park, like for the past two years now,

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Speaker 1: which progressively got worse because of the pandemic, has encampment's

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Speaker 1: has homelessness. Has this in every system and every group,

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Speaker 1: there's gonna be bad apples, politicians, the ones that are corrupt,

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Speaker 1: you know, and every Apple system might be perfect, but

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Speaker 1: the people are not. But one fourth of that population

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Speaker 1: in the park that we're there even before all of

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Speaker 1: us got there, doesn't defy all of us. You have

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Speaker 1: hard working people, you have women, you have family, you

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Speaker 1: have children, children that are there that didn't choose this life,

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Speaker 1: that were your neighbors. They were your neighbors ones. But

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Speaker 1: because maybe they weren't circumstances circumstances either because legally they

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Speaker 1: couldn't because economically they couldn't have family members. I myself

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Speaker 1: buried three people in a time span of two weeks

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Speaker 1: because of the consequences of the coronavirus' sorry two months ago.

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Speaker 1: And you know I have six six daughters, so you

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Speaker 1: never know what the circumstances do. Not defy someone's situation,

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Speaker 1: You should judge. What they did was they used Echo

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Speaker 1: Park as a pond. I'm gonna use this to come

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Speaker 1: and buff my shirt up and say I did this

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Speaker 1: for the city. You want to do something for the city,

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Speaker 1: go down two blocks to the bridge, go down two

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Speaker 1: blocks anywhere around Echo Park. Then you're gonna find people

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Speaker 1: that actually meet the home and do that and maybe

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Speaker 1: maybe you can get like a cookie. But you went

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Speaker 1: an equal part. That's thievery. That's illegal and it's a

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Speaker 1: humane Yeah. Yeah, you made a lot of a lot

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Speaker 1: of really great points there. I mean drug use especially. Yeah, there,

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Speaker 1: that's a reality. It's a problem. It's a problem for

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Speaker 1: a lot of people, not just the on housed. Um.

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Speaker 1: But if you want to unpack why it's prevalent, there's

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Speaker 1: a whole lot of other things that we can do

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Speaker 1: and talk about, um as to unpack what that means.

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Speaker 1: But it should not be used as a cudgel or

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Speaker 1: a point of judgment. UM. And I agree with you,

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Speaker 1: go ahead, yeah, yeah, because I'm tired of beyond house

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Speaker 1: being blamed for issues that all of us face, like

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Speaker 1: for example, of hoarding. Hoarding is not an unhoused or

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Speaker 1: homeless condition. It's a human condition, and that's just a fact.

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Speaker 1: And if hoarding is defined by owning too many material possessions,

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Speaker 1: any one of you in your apartment has three times

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Speaker 1: more material possessions than an unhoused person does. You just

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Speaker 1: have space to make it look nice, and you can

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Speaker 1: hide it with your walls, But just looking at some

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Speaker 1: of your backgrounds is more than any of my neighbors

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Speaker 1: had yet. Work called holders and trashy. Drug addiction. This

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Speaker 1: is a human epidemic and problem, and you're right. If

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Speaker 1: we're gonna tackle it, we need to switch it to

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Speaker 1: the pharmaceuticals, into the greed and corruption allowing it. Because

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Speaker 1: if a doctor is pumping out this medicine, and this

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Speaker 1: medicine got you addicted, now you're addicted to all these things,

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Speaker 1: and fettan all came from the doctors, and fetton all

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Speaker 1: is a huge issue on these streets, but in these

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Speaker 1: houses as well. And that's the thing, Like, I'm tired

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Speaker 1: of me and my neighbors getting blamed for stuff that

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Speaker 1: affects all of us. Drug addiction isn't nearly every American home.

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Speaker 1: Hoarding isn't nearly every American home, you know what I mean.

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Speaker 1: So this is a larger systemic issue keeping it hidden,

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Speaker 1: they're just trying to divide us by blaming it on

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Speaker 1: the poor, and that's annoying and as far as the community.

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Speaker 1: It's like, it's so funny. You know. First, let me

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Speaker 1: just say, this community is not the structures, it's the people.

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Speaker 1: It's heart in mind. If the heart and mind is

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Speaker 1: on the same page, we understand that we love each

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Speaker 1: other and cal any type stuff, then we're a community.

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Speaker 1: They can tear down those structures. We can build that

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Speaker 1: stuff right up again. Uh. And it's funny because people

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Speaker 1: look at what was an Echo Park and they're like,

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Speaker 1: so genius the fun You guys didn't provide showers. We

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Speaker 1: built showers because people need showers every day. People need

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Speaker 1: you know, stop eating hot food when you're poor. You

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Speaker 1: know what I mean? This one no rocket science. It

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Speaker 1: was just Hey, nobody's thinking about people. And that's what

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Speaker 1: love and care is is thinking about people. Like she said,

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Speaker 1: do I need this? Okay? That means you need it? Okay,

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Speaker 1: we need it and the city that should be their job.

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Speaker 1: That should be Pharaol's job. His job should be the

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Speaker 1: cutest thing in the world, sitting back going what do

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Speaker 1: my constituents need? And instead he's selfish and corrupt like

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Speaker 1: many of them are, which is why this movement is

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Speaker 1: larger than just Echo Park or the Young house. It's

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Speaker 1: all of us. It's the public wale versus the will

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Speaker 1: of the few. Yeah, thank you. That was really well said.

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Speaker 1: I just wanted to add one thing, um addiction. They're

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Speaker 1: pushing people to be criminals. They are pushing people to

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Speaker 1: be criminals because when you take the little thing that

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Speaker 1: that person has left, what do you some people that's it,

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Speaker 1: that could be their snapping point, that could be the

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Speaker 1: breaking point. You know. We talked to Avender this morning.

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Speaker 1: She has schizophrenia. She um, she's having to sell her

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Speaker 1: her art in a corner. And and she was safe

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Speaker 1: in the park. She wasn't bugging anyone. She was in

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Speaker 1: the in the grass, she wasn't bugging anyone. On the contrary,

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Speaker 1: anyone needed directions help, she was more than happy. Now

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Speaker 1: what I saw from two weeks ago, she's nervous, her state,

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Speaker 1: her ambience and changed. They the repercussions that this is

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Speaker 1: gonna have is tremendous. Not only that, but I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: say I had a car accident four months ago. What

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Speaker 1: they said was here you have a lifetime first prescripture

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Speaker 1: for oxycoding, oxycodon and morphine. And I said, I don't

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Speaker 1: want it. And yet I was a resident at the park.

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Speaker 1: They're pushing people to be drug at it, pushing people

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Speaker 1: and this is gonna help you, This is gonna know

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Speaker 1: that that's not gonna help me. You're pushing pills down

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Speaker 1: my throat and getting paid for every pill I take.

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Speaker 1: The government is paying thirty bucks, but you're getting fifteen

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Speaker 1: out of it. As as as a pharmacist, as a

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Speaker 1: person that you invented it in a very brand Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean absolutely, Um queen, you had mentioned, uh, go

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Speaker 1: to the other places, like there's other areas and offer

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Speaker 1: them a space. I think that you're referencing Project Turnkey.

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Speaker 1: Is that you mean like, well, yeah, so that's what

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Speaker 1: I wanted to get into, is to why that's not

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Speaker 1: a good option. But you know what, there are people

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Speaker 1: I could tell you, and I've been very much adamant

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Speaker 1: about this. This program is and will help some people

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Speaker 1: because gonna lie, some people need the structure, some people

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Speaker 1: need the time of way and just like detox from

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Speaker 1: life from whatever. There's older people, elderly people in the park.

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Speaker 1: They have to have that attention. But the reason, um,

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Speaker 1: and I didn't take it, I wouldn't take it and

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Speaker 1: I was one of like maybe six or ten that

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Speaker 1: didn't end up out of the whole park. We didn't

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Speaker 1: take it because it's conditioned. Anything that the government is

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Speaker 1: trying to offer right now is conditioned. We're not prisoners

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Speaker 1: of war, slavery and died a long time ago. The

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Speaker 1: Holocaust camps ended a long time ago, the Mexican Revolution,

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Speaker 1: prisoner ended a long time ago. Yeah, we're a family,

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Speaker 1: were bred and we're a brother, we're a sister, were

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Speaker 1: we're the kind that you know, we're a family. It's

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Speaker 1: just a family, a big family. Like I'll speak on

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Speaker 1: it real quick, Project room. Here's the thing. It's all lies. Okay.

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Speaker 1: First of all, we'll talk about the conditions and then

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Speaker 1: I'll go real quick into the lives. Unless you wanted

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Speaker 1: to say quick, no, I was just that's what I

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Speaker 1: was hoping. It's just to establish what it is, you know. Okay.

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Speaker 1: So basically what we're saying is they're offering up the hotel,

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Speaker 1: uh during the pandemic, during COVID. So like any other

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Speaker 1: government program, it's not permanent, right, It's highly temporary. Just

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Speaker 1: refused to think beyond a day or a month. They

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Speaker 1: can't see long term. Uh, it's highly conditioned. It's got curfused.

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Speaker 1: From seven to seven. You can't go into your own room.

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Speaker 1: They have to check you in. Every time you leave,

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Speaker 1: you get COVID tested, like you're a decrepit creature catching COVID.

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Speaker 1: Every time you leave. The lobbies filled with like police,

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Speaker 1: some people in hazmats suit. The point is is the

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Speaker 1: way it treats you in terms of your self, agency

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Speaker 1: and dignity. It's not there. And a lot of my

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Speaker 1: own house neighbors are finding that when they've signed up

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Speaker 1: for a nice five star hotel, they end up at

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Speaker 1: the Salvation at the Salvation Army, or when they sign

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Speaker 1: up for a super nice hotel hotels fully booked, they

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Speaker 1: go forty minutes somewhere far away and guess how long

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Speaker 1: the reservation is? Two weeks. Yeah, we had something stable

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Speaker 1: in Echo Park. Okay, that was our shelter. The CDC

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Speaker 1: at shelter in place the city lash Urban Alchemy said

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Speaker 1: fuck you, and we were left alone. And we built

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Speaker 1: something stable, something secure where you weren't gonna move in

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Speaker 1: the next three months, where you knew and you had

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Speaker 1: that stability, just like y'all have in your apartments, you know.

