1 00:00:01,760 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Also media. Hey everybody, Robert Evans here and I wanted 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:08,639 Speaker 1: to let you know this is a compilation episode. So 3 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: every episode of the week that just happened is here 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,119 Speaker 1: in one convenient and with somewhat less ads package for 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: you to listen to in a long stretch if you want. 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: If you've been listening to the episodes every day this week, 7 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: there's going to be nothing new here for you, but 8 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: you can make your own decisions. 9 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 2: Hi. 10 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,599 Speaker 3: Everyone, welcome to the podcast. It's me James, and I'm 11 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 3: joined today by Moe who is an attorney, educator and aberlation. 12 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 3: It's've been on the show before. We've very much enjoyed 13 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,840 Speaker 3: the contributions. We're here today to talk about the recent 14 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 3: Supreme Court not decision right, but it's Supreme Court declining 15 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 3: to hear a case. It's been reported a little bit. 16 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 3: Perhaps I think the importance of it may have been overstated, 17 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 3: and it's going to help us understand that How are 18 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 3: you doing today. 19 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 4: Mo, I'm doing all right. How are you doing? 20 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 3: I'm doing well. It's nice day. Went for a run 21 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 3: this morning, saw some flowers, picked some fennel. That was nice. 22 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's very nice. 23 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, wild Fannel if you didn't sell in California now 24 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 3: so time. Just a little tip from me, don't get 25 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 3: it at the height that dog's pe. You want to 26 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 3: go above that. 27 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 4: It's a pro tip. 28 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 3: You can't say that. We don't fill this podcast with 29 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 3: a little easter eggs. Talking of little easter eggs, let's 30 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 3: let's get into the things that are buried within this. 31 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,559 Speaker 3: What happened was the Supreme Court declined to hear a case. 32 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 3: Is that right? 33 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 2: That's right. 34 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 4: So the case that the Supreme Court declined to hear 35 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 4: is McKesson the dough. This is a case that they 36 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 4: have declined to hear eight times, and it keeps going 37 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 4: back up and down from I think the Middle District 38 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 4: of Louisiana to the Fifth Circuit all the way up 39 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 4: to the Supreme Court. And it's a case that involves 40 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 4: the First Amendment. And the way that it has been reported, 41 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 4: I think, or at least the way that it has 42 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 4: been received, particularly by communities of people who do engage 43 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 4: in a lot of First Amendment protected activity, has been 44 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 4: with a certain amount of panic that the Supreme Court 45 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 4: saying we're not going to hear this case, We're going 46 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 4: to kick it back down to the Fifth Circuit. We're 47 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 4: going to kick it back down to the district court. 48 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 4: Is you know, a harbinger of terrible things to come 49 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,359 Speaker 4: for the right to protest and for the kinds of 50 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,359 Speaker 4: liability that you might be exposed to if you are 51 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 4: engaging in protest, And there is some truth to that. 52 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 4: It is I would say often dangerous to engage in 53 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 4: acts of dissent. But I think that there's some real 54 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 4: misapprehension of what's going on with this particular case, and 55 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 4: so I thought it was worth having a conversation with 56 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 4: you to try to clarify a little bit about what's 57 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 4: going on here, what the risks are associated specifically with 58 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 4: this case, and what the risks actually are on the 59 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 4: ground with respect to protest, and also to talk to 60 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,640 Speaker 4: you about some of the resources that are available. 61 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 2: To protect yourself. 62 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 3: Wonderful. 63 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 4: Yeah, So I guess to give you a little roadmap. 64 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 4: I think I'll start by talking to you about what 65 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 4: is actually the law on the ground at this point 66 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 4: with respect to the First Amendment and rights to protest? Yes, 67 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 4: have those rights actually been meaningfully altered by this case 68 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 4: or by the Supreme Court declining to hear this case? 69 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 4: Has it actually become more dangerous to protest. Are there 70 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 4: things that we should be worried about? What are they? 71 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 4: And then what kinds of resources there are? I guess 72 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 4: the first thing I'm going to do is give you 73 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 4: a very brief premer on the First Amendment. So the 74 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 4: First Amendment guarantees, as I like to say, the very 75 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 4: First Amendment guarantees our rights to speech and assembly. The 76 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 4: government can place limits on the time, place, and manner 77 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 4: of your protest, but the government is not authorized to 78 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 4: criminalize speech based on subject matter or viewpoint. And it 79 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 4: can't impose what's called a prior restraint on speech, which 80 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 4: can include making it so risky to speak that people 81 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:49,159 Speaker 4: engage in self censorship. But the First Amendment doesn't immunize 82 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 4: you from prosecution or civil liability for otherwise unlawful conduct. 83 00:04:58,560 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 5: Right. 84 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:04,039 Speaker 4: So that's why true threats of violence are not protected 85 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 4: by the First Amendment. Right, And it doesn't protect you 86 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 4: from being arrested for behavior just because that behavior is 87 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:19,840 Speaker 4: politically motivated, which is why breaking Starbucks windows and graffiti 88 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 4: and assassination are not protected by the First Amendment. 89 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 3: Right. 90 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 4: On the other hand, the fact that there are one 91 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 4: or more people at a demonstration who are acting unlawfully 92 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 4: does not strip the larger demonstration of First Amendment protection right. 93 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:49,359 Speaker 4: And that principle comes from a case called NAACP versus 94 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 4: Claiborn Hardware and Clayborn. It was decided in nineteen eighty two, 95 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 4: and it was a case where the NAACP was soon 96 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 4: food civilly on the basis that they had organized a 97 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 4: protest where some people in the crowd had caused some damage. 98 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 4: I see this is a very very similar case to 99 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 4: the underlying case in this situation where Deray McKesson has 100 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:34,720 Speaker 4: been sued civilly, meaning he's being sued for money damages. 101 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 4: He is not being criminally prosecuted. Right, That's an important distinction. So, 102 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 4: you know what, let's back up a little bit. 103 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 3: So can you explain who is Deray McKesson. Why is 104 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 3: Deray McKesson bouncing up and down between Louisiana and the 105 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 3: Supreme Court? 106 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,919 Speaker 5: Yes? Okay, So I'm going to back up even farther 107 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 5: than that. The reason that we are here today, that 108 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 5: I am here with you talking about the case is 109 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 5: that the way that this case is being reported on 110 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:07,840 Speaker 5: or received is that people are going, oh God, it's 111 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 5: now illegal to protest, and we're all going to go 112 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 5: to prison for protesting. Like, okay, I mean, first of all, 113 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 5: please using mass arrest of protesters to chill in silent 114 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 5: speech is already a time honored American tradition. 115 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 3: Yes, but that isn't. 116 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 5: What this case is about. This is a civil case, 117 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 5: which means that somebody is being sued for money damages, 118 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 5: and the person who's being sued is de Ray McKesson. 119 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 5: Deray McKesson was at one point, for anyone who can 120 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 5: remember a decade ago, was very high profile, very visible 121 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 5: in the Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson and in 122 00:07:53,920 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 5: Baltimore and then later in Louisiana, and he was somebody 123 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 5: who was very visible in the media. He made a 124 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 5: lot of public statements. He made a lot of public 125 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 5: statements on behalf of Black Lives Matter, which you know 126 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 5: I'm going to get into is not a membership organization. 