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Speaker 1: But now they're in this false program. Oga, one of

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Speaker 1: my neighbors. She was told to join because that last day,

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Speaker 1: there are those last few days, they were just trying

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Speaker 1: to get everyone out. They were selling it. They were

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Speaker 1: selling it, they were selling it. I've done cells, I've

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Speaker 1: done door to door cells. They were pitching and selling

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Speaker 1: this thing and people were finding opposite truths. Oga was

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Speaker 1: told to sleep on the sidewalk for a night because

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Speaker 1: they ran out of space. What you told you took

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Speaker 1: her from her tent and told her she could have

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Speaker 1: a spot. Then she went to Project a house key

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00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:45,160
Speaker 1: or some new ships and it was a honkey Projects

402
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,640
Speaker 1: home key and it was a lie. There was four

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Speaker 1: people in the highly condition. She was only allowed to

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Speaker 1: leave from twelve to four. How is that adequate alternative

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Speaker 1: to your freedom outside? You know, last some of the

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Speaker 1: tents it was like New York City apartments. All right,

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Speaker 1: we're not don't take charity or pity on this. It's

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Speaker 1: just understand we're living outside that these are not adequate alternatives. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and and as you guys mentioned the fact one that

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Speaker 1: said it's two weeks or just the fact that it's

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Speaker 1: dependent on COVID, Well, you're at the whim of somebody

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Speaker 1: else's choices, and then you might get a notice in

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Speaker 1: the middle of the night like had happened before you know,

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Speaker 1: you're you're out. And so then you're looking for a

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Speaker 1: place in a shelter where there's a lot of a

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Speaker 1: lot of abuse in shelters, and there's a lot of

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Speaker 1: different circumstances. But as a female, and I'm going to

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Speaker 1: speak as a female, you know, men are men, that

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Speaker 1: we're gonna say men are men. But when you're a

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Speaker 1: female and you're like in this like like um, homeless

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Speaker 1: in the situation as it is, um, it's very dangerous,

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Speaker 1: it's very dangerous. And I can honestly tell you I

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Speaker 1: could sleep at night it might knowing I would be

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Speaker 1: okay because I had my neighbors, not like any other

425
00:22:55,160 --> 00:23:01,160
Speaker 1: part you know, But it's it's conditioned and I they lied.

426
00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:04,080
Speaker 1: First of all, They preyed on people's hopes, on their needs.

427
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,320
Speaker 1: They prayed, they preyed on their needs, They preyed on

428
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,960
Speaker 1: their instability, They preyed on the fact that they were tired.

429
00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:13,040
Speaker 1: Because the people that were there that at the end

430
00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,720
Speaker 1: of the last day, we were tired. I'm barely getting

431
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:17,399
Speaker 1: my voice back but we were tired. To people that

432
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:19,720
Speaker 1: were in the front line, we were tired. And basically

433
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,879
Speaker 1: they pitched it to them. However, if they had to

434
00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:26,080
Speaker 1: pitch like thirty lines, they did it. And people either

435
00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:27,960
Speaker 1: waited for two hours in the parking lot to be

436
00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,240
Speaker 1: told that there was no more room, that they had

437
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,640
Speaker 1: to have a waiting list, and or that they would

438
00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:35,480
Speaker 1: be pushed out. Mitchell fire pushed out everybody from the

439
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:38,680
Speaker 1: park outside his district. Has no one noticed this? Everyone

440
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:42,639
Speaker 1: was sent to Downey, everybody was sent to Norwalk, to

441
00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,639
Speaker 1: all these like different places, but not in his not

442
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:48,639
Speaker 1: in his district. Why because he's scared of the people

443
00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:51,280
Speaker 1: coming together. I mean said something really good. Um that

444
00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,200
Speaker 1: basically got me thinking, Yeah, we're gonna be like antipe families.

445
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,680
Speaker 1: Because ants might be some ant colonies. Um A's maybe, Mom,

446
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,119
Speaker 1: but they carry ten times away and they built and

447
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,439
Speaker 1: there our family. They will build that change link, that

448
00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:07,080
Speaker 1: change link, they will make that link with everybody. And

449
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,960
Speaker 1: that's what we have. We have basically a bunch of UM.

450
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:13,240
Speaker 1: I always tell my kids and I showed them this,

451
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,480
Speaker 1: this wording. I said, I'm the dirt beneath your feet

452
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,560
Speaker 1: And she said, Mom, how can you say that I'm

453
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:20,560
Speaker 1: not dirt, I must said, And I said, what do

454
00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:22,679
Speaker 1: you eat on a day? She had an apple? I

455
00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:24,840
Speaker 1: was like, what are you eating? She said, an apple?

456
00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,480
Speaker 1: Where did it come from the earth. Anyone on this

457
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,359
Speaker 1: planet is a seed. I am the dirt beneath your feet.

458
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:34,720
Speaker 1: If you know how to plant it, it will grow

459
00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,280
Speaker 1: into something so beautiful that you won't even you you

460
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,640
Speaker 1: won't even recognize it a year later, or two years later,

461
00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:41,560
Speaker 1: or even five days later. And I told my daughter,

462
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,720
Speaker 1: I'm the dirt beneath beneath your feet. If you're capable

463
00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:47,359
Speaker 1: to look down on me and now see the potential

464
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,240
Speaker 1: that you have from that dirt, then you maxed out

465
00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:53,919
Speaker 1: your intelligence. You've maxed out your time here. You're just

466
00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:58,240
Speaker 1: a walking dead person. But um, And then I told

467
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:01,639
Speaker 1: her that from now on, everything we have is the land.

468
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:03,960
Speaker 1: We are children of the earth. We're fighting for that

469
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,480
Speaker 1: piece of land because it's our earth, it's our home,

470
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,399
Speaker 1: it's our stability. Yeah, that's beautiful. And I'll tell you

471
00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,520
Speaker 1: one another story quick. Yeah, my guy Kennedy, he was

472
00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,240
Speaker 1: living out with us in the park right before he

473
00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:18,080
Speaker 1: joined one of these programs. And this is why these

474
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:21,119
Speaker 1: programs First off, the intention behind what you do dictates

475
00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,040
Speaker 1: how come out. So when it's run by corrupt cronies

476
00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,760
Speaker 1: who only care about that government stipend, then the care

477
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:29,199
Speaker 1: you get isn't there. They use nice names like the

478
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:31,560
Speaker 1: Care Act, their hotel room for keys, but the care,

479
00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:35,160
Speaker 1: the love, the healing that comes from love and care,

480
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:36,760
Speaker 1: that's not there. So what we had in the park,

481
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,640
Speaker 1: So Kenneth left the park round black Hair Talkative most

482
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,080
Speaker 1: is one of these bullshit programs. They only let him

483
00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,720
Speaker 1: out three hours Monday and three hours Tuesday. The rest

484
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:51,680
Speaker 1: of the time they kept him alone inside. Gives a

485
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:53,600
Speaker 1: funk about a TV. That's not what we were made for.

486
00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,160
Speaker 1: That's not what this species is. So Kenneth comes back

487
00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:01,360
Speaker 1: dinner pale, gray hair, teeth jangle and not knowing how

488
00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:03,439
Speaker 1: to talk, and he was just he was just messed up.

489
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:05,520
Speaker 1: That's not how he left our camp. That's not how

490
00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,160
Speaker 1: he left our camp. I mean, yeah, you're you're When

491
00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:10,280
Speaker 1: I look at sort of what what the city is

492
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,720
Speaker 1: saying about this, the way they framed it is like

493
00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:15,720
Speaker 1: we're trying to put these people in housing situations. And

494
00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:18,639
Speaker 1: there were you know, protesters who were misinformed trying to

495
00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:23,480
Speaker 1: stop that, um, and I it's the It seems like

496
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:26,200
Speaker 1: every time I've seen this happen, people do get like

497
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,919
Speaker 1: the state has places for people, but they're usually like

498
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,879
Speaker 1: you said, they're they're not comfortable, they're not dignified, um,

499
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:37,320
Speaker 1: and they're they're atomizing right. Like, even if you could

500
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:42,960
Speaker 1: argue the physical structure is better than camping, there's not

501
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,640
Speaker 1: a community in the same way. And that's that's what

502
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:50,119
Speaker 1: people want more than the part. Yeah, the building, it's

503
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:54,160
Speaker 1: it's institutionalized to be like a prison reform. They're trying

504
00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:57,320
Speaker 1: to institutionalize you to be a robot, so you won't

505
00:26:57,359 --> 00:26:59,280
Speaker 1: ask and you'll be thankful for that little bit of

506
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,240
Speaker 1: food that they gave you throughout the Yeah, keep trying

507
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,080
Speaker 1: to condition You're trying to condition you to basically you

508
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,000
Speaker 1: should be thankful for what they're giving you. I'm sorry, No,

509
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,800
Speaker 1: we had something, we have it and now what they're doing,

510
00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,159
Speaker 1: and I'm totally correct. You thought you were going to

511
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:19,800
Speaker 1: get weak inferior um ignoring people know, you woke up warriors,

512
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,280
Speaker 1: you woke up scholars, you woke up fighters, you woke

513
00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:25,320
Speaker 1: up mothers, you woke up daughters. You woke up a

514
00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:28,159
Speaker 1: community that goes now far more than just like a

515
00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:32,680
Speaker 1: park and will be the heart. But now any encampment, anything,

516
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:37,879
Speaker 1: any person that's ever like suffered persecution or been wrongfully

517
00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,960
Speaker 1: done by the system, or any person in higher power,

518
00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 1: this is your chance. Yeah, thank you guys. I think

519
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:49,040
Speaker 1: we should also talk about the police response to the

520
00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:54,240
Speaker 1: protests as uh this has unfolded. And thank you uh, John,

521
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,479
Speaker 1: Kate and Jamie for your patients and for joining us

522
00:27:57,480 --> 00:27:59,600
Speaker 1: for this conversation. But I would love to you guys

523
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:01,400
Speaker 1: have been on the ground doing some of the reporting

524
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,320
Speaker 1: UM and covering what's happened. And I believe John and

525
00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,360
Speaker 1: Kate were you were you both arrested? Is that what happened?

526
00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:11,360
Speaker 1: Can you talk to us a bit about what happened

527
00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:13,760
Speaker 1: or a lot, however much you want to talk about

528
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,320
Speaker 1: what all for coming out? Then thank you so much.

529
00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,000
Speaker 1: Before I talked about that, I'd also just like to

530
00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,000
Speaker 1: add that one thing I never hear people talk about

531
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,800
Speaker 1: UM about these encampments is that a lot of the

532
00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,280
Speaker 1: people in them work, and we cover and if you

533
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,720
Speaker 1: have a business and you have a a lot of

534
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:32,920
Speaker 1: the times you have tools, you have property, and there's

535
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,080
Speaker 1: you know, there's another story. Age and where we talked

536
00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:38,000
Speaker 1: to a guy who sold these accustomed bikes, and you

537
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:42,600
Speaker 1: can't carry those things into like a project reseration because

538
00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:44,920
Speaker 1: there'sign enough storage. So I just want to add that. Yeah,

539
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,160
Speaker 1: that's a really really important point. Um. And you guys

540
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:51,240
Speaker 1: had referenced some another person who had been you know,

541
00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:54,840
Speaker 1: selling art or what have you, and now that source

542
00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:58,080
Speaker 1: of income has gone. Yeah almah, Yeah she should win

543
00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:00,280
Speaker 1: my favorite press. They told us that we're gonna picture

544
00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,600
Speaker 1: and catalog and story everything. I'm sorry, but I went

545
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:05,800
Speaker 1: back to that park after two days. There's no way

546
00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,640
Speaker 1: in human health they got enough people to catalog all

547
00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 1: that stuff and put it away in storage. So you're

548
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,320
Speaker 1: telling me that she said no, No, he said that

549
00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:20,400
Speaker 1: they were gonna geo spot locate each tent. You knew

550
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:27,280
Speaker 1: exactly where. I'm telling you. I know people that lost

551
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:30,600
Speaker 1: hundreds of u either. And not only that, but the

552
00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,880
Speaker 1: sentimental value. They cleaned that park up so fast, and

553
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:36,360
Speaker 1: they didn't care if they're able to just get that

554
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:41,240
Speaker 1: and throw it away. We're not. We're not disposable. Not. Yeah,

555
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,640
Speaker 1: thank you guys so much. And you're right. Half of

556
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,120
Speaker 1: the people in the park do work. You see their

557
00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,760
Speaker 1: camp in their tents empty because they work. They just

558
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,440
Speaker 1: can't make because either they were lowered hours or they

559
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,760
Speaker 1: were you know, put to rest or whatever. They couldn't

560
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,200
Speaker 1: pay that right, but they still work. They're clean. Just

561
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,760
Speaker 1: because you're homeless doesn't mean you're dirty, does Newior Equiminal

562
00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,760
Speaker 1: book clean community. That's why we built a shower. They

563
00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,480
Speaker 1: tried to make us dirty there. The mayor defunded, defunded

564
00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:11,480
Speaker 1: during COVID defunded the shelters, so there was no showering

565
00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:14,800
Speaker 1: at the shelters. During COVID funded the care units, so

566
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,560
Speaker 1: there was twenty four local care units each have four showers.

567
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:19,720
Speaker 1: There's twenty four times four do than that. He had

568
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:21,840
Speaker 1: them sitting in a parking lot and he had the

569
00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:24,040
Speaker 1: one come for a few months. It solid three or

570
00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:26,320
Speaker 1: four months during the middle of COVID. There was only

571
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 1: one shower a day. So that's why we built it.

572
00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,240
Speaker 1: And after our first shower that we built the first

573
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,080
Speaker 1: day of building it, Mitchell o'farroll had all the water

574
00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:37,720
Speaker 1: fountains cut on the homeless side but not the other side.

575
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,560
Speaker 1: So this is the reality of how petty it got.

576
00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,280
Speaker 1: And yet we still made it work. Why because these

577
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,400
Speaker 1: corrupt people left us alone. If they just leave us alone,

578
00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:50,200
Speaker 1: community aid and mutual support, round game, street watch, mutual

579
00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:52,800
Speaker 1: support and aid, we can build it. We just don't

580
00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:56,080
Speaker 1: need a city, didn't. Is that actually reminded me, um,

581
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,200
Speaker 1: that i'd seen this? Was it? About a year ago

582
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:04,640
Speaker 1: the residents of of Echo Park Lake had proposed a

583
00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:09,160
Speaker 1: community contracts UH to the city to say, like, you know,

584
00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:12,480
Speaker 1: we'll keep the place clean, will be respectful of the neighborhood.

585
00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:15,960
Speaker 1: UH in return, can you stop harassing us? And that

586
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:18,760
Speaker 1: that held for sort of for a little while, but

587
00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:22,720
Speaker 1: now it's over. Um. I want to be clear, we

588
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,360
Speaker 1: tried all these proposals and they're they're What we're dealing

589
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:27,920
Speaker 1: with is wicked people who are comfortable with lying, and

590
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:30,680
Speaker 1: as a people, as a public, we now need to

591
00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:35,040
Speaker 1: accept that and move forward with a different way of coach,

592
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,040
Speaker 1: you know what I mean? Like, you can't keep thinking

593
00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,480
Speaker 1: we need to negotiate or talk with them, or you know,

594
00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:41,440
Speaker 1: get the right person in office. No, what we need

595
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:43,720
Speaker 1: to do is wake up public voice, and public voice

596
00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,320
Speaker 1: only wakes up through unification. We have to get together

597
00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:48,800
Speaker 1: because it's the same enemy. I can honestly tell you.

598
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:52,120
Speaker 1: Also like being because his office is right underneath where

599
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,280
Speaker 1: I used to live on top. He even even to

600
00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:59,160
Speaker 1: the people there that lived the residents. He gave us

601
00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,240
Speaker 1: such a hard time back when I was living there. Um.

602
00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:04,240
Speaker 1: I've been a resident of the park for about three

603
00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:07,200
Speaker 1: to four months now, basically since my accident. Um. But

604
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,160
Speaker 1: when I was living there, he tried to enforce parking

605
00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:12,440
Speaker 1: rules for people that have been there for longest, for

606
00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:15,440
Speaker 1: the longest, a certain price for this parking permit. But

607
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,800
Speaker 1: if you but but if you wanted it rushed, it

608
00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:20,000
Speaker 1: would be this much more. And when you would go

609
00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:22,440
Speaker 1: ask a different person, they knew with no such feat.

610
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:25,920
Speaker 1: So it's like he was he was trying to like basically,

611
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,320
Speaker 1: make the wealthier more wealthier, and the poor can just

612
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:31,760
Speaker 1: go and die off on this zone. But we're not born,

613
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:36,360
Speaker 1: we're not born in the people that are. Um. It's

614
00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:51,840
Speaker 1: not a prime welcome together everything, Okay, John Kate, tell

615
00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:56,680
Speaker 1: us about what happened to you guys last week. So, Um,

616
00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:00,080
Speaker 1: on last Wednesday night, March twenty, that's the night and

617
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:03,240
Speaker 1: the fences went up all over Echo Park, UM in

618
00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:06,000
Speaker 1: the middle of the night. By the next morning, there

619
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,040
Speaker 1: were still people in the park, UM and there was

620
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:13,480
Speaker 1: a visual plan for five pm UM for protesters to

621
00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:16,600
Speaker 1: kind of show up and show their support outside of

622
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,920
Speaker 1: council Member Mitchell Ferrell's office. UM. And by that point,

623
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,280
Speaker 1: the police had pretty much blocked off all of the

624
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:28,600
Speaker 1: roads surrounding Echo Park. UM put up like barricades. There

625
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,360
Speaker 1: were officers like blocking off roads. UM. So it was

626
00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:35,000
Speaker 1: impossible for everyone at that vigil to actually get into

627
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,960
Speaker 1: the park or even get near it. UM. At one point,

628
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:40,240
Speaker 1: the people who were inside the park UM did like

629
00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,400
Speaker 1: an Instagram live event and UM we all watched that

630
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:48,520
Speaker 1: and listen to them. UM, things are very chill, calm. UM.

631
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,840
Speaker 1: By about what's seven thirty, it seemed like the event

632
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:55,600
Speaker 1: was about to be over. UM. There were still hundreds

633
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:58,000
Speaker 1: of people there, but it was kind of it felt

634
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,280
Speaker 1: like it was winding down. UM. And then the police

635
00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 1: declared an unlawful assembly because there was like one guy

636
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:10,560
Speaker 1: with a strobe light okay at the police UM, and

637
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,680
Speaker 1: so they declared it an unlawful assembly and UM ordered

638
00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:18,280
Speaker 1: everyone to disperse. At that point, UM, there were maybe

639
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,320
Speaker 1: one or two hundred people kind of lined up facing

640
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,800
Speaker 1: a skirmish line of police. I feel like, UM, we

641
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:27,560
Speaker 1: should make clear that neither me nor Kate heard this

642
00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:33,680
Speaker 1: dispersal order because so so yeah, we get back to

643
00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:36,560
Speaker 1: the skirmish line. There's this visual and there's a skirmish line.

644
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:38,719
Speaker 1: There two like kind of separate parts of this of

645
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:41,960
Speaker 1: this night and the skirmish line with with people sort

646
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,240
Speaker 1: of yeah, there was there are one or two people

647
00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:47,080
Speaker 1: like flashing lights at the cops or whatever, like store

648
00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:51,160
Speaker 1: bought you know, like flashlights or something, and there was

649
00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:54,080
Speaker 1: this police truck with these speakers and it's just like,

650
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:56,120
Speaker 1: you know, it sounds like a like a bad cartoons,

651
00:34:56,120 --> 00:35:00,320
Speaker 1: like it's it's it's it's just this crappy speaker system minutes,

652
00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:03,760
Speaker 1: you know, extremely loud with the protesters. So I believe

653
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:07,719
Speaker 1: that that was how the order was um issued. But

654
00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:10,239
Speaker 1: me and Kay, we're like, you know, we're checking, you know,

655
00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:12,759
Speaker 1: we're checking Twitter, and like we have people on like

656
00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:15,480
Speaker 1: you know, messaging apps and reaching out to us. It's

657
00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:17,960
Speaker 1: kind of update us and what's going on at that point.

658
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,480
Speaker 1: That's really how we heard that there even was this

659
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:22,600
Speaker 1: first order. Like we didn't, we didn't hear it there.