127 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 5: But he made a bunch of statements as though he 128 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 5: were the representative of a movement which he referred to 129 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 5: as Black Lives Matter. He organized a lot of protests. 130 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,080 Speaker 5: I think at one point I have a memory that 131 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:36,560 Speaker 5: he ran for office, so he was a very visible 132 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:43,200 Speaker 5: movement organizer, right. He organized a protest in I believe 133 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 5: twenty seventeen in the wake of the police murder of 134 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 5: Altms Sterling, at which a police officer was hit in 135 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,719 Speaker 5: the head with a hard object, a rock or a 136 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:02,240 Speaker 5: piece of concrete, and he was like, the police officer 137 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:03,559 Speaker 5: was injured. 138 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 3: Right, like pretty seriously, yeah. 139 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:15,200 Speaker 5: And he then sued Deray McKesson for money damages on 140 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 5: the theory that because he had organized the protest, he 141 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 5: had control of the protest and he had some responsibility 142 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 5: for the fact that this other person had thrown a 143 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:37,200 Speaker 5: rock at him. This theory requires a real failure to 144 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 5: understand social movements and distributed networks because what it presumes, 145 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 5: and I think we've talked about this before on this show, 146 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:51,679 Speaker 5: is the inability of the police and the courts to 147 00:09:52,040 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 5: understand that not every social movement operates with a clear 148 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:05,960 Speaker 5: hierarchy like the police, right or the military. Because their 149 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 5: social movement groups do imitate the military, they do imitate 150 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 5: that hierarchy. They totally reproduce this sort of chain of 151 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 5: command theory. So if you look at the Klan, right, 152 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,600 Speaker 5: they are organized via they are incorporated, they have a membership, 153 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,080 Speaker 5: there is a clear hierarchy, who is in charge, who 154 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 5: is giving orders, who is following orders? 155 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 3: Right, that is not the case Proud Boys, Patriot Front 156 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 3: like very of organizing without authority and the conceiving of 157 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 3: anyone doing so, it would seem right. 158 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 5: And so I think I've told you before. I've actually 159 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 5: had to drop footnotes in federal court filings to explain 160 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 5: that Antifa is not a membership organization. 161 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, this is a discussion that I have been privy 162 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 3: to as a historian of the same organization. Which day 163 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:01,559 Speaker 3: it was ironically right that the KPg was Yeah, when 164 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:03,200 Speaker 3: we were referring it to that, we're not talking about 165 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 3: nineteen thirty three Germany. 166 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:11,439 Speaker 5: No. So you know when someone says and this becomes 167 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 5: relevant here because the initially when this suit was filed, 168 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 5: it was two different lawsuits, and it was a group 169 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 5: of police officers who had been shot in different places 170 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 5: in the country, suing not only during McKesson but black 171 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 5: lives matter. And I think in fact, one of the 172 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:39,160 Speaker 5: defendants who was named in one of the initial suits 173 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 5: was hashtag black lives matter. So I don't know how 174 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 5: you serve a hashtag. 175 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, fascinating totally fascinating. 176 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:50,959 Speaker 5: I mean, the legal theory underlying these cases was pretty bonkers. 177 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 5: And then various other individuals who were part of different 178 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:04,320 Speaker 5: Black Lives Matter groups. The initial suit that went after 179 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:11,199 Speaker 5: all these people and hashtags for the shootings were really 180 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 5: just legally insufficient. 181 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 4: Right. 182 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 5: The allegations that were made were Black Lives Matter whatever 183 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 5: that is, made statements about how policing is unjust and 184 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:25,840 Speaker 5: police shouldn't be surprised if there's you know, if they 185 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 5: encounter resistance, and then these other people kind of showed 186 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 5: up and shot at cops. And the theory is that 187 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 5: by sort of making these statements, Black Lives Matter encouraged 188 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 5: or incited and was responsible for these shootings. Yes, this 189 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 5: is not a this is not a valid legal theory, right, 190 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 5: I mean, it just is not. And that case was dismissed, 191 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 5: you know, just entirely. And then the second case that 192 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 5: was brought was this one where the guy who was 193 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:03,480 Speaker 5: hit in the head with a rock, and it's the 194 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:08,199 Speaker 5: same allegations, the same theory of liability, and everybody got 195 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,679 Speaker 5: dismissed out of that case. All of the defendants got 196 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 5: dismissed out of that case, except for Deray McKesson. And 197 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,559 Speaker 5: part of the reason that everyone else was dismissed out 198 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:21,079 Speaker 5: of that case, or that the suit was dismissed with 199 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 5: respect to those named defendants, is that Black Lives Matter 200 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:35,319 Speaker 5: was an unincorporated association, and an unincorporated association can't be sued. 201 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 5: So and this has been relevant in other cases. I'm 202 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 5: not trying to give anyone legal advice, but I want 203 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 5: people to think about the fact. I think there's like 204 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 5: a real impulse sometimes in social movement organizing that like 205 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:49,680 Speaker 5: we need to make everything a nonprofit. 206 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah they can, or we need to have a. 207 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 5: Bank account even And the fact is when you create 208 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 5: an organization, even if it's an unincorporated association, that where 209 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 5: the entity has what you would say is its personality 210 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:10,599 Speaker 5: is distinct from that of its members. Right, right, it 211 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 5: can be sued. You become susceptible to a lawsuit. And 212 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 5: so for example, when Energy Transfer Partners tried to sue 213 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 5: there's currently a suit against green Peace, yes, the Standing 214 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 5: Rock suit, and we'll talk about that later. Right, it's 215 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 5: a slap suit. It's a suit that endeavors to stifle 216 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 5: speech that's in the public interest. When that suit first started, 217 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:42,640 Speaker 5: they tried to sue Earth First, but Earth first is 218 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 5: not an entity. There's no one to serve. You know, 219 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 5: there's nobody there. It's not you know, it's like antify. 220 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 5: It'd be like trying to sue Batman fans. 221 00:14:54,280 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 3: Right, yeah, yeah, swifties, I would love to see it. 222 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 5: Right, there's there are maybe people who identify in that way, 223 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 5: but there is not a coherent group, right, and there's 224 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 5: certainly not a group that can take that can take 225 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:13,960 Speaker 5: responsibility for the behavior of its members. 226 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 3: Right. Talking of taking responsibility, mo, we we unfortunately have 227 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 3: to take responsibility for the fact that we now have 228 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 3: to pivot to ads. 229 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,840 Speaker 5: Okay, if you say so, I do. 230 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 3: I'm so sorry. It's not my favorite part of my job. 231 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 3: All Right, we're back there. We've pivoted to add So, yeah, 232 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 3: we're talking about like this, the difference between like an 233 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 3: incorporated organization, which can be So can you maybe just 234 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 3: even if we step it back like a little bit 235 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 3: further and explain the difference between civil and criminal liability, 236 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 3: just in case people haven't got that. 237 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 5: Criminal liability is like when you are criminally charged by 238 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 5: the state, by the government for violating a criminal law. Right, 239 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 5: and when you are criminally charged. The what is on 240 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 5: the table is that you might go to jail or 241 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 5: you might go to prison. You can also be civilly sued. 242 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 5: And what's happening there is if someone says, okay, you've 243 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 5: you know, you wrecked my car, or your dog bit me, 244 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 5: or you punched me in the face and I lost 245 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:41,160 Speaker 5: a tooth, then you can be civilly sued by that 246 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 5: person for money, damages, got it right to compensate you 247 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 5: for the loss. So in this case, mister McKesson is 248 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:58,880 Speaker 5: being civilly sued, not arrested, not prosecuted, not subject like, 249 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 5: there is no possability that if he loses this case, 250 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 5: he'll go to jail. 251 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, so this civil case happens in Louisiana. Right, Yeah, 252 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 3: let's talk about how it bounces around the fifth circuit. 