660
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:24,359
Speaker 1: And I'm sure, like you know, there's other people who

661
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:27,160
Speaker 1: are just protesters are not covering the event, and they

662
00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:29,279
Speaker 1: probably don't have that that that you know, they're not

663
00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:32,480
Speaker 1: like obsessively checking their phones. Uh, they have no way

664
00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:34,799
Speaker 1: to know that there's a dispersal order. And so we

665
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:37,840
Speaker 1: heard that it's just dispersal order. Yeah, probably around like

666
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:42,560
Speaker 1: seven forty whatever. And nobody left, Like there's other you know,

667
00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:45,920
Speaker 1: major journalists with like you know, giant cameras with us,

668
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,879
Speaker 1: and um, there's legal observers there. Nobody you know, moved

669
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:52,440
Speaker 1: a muscle and so we're all sort of still just

670
00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:56,160
Speaker 1: hanging there at the skirmish line. Um, things aren't like

671
00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:59,560
Speaker 1: in terms of the protesters, they're not really getting they're

672
00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:07,359
Speaker 1: not getting were intense. Nothing's happening. Um. And yeah, so eventually, uh,

673
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,359
Speaker 1: at some point where it's we're still in this line,

674
00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:11,440
Speaker 1: in the skirmish line, and we're sort of smushed up

675
00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:15,440
Speaker 1: against uh this fence with a bunch of other journalists

676
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:22,080
Speaker 1: and whoever, legal servers and whatnot. And at some point

677
00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:25,120
Speaker 1: an officer takes out a megaphone and says, if you're

678
00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:27,319
Speaker 1: a member of the media or a member of the

679
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:32,840
Speaker 1: National Legal Guild, lawyer Gould, I always forget that, um,

680
00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:36,880
Speaker 1: yeah the guild. Yeah, that was your time. Now was

681
00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:43,440
Speaker 1: your time to leave? What? Yeah, that's not why they're there. Yeah, Robert,

682
00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:48,359
Speaker 1: you've got experienced when when the police tell you that

683
00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:50,880
Speaker 1: it's time for press and legal observers to leave, that

684
00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,680
Speaker 1: is a sign that you are direly needed there. Um

685
00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:59,320
Speaker 1: like yeah, that's that's I mean something similar, not somewhat similar,

686
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,040
Speaker 1: happened and Portland recently where there was a protest some

687
00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:05,200
Speaker 1: people broke a window. Police kettled, which is where they

688
00:37:05,239 --> 00:37:07,319
Speaker 1: kind of surround on all sides the crowd, and they

689
00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:11,759
Speaker 1: they offered press away out pressent legal said that you

690
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:13,480
Speaker 1: could leave if you wanted to, will make it And

691
00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,960
Speaker 1: it was you know, um, people who stayed, we're going

692
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,719
Speaker 1: to get their photos taken and get searched. And it

693
00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:21,759
Speaker 1: was this whole thing, But it was it was immediately

694
00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:23,719
Speaker 1: clear to the people I knew who were there who

695
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,399
Speaker 1: were pressed that like, well, when they when they tell

696
00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:29,120
Speaker 1: you you should go, that's when you're most needed to

697
00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:34,560
Speaker 1: be there. Yeah, exactly, So we didn't leave. Good for you. Yeah,

698
00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:38,279
Speaker 1: probably like maybe five or ten minutes after we heard

699
00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:42,200
Speaker 1: that order over the megaphone. Um, we were The protest

700
00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:45,360
Speaker 1: was all in this little section of a street where

701
00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:48,320
Speaker 1: the police were blocking off one intersection. The other intersection

702
00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,000
Speaker 1: was still free, so the protesters are kind of trying

703
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:53,920
Speaker 1: to move backwards to get to that second intersection so

704
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:56,920
Speaker 1: that we don't get kettled. Um. But all of a sudden,

705
00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:00,160
Speaker 1: this second line of cops runs out of an alley

706
00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:03,480
Speaker 1: and blocks us all off. And there's probably one or

707
00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:07,920
Speaker 1: two hundred people in this kettle, and um, there's press,

708
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:11,080
Speaker 1: there's legal observers, and the police aren't letting anyone out.

709
00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:15,760
Speaker 1: They decided they were just going to arrest all of us. Yeah,

710
00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:18,680
Speaker 1: and and and and it was very clear what the

711
00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:22,160
Speaker 1: protesters were doing too, because they had we like one

712
00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:24,480
Speaker 1: or two people that were just you know, yelling at

713
00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:26,360
Speaker 1: the top of their lungs. They're going, we're all going

714
00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:29,799
Speaker 1: to move back now so we don't get kettled. And

715
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:32,600
Speaker 1: there was sort of this like retreat from the cops

716
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,440
Speaker 1: that was lasting like a bit before the second line

717
00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:40,080
Speaker 1: of cop should up to kettle. And they showed up like, um,

718
00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:42,200
Speaker 1: I remember, and this is on one of my videos,

719
00:38:42,239 --> 00:38:44,400
Speaker 1: they should have like the they were like these bags

720
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:45,920
Speaker 1: on the floor, and they should they like ran in

721
00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:47,560
Speaker 1: and they kicked the bags, and so one of the

722
00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:51,719
Speaker 1: protesters like they were they showed up like real hot. Yeah.

723
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:55,720
Speaker 1: At one point us well me being we went in

724
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:57,600
Speaker 1: in in the on the inner of the park, on

725
00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:00,520
Speaker 1: the inside, and do you remember that one time when

726
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:02,920
Speaker 1: we saw that there was this one person I got arrested.

727
00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:06,600
Speaker 1: They were dragging him by his limbs. Yeah, they had

728
00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:09,480
Speaker 1: knocked him out like he was unconscious. You had cops

729
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:11,920
Speaker 1: carrying him on both limbs. And you know, we have

730
00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:14,960
Speaker 1: always from the inside we heard, we heard that there

731
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,680
Speaker 1: were protesters literally that got arrested with their hand ups,

732
00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:20,400
Speaker 1: sitting down with their hand up. You know, the police

733
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:23,200
Speaker 1: went there for one thing. They had one thing in

734
00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:26,279
Speaker 1: mind and one mission, and they were trying to enforce it.

735
00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:29,719
Speaker 1: They were trying to their authoritative power. I mean, they

736
00:39:29,719 --> 00:39:32,399
Speaker 1: were being bullies. They were being using their power as

737
00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:36,560
Speaker 1: a superior person in the community. I learned a long

738
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:38,160
Speaker 1: time ago. I don't care if your cop, I don't

739
00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:40,120
Speaker 1: care if you're a judge, I don't care if your

740
00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:42,880
Speaker 1: the pope. I'm gonna ask you questions because you're are

741
00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:45,120
Speaker 1: human just like the rest of us. And one thing

742
00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:47,319
Speaker 1: I have emphasized is that we get it and we

743
00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:49,600
Speaker 1: try to like let them know we know you're on

744
00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:52,200
Speaker 1: the job. But you know, if we're not going to

745
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,719
Speaker 1: be violent towards you, why would you be violent towards us.

746
00:39:54,760 --> 00:39:57,600
Speaker 1: We stayed at the end. We had to, you know,

747
00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:00,680
Speaker 1: for purpose, because it's like so many people, Um, I'm in,

748
00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:03,880
Speaker 1: I'm I'm very very proud of, like proud and honored

749
00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:06,560
Speaker 1: to say that he got arrested. He got arrested. He

750
00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:09,959
Speaker 1: was Him and Dave were the last two in that part.

751
00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:14,719
Speaker 1: Got arrested the next morning, like ten. Yeah, But like

752
00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:17,520
Speaker 1: from our perspective, the night before, I remember we were

753
00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:20,120
Speaker 1: live streaming it and at one point we were just

754
00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:22,799
Speaker 1: trying to like it was. It was a cute thing,

755
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:24,520
Speaker 1: you know, there was just a few like that they

756
00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:26,520
Speaker 1: had their model. There was hundreds of y'all, and we

757
00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:29,200
Speaker 1: were trying to do chance. But then it turned real

758
00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:32,040
Speaker 1: real fast, and like squadrons were moving in on y'all,

759
00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:35,200
Speaker 1: like twenty with ten ten formations hoo hook. And I

760
00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:37,879
Speaker 1: remember live streaming to y'all, be careful, they're coming, they're coming,

761
00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:40,799
Speaker 1: they're coming, And like the night before, on Wednesday night,

762
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:44,200
Speaker 1: they kettled everybody in. There was a point where we

763
00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:46,800
Speaker 1: were thinking of telling the protesters to leave because Wednesday

764
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:48,840
Speaker 1: night We had a strategy. Those willing to get arrested,

765
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,480
Speaker 1: we get arrested, and the rest would comply and leave.

766
00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:54,399
Speaker 1: And we were ready to implement that strategy, but they

767
00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:58,440
Speaker 1: boxed all corners inch or for anyone to leave. So

768
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:00,279
Speaker 1: then it was like, oh, ship, what game are they

769
00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:02,479
Speaker 1: trying to play? And it just got chaotic from there.

770
00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:07,400
Speaker 1: It sounds like a it's really intense response for people

771
00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:11,440
Speaker 1: that just want to improve the park. And at the

772
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:13,840
Speaker 1: end it was just six You're telling me that you

773
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:18,160
Speaker 1: needed all those all those choppers, all that movement when

774
00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:20,080
Speaker 1: you have if you really want to get rid of

775
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:23,560
Speaker 1: homeless homelessness, go throughout the city. But you focused at

776
00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:25,239
Speaker 1: the park for a reason because you thought they were

777
00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:28,680
Speaker 1: going to be weak people. And that week, the last

778
00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:32,120
Speaker 1: ten people were two women over the age of sixty five,

779
00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:34,360
Speaker 1: was a man over the age of sixty five, was

780
00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:37,400
Speaker 1: a married couple in their forties. Like that's who you

781
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:39,960
Speaker 1: were dancing, Dave love that man? Like who were you

782
00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:43,440
Speaker 1: kicking out? Like what what in your mind were you

783
00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:45,480
Speaker 1: you know, like kicking out like it was people with

784
00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:48,759
Speaker 1: nowhere to go, you were kicking out? Yeah, we had

785
00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:51,239
Speaker 1: one supporter that because and one supporter who stayed to

786
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:53,520
Speaker 1: night with us trapped and opening. We had asked, you know,

787
00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:55,879
Speaker 1: if you guys want to support prior to that, I'm

788
00:41:55,920 --> 00:41:57,920
Speaker 1: come and pitch your ten. If you have home, doesn't

789
00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:00,239
Speaker 1: matter because, like I said, the point being now at now,

790
00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:02,480
Speaker 1: it's not just about the homeless and Ector Park. It

791
00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:05,319
Speaker 1: transcended to a lot of different points. And what we're

792
00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,640
Speaker 1: gonna get across right now is we all need to

793
00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:10,719
Speaker 1: be united. We all need to come together. We all

794
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:14,520
Speaker 1: our family, and we all at different points or in

795
00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:18,040
Speaker 1: different circumstances, different ways, but we're all facing the same

796
00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:21,920
Speaker 1: problems with the same people. We need to just all

797
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:25,120
Speaker 1: come together and realize that. Now it doesn't matter if

798
00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:29,239
Speaker 1: I'm Mexicana, if I'm Chicana, if I'm it doesn't matter,

799
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:34,480
Speaker 1: because what when you're hungry, there is no language for that,

800
00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:37,320
Speaker 1: There is no borders for that. You're hungry, and anyone

801
00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:40,800
Speaker 1: in any city, in any language couldn't say, I'm hungry,

802
00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:43,040
Speaker 1: give me food. When it's about to rain and you

803
00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:45,160
Speaker 1: don't got a tent, there's no language for that. You

804
00:42:45,239 --> 00:42:47,480
Speaker 1: just don't got a tent. And the thing about the

805
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,520
Speaker 1: police is last night we did a vigil a peaceful

806
00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:52,959
Speaker 1: vigil around the park more than the loss of the park.

807
00:42:53,239 --> 00:42:54,799
Speaker 1: And when we got to miss his office just to

808
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:57,399
Speaker 1: plant the candles, we told everybody, don't congregate, just leave.

809
00:42:57,680 --> 00:43:00,000
Speaker 1: So what happened afterwards was just some people were hanging

810
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,560
Speaker 1: it out here and there, which we can do as

811
00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:04,680
Speaker 1: citizens not breaking the law, we can hang out with

812
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:07,280
Speaker 1: each other. Instead we were met with a police chopped

813
00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:09,640
Speaker 1: there right down low with its light on us and

814
00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:12,560
Speaker 1: a drone watching us. We're basically in a police state

815
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:18,360
Speaker 1: at this point. The trying to turn turn to I

816
00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:23,399
Speaker 1: have seen many people talk about the expense of this

817
00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:26,680
Speaker 1: to the city. Um, if I was better, I would

818
00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:28,480
Speaker 1: have that number in front of me, but it looks

819
00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:31,439
Speaker 1: like I don't. But it was a lot. I don't

820
00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:33,799
Speaker 1: know if I wanted either of you, Jamie or John Kate,

821
00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:36,480
Speaker 1: if you knew that figure off at some point I

822
00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:39,360
Speaker 1: think it was around but by the end of Thursday

823
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:44,560
Speaker 1: at least it was around three quarters of uh million dollars.

824
00:43:44,600 --> 00:43:48,160
Speaker 1: But to have everyone come in, um, I'm not sure

825
00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:51,160
Speaker 1: exactly what the numbers were with cops on Thursday night,

826
00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:54,840
Speaker 1: but on Wednesday night there were four hundred police officers

827
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:58,200
Speaker 1: brought into the area and for people who don't live

828
00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:00,480
Speaker 1: in the area and aren't familiar with the area, it

829
00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:04,680
Speaker 1: couldn't be more public and out in the open. I mean,

830
00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:08,160
Speaker 1: there there were situations on on Thursday where you would

831
00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:10,960
Speaker 1: see people, you know, getting arrested in front of like

832
00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:14,080
Speaker 1: a vegan restaurant where people are eating outside. Like it's

833
00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:18,560
Speaker 1: extremely dystopian the way that this was um folding out.

834
00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:21,919
Speaker 1: And uh, there were cops brought in from as far

835
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:25,239
Speaker 1: as I heard, San Pedro, which is over twenty five

836
00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:27,560
Speaker 1: miles away from here, so cops that don't know the area.

837
00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:32,680
Speaker 1: There were six helicopters Wednesday night flying overhead, communicating with

838
00:44:32,719 --> 00:44:36,000
Speaker 1: each other, not doing anything really just being there to

839
00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:40,600
Speaker 1: intimidate and to and to spread fear um. And so yeah,

840
00:44:40,640 --> 00:44:44,120
Speaker 1: the amount of city funds that went into preventing a

841
00:44:44,120 --> 00:44:48,360
Speaker 1: peaceful assembly to advocate for for a house, neighbors and

842
00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:53,279
Speaker 1: just for this community to continue to exist. Uh, I mean,

843
00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:56,399
Speaker 1: just imagine how much could have been actually done with

844
00:44:57,440 --> 00:45:00,320
Speaker 1: orders and a million dollars only that, but not about

845
00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:02,920
Speaker 1: like we had choppers. Since we woke up that morning,

846
00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:07,640
Speaker 1: there was one or two choppers circling all day, playing sirens,

847
00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:10,239
Speaker 1: trying to like mess with their minds. You know, it

848
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:12,640
Speaker 1: was an all day so add that to all that

849
00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:15,440
Speaker 1: had been done that day in the day prior, all

850
00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:17,640
Speaker 1: the cops that came out, because there was at least

851
00:45:17,640 --> 00:45:20,440
Speaker 1: two three cops patrolling that you know that part for

852
00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:23,279
Speaker 1: the past week basically or coming. But you know, it's

853
00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:26,799
Speaker 1: like throughout the whole week it was intimidation, intimidation and fear.

854
00:45:27,440 --> 00:45:31,480
Speaker 1: Also have their own videographers covering the protests as well,

855
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:34,319
Speaker 1: Like we were, we were being filmed the entire time

856
00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:38,120
Speaker 1: by these two cops that have these Yeah, thanks all

857
00:45:38,160 --> 00:45:41,440
Speaker 1: about to say police biographer, So you know, I know,

858
00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:44,080
Speaker 1: I know they'm Gon and Queen and have talked about

859
00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:46,320
Speaker 1: it before. How they said up, you know, they didn't.

860
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:49,040
Speaker 1: There was not a lot of planning about the round

861
00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:51,879
Speaker 1: this event. But it seems like, uh, there was quite

862
00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:57,000
Speaker 1: a bit funny. M uh, Robert, it looked like you

863
00:45:57,040 --> 00:45:59,799
Speaker 1: had something unless that moment is past, you know, It's

864
00:45:59,840 --> 00:46:04,600
Speaker 1: just it's it's the situation that that always exists, which

865
00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:07,400
Speaker 1: is that the threat to the police into the state

866
00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:12,239
Speaker 1: is not the encampment itself, um or even the protests.

867
00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:16,160
Speaker 1: It's the possibility that they will gain widespread public sympathy, right,

868
00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:20,080
Speaker 1: and that grows the longer these kind of things go on. Um.

869
00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:23,200
Speaker 1: What they don't want is for this to turn into

870
00:46:23,239 --> 00:46:27,600
Speaker 1: something that it brings increasing numbers of people out across

871
00:46:27,640 --> 00:46:30,120
Speaker 1: the city, because that actually creates a problem for the

872
00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:32,560
Speaker 1: politicians who are you know, they're a big part of

873
00:46:32,600 --> 00:46:34,520
Speaker 1: why this is cleared out is because it's somebody has

874
00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:38,120
Speaker 1: hinged their campaign promises on that, you know, Um, and

875
00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:42,560
Speaker 1: it's a it's a situation where it is in the police.

876
00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:45,520
Speaker 1: The goal of the police is to make this so

877
00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:49,760
Speaker 1: frightening and uncomfortable and damaging to be a part of

878
00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:52,520
Speaker 1: that they kill it quickly before it can spread into

879
00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:57,000
Speaker 1: something that can cause like significant problems for them that

880
00:46:57,040 --> 00:46:59,479
Speaker 1: can affect them and their budget at the ballot box,

881
00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:03,080
Speaker 1: like the protests last yeared it Like, that's why the

882
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:06,480
Speaker 1: forces being deployed in this way. It's it's unreasonable if

883
00:47:06,520 --> 00:47:09,279
Speaker 1: you think of it as they're trying to stop this

884
00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:11,480
Speaker 1: specific protests at Echo Park, But it makes a lot

885
00:47:11,480 --> 00:47:14,040
Speaker 1: of sense if you think of it as any any

886
00:47:14,080 --> 00:47:18,120
Speaker 1: protests that has the potential to gain widespread sympathy is

887
00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:22,000
Speaker 1: dangerous for them, and so they're the the tactic they

888
00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:24,000
Speaker 1: have taken because they're the kind of people who become

889
00:47:24,239 --> 00:47:27,279
Speaker 1: l A p D officers. Is to deploy overwhelming force

890
00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:29,000
Speaker 1: against the start of this in the hopes that they

891
00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:32,200
Speaker 1: scare everybody from continuing to come out and do this.

892
00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:34,600
Speaker 1: Like that's that's how that's how a police state works,

893
00:47:34,640 --> 00:47:39,640
Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, you guys are all right about that. Yeah,

894
00:47:39,719 --> 00:47:41,880
Speaker 1: that was just to that point. There was an article

895
00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:45,920
Speaker 1: in the l A. Times just a few days before. Um,

896
00:47:46,239 --> 00:47:49,200
Speaker 1: the paper then reported that this this was sort of

897
00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:52,319
Speaker 1: going to go down this sweep and which was you know,

898
00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:56,760
Speaker 1: Joe Ferrell said was a lie. But just for that report,

899
00:47:57,000 --> 00:47:59,560
Speaker 1: the l. A. Times had like this beautiful story about

900
00:48:00,760 --> 00:48:04,359
Speaker 1: a wedding that happened inside of Echo Park. Um, just

901
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:08,680
Speaker 1: this incredibly positive portrayal of the community inside the park.

902
00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:12,080
Speaker 1: And I think, um, you were definitely starting to see that,

903
00:48:12,840 --> 00:48:15,400
Speaker 1: uh in terms of you know, just these major publications

904
00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:19,480
Speaker 1: are are publishing, um, you know, very positive portrayals of

905
00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:22,040
Speaker 1: the park, and I think, um, the city may have

906
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:25,279
Speaker 1: started to get upset about that. Yeah, well they were

907
00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:27,759
Speaker 1: planning this for a while. There's no way you do

908
00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:30,400
Speaker 1: this without planning it for a while. Uh, we just

909
00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:32,480
Speaker 1: thought they wouldn't move this past We thought we still

910
00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:35,480
Speaker 1: had two more months of COVID protection. You know, it's

911
00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:39,200
Speaker 1: still COVID, so he broke the COVID TDC guidelines. We

912
00:48:39,239 --> 00:48:44,680
Speaker 1: really didn't think this will happened this best. So my

913
00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:49,560
Speaker 1: next question is what what's next? What's what's next? Steps?

914
00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:53,400
Speaker 1: Do you have them at this point? Um, further protests, vigils,

915
00:48:53,480 --> 00:48:56,759
Speaker 1: anything that on our where radar that we should be

916
00:48:56,800 --> 00:48:59,800
Speaker 1: aware of. Go fund means, anything that we can support.

917
00:48:59,840 --> 00:49:03,839
Speaker 1: How can we support you guys in this? Let me

918
00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:06,680
Speaker 1: be clear about what's coming in the future. This is

919
00:49:06,719 --> 00:49:11,760
Speaker 1: gonna take all of us. It's it's exactly like Robert said, Um,

920
00:49:11,840 --> 00:49:14,600
Speaker 1: what they fear is a movement that we're that's growing,

921
00:49:14,640 --> 00:49:16,960
Speaker 1: and that's what we're doing because the reality is we

922
00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:19,800
Speaker 1: are in a police state, and that's what they showed.