253 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:15,440 Speaker 5: So I started to tell you that there were sort 254 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,400 Speaker 5: of these two cases. The first one is entirely dismissed. 255 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 5: The second one they say, all right, Black Lives Matter 256 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,880 Speaker 5: is not an association that can be sued. These other 257 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:30,320 Speaker 5: individuals that you've named here as defendants were not present, 258 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 5: made no statements about it. Well, first they dismissed the 259 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:39,159 Speaker 5: whole thing actually, then the cop appealed to the circuit, 260 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,919 Speaker 5: and the circuit said, yeah, mostly you're right, District Court, 261 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:45,919 Speaker 5: all of these people can't be sued. But mister McKesson, 262 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 5: we do think could be liable under a theory of 263 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:54,119 Speaker 5: negligence because he organized the protest and was present. This 264 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:59,479 Speaker 5: officer sues McKesson and a bunch of other people, and 265 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 5: the office says that mister McKesson is liable because he 266 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,840 Speaker 5: organizes protests and should knew or should have known that 267 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 5: it could potentially turn violent. And so he says under 268 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 5: Louisiana law, he can sue on a theory of negligence, 269 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 5: which doesn't require any kind of intent or certain knowledge. 270 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 5: It's just being you know, negligent. Initially, the court, the 271 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:30,000 Speaker 5: federal district Court, dismisses those claims, all of them based 272 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:35,439 Speaker 5: on NAACPD Claiborne, which I talked about earlier, right, which says, 273 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 5: if you're at a protest and one person gets violent, 274 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 5: like the rest of the protest doesn't get does not 275 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:46,679 Speaker 5: lose its First Amendment protected character just because other people 276 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 5: are violent. Then the cop appeals and the Fifth Circuit 277 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:55,880 Speaker 5: in part affirms their rulings about all of the other 278 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 5: people who were sued, but reinstates the negligence against mister McKesson. Right, 279 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 5: he then it does it never, by the way, has 280 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 5: proceeded to trial. This case is still in a very 281 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 5: preliminary phase. Oh wow, it has been going on since 282 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 5: twenty seventeen and it's been bouncing up and down the courts. 283 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 5: But the question is can he even be sued under 284 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 5: this theory? So we haven't gotten he hasn't been found guilty, 285 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 5: we haven't had a presentation of evidence. There's all kinds 286 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,439 Speaker 5: of stuff that has not yet happened in this case. 287 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 5: The question is very, very narrow. It's can a person 288 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 5: be sued under a theory of negligence when they organize 289 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:56,120 Speaker 5: a protest and somebody else at that protest causes some 290 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 5: kind of harm? 291 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 6: Right? 292 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 5: So the Fifth Circuit says, go back district court and 293 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 5: hear this claim of negligence. McKesson then brings it to 294 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 5: the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court reverses the Fifth 295 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 5: Circuit and says it overturns their decision and says, you 296 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,439 Speaker 5: actually can't force the district court to proceed with this 297 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 5: trial because you didn't check in with the Louisiana State 298 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:30,440 Speaker 5: Court to get their feedback about whether Louisiana state law 299 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:36,159 Speaker 5: actually allows for this kind of negligence claim. 300 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 3: Okay, so they missed procedurally, they fucked up. 301 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 6: Yes. 302 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 5: Then the Fifth Circuit says, okay, find Louisiana Supreme Court. 303 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:48,159 Speaker 5: What do you think? And the court says, yeah, we 304 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 5: think you can proceed on this negligence claim. And then 305 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,360 Speaker 5: the Fifth Circuit affirms its previous ruling and says, okay, Now, 306 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,439 Speaker 5: District Court, hear it again, and you can hear this 307 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:02,679 Speaker 5: negligence claim. As to mister McKesson, they tried to distinguish 308 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,159 Speaker 5: it from Claiborn. I don't think they did a good job. 309 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 5: One of the there was a three judge panel that 310 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,960 Speaker 5: ruled on this, so it was a two to one ruling. 311 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 5: Two of the judges try to distinguish it from Claiborne. 312 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:20,919 Speaker 5: One of the judges Uh says, no, you know, Clayborn. 313 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 5: It's exactly the controlling You can only hold somebody liable 314 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,879 Speaker 5: for their own behavior, right, And one of the things 315 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 5: he says is that if you make protest organizers liable 316 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 5: for someone else's violent behavior, all accounter protester has to 317 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,880 Speaker 5: do is show up and start throwing rocks in order 318 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 5: to order to get the whole protest too, you know, 319 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:55,880 Speaker 5: to impute liability to the the organizerson who organized the protest. Yeah, 320 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,480 Speaker 5: and that goes both ways, right, So i've I am 321 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 5: sort of surprised that they given that there are social 322 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:10,439 Speaker 5: movements that are probably more aligned with the values and 323 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 5: beliefs of these federal judges in the Fifth Circuit. So 324 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,520 Speaker 5: the Fifth Circuit at this point says, no, go back 325 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 5: to the district court and have the trial on the 326 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 5: theory of negligence. Right, then, the Supreme Court decided a 327 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:33,320 Speaker 5: case called Counterman be. Colorado. Counterman be. Colorado is not 328 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 5: a First Amendment political speech case. It's a case about 329 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 5: somebody making threats. But that case relies very heavily on Clayborne. 330 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,639 Speaker 5: So in that case, we have what's called a true 331 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,920 Speaker 5: threats analysis, and they're trying to determine whether a person 332 00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 5: who's making threats needs to actually know that the threats 333 00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 5: they're making are going to be perceived as real threats. 334 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 5: And what they decided was they do need to know 335 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:13,199 Speaker 5: to some degree that these statements could be taken as 336 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:17,159 Speaker 5: true threats. But they talk a lot. Kagan authored this opinion, 337 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 5: and she talks a lot about how careful we have 338 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 5: to be even with speech that is traditionally not protected 339 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 5: like true threats, because it's very important not to chill 340 00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 5: protected speech. And what she says is that the Court 341 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:38,479 Speaker 5: has always been really wary of chilling protected speech, and 342 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 5: so sometimes it makes extra space for speech that isn't 343 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 5: protected in order to make really sure it doesn't chill 344 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 5: protected speech. Right, So she says, the court must consider 345 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 5: the prospect of chilling non threatening expression given the ordinary 346 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 5: citizens predictable tendency to wide of the unlawful zone. The 347 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,399 Speaker 5: speaker's fear of mistaking whether a statement is a threat, 348 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 5: his fear of the legal system getting that judgment wrong, 349 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:13,040 Speaker 5: his fear in any event of incurring legal costs, all 350 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,080 Speaker 5: those may lead him to swallow words that are in 351 00:24:15,119 --> 00:24:19,919 Speaker 5: fact not true threats. And so what they say is 352 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:25,719 Speaker 5: we need to make a standard that has enough what 353 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 5: they say is breathing room to make sure that even 354 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 5: if it means that some unprotected speech gets through, we 355 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,679 Speaker 5: have enough space for all of the protected speech to 356 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,600 Speaker 5: still exist and for nobody to feel uncertain about whether 357 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 5: or not their. 358 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 2: Speech is protected. 359 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, sure, they don't want to gradually have a creeping 360 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:48,080 Speaker 3: sort of boundary. 