923
00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:22,440
Speaker 1: You can keep it hidden if you're content or if

924
00:49:22,440 --> 00:49:24,880
Speaker 1: you're apathetic and you're just living your own life. You

925
00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:27,440
Speaker 1: can keep it hidden if you're only focused and tunnel

926
00:49:27,480 --> 00:49:30,360
Speaker 1: vision on your own life. But when people come together,

927
00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:34,400
Speaker 1: the city has shown their response, which means this is

928
00:49:34,680 --> 00:49:38,520
Speaker 1: it's like you said, Robert, this has happened many times before,

929
00:49:38,719 --> 00:49:41,719
Speaker 1: many many times before. Any time they think the protests

930
00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:44,279
Speaker 1: might get public sympathy on a larger scale, they want

931
00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:47,000
Speaker 1: to shut it down. With the difference, and the steps

932
00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:49,840
Speaker 1: moving forward is that this won't get shut down, that

933
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:52,400
Speaker 1: this is actually uniting the groups, and that is our

934
00:49:52,440 --> 00:49:55,840
Speaker 1: steps forwards, and that is what's happening with hardly any effort.

935
00:49:55,880 --> 00:49:58,160
Speaker 1: People are waking up to the fact that we need

936
00:49:58,200 --> 00:50:00,680
Speaker 1: to unify. That our enemy is this same because it's

937
00:50:00,680 --> 00:50:02,920
Speaker 1: the same Mayor Garcetti, and it's the same l a

938
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:06,960
Speaker 1: p D chief. More so, we're facing these same institutions organizations,

939
00:50:06,960 --> 00:50:11,120
Speaker 1: So why split differences right now? Our enemy is common

940
00:50:11,280 --> 00:50:14,080
Speaker 1: and they have shown that they choose to listen to

941
00:50:14,120 --> 00:50:17,280
Speaker 1: the few over the many. And that's what this is about.

942
00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:19,879
Speaker 1: This is no longer about the young housing Echo Park.

943
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:23,479
Speaker 1: It's about the housing crisis that they're causing because they're

944
00:50:23,480 --> 00:50:26,839
Speaker 1: making it way too impossible to live a life. I mean,

945
00:50:26,840 --> 00:50:29,360
Speaker 1: more people are closer to homeland to being homeless than

946
00:50:29,400 --> 00:50:32,040
Speaker 1: they are to having a million dollar mansion. They're making

947
00:50:32,080 --> 00:50:35,200
Speaker 1: it impossible to live. And what we have to do

948
00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:39,080
Speaker 1: the best way you can support us, the best way.

949
00:50:39,480 --> 00:50:43,480
Speaker 1: Don't let time do what time does. Time heals wounds

950
00:50:43,600 --> 00:50:47,520
Speaker 1: and it also makes forget. Don't let that happen day

951
00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:50,080
Speaker 1: in and day out. We have to grow this movement

952
00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:53,360
Speaker 1: and maintain our public will. Why we mentioned the analogy

953
00:50:53,360 --> 00:50:55,880
Speaker 1: of ant colony is we for now all need to

954
00:50:55,920 --> 00:50:58,440
Speaker 1: be on the same page that the city and its

955
00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:00,319
Speaker 1: corruption and that the l a p D Are a

956
00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:03,080
Speaker 1: common enemy. The best support you can do is show

957
00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:06,000
Speaker 1: up to actions when we have actions, and we all

958
00:51:06,040 --> 00:51:09,040
Speaker 1: need to come together aunt colin like, become an ant

959
00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:11,120
Speaker 1: colony and mob up on them. That's the only way

960
00:51:11,160 --> 00:51:14,120
Speaker 1: they're gonna listen power structures, listen to money, or they

961
00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:17,280
Speaker 1: listen to a unified public will. And for some reason,

962
00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:19,840
Speaker 1: this is the moment decease, for some reason where the

963
00:51:19,840 --> 00:51:22,600
Speaker 1: people on the forefront, for some reason, we're gonna be

964
00:51:22,640 --> 00:51:24,920
Speaker 1: the ones that start this thing. And it's already happening.

965
00:51:25,680 --> 00:51:27,759
Speaker 1: So on Instagram, I know. Um if you guys want

966
00:51:27,760 --> 00:51:31,520
Speaker 1: to follow, it's up. Oh if you go to um uh,

967
00:51:31,560 --> 00:51:33,759
Speaker 1: if you go to Echo Park, rise up on Instagram,

968
00:51:33,960 --> 00:51:35,680
Speaker 1: or if you go type in our go fund me.

969
00:51:36,520 --> 00:51:40,080
Speaker 1: The community they destroyed, you see, God blesses in many ways.

970
00:51:40,080 --> 00:51:42,640
Speaker 1: They took a lake. We're gaining, We're gaining a mountain

971
00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:45,520
Speaker 1: by won't go into detail, but when everything comes through,

972
00:51:45,960 --> 00:51:48,600
Speaker 1: we're gonna try again to build this community. Is that

973
00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:52,440
Speaker 1: the fact, the fact about what we've learned with Occupy

974
00:51:52,600 --> 00:51:54,680
Speaker 1: l A and what we've now learned with Echo Park

975
00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:57,480
Speaker 1: is that the power structures when community and love starts

976
00:51:57,520 --> 00:52:00,719
Speaker 1: to even a little bit work shut that shipped down.

977
00:52:01,040 --> 00:52:03,960
Speaker 1: So we're gonna build community because that's what we are.

978
00:52:04,040 --> 00:52:06,160
Speaker 1: We're humans. We are a community, so it just has

979
00:52:06,200 --> 00:52:08,799
Speaker 1: to be built. But we have to unify against the

980
00:52:08,840 --> 00:52:11,080
Speaker 1: fact that the big brother is stepping on us and

981
00:52:11,080 --> 00:52:13,880
Speaker 1: shutting us down. We're in a police state officially, this

982
00:52:13,960 --> 00:52:17,520
Speaker 1: is not cool. Um. Yeah. And then just you know,

983
00:52:17,640 --> 00:52:21,200
Speaker 1: keeping in touch um with with the Instagram page and

984
00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:25,120
Speaker 1: park rise up on Instagram and me page is there too, right,

985
00:52:25,520 --> 00:52:27,879
Speaker 1: just Google, go fund me, Echo Park you'll find it. Yeah.

986
00:52:27,920 --> 00:52:30,880
Speaker 1: We we will be sharing that um on our social

987
00:52:30,880 --> 00:52:33,840
Speaker 1: media feeds as well. If you guys can can do it,

988
00:52:33,920 --> 00:52:37,560
Speaker 1: just your presence, um uh in the Echo Park rise

989
00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:40,440
Speaker 1: up the Instagram, I'll drop, I'll see if I can

990
00:52:40,440 --> 00:52:43,360
Speaker 1: like post or something my my Instagram. You'll have my

991
00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:47,839
Speaker 1: my contact info. And if that contact info info, like

992
00:52:47,880 --> 00:52:49,959
Speaker 1: I said, you know, it's like um. And then also

993
00:52:50,040 --> 00:52:52,480
Speaker 1: someone that couldn't be here, which is Wall Street. He's

994
00:52:52,520 --> 00:52:57,440
Speaker 1: a dreamer. He dreamers, so he's also like he has

995
00:52:57,480 --> 00:52:59,440
Speaker 1: to do something very important. But he wanted me to

996
00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:02,280
Speaker 1: let you guys know that. You know, this united everything,

997
00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:04,720
Speaker 1: everything that they try to give us as bread comes

998
00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:06,799
Speaker 1: and even when Trump didn't want to redo the Dream

999
00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:09,319
Speaker 1: of Act, we all came together just like that. We

1000
00:53:09,360 --> 00:53:12,360
Speaker 1: will all come together again. But now everybody, and he

1001
00:53:12,400 --> 00:53:14,600
Speaker 1: told me, he's like, now we're all dreamers. We're all

1002
00:53:14,600 --> 00:53:16,960
Speaker 1: going to be dreaming, and we are and our dreams

1003
00:53:16,960 --> 00:53:20,920
Speaker 1: will come true. Stay righteously angry. Don't let that go away.

1004
00:53:21,200 --> 00:53:26,400
Speaker 1: Don't let and don't let anger like talk keep spreading

1005
00:53:26,400 --> 00:53:29,960
Speaker 1: the toxicity in our our our in our community, in

1006
00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:31,960
Speaker 1: our hearts, and our families and our friends. Because when

1007
00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:34,640
Speaker 1: our friends are worried, when our families are worried, we're worried.

1008
00:53:35,000 --> 00:53:37,200
Speaker 1: So it's just, you know, let us just be at

1009
00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:40,359
Speaker 1: peace and let us be human and let us live. Yeah,

1010
00:53:41,560 --> 00:53:45,279
Speaker 1: we want to live. You guys have made so many

1011
00:53:45,440 --> 00:53:50,680
Speaker 1: beautiful points. This is very impactful. I am grateful that

1012
00:53:50,719 --> 00:53:52,840
Speaker 1: you have taken the time to speak with us. I

1013
00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:57,040
Speaker 1: really really really appreciate it and to our listeners. Yeah,

1014
00:53:57,239 --> 00:53:59,560
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna say to our listeners in different cities,

1015
00:53:59,680 --> 00:54:02,960
Speaker 1: I would also encourage you to start paying attention and

1016
00:54:03,040 --> 00:54:05,800
Speaker 1: learning what's happening in your own in your own town

1017
00:54:06,239 --> 00:54:09,200
Speaker 1: and uh you know, in your own communities and reaching

1018
00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:11,920
Speaker 1: out and seeing what you can do to help contribute

1019
00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:15,040
Speaker 1: to this movement. Yeah, because I feel I no. Note,

1020
00:54:15,080 --> 00:54:20,120
Speaker 1: like if Mitch whose backyard is Echo Park and doing

1021
00:54:20,200 --> 00:54:24,120
Speaker 1: the best, his office literally is on Sunset and the

1022
00:54:24,120 --> 00:54:27,000
Speaker 1: park is a block over. This is your backyard, Dude,

1023
00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:29,879
Speaker 1: you just took away the key point of Echo Park.

1024
00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:32,920
Speaker 1: We're not no ganging junction no more. We're gonna restore

1025
00:54:32,960 --> 00:54:34,719
Speaker 1: the name of Echo Park. But it won't be by you.

1026
00:54:35,040 --> 00:54:37,759
Speaker 1: It will be by you leaving that office and like

1027
00:54:37,880 --> 00:54:40,520
Speaker 1: hitting the road. But you know, just to to tell

1028
00:54:40,600 --> 00:54:42,360
Speaker 1: you guys know that we're not giving up. We're not

1029
00:54:43,120 --> 00:54:45,359
Speaker 1: We're not giving up, and we're um. This is an

1030
00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:48,399
Speaker 1: opportunity that has been long overdue for a lot of

1031
00:54:48,440 --> 00:54:51,280
Speaker 1: Like like I said, everybody knows my point in Mexican

1032
00:54:51,320 --> 00:54:54,080
Speaker 1: and then as a family community now we're a family.

1033
00:54:54,120 --> 00:54:57,080
Speaker 1: Now we're a community now, you know, and just your presence,

1034
00:54:57,080 --> 00:55:00,319
Speaker 1: your presence, there's numbers and numbers or strength. We need

1035
00:55:00,320 --> 00:55:03,600
Speaker 1: to show them that they need to be health accountable

1036
00:55:03,640 --> 00:55:06,279
Speaker 1: for everything that they're doing and the consequences of what

1037
00:55:06,320 --> 00:55:12,120
Speaker 1: they did will have repercussions from here to a year. Yeah. Yeah,

1038
00:55:12,520 --> 00:55:15,200
Speaker 1: um yeah, thank you so much, and thank you to

1039
00:55:15,640 --> 00:55:20,640
Speaker 1: Jamie John Kate, all of you guys for joining us today. Um, everybody. Yeah,

1040
00:55:20,840 --> 00:55:32,120
Speaker 1: I really appreciate it together everything, So don't don't do

1041
00:55:33,920 --> 00:55:38,480
Speaker 1: all right. That was Gangster's Paradise, another song originally created

1042
00:55:38,480 --> 00:55:43,440
Speaker 1: by Cody Um and then shamelessly stolen again. Demos are online,

1043
00:55:43,560 --> 00:55:49,480
Speaker 1: the demos are out there spending but um, so yeah,

1044
00:55:49,520 --> 00:55:53,840
Speaker 1: that was a hell of a hell of a conversation. Yeah,

1045
00:55:53,880 --> 00:55:56,040
Speaker 1: and we try to, you know, mostly just kind of

1046
00:55:56,120 --> 00:56:01,080
Speaker 1: let them give their experiences and their thoughts. Um. I

1047
00:56:01,160 --> 00:56:03,800
Speaker 1: have trouble with this stuff. I think I'm a little

1048
00:56:03,800 --> 00:56:05,719
Speaker 1: bit I don't know. I don't want to I don't

1049
00:56:05,719 --> 00:56:08,360
Speaker 1: want to keep using the phrase black pilled. But I

1050
00:56:08,640 --> 00:56:11,720
Speaker 1: have trouble being optimistic about things like this. After last summer,

1051
00:56:11,800 --> 00:56:15,080
Speaker 1: and you know, some of it's that, Um, I watched

1052
00:56:15,080 --> 00:56:20,040
Speaker 1: a tremendous amount of promise and like hopeful energy in Portland. Um,

1053
00:56:20,040 --> 00:56:21,600
Speaker 1: and it you know, it's not that it didn't. It

1054
00:56:21,640 --> 00:56:23,960
Speaker 1: accomplished a number of things, including there's a hell of

1055
00:56:23,960 --> 00:56:25,920
Speaker 1: a lot of people who were kind of neutral on

1056
00:56:26,160 --> 00:56:30,239
Speaker 1: the police beforehand who are not anymore, even if you know,

1057
00:56:30,320 --> 00:56:33,640
Speaker 1: for whatever reason, they can't really afford to take the

1058
00:56:33,760 --> 00:56:39,960
Speaker 1: risk of continuing to come out. Um. But I it's

1059
00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:43,799
Speaker 1: also been this process of like watching the state. They

1060
00:56:43,840 --> 00:56:45,840
Speaker 1: always win, at least in the immediate term, you know,

1061
00:56:45,920 --> 00:56:48,400
Speaker 1: because they have they have so much, they have the weapons,

1062
00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:52,319
Speaker 1: they have the institutional support. They will crack down and

1063
00:56:52,400 --> 00:56:56,479
Speaker 1: eventually people will stop coming out. You know, it gets

1064
00:56:56,520 --> 00:56:59,440
Speaker 1: to be too much. You can only take so much violence.

1065
00:56:59,520 --> 00:57:02,040
Speaker 1: Like I think I have a higher tolerance for that

1066
00:57:02,080 --> 00:57:05,200
Speaker 1: than a lot of people. But like I'm I'm I'm

1067
00:57:05,200 --> 00:57:07,439
Speaker 1: tired of going out. I'm tired of just seeing people

1068
00:57:07,440 --> 00:57:09,520
Speaker 1: getting the ship beat out of them and arrested and stuff.

1069
00:57:09,560 --> 00:57:12,840
Speaker 1: It was almost easier, it was almost easier, you know,

1070
00:57:13,080 --> 00:57:16,160
Speaker 1: the journalists and Eco Parker got arrested. It was easier

1071
00:57:16,160 --> 00:57:18,720
Speaker 1: when I was worried every night about getting arrested. Um

1072
00:57:18,760 --> 00:57:21,080
Speaker 1: in some ways, because at least then you're not you

1073
00:57:21,120 --> 00:57:23,360
Speaker 1: don't feel like separate from this group of people who

1074
00:57:23,360 --> 00:57:25,800
Speaker 1: are getting arrested and beaten, and I don't know. I

1075
00:57:26,360 --> 00:57:28,920
Speaker 1: have enormous respect for anyone who does this. I think

1076
00:57:28,920 --> 00:57:31,360
Speaker 1: what they're doing is important. I hope that they get

1077
00:57:31,480 --> 00:57:33,439
Speaker 1: more people out. I hope it spreads to the rest

1078
00:57:33,440 --> 00:57:35,120
Speaker 1: of the city. I just have so much fucking trouble

1079
00:57:35,160 --> 00:57:37,560
Speaker 1: being an optimist about this stuff these days. Yeah, it's

1080
00:57:37,560 --> 00:57:42,800
Speaker 1: really hard, um. And I've iscialate because I feel that

1081
00:57:42,960 --> 00:57:45,280
Speaker 1: probably not as keenly as you, because you've spent so

1082
00:57:45,360 --> 00:57:49,520
Speaker 1: much time on the ground, um at these actions over

1083
00:57:49,520 --> 00:57:52,840
Speaker 1: the past year especially, and you've seen so much. I

1084
00:57:52,960 --> 00:57:58,760
Speaker 1: also do feel I'm blown away by what they've built.

1085
00:58:00,040 --> 00:58:02,760
Speaker 1: And I shouldn't be, because it's common sense, you know,

1086
00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:05,960
Speaker 1: but with but without any help or assistance, and it

1087
00:58:06,040 --> 00:58:11,000
Speaker 1: really was, and in the hostile environment during this time,

1088
00:58:11,120 --> 00:58:15,040
Speaker 1: and and you know, it's so frustrating and heartbreaking to

1089
00:58:15,080 --> 00:58:18,560
Speaker 1: see that torn away and and and no options to

1090
00:58:18,640 --> 00:58:22,240
Speaker 1: be given uh in its place. I am blown away

1091
00:58:22,240 --> 00:58:25,200
Speaker 1: by by what they were able to build. I'm um.

1092
00:58:25,240 --> 00:58:29,040
Speaker 1: I am encouraged by the number of people that care

1093
00:58:29,160 --> 00:58:32,360
Speaker 1: enough to pay attention and to show up. I feel

1094
00:58:32,400 --> 00:58:34,439
Speaker 1: like Mitchell Ferrell is going to have a hard time

1095
00:58:34,480 --> 00:58:39,320
Speaker 1: getting reelected. UM. I would hope anyway. Uh, and so

1096
00:58:39,400 --> 00:58:43,760
Speaker 1: things like that, UM give me some amount of positivity.

1097
00:58:43,800 --> 00:58:46,240
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's it's really hard. It's really hard to

1098
00:58:46,240 --> 00:58:49,800
Speaker 1: know what to say or do next. Uh, to be

1099
00:58:49,840 --> 00:58:54,720
Speaker 1: tangilely that is tangible. You know, this whole year, you

1100
00:58:54,760 --> 00:58:56,920
Speaker 1: know l A and the work. We didn't have a

1101
00:58:57,000 --> 00:58:59,480
Speaker 1: chance to actually talk with Jamie during this UM. She

1102
00:58:59,520 --> 00:59:02,720
Speaker 1: helped us letate getting people here together, and she's been

1103
00:59:02,720 --> 00:59:06,920
Speaker 1: writing and covering this UM. But you know, people like Jamie,

1104
00:59:07,000 --> 00:59:11,200
Speaker 1: different organizers have spent this entire past year mobilizing Los

1105
00:59:11,200 --> 00:59:15,280
Speaker 1: Angeles UH to be a support system for on house neighbors,

1106
00:59:15,400 --> 00:59:18,920
Speaker 1: you know, when it's hot, organizing water drives when it's cold,

1107
00:59:19,400 --> 00:59:23,920
Speaker 1: organizing you know, drap blankets and and and coats and

1108
00:59:23,960 --> 00:59:27,560
Speaker 1: other things and bringing people tents and it's really it's

1109
00:59:27,560 --> 00:59:30,520
Speaker 1: really fucking beautiful and it shouldn't be like that. Yeah,

1110
00:59:30,920 --> 00:59:33,200
Speaker 1: you know, I it reminds me a lot. I've spent

1111
00:59:33,280 --> 00:59:37,120
Speaker 1: a decent amount of time in homeless or houseless announced encampments.

1112
00:59:37,480 --> 00:59:39,080
Speaker 1: You know, there's a number of different terms of people

1113
00:59:39,160 --> 00:59:42,720
Speaker 1: use UM over the years. The one that sticks out

1114
00:59:42,800 --> 00:59:44,680
Speaker 1: most to me the two those two one of them

1115
00:59:44,720 --> 00:59:49,000
Speaker 1: was East Jesus Well there in general, just slab city

1116
00:59:49,040 --> 00:59:52,800
Speaker 1: in southern California, which has stayed around a lot longer

1117
00:59:52,840 --> 00:59:55,520
Speaker 1: because it's not land anyone else once and because it's

1118
00:59:55,560 --> 00:59:58,880
Speaker 1: out off the beaten path. It's remote. It's remote, and

1119
00:59:58,920 --> 01:00:00,920
Speaker 1: it's it's a mix of actually, like some of it

1120
01:00:01,000 --> 01:00:02,760
Speaker 1: is kind of on house folks, some of it is

1121
01:00:03,360 --> 01:00:05,600
Speaker 1: just like old people in trade. Some of it's like

1122
01:00:05,640 --> 01:00:08,200
Speaker 1: kind of heavy folks. It's it's an interesting community. UM.