361 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,359 Speaker 5: Yeah. So what she says is, if we're going to 362 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:55,960 Speaker 5: ban any kind of speech, it has to be known 363 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 5: and knowable to the speaker, and there has to be 364 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:06,080 Speaker 5: sort of a requirement that the speaker is actually aware 365 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:11,200 Speaker 5: that this is not protected speech. And so in this 366 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,400 Speaker 5: case encounterman with the guy who's making the bizarre threats, 367 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 5: what they decide is you only need to be reckless 368 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:26,600 Speaker 5: about the speech. You don't have to be doing it 369 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:31,040 Speaker 5: intentionally to threaten someone. But if you're saying things that 370 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 5: you even if you don't mean it to be a threat, 371 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 5: if you could reasonably anticipate that it will be received 372 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 5: as a threat, that's sufficient. Okay, okay, And then she says, 373 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 5: this are incitement decisions, right, So, Supreme Court decisions regarding 374 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 5: incitement to violence demand more. But the reason for that 375 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,640 Speaker 5: demand is not present here where we're talking about threats. 376 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:04,080 Speaker 5: When incitement is at issue, we have spoken in terms 377 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:09,399 Speaker 5: of specific intent, presumably equivalent to purpose or knowledge. In 378 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:14,040 Speaker 5: doing so, we recognized that incitement to disorder is commonly 379 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:18,400 Speaker 5: a hair spread the way from political advocacy, and particularly 380 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 5: from strong protests against the government and prevailing order. Such 381 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 5: protests gave rise to all the cases in which the 382 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 5: Court demanded a showing of intent, and the Court decided 383 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 5: those cases against a resonant historical backdrop the Court's failure 384 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:40,800 Speaker 5: in an earlier era to protect mere advocacy of force 385 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:46,240 Speaker 5: or law breaking from legal sanction. A strong intent requirement 386 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 5: was and remains one way to guarantee history was not repeated. 387 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:54,719 Speaker 5: It was a way to ensure the efforts to prosecute 388 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 5: incitement would not bleed over, either directly or through a 389 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:04,280 Speaker 5: chilling effect, to dissenting political speech at the First Amendment's core. Okay, 390 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:11,040 Speaker 5: so we have this case that's decided days after the 391 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:20,720 Speaker 5: Fifth Circuit makes its decision that directly speaks to this decision. Right, 392 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 5: it reaffirms Clayborne. It reaffirms that political speech is protected. 393 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:31,359 Speaker 5: It reaffirms that you cannot have a negligence standard. You 394 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,880 Speaker 5: have to have a standard. You can't just say, well, 395 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,400 Speaker 5: somebody knew or should have known that organizing a protest 396 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 5: might lead to violence, and you say they have to 397 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:43,959 Speaker 5: be like, we're going to go out and we're going 398 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:47,200 Speaker 5: to do violence at this protest at this time. Right, 399 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,800 Speaker 5: they have to be actually advocating for violence in order 400 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 5: to be held responsible for violence. 401 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,159 Speaker 3: Right, So how does this not just lead to his 402 00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 3: case being dismissed. 403 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:04,640 Speaker 5: So then at the same time as that's happening, mister 404 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,640 Speaker 5: McKesson has asked the court again to weigh in on 405 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,440 Speaker 5: whether this case can proceed under a negligence theory, right, 406 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:16,120 Speaker 5: meaning should he have can he be prosecuted because it's 407 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:19,520 Speaker 5: possible that a protest will turn violent. And the Court 408 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:25,640 Speaker 5: says we're not going to hear this case, and somewhat unusually, 409 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:30,479 Speaker 5: Justice Sonya Soda Mayort issues a statement along with the 410 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:36,200 Speaker 5: denial of hearing the case, and she says, this court 411 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 5: may deny what's called curcherai right hearing the case. The 412 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,920 Speaker 5: Court may deny sorcherai for many reasons, including that the 413 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 5: law is not in need of further clarification. 414 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:49,520 Speaker 3: Right. 415 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,800 Speaker 5: It's denial today expresses no view about the merits of 416 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 5: mckesson's claim. Although the Fifth Circuit did not have the 417 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 5: benefit of this Court's recent decision in count Determine when 418 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 5: it issued its opinion, the lower courts now do I 419 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 5: expect them to give full and fair consideration to arguments 420 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,120 Speaker 5: regarding Counterman's impact in any future proceedings. 421 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:12,760 Speaker 2: Right. 422 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:16,840 Speaker 5: So, I don't think that it's some like terrible thing 423 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 5: that the Court said, Oh, no, we're not going to 424 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 5: hear this case. I don't think they're saying in any way, 425 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:24,080 Speaker 5: oh we're not going to hear this case because we 426 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 5: think it ought to proceed further and go to trial 427 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 5: down in Louisiana. I think what they're saying is we 428 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,800 Speaker 5: already decided this issue. The law remains the same. Claiborne 429 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 5: is still the controlling case here. 430 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, it seems very clear that what they're saying 431 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 3: is that we've already made clear what we stand on this. 432 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 5: That's right. And so the last thing that's on the 433 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 5: docket in mister mckesson's case is basically a submission that 434 00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 5: reiterates what Justice Sotomayor said, streat you a little from this, 435 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,440 Speaker 5: It says, so do. Mayor's statement explains that the court's 436 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 5: decision expresses no view about the merits of the claim 437 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,800 Speaker 5: because the law is not in need of further clarification. 438 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,720 Speaker 5: So it suggests that the existing clear law comes from countermen. 439 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 5: And the statement makes even clearer that the First Amendment 440 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 5: does not permit liability on the negligence theory advanced by 441 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,080 Speaker 5: the cop in this case. It doesn't say the cop 442 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 5: in this case, so it makes very clear. You know, 443 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 5: they have submitted mister mckesson's council has submitted this statement 444 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 5: to the judge, and I think there is every possibility 445 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 5: that this case is just going to die at this point. 446 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:56,440 Speaker 5: You know, remember the District Court already dismissed it altogether 447 00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 5: at once, and it has only been carrying it forward 448 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 5: because they were ordered to buy the Fifth Circuit. 449 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it would just go back to the district. 450 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:11,160 Speaker 5: Yeah, exactly. So in fact, there has been a lot 451 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:15,320 Speaker 5: of anxiety about, oh, the Supreme Court is signaling that 452 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 5: the law has changed and that the Fifth Circuit can 453 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:23,440 Speaker 5: just criminalize protest. In fact, what I think has happened 454 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:27,120 Speaker 5: here is that the Supreme Court affirmed that the Fifth 455 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:32,520 Speaker 5: Circuit may not expose people to civil liability for organizing 456 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:36,600 Speaker 5: a protest. That does not mean that the courts down 457 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:40,040 Speaker 5: there are not going to try to keep going forward 458 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,880 Speaker 5: with this. But I think if they did, and if 459 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,479 Speaker 5: mister McKesson was like a if they even allowed it 460 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:52,720 Speaker 5: to continue, it might just go right back up to 461 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 5: the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court might at that 462 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,640 Speaker 5: point hear it because they've already said, no, we expect 463 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 5: you to follow the law that we just rearticulated in 464 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:09,720 Speaker 5: this other case. Right, But again, remember that we haven't 465 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,880 Speaker 5: had a trial yet. He hasn't been found guilty. He hasn't, right, Like, 466 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,360 Speaker 5: the question is can we even proceed in this case? 467 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:19,920 Speaker 3: Let's take a second outbreak here, and then we'll come 468 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 3: back and discuss This may have been over exaggerated in 469 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:35,960 Speaker 3: terms of it's importance of state repression approtest, but that 470 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 3: doesn't mean that state repression approtest is not happening, right, 471 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 3: it is. So can you explain to us the mechanisms 472 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:47,400 Speaker 3: through which that happens and the considerations and resources available 473 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 3: to people who may wish to exercise the First Amendment? Right? Yes? 474 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,000 Speaker 5: Absolutely? So has it become more dangerous to protest? I mean, 475 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:57,840 Speaker 5: I guess, but not because of this case? 476 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,479 Speaker 3: Right? Right? Yeah, I mean generally right. They cops get 477 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:05,480 Speaker 3: bigger guns and more guns and tear guess things every year, 478 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 3: and then they love to use him. Yeah, along with 479 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:10,280 Speaker 3: the legal consequences. 480 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,520 Speaker 5: Yes, And are there things that we should be worried about? Yes, 481 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:21,680 Speaker 5: But I don't think that this particular case on its 482 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:26,240 Speaker 5: own is the harbinger of the end of the First Amendment. 483 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:32,920 Speaker 5: It's one symptom of the larger underlying effort by the 484 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:37,400 Speaker 5: state and you know, corporate capital and all of the 485 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:43,920 Speaker 5: forces of retrogression and repression to quell dissent. But it's 486 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 5: just one of many, right. And we've seen so many 487 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:50,960 Speaker 5: examples of this, and they are by no means new 488 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:56,440 Speaker 5: or novel, right, They're just trying out new legal theories, 489 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:58,680 Speaker 5: and this was one of them. And I don't think 490 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 5: it's going to go anywhere, But I think we need 491 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:05,160 Speaker 5: to remember there's always sort of multiple fronts on which 492 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:10,279 Speaker 5: we're fighting this battle. Right. There's the legal front, right, 493 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:14,600 Speaker 5: and then there's the sort of on the ground law 494 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:19,719 Speaker 5: enforcement front. One of the reasons that mister McKesson was 495 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:23,400 Speaker 5: targeted here is because he did make and this is 496 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:25,799 Speaker 5: not to say this is his fault, it absolutely is not. 497 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 5: But one of the things that made him more susceptible 498 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:32,799 Speaker 5: to targeting is that he did make a ton of 499 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 5: public statements and he was extremely visible in a way 500 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:44,440 Speaker 5: that aligned with the governments and the right wings understanding 501 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 5: of social structures. Right because if they understand that social 502 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:53,759 Speaker 5: movements are being directed from the top, which is not 503 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:58,040 Speaker 5: typically the case. But if that's if that's what it 504 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:02,200 Speaker 5: looks like to them, is a person that they can identify, 505 00:35:02,719 --> 00:35:10,000 Speaker 5: who they can even a little bit make out, even 506 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:17,200 Speaker 5: the most tenuous case, is in charge, then you know 507 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:18,759 Speaker 5: that's the person they're going to go after. 508 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:19,480 Speaker 3: Yeah. 509 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:24,319 Speaker 5: Yeah, So to the extent that we're doing organizing that 510 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:29,719 Speaker 5: where it is distributed, it is autonomous. You know, it 511 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:35,319 Speaker 5: is spontaneous. And we aren't working with in structures that 512 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:38,719 Speaker 5: are hierarchical, and we're not working in structures that are 513 00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:44,080 Speaker 5: incorporated and have bank accounts in public meetings and membership structures. 514 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:50,240 Speaker 5: You know, we're already very insulated from this kind of thing. Anyway, 515 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:56,560 Speaker 5: the dangers are what the dangers have always been, which 516 00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:00,399 Speaker 5: are mass arrest because the police neither know nor care 517 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:03,920 Speaker 5: what the law is, and they don't care about Clayborn, 518 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:06,000 Speaker 5: and they don't care that the fact that you did 519 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 5: not personally throw a rock doesn't constitute probable cause to 520 00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:14,960 Speaker 5: arrest you. Right, Like, I am always more concerned about 521 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,680 Speaker 5: things on the ground like mass arrests and police involved 522 00:36:17,719 --> 00:36:23,200 Speaker 5: injuries than I am about frankly about even long term 523 00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:26,960 Speaker 5: legal consequences because so often, and I guess I say 524 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,959 Speaker 5: this because I have the privilege of practicing in New York, 525 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:36,040 Speaker 5: where there is a very strong history of public protest 526 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:39,640 Speaker 5: and everyone sort of understands what that is and no 527 00:36:39,719 --> 00:36:43,640 Speaker 5: one feels all that threatened by it. Which doesn't mean 528 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:46,319 Speaker 5: that there aren't a lot of police involved injuries, and 529 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,280 Speaker 5: it doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of traumatic arrests, 530 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:53,919 Speaker 5: but it does mean that typically there are not devastating 531 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:57,960 Speaker 5: legal consequences of that. Now, that's not the case in 532 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:03,839 Speaker 5: places like Georgia, right where they're doing their own sort 533 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:07,799 Speaker 5: of boundary testing down there to see what kinds of 534 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:11,160 Speaker 5: criminal liability and what kinds of theories of criminal law 535 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:17,640 Speaker 5: they can use to sort of bootstrap absolutely garden variety 536 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:26,000 Speaker 5: protest behavior into really serious felony charges. Right. So that's 537 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:27,680 Speaker 5: the kind of stuff that I would say, Yeah, we 538 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:30,400 Speaker 5: should be worried about it. It is dangerous to protest. 539 00:37:30,719 --> 00:37:37,520 Speaker 5: There's widespread surveillance, there's widespread public private collaboration, there's widespread 540 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:43,520 Speaker 5: agency cooperation. There's all kinds of non state actors, right, 541 00:37:43,719 --> 00:37:51,800 Speaker 5: corporate actors, political actors, random sort of individuals and small 542 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:55,680 Speaker 5: groups that are doing are engaged in all kinds of surveillance. 543 00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:59,400 Speaker 5: There's counter groups, right, we have like you mentioned before, 544 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:03,120 Speaker 5: the Proud Boy, we have all kinds of well, look, 545 00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:06,400 Speaker 5: Canary Mission is a really good example, right, We have 546 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:12,680 Speaker 5: all kinds of actors, groups, individuals, corporations, government entities that 547 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:16,640 Speaker 5: have an interest in suppressing descent, and they engage in 548 00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:22,319 Speaker 5: all kinds of conduct, you know, ranging from intense surveillance 549 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:29,400 Speaker 5: to doxing to you know, even more violent behavior, you know, 550 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:36,120 Speaker 5: targeted harassment, not just by law enforcement, but by individuals, 551 00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:41,040 Speaker 5: by neighbors, by media outlets. Right. And those are the 552 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:45,520 Speaker 5: kinds of things that make it dangerous to protest, I guess, 553 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:49,120 Speaker 5: But since when do we let that stop us? 554 00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:50,040 Speaker 2: You know? 555 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:50,440 Speaker 7: I mean? 556 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:56,080 Speaker 5: The solution to these kinds of dangerous is to be thoughtful, 557 00:38:56,120 --> 00:39:00,680 Speaker 5: to remember that discretion is the better part of valor, right, Meaning, 558 00:39:00,719 --> 00:39:02,839 Speaker 5: you don't need to be bragging about whatever you're doing 559 00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:05,480 Speaker 5: on Twitter. You don't need to always be the public 560 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:08,360 Speaker 5: face of the movement, because even if you're not speaking 561 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:12,040 Speaker 5: directly to cops in an interrogation, anything you say publicly 562 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:15,040 Speaker 5: can and very much will be used against you. Yeah, 563 00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:18,319 Speaker 5: We're seeing a lot of employment and educational consequences right 564 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:20,919 Speaker 5: people are currently what's happening right now as we speak 565 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,759 Speaker 5: at Columbia University, people are losing their student housing, they're 566 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:27,600 Speaker 5: getting suspended from school, they're getting arrested, they're getting you know, 567 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:32,719 Speaker 5: these student disciplinary proceedings. There's all kinds of risks to 568 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:38,120 Speaker 5: being a public dissident. But the solution to that kind 569 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:42,040 Speaker 5: of repression is not self censorship. It's courage. 570 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:44,880 Speaker 3: There are other ways that we secure change, but showing 571 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:46,800 Speaker 3: up in the streets is always how you make history, 572 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:49,799 Speaker 3: and you have to be smart, but you also have 573 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:55,719 Speaker 3: to be brave. As we reach another election year, almost 574 00:39:55,760 --> 00:40:00,320 Speaker 3: certainly like there will be protest, which, whatever happen, depends 575 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:03,000 Speaker 3: in the election, right, that will lead to people who 576 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:08,399 Speaker 3: are perhaps not so familiar with horizontal organizing, with like 577 00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:12,399 Speaker 3: anti authoritarian or non authoritarian organizing, all these things, entering 578 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:17,240 Speaker 3: a protest movement, and people will inevitably have to learn 579 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:21,480 Speaker 3: like one way or the other, you know, like these 580 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:24,000 Speaker 3: basic things they can do to make it as safe 581 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,000 Speaker 3: as possible to protest, and it would be great if 582 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:27,879 Speaker 3: they can learn them from a podcast, not from them 583 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:29,560 Speaker 3: or their friends getting hurt. 584 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:34,560 Speaker 5: Here's what I would say too, if it is at 585 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:38,960 Speaker 5: all possible, find a lawyer who is willing to consult 586 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:43,280 Speaker 5: with you before you go out and do your action, 587 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:47,120 Speaker 5: just so that you can be prepared right for purposes 588 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:52,280 Speaker 5: of informed consent, because I cannot tell you. You know, lawyers 589 00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:54,879 Speaker 5: are not allowed to advise their clients to break the law, 590 00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:57,759 Speaker 5: but it's very much our job to tell you what 591 00:40:57,840 --> 00:41:01,520 Speaker 5: the possible or likely consequences of certain courses of action. 