1123
01:00:08,200 --> 01:00:10,360
Speaker 1: I also spent a lot of time in Nicholsville, UM,

1124
01:00:10,400 --> 01:00:14,280
Speaker 1: which was a houseless in cambin in Seattle that there

1125
01:00:14,360 --> 01:00:17,840
Speaker 1: was like there was this chunk of open land that

1126
01:00:17,880 --> 01:00:21,320
Speaker 1: they had they had built semi permanent dwellings onto UM.

1127
01:00:21,360 --> 01:00:22,760
Speaker 1: So some of them were tense. Some of them were

1128
01:00:22,760 --> 01:00:25,680
Speaker 1: like little bitty log cabins, almost tiny houses, and they

1129
01:00:25,720 --> 01:00:27,920
Speaker 1: had they'd set up a power system, they'd set up

1130
01:00:27,960 --> 01:00:31,440
Speaker 1: like internet for themselves. UM, They'd set up like they

1131
01:00:31,440 --> 01:00:33,880
Speaker 1: had cooking rotations. There were a number of people who

1132
01:00:33,880 --> 01:00:35,960
Speaker 1: because of their time in Nicholsville, had been able to

1133
01:00:36,600 --> 01:00:39,800
Speaker 1: get kind of get their life together, I guess again

1134
01:00:40,040 --> 01:00:43,480
Speaker 1: enough to get like stable work, save up money, get

1135
01:00:43,480 --> 01:00:45,840
Speaker 1: an apartment, and like those people had become part of

1136
01:00:45,840 --> 01:00:49,520
Speaker 1: like an extended community who donated time and money in

1137
01:00:49,600 --> 01:00:51,200
Speaker 1: order to help keep it going, and it was, of

1138
01:00:51,200 --> 01:00:54,640
Speaker 1: course um. It was of course destroyed UM in the

1139
01:00:54,680 --> 01:00:57,480
Speaker 1: same way these things normally are because people complained about

1140
01:00:57,840 --> 01:01:01,200
Speaker 1: the encampment being there, um, which is kind of what

1141
01:01:01,240 --> 01:01:07,720
Speaker 1: always happens, you know. It's uh, yeah, I don't know.

1142
01:01:07,760 --> 01:01:10,560
Speaker 1: I don't want to be like I don't want to

1143
01:01:10,600 --> 01:01:13,680
Speaker 1: be super depressed about all this stuff, um, in part

1144
01:01:13,720 --> 01:01:16,000
Speaker 1: because this is just not a great week for me.

1145
01:01:16,080 --> 01:01:18,680
Speaker 1: But it is hard for me to be super optimistic.

1146
01:01:18,720 --> 01:01:22,120
Speaker 1: You see, so many people do such such cool things

1147
01:01:22,160 --> 01:01:24,640
Speaker 1: and put in so much more, so much more work

1148
01:01:24,720 --> 01:01:27,720
Speaker 1: and care than for example, anyone who will ever work

1149
01:01:27,760 --> 01:01:29,440
Speaker 1: with the l a p D will do one anything

1150
01:01:29,440 --> 01:01:33,160
Speaker 1: in their entire career, and it gets destroyed by guys

1151
01:01:33,200 --> 01:01:36,520
Speaker 1: who are getting double their hourly pay to UM to

1152
01:01:36,600 --> 01:01:40,120
Speaker 1: hit people with batons. Well, we show up here every

1153
01:01:40,160 --> 01:01:42,640
Speaker 1: week and we talk about things. It's really hard to

1154
01:01:42,760 --> 01:01:46,880
Speaker 1: not end an episode for me anyway with something positive

1155
01:01:47,280 --> 01:01:50,360
Speaker 1: or some sort of call to action or like this

1156
01:01:50,400 --> 01:01:53,439
Speaker 1: is a thing we can do, But it's sometimes that's

1157
01:01:54,040 --> 01:01:56,520
Speaker 1: you know, we know the things that we can do,

1158
01:01:57,280 --> 01:02:02,120
Speaker 1: will it change anything? The different Calum sation UM, and

1159
01:02:02,160 --> 01:02:05,320
Speaker 1: that's okay. Sometimes we just have to be honest about

1160
01:02:05,800 --> 01:02:08,200
Speaker 1: what it is that's happening. I guess if I was

1161
01:02:08,240 --> 01:02:11,480
Speaker 1: going to give any advice to the community that I

1162
01:02:11,480 --> 01:02:14,200
Speaker 1: hope is going to continue to form and build in

1163
01:02:15,200 --> 01:02:17,720
Speaker 1: Los Angeles, it would be to stay the funk off

1164
01:02:17,760 --> 01:02:23,720
Speaker 1: Twitter for anything but like very very basic UM dissemination

1165
01:02:23,760 --> 01:02:27,600
Speaker 1: of information about events UM. Because that's one of the

1166
01:02:27,640 --> 01:02:29,720
Speaker 1: things we've seen in Portland. That is part of why

1167
01:02:29,800 --> 01:02:34,360
Speaker 1: things are I don't know our part it has been

1168
01:02:34,400 --> 01:02:37,240
Speaker 1: a problem for the community in Portland that formed around

1169
01:02:37,280 --> 01:02:39,160
Speaker 1: the protest last year, is that like you get all

1170
01:02:39,160 --> 01:02:43,760
Speaker 1: these people who are traumatized by UM, the police and

1171
01:02:43,840 --> 01:02:49,040
Speaker 1: by their experiences UM, and then for whatever reason they're

1172
01:02:49,080 --> 01:02:51,200
Speaker 1: not able to go out. Is often or just like

1173
01:02:51,280 --> 01:02:53,800
Speaker 1: the movement kind of things slowed down, there's less protests

1174
01:02:53,800 --> 01:02:55,760
Speaker 1: and they just start tearing each other apart on Twitter

1175
01:02:55,800 --> 01:02:59,800
Speaker 1: one way or the other. UM. And that's like, you know,

1176
01:03:00,080 --> 01:03:02,800
Speaker 1: I just stay off Twitter if you can. It's not

1177
01:03:02,800 --> 01:03:06,880
Speaker 1: going to help. It's yeah, yeah, it's it's not just

1178
01:03:07,000 --> 01:03:09,960
Speaker 1: for activists, but by god, is it for activists? Please

1179
01:03:10,280 --> 01:03:15,880
Speaker 1: don't don't get on Twitter. It's such a good place

1180
01:03:15,920 --> 01:03:20,600
Speaker 1: to organize, but it also ruins everything. Yeah, I mean,

1181
01:03:20,640 --> 01:03:23,280
Speaker 1: it's just the way kind of digital communities work, like it,

1182
01:03:23,720 --> 01:03:28,400
Speaker 1: um it is. It rewards a specific kind of toxic

1183
01:03:28,640 --> 01:03:31,480
Speaker 1: calling out behavior, and like some of that's necessary obviously,

1184
01:03:31,560 --> 01:03:33,600
Speaker 1: like anytime you get a big movement of activists, there

1185
01:03:33,600 --> 01:03:35,560
Speaker 1: will be predators who kind of try to get in there,

1186
01:03:35,560 --> 01:03:38,160
Speaker 1: and that's useful to be able to call them out

1187
01:03:38,240 --> 01:03:40,000
Speaker 1: on a large scale, but it also leads just like

1188
01:03:40,040 --> 01:03:42,680
Speaker 1: people who have beef with each other doing it and

1189
01:03:42,840 --> 01:03:45,760
Speaker 1: in ways that make it impossible to organize in the

1190
01:03:45,800 --> 01:03:49,400
Speaker 1: same way and just bum everybody out and it's just

1191
01:03:49,440 --> 01:03:54,120
Speaker 1: stay off Twitter, all right. I think that does it

1192
01:03:54,240 --> 01:03:57,640
Speaker 1: for us. This week, as I mentioned, we will be

1193
01:03:57,680 --> 01:04:01,640
Speaker 1: sharing um their go fund me and the social media

1194
01:04:01,640 --> 01:04:05,360
Speaker 1: accounts um Echo, Park, Rise Up I believe they said

1195
01:04:05,360 --> 01:04:10,160
Speaker 1: on Instagram. But we'll be linking to that and um

1196
01:04:10,200 --> 01:04:15,160
Speaker 1: that's the end of my centity. I still want to

1197
01:04:15,160 --> 01:04:16,680
Speaker 1: do it. I still want to do it. I still

1198
01:04:16,720 --> 01:04:18,720
Speaker 1: want to bring it around to something positive. It's good,

1199
01:04:19,080 --> 01:04:24,240
Speaker 1: it's positive. Is people love listening to Their positivity was

1200
01:04:24,360 --> 01:04:27,760
Speaker 1: very positive. Their positivity was very positive, and I hope,

1201
01:04:28,000 --> 01:04:31,240
Speaker 1: I hope that I'm just a broken asshole and that

1202
01:04:31,560 --> 01:04:34,560
Speaker 1: UM there. Yeah, and then they're they the fact that

1203
01:04:34,640 --> 01:04:37,440
Speaker 1: they created that and they still there. They plan on

1204
01:04:37,520 --> 01:04:40,919
Speaker 1: continuing that, um, and they're not going to let these

1205
01:04:40,960 --> 01:04:46,200
Speaker 1: events keep that movement down. UM. I found it inspiring.

1206
01:04:46,480 --> 01:04:51,400
Speaker 1: Um yes it should be. Yeah, alright, positivity achieved that

1207
01:04:51,520 --> 01:04:58,000
Speaker 1: they really are. And and that's Cody play us out. Um,

1208
01:04:58,080 --> 01:05:02,120
Speaker 1: this is um, this is wonder Wall. Wonder Wall here

1209
01:05:02,160 --> 01:05:13,000
Speaker 1: for you. Wow, wonder Wall. Another Cody Johnston original. Everything

1210
01:05:13,320 --> 01:05:23,320
Speaker 1: so everything, so dumb. It's again I tried. Worst Year

1211
01:05:23,360 --> 01:05:25,640
Speaker 1: Ever is a production of I Heart Radio. For more

1212
01:05:25,680 --> 01:05:28,479
Speaker 1: podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,

1213
01:05:28,600 --> 01:05:31,480
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.