592 00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:04,600 Speaker 5: And you are probably better off knowing what that is 593 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:08,040 Speaker 5: before you do the thing than after you do that thing. 594 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:09,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a good idea. 595 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:12,920 Speaker 5: I will tell you that. Personally, I would rather spend 596 00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:20,800 Speaker 5: many hours talking people through, you know, the various outcomes 597 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:26,600 Speaker 5: of different ideas, than spending ten minutes talking to them 598 00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:30,799 Speaker 5: after they're already in a cell. Right, you know, there 599 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:34,680 Speaker 5: are ways of protesting that are entirely lawful that can 600 00:41:34,719 --> 00:41:38,640 Speaker 5: still help you to accomplish your political goals. And if 601 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:41,160 Speaker 5: you are going to go out and do something that 602 00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:43,799 Speaker 5: you think is likely to involve a rest, I at 603 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,520 Speaker 5: least want you to know that it is likely to 604 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:53,160 Speaker 5: involve our resty exactly you know, and what your specific 605 00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:56,880 Speaker 5: risks might be and to have somebody lined up to 606 00:41:56,920 --> 00:42:01,480 Speaker 5: take care of you, to represent you if that becomes necessary. 607 00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:01,879 Speaker 3: Right. 608 00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:06,360 Speaker 5: I really don't mean to say, oh, don't worry about 609 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:09,680 Speaker 5: McKesson VD, It's no big deal. It is a big deal. 610 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:14,400 Speaker 5: It's a big deal because this whole judicial system and 611 00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:20,520 Speaker 5: legal apparatus is working over time to find every possible 612 00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:26,480 Speaker 5: way to discourage protest. But it is not unique in 613 00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:29,279 Speaker 5: that regard. And I guess that's really what I'm trying 614 00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:32,120 Speaker 5: to say. There are all kinds of ways in which 615 00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:37,279 Speaker 5: we are at risk by being dissidents. I just don't 616 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:41,320 Speaker 5: think that this one is particularly special or particularly alarming. 617 00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:45,239 Speaker 5: And again, what I just referred to as the law 618 00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:50,080 Speaker 5: of the land is not the same thing as law 619 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:53,040 Speaker 5: enforcement practice, right yeah. 620 00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:54,240 Speaker 8: I would. 621 00:42:55,920 --> 00:42:58,520 Speaker 5: Really want to make sure that everyone remembers a the 622 00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:02,200 Speaker 5: law is not the same thing as justice, and neither 623 00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:06,480 Speaker 5: is the law the same thing or even necessarily related 624 00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:11,600 Speaker 5: to what police are doing on the ground during a protest. 625 00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:17,439 Speaker 3: Right yeah, there's very different things. Where can people I guess, 626 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:21,799 Speaker 3: people who are organizing, people who are you know, organizing autonomous, 627 00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:25,759 Speaker 3: spontaneous horizontal movements, are they good resources for them to 628 00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:28,720 Speaker 3: find because they might be they might need in my state? 629 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:31,920 Speaker 3: What's you know, what do I have to avoid that 630 00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:32,560 Speaker 3: kind of thing? 631 00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:32,919 Speaker 2: Yes? 632 00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:34,680 Speaker 3: Where would they find those? 633 00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:39,239 Speaker 5: One resource if you are contacted by federal law enforcement 634 00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:43,040 Speaker 5: is you can call the National Lawyer's Guild Federal Anti 635 00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:46,839 Speaker 5: Repression Hotline at two one two six seven nine two 636 00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:51,960 Speaker 5: eight one one. A really good resource is the Electronic 637 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:57,319 Speaker 5: Frontier Foundation's Surveillance Self Defense which is at s as 638 00:43:57,320 --> 00:44:01,800 Speaker 5: in Surveillance s as in Self d in Defense dot 639 00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:06,399 Speaker 5: E as in Electronic f as in Frontier f as 640 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:13,800 Speaker 5: in foundation dot org. The National Lawyer's Guild has various 641 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:20,480 Speaker 5: know your Rights guides that are available at NLG dot org. 642 00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:25,200 Speaker 5: We also have chapters all over the country and if 643 00:44:25,239 --> 00:44:29,719 Speaker 5: you look in our referral directory you can find where 644 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:34,600 Speaker 5: those contacts for people all over the country. I think 645 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:38,640 Speaker 5: if you want a know your Rights training, you can 646 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:41,960 Speaker 5: reach out to the NALG and there are a lot 647 00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:45,920 Speaker 5: of other a lot of other organizations that do know 648 00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:49,319 Speaker 5: your Rights trainings. I know in New York we have 649 00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:54,520 Speaker 5: a really amazing organization called Cuney Clear, and I would 650 00:44:54,960 --> 00:44:58,760 Speaker 5: highly recommend you follow them on Instagram because they often 651 00:44:58,800 --> 00:45:03,000 Speaker 5: have a lot of resources they're posting Protect your People 652 00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:07,400 Speaker 5: a digital toolkit for organizations and employers, and it was 653 00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:13,160 Speaker 5: developed to combat anti LGBTQ plus harassment. But I think 654 00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:17,680 Speaker 5: the principles remain the same no matter what it is 655 00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:20,319 Speaker 5: that you're looking at. And I'll put the link to 656 00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:24,080 Speaker 5: that again. It's called Protect Your People and it's hosted 657 00:45:24,120 --> 00:45:29,239 Speaker 5: by the Harvard Law LGBTQ Clinic. But I'll stick the 658 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:32,160 Speaker 5: link here in the chat for you, James, so that 659 00:45:32,200 --> 00:45:33,760 Speaker 5: you can share it in the show notes. 660 00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:34,200 Speaker 2: Well. 661 00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:38,359 Speaker 3: To finish up, you've mentioned the national Lawyers Guilds and 662 00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:41,160 Speaker 3: some other resources. Is there anywhere else where people can 663 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:43,120 Speaker 3: find you or where do you think that they should 664 00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:45,440 Speaker 3: be following along? Like you know, like we said, we're 665 00:45:45,440 --> 00:45:49,600 Speaker 3: going into an election year. Stuff's probably becoming more relevant again, 666 00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:52,480 Speaker 3: and there's a genocide happening right now that people are 667 00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:55,520 Speaker 3: facing severe personal consequences for protesting. 668 00:45:56,960 --> 00:45:59,359 Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I don't want anyone to follow me. 669 00:45:59,320 --> 00:46:01,040 Speaker 3: On social media. 670 00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:06,840 Speaker 5: If that's what you're asking, I will always every single 671 00:46:06,880 --> 00:46:13,840 Speaker 5: time plug landback dot org. And if people yes, I 672 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:17,200 Speaker 5: can see that you have a land back flag behind you. 673 00:46:19,400 --> 00:46:21,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's a black one next to it. 674 00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:24,960 Speaker 5: Okay, also a solid choice for flags if we got 675 00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:30,040 Speaker 5: to do flags. Oh also, please, for the love of God, 676 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:31,120 Speaker 5: don't talk to cops. 677 00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:50,319 Speaker 6: It's it could happen. Here a podcast where I didn't 678 00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:52,120 Speaker 6: come up with an intro. So you're getting this one. 679 00:46:52,520 --> 00:46:54,480 Speaker 6: I'm your host, Bia Wong. This is this is the 680 00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:56,920 Speaker 6: podcast where actually, this is the part of the podcast 681 00:46:56,960 --> 00:46:59,600 Speaker 6: where after things have fallen apart, you put them back 682 00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:03,759 Speaker 6: together again. And yeah, the thing that's being put back 683 00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:06,080 Speaker 6: together here. You know, I really I really should have 684 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:08,200 Speaker 6: planned this intro more. But this is what happened. This 685 00:47:08,239 --> 00:47:13,319 Speaker 6: is what happens when we get night recordings. But yeah, 686 00:47:13,480 --> 00:47:16,680 Speaker 6: the thing, the thing we're putting together today is a 687 00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:21,640 Speaker 6: union at a really interesting kind of very very interesting kind. 688 00:47:21,560 --> 00:47:22,200 Speaker 3: Of coffee shop. 689 00:47:22,640 --> 00:47:25,560 Speaker 6: So with me to talk about this is Alex, Rocky 690 00:47:25,600 --> 00:47:29,080 Speaker 6: and Madeline from Blue Bottle Independent Union. And yeah, thank 691 00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:29,960 Speaker 6: you all for joining me. 692 00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:33,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you so much for having us. 693 00:47:35,040 --> 00:47:37,399 Speaker 6: Yeah, I'm excited to talk with you all. And so 694 00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:39,640 Speaker 6: I guess the first thing that I want to start 695 00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:42,360 Speaker 6: with is can you talk a bit about what Blue 696 00:47:42,360 --> 00:47:45,960 Speaker 6: Bottle is, because this is a really weird story that 697 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,200 Speaker 6: I think kind of reveals a lot about the way 698 00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:51,080 Speaker 6: I don't know, it is sort of lofty terms, is 699 00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:53,200 Speaker 6: like the direction that capital has been moving in the 700 00:47:53,239 --> 00:47:55,080 Speaker 6: past like ten years. 701 00:47:55,880 --> 00:47:56,320 Speaker 8: Absolutely. 702 00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:56,600 Speaker 2: Yeah. 703 00:47:56,640 --> 00:48:00,600 Speaker 9: So Blue Bottle is a specialty coffee chain founded by 704 00:48:00,760 --> 00:48:04,839 Speaker 9: James Freeman in Oakland, California, like two thousand and two. 705 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:09,080 Speaker 9: Like most specialty shops, starts off as like this small 706 00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:12,120 Speaker 9: little cart where you know, one guy is doing all 707 00:48:12,160 --> 00:48:15,520 Speaker 9: the parts of production, roasting, serving the coffee and all that. 708 00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:16,600 Speaker 8: And then. 709 00:48:18,360 --> 00:48:23,359 Speaker 9: Throughout you know, the early aughts twenty ten's, they do 710 00:48:24,120 --> 00:48:27,799 Speaker 9: lots of rounds of venture capital financing with like Fidelity 711 00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:33,680 Speaker 9: and other firms until twenty seventeen, when Nesley purchased a 712 00:48:33,880 --> 00:48:37,799 Speaker 9: sixty eight percent majority ownership in Blue Bottle at I 713 00:48:37,800 --> 00:48:44,520 Speaker 9: think a seven hundred million dollar evaluation. And since then, no, no, no, 714 00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:47,919 Speaker 9: the it was a seven hundred million dollar evaluation. They 715 00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:52,520 Speaker 9: paid four hundred million dollars too. Yeah, isn't this great? 716 00:48:54,880 --> 00:48:58,400 Speaker 9: And since then they've expanded from you know, the tiny 717 00:48:58,400 --> 00:49:02,080 Speaker 9: little location in California to seventy stores in the US 718 00:49:02,520 --> 00:49:05,600 Speaker 9: and then over one hundred globally, including in China, Japan, 719 00:49:05,719 --> 00:49:10,160 Speaker 9: Hong Kong, South Korea, and am I forgetting anywhere else. 720 00:49:10,760 --> 00:49:12,040 Speaker 2: I think that's I think that's it. 721 00:49:12,120 --> 00:49:15,520 Speaker 9: Yeah, Yeah, it's it's a fun time to be a 722 00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:16,120 Speaker 9: coffee worker. 723 00:49:16,160 --> 00:49:16,719 Speaker 8: I guess. 724 00:49:16,960 --> 00:49:20,080 Speaker 6: Yeah, it's interesting to me the extent to which this 725 00:49:20,239 --> 00:49:23,000 Speaker 6: it has. I mean, okay, so like one hundred shops 726 00:49:23,080 --> 00:49:25,000 Speaker 6: is like a lot of shops, but it's not seven 727 00:49:25,080 --> 00:49:28,080 Speaker 6: hundred million dollars of shops. Like it really seems like 728 00:49:28,120 --> 00:49:31,600 Speaker 6: this company has like it really has like tech valuation, 729 00:49:32,480 --> 00:49:33,640 Speaker 6: which is alarming. 730 00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:38,960 Speaker 9: Yeah, and I mean it's not uncommon for specialty right now, 731 00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:41,840 Speaker 9: which is also concerning. Like, as far as I understand, 732 00:49:41,880 --> 00:49:45,880 Speaker 9: Intelligentsia and La Cologne are also owned in part by 733 00:49:45,960 --> 00:49:50,680 Speaker 9: venture capital firms, and this is really confusing, especially because 734 00:49:51,520 --> 00:49:53,880 Speaker 9: for anybody that knows anything about like the economics of 735 00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:59,960 Speaker 9: coffee shops, the margins are terrible. Yeah, and really a 736 00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:02,560 Speaker 9: as far as I can tell, the only value that 737 00:50:02,560 --> 00:50:06,360 Speaker 9: Blue Bottle offers to Nesley is brand and like the 738 00:50:06,440 --> 00:50:10,279 Speaker 9: ability to eventually grow to the point where at some 739 00:50:10,440 --> 00:50:12,160 Speaker 9: point in the future they'll be able to make a 740 00:50:12,200 --> 00:50:13,120 Speaker 9: little bit of money. 741 00:50:12,880 --> 00:50:18,160 Speaker 6: Off of it all, which is a deeply weird business strategy. Yeah, 742 00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:21,000 Speaker 6: and so I guess I wanted to start here because 743 00:50:21,480 --> 00:50:25,120 Speaker 6: it feels like a very different organizing terrain than a 744 00:50:25,160 --> 00:50:28,600 Speaker 6: lot of like you know, a lot of the shops 745 00:50:28,600 --> 00:50:30,120 Speaker 6: that we've been that we talked to on this show, 746 00:50:30,160 --> 00:50:35,200 Speaker 6: because it's like the value of this company is only 747 00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:38,680 Speaker 6: kind of tangentially, you know, like on a sort of 748 00:50:38,760 --> 00:50:40,759 Speaker 6: macro level, the value of the company is like kind 749 00:50:40,800 --> 00:50:42,960 Speaker 6: of tenuously connected to your labor. But on the other hand, 750 00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:46,120 Speaker 6: like at the individual shop level, you're still dealing with 751 00:50:46,239 --> 00:50:49,160 Speaker 6: all of the same sort of like you know, like 752 00:50:49,239 --> 00:50:53,279 Speaker 6: hyper exploitation and trying to like ring every cent out 753 00:50:53,320 --> 00:50:53,680 Speaker 6: of stuff. 754 00:50:53,719 --> 00:50:55,879 Speaker 3: So I guess I. 755 00:50:55,840 --> 00:50:58,919 Speaker 6: Wanted to start by kind of asking, like how how 756 00:50:58,960 --> 00:51:04,400 Speaker 6: did that the weirdness of what of what Blue Bottle 757 00:51:04,560 --> 00:51:06,839 Speaker 6: is influence like how this campaign started. 758 00:51:07,239 --> 00:51:09,080 Speaker 7: To be pretty frank about our campaign, Like there was 759 00:51:09,120 --> 00:51:12,480 Speaker 7: a crop of organizers before Gonzo myself, who I would 760 00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:14,840 Speaker 7: say at this point are kind of the longest running 761 00:51:14,920 --> 00:51:17,799 Speaker 7: organizers on this campaign. Look, there was a crop before us, 762 00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:21,279 Speaker 7: so we joined. We did not start the campaign here 763 00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:26,160 Speaker 7: at Blue Bottle, but I think, I mean it was 764 00:51:26,440 --> 00:51:29,040 Speaker 7: difficult in the very beginning, Like you know, blue bottle 765 00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:31,640 Speaker 7: it pays now, like I think starting wage for brista 766 00:51:31,760 --> 00:51:35,360 Speaker 7: like eighteen an hour. You know, we just got to 767 00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:37,360 Speaker 7: pave up in April, so it's like I, you know, 768 00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:40,840 Speaker 7: I do make more of the minimum wage. It's it 769 00:51:40,880 --> 00:51:42,560 Speaker 7: can be a tough sell for people to be like, oh, 770 00:51:42,600 --> 00:51:44,879 Speaker 7: but you know it's like marginally better, Like oh, I'm 771 00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:47,200 Speaker 7: working at this like fancy coffee shop, don't they treat 772 00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:50,080 Speaker 7: us a little better? Like? But when you look at 773 00:51:50,080 --> 00:51:53,279 Speaker 7: like also, the coffee industry has a hole on like 774 00:51:53,760 --> 00:51:58,080 Speaker 7: on a global scale, incredibly exploitative industry that like we 775 00:51:58,200 --> 00:52:01,880 Speaker 7: are both we play in too as people like in 776 00:52:01,960 --> 00:52:05,279 Speaker 7: the US who make incredibly expensive specialty coffee, but also 777 00:52:05,360 --> 00:52:07,240 Speaker 7: like as workers who are exploited ourselves. 778 00:52:07,239 --> 00:52:10,120 Speaker 2: Like, this is something that I think we have to think. 779 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:14,799 Speaker 7: About often as like how I don't know, how can 780 00:52:14,840 --> 00:52:16,879 Speaker 7: our union affect this industry as a whole, How can 781 00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:19,200 Speaker 7: we affect you know, Nestle as this conglomer as a whole, 782 00:52:19,280 --> 00:52:21,480 Speaker 7: But also how can I afford my red next month? 783 00:52:22,040 --> 00:52:22,800 Speaker 2: Yeah? 784 00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:25,240 Speaker 7: And so you know, having those kinds of discussions with workers, 785 00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:27,919 Speaker 7: like putting our day to day labor into this kind 786 00:52:27,920 --> 00:52:32,759 Speaker 7: of larger context both of the company and of the industry. 787 00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:36,479 Speaker 7: I mean, I think this campaign, you know, we didn't 788 00:52:36,520 --> 00:52:39,160 Speaker 7: we didn't start out independent. We had a little bit 789 00:52:39,200 --> 00:52:43,920 Speaker 7: of shopping around almost of different unions. I think we 790 00:52:43,920 --> 00:52:47,120 Speaker 7: were also largely spout here in Boston specifically, like it 791 00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:50,600 Speaker 7: is kind of a hotbed for coffee organizing. A lot 792 00:52:50,640 --> 00:52:53,280 Speaker 7: of shops around here organized. There have been some incredibly 793 00:52:53,320 --> 00:52:56,480 Speaker 7: like militant shops out here, like I think Gonza and 794 00:52:56,520 --> 00:52:59,640 Speaker 7: I first got introduced to the Bluebettle campaign from the 795 00:52:59,680 --> 00:53:02,520 Speaker 7: Star eight seven four picket line and they were out 796 00:53:02,560 --> 00:53:04,359 Speaker 7: there for like two months, and I think that that, 797 00:53:04,920 --> 00:53:07,040 Speaker 7: you know, those kinds of things have really influenced this 798 00:53:07,080 --> 00:53:10,399 Speaker 7: campaign and really influenced our organizing as we go into 799 00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:15,319 Speaker 7: this like really kind of corporate, bougie coffee shop that 800 00:53:16,120 --> 00:53:20,920 Speaker 7: is hard to hard to reconcile with, like, hey, I 801 00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:24,879 Speaker 7: am also an exploited laborer. I you know, I am 802 00:53:25,960 --> 00:53:29,200 Speaker 7: forced to make coffee all day for customers who are 803 00:53:29,280 --> 00:53:33,239 Speaker 7: frankly quite rude and having to have those conversations with 804 00:53:33,280 --> 00:53:36,319 Speaker 7: your coacs of like, hey, we deserve better. It might 805 00:53:36,320 --> 00:53:39,200 Speaker 7: be marginally better than some other place, we still deserve 806 00:53:39,239 --> 00:53:41,279 Speaker 7: better and we can fight for so much more. So 807 00:53:42,520 --> 00:53:43,880 Speaker 7: I feel like I went on for a little bit there, 808 00:53:43,880 --> 00:53:46,000 Speaker 7: but I hope that answered that. 809 00:53:46,680 --> 00:53:49,560 Speaker 9: One thing to kind of add on to that is 810 00:53:50,120 --> 00:53:53,719 Speaker 9: when organizing in the stores. Part of the fact that 811 00:53:53,719 --> 00:53:57,400 Speaker 9: we're owned by Nesti makes it actually much easier because 812 00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:02,960 Speaker 9: people aren't like easily fooled. We understand that Neslei is 813 00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:05,840 Speaker 9: putting a lot of money into this company with the 814 00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:09,680 Speaker 9: hope of future returns, you know, in the shorter medium term. 815 00:54:09,960 --> 00:54:14,400 Speaker 9: And also people implicitly understand that the current model that 816 00:54:14,440 --> 00:54:18,880 Speaker 9: the cafes operate on is kind of reckless, Like because 817 00:54:19,360 --> 00:54:23,920 Speaker 9: we're owned basically as a venture capital scheme, this means that, 818 00:54:24,800 --> 00:54:27,880 Speaker 9: you know, we're constantly trying to cut costs that shouldn't 819 00:54:27,880 --> 00:54:32,000 Speaker 9: be cut. Like even today, Madeline and I ran out 820 00:54:32,040 --> 00:54:35,680 Speaker 9: of decaf coffee beans because they hadn't placed in order 821 00:54:35,680 --> 00:54:36,000 Speaker 9: for them. 822 00:54:36,400 --> 00:54:37,000 Speaker 2: Oh my god. 823 00:54:37,800 --> 00:54:38,680 Speaker 8: Yeah uh. 824 00:54:39,160 --> 00:54:42,960 Speaker 9: And you know we've run out of you know, milks 825 00:54:42,960 --> 00:54:46,600 Speaker 9: fairly frequently. We've run out of things like cups and 826 00:54:46,719 --> 00:54:50,319 Speaker 9: lids and very basic things that you need to run 827 00:54:50,360 --> 00:54:52,840 Speaker 9: a coffee shop as far as I can tell, only 828 00:54:52,920 --> 00:54:58,080 Speaker 9: because they need to keep operating costs comically low so 829 00:54:58,120 --> 00:55:00,759 Speaker 9: that way they can appease their nestly over lots. 830 00:55:01,880 --> 00:55:03,719 Speaker 6: Which is pretty funny because the math doesn't make any 831 00:55:03,760 --> 00:55:06,560 Speaker 6: sense on that right, because it's like, Okay, you need 832 00:55:06,600 --> 00:55:09,160 Speaker 6: to find a way to make like four hundred million dollars. 833 00:55:09,280 --> 00:55:11,839 Speaker 6: Your solution to this is We're gonna delay ordering more 834 00:55:11,840 --> 00:55:15,960 Speaker 6: coffee beans. It's like, is there anyone who like, No, 835 00:55:16,080 --> 00:55:18,279 Speaker 6: you don't like. This isn't even an accountant situation. This 836 00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:20,840 Speaker 6: is a like, is there anyone here who understands what 837 00:55:20,920 --> 00:55:24,600 Speaker 6: an order of magnitude is? What are we doing here? 838 00:55:25,120 --> 00:55:27,040 Speaker 8: Wait till you hear about the saffron latte? 839 00:55:27,560 --> 00:55:28,920 Speaker 1: Oh god, what a disaster. 840 00:55:29,640 --> 00:55:30,319 Speaker 8: Oh yeah, so. 841 00:55:30,280 --> 00:55:32,240 Speaker 9: They don't have enough money to pay us a living wage. 842 00:55:32,440 --> 00:55:37,120 Speaker 9: But from January until April of this year, we were 843 00:55:37,120 --> 00:55:41,359 Speaker 9: serving a saffron vanilla latte with and I kid you, 844 00:55:41,400 --> 00:55:44,200 Speaker 9: not real saffron, both in a syrup and also and 845 00:55:44,239 --> 00:55:47,400 Speaker 9: a powdered Yeah no, no kidding. It tasted like Plato. 846 00:55:48,640 --> 00:55:51,560 Speaker 9: I kind of like that, but not everybody does, apparently, 847 00:55:52,760 --> 00:55:53,000 Speaker 9: you know. 848 00:55:53,440 --> 00:55:55,200 Speaker 6: The first time, this is the first time I've ever 849 00:55:55,239 --> 00:55:57,920 Speaker 6: said this in my entire life, But I sincerely hope 850 00:55:57,920 --> 00:56:04,560 Speaker 6: that they were buying the fucking cheap fakes stuff real saffron. 851 00:56:04,600 --> 00:56:06,960 Speaker 6: Oh god, well, to be fair, to be fair, a 852 00:56:06,960 --> 00:56:09,759 Speaker 6: lot of something people think is real saffron probably is fake. 853 00:56:10,080 --> 00:56:13,520 Speaker 6: So maybe maybe the scammers were getting something out of this. 854 00:56:13,600 --> 00:56:16,439 Speaker 8: But dear God, that doesn't make them look good. 855 00:56:16,480 --> 00:56:19,360 Speaker 9: But yeah, no, real, somebody who's good with the economy 856 00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:22,480 Speaker 9: helped me out here. You know, three thousand dollars a 857 00:56:22,520 --> 00:56:27,000 Speaker 9: week for Saffron and eighteen dollars an hour for Bereiza's. 858 00:56:30,640 --> 00:56:35,319 Speaker 3: God, that's gonna like haunt me in my dreams. So 859 00:56:35,440 --> 00:56:38,800 Speaker 3: what order are gonna ask? How much should that cost? 860 00:56:39,360 --> 00:56:42,480 Speaker 3: Eight Jesus Christ. 861 00:56:43,640 --> 00:56:46,680 Speaker 8: Oh no, but not enough money to pay us a 862 00:56:46,680 --> 00:56:47,280 Speaker 8: living wage. 863 00:56:48,719 --> 00:56:52,680 Speaker 6: No, that's o no, no, that is that is that 864 00:56:52,800 --> 00:56:54,480 Speaker 6: is Jenny widely disgusting. 865 00:56:54,760 --> 00:56:57,319 Speaker 10: Like how you know, when you think about it, we 866 00:56:57,360 --> 00:57:01,320 Speaker 10: can like buy a little over two of them every 867 00:57:01,440 --> 00:57:02,560 Speaker 10: hour we work. 868 00:57:02,800 --> 00:57:05,479 Speaker 3: So like that's all we need. 869 00:57:07,520 --> 00:57:10,640 Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, that's also got to be like a kind 870 00:57:10,719 --> 00:57:14,520 Speaker 6: of radicalizing moment of oh my god, yeah, and here 871 00:57:14,800 --> 00:57:17,360 Speaker 6: our time is worth so little to these people. 872 00:57:18,240 --> 00:57:20,680 Speaker 7: This is actually one of the biggest conversations I would 873 00:57:20,680 --> 00:57:22,240 Speaker 7: have with my cocher is that I had to stop 874 00:57:22,280 --> 00:57:25,040 Speaker 7: having so it make them incredibly upset. Was I would 875 00:57:25,040 --> 00:57:26,400 Speaker 7: break down the mouth of them. I'd be like, you 876 00:57:26,440 --> 00:57:29,640 Speaker 7: can make a latte in about a minute, two minutes, like, 877 00:57:30,040 --> 00:57:32,640 Speaker 7: and those lattes are seven dollars. You make seventeen an hour, 878 00:57:32,720 --> 00:57:35,160 Speaker 7: make three lattes, and that's more than your hourly wage, 879 00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:37,840 Speaker 7: and you're making what one hundred of those an hour 880 00:57:37,960 --> 00:57:40,960 Speaker 7: in a rush. Like people would get really upset when 881 00:57:41,000 --> 00:57:43,680 Speaker 7: you're confronted with like the oh wow, the money coming 882 00:57:43,720 --> 00:57:44,760 Speaker 7: in and then the money. 883 00:57:44,560 --> 00:57:48,200 Speaker 2: That I'm receiving. It'll drive you crazy. 884 00:57:49,400 --> 00:57:50,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think, I don't know. 885 00:57:50,720 --> 00:57:52,400 Speaker 6: That's one of these things where I think in a 886 00:57:52,400 --> 00:57:58,160 Speaker 6: lot of industries it's kind of that kind of value 887 00:57:58,280 --> 00:58:01,520 Speaker 6: thing is abstracted because like I don't know, Like you're, 888 00:58:01,600 --> 00:58:03,640 Speaker 6: like I just talked about it like an accountant earlier, right, 889 00:58:03,680 --> 00:58:06,720 Speaker 6: Like you're an accountant, you have no idea how much 890 00:58:06,760 --> 00:58:09,040 Speaker 6: of well, I guess maybe an accountant would know exactly 891 00:58:09,120 --> 00:58:10,800 Speaker 6: about a value like that. 892 00:58:11,280 --> 00:58:12,000 Speaker 3: Okay, I don't know. 893 00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:15,520 Speaker 6: You work in like you work in a factory that 894 00:58:15,560 --> 00:58:18,480 Speaker 6: produces an auto part, right, like one thing that goes 895 00:58:18,520 --> 00:58:20,440 Speaker 6: into an assembly of an auto parts, Like you have 896 00:58:20,520 --> 00:58:22,440 Speaker 6: no like there's no good way for you to like 897 00:58:22,480 --> 00:58:24,040 Speaker 6: actually understand this sort of value. 898 00:58:24,760 --> 00:58:25,000 Speaker 3: Things. 899 00:58:25,160 --> 00:58:26,480 Speaker 6: You can get kind of close, but I think it's 900 00:58:26,560 --> 00:58:29,280 Speaker 6: less visceral than just yeah, this is an item of 901 00:58:29,360 --> 00:58:32,520 Speaker 6: food that I'm watching all of these people like consume 902 00:58:32,640 --> 00:58:35,000 Speaker 6: that I'm making, and it's like, yeah, sure, obviously there's 903 00:58:35,080 --> 00:58:38,600 Speaker 6: like you know, like back down the value chain, there's 904 00:58:38,640 --> 00:58:42,080 Speaker 6: also probably like Nessley doing like slave labor, like child 905 00:58:42,200 --> 00:58:46,040 Speaker 6: slave labor to get chocolate or something. Right, But I 906 00:58:46,080 --> 00:58:48,120 Speaker 6: don't know, there's this there's something really kind of just 907 00:58:48,920 --> 00:58:54,040 Speaker 6: viscerally horrifying about like I've produced eight hundred dollars of 908 00:58:54,080 --> 00:58:58,200 Speaker 6: coffee and they're paying me eighteen dollars. Yeah, so speaking 909 00:58:58,280 --> 00:59:01,080 Speaker 6: of eight hundred dollars of coffee, this show. 910 00:59:01,520 --> 00:59:02,360 Speaker 3: Actually, I don't think. 911 00:59:02,200 --> 00:59:04,840 Speaker 6: We've ever gotten the coffee ad, which is sort of remarkable. 912 00:59:05,520 --> 00:59:07,800 Speaker 6: You'd think at some point, I. 913 00:59:07,760 --> 00:59:10,000 Speaker 9: Don't know, I don't dream really funny, you know, if 914 00:59:10,160 --> 00:59:12,040 Speaker 9: if on the ad that we're about to go to, 915 00:59:12,120 --> 00:59:14,120 Speaker 9: it's you know, like the Black Rifle Coffee Company or 916 00:59:14,120 --> 00:59:14,479 Speaker 9: some shit. 917 00:59:15,080 --> 00:59:18,920 Speaker 6: Oh god, wait no, I think I think one of 918 00:59:18,960 --> 00:59:21,320 Speaker 6: the I think one of the insane. It might have 919 00:59:21,400 --> 00:59:24,600 Speaker 6: been the other one. So there's like Black Rifle Coffee, 920 00:59:24,600 --> 00:59:26,600 Speaker 6: which is the right wing coffee thing. But then they 921 00:59:26,760 --> 00:59:30,160 Speaker 6: they condemned Kyle Rittenhouse murdering all those people, and so 922 00:59:30,560 --> 00:59:33,120 Speaker 6: then there became a second to even more anti woe 923 00:59:33,120 --> 00:59:36,960 Speaker 6: coffee shop that was even shittier. I think those people 924 00:59:37,000 --> 00:59:39,120 Speaker 6: might legitimately have tried to sell an ad to our show. 925 00:59:39,120 --> 00:59:40,000 Speaker 3: At one point we were like. 926 00:59:39,960 --> 00:59:44,680 Speaker 6: No, what the fuck, that's why there's we had so 927 00:59:44,720 --> 00:59:48,960 Speaker 6: many insane ads. We had the famously the Washington Highway 928 00:59:49,000 --> 00:59:55,720 Speaker 6: Patrol put one on here. So let's let's hope you 929 00:59:55,720 --> 01:00:09,800 Speaker 6: have a reasonable ad instead of that, and we are back. 930 01:00:10,360 --> 01:00:13,920 Speaker 6: Luckily this is podcasting or not regulated like radio, so 931 01:00:13,960 --> 01:00:16,600 Speaker 6: I could just fucking say, shit, it's great. We love 932 01:00:16,640 --> 01:00:18,040 Speaker 6: we love, we love to be we love to be 933 01:00:18,080 --> 01:00:22,560 Speaker 6: in podcasting. So yeah, this, this brings us in no 934 01:00:22,720 --> 01:00:25,800 Speaker 6: particular bye by by no particular rhyme of reason. 935 01:00:25,840 --> 01:00:27,760 Speaker 3: This brings us to a neoxt. 936 01:00:27,480 --> 01:00:30,400 Speaker 6: Thing I wanted to sort of talk about, which is 937 01:00:30,560 --> 01:00:34,880 Speaker 6: about the decision to go independent and about independent unions 938 01:00:34,960 --> 01:00:37,720 Speaker 6: versus sort of the traditional business unions that have been 939 01:00:37,760 --> 01:00:39,760 Speaker 6: trying to run a lot of these campaigns. So yeah, 940 01:00:39,800 --> 01:00:42,200 Speaker 6: I guess wherever you want to start in that whole 941 01:00:42,240 --> 01:00:44,720 Speaker 6: sort of thickets of issues. 942 01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:50,360 Speaker 7: Yeah, the decision to go independent was maybe eight months 943 01:00:50,400 --> 01:00:56,320 Speaker 7: into our campaign. We didivo to go independent. We were, 944 01:00:56,840 --> 01:01:00,720 Speaker 7: you know, kind of we had not a with anyone. 945 01:01:00,800 --> 01:01:03,280 Speaker 7: We some weird stuff that happened with some previous business 946 01:01:03,400 --> 01:01:05,960 Speaker 7: unions and so we're kind of an shopping around phase, 947 01:01:07,040 --> 01:01:09,320 Speaker 7: and I like good friend of the union and someone 948 01:01:09,360 --> 01:01:12,800 Speaker 7: who has helped us incredibly throughout the campaign, said hey, 949 01:01:12,880 --> 01:01:16,120 Speaker 7: can I pitch you guys on going independent? Like and 950 01:01:16,200 --> 01:01:18,640 Speaker 7: at that time, I mean, I can't speak for the 951 01:01:18,680 --> 01:01:21,520 Speaker 7: other folks, Like I did not know anything about independent unions. 952 01:01:22,240 --> 01:01:24,960 Speaker 7: This campaign has also been an incredible like learning process 953 01:01:25,000 --> 01:01:27,640 Speaker 7: for me. And so you know, we talked about a 954 01:01:27,680 --> 01:01:31,919 Speaker 7: little bit of like, hey, unions, everything that a union does, 955 01:01:31,960 --> 01:01:36,880 Speaker 7: workers can do and really like trying to like instill 956 01:01:36,960 --> 01:01:38,880 Speaker 7: this like we can do it ourselves because I think 957 01:01:38,880 --> 01:01:43,440 Speaker 7: that like, for me, like the dream of independent unionism 958 01:01:43,520 --> 01:01:46,520 Speaker 7: is like the having autonomy and control of our lives 959 01:01:47,000 --> 01:01:50,160 Speaker 7: both in the workplace and in our unions at like 960 01:01:50,240 --> 01:01:52,920 Speaker 7: as workers. And so you know this idea of like 961 01:01:52,920 --> 01:01:55,880 Speaker 7: oh yeah, this the the union just takes care of it. Oh, 962 01:01:55,920 --> 01:01:58,160 Speaker 7: you pay dues and this stafford does all these things 963 01:01:58,160 --> 01:02:00,480 Speaker 7: for you. But when you know, when we filed our petition, 964 01:02:00,520 --> 01:02:02,920 Speaker 7: you know I filled that out, it's not that hard. 965 01:02:03,280 --> 01:02:06,000 Speaker 7: You know, there are so many things where it's like oh, yeah, 966 01:02:06,040 --> 01:02:07,560 Speaker 7: the union will take care of it, or oh this 967 01:02:07,640 --> 01:02:09,600 Speaker 7: is what does pay for like, oh, we can have 968 01:02:09,640 --> 01:02:12,160 Speaker 7: a lawyer look at it. At no part of this 969 01:02:12,240 --> 01:02:15,200 Speaker 7: process was there really anything that workers could not have done. 970 01:02:15,240 --> 01:02:18,120 Speaker 7: Did we seek legal advice? Absolutely? Did we have people 971 01:02:18,160 --> 01:02:20,479 Speaker 7: help us out who maybe knew more than I did. Yes, 972 01:02:21,080 --> 01:02:23,040 Speaker 7: But that isn't to say that we were not learning 973 01:02:23,040 --> 01:02:25,040 Speaker 7: the entire time. So to me, that's like the big 974 01:02:25,080 --> 01:02:29,120 Speaker 7: ethos of independent unionism of like learning it, doing it, 975 01:02:29,200 --> 01:02:32,800 Speaker 7: teaching others. I think it has been an incredible opportunity. 976 01:02:32,880 --> 01:02:36,640 Speaker 7: I think also like we really are committed to like 977 01:02:36,720 --> 01:02:39,320 Speaker 7: rank and file democracy and so having workers have a 978 01:02:39,480 --> 01:02:43,680 Speaker 7: say in all major decisions, especially like now that we 979 01:02:43,720 --> 01:02:46,919 Speaker 7: have had our election, we're moving into bargaining hopefully soon, 980 01:02:47,880 --> 01:02:51,920 Speaker 7: Like being able to have workers submit proposals, have workers 981 01:02:52,000 --> 01:02:54,600 Speaker 7: look and do open bargaining, have them look at every 982 01:02:54,840 --> 01:02:56,440 Speaker 7: at the contract at every step of the way, and 983 01:02:56,480 --> 01:03:00,560 Speaker 7: things like this, having people participate in their unions. I mean, 984 01:03:00,560 --> 01:03:01,840 Speaker 7: I think that we are in a time of like 985 01:03:01,920 --> 01:03:04,480 Speaker 7: the revitalization of the labor movement, and I don't want 986 01:03:04,520 --> 01:03:06,320 Speaker 7: workers to get left behind in that. Like I think 987 01:03:06,400 --> 01:03:09,640 Speaker 7: that we, you know, like we are the labor and 988 01:03:09,720 --> 01:03:14,000 Speaker 7: so being able to control our unions and lead them 989 01:03:14,040 --> 01:03:16,520 Speaker 7: in the ways that we want to as democratically as 990 01:03:16,520 --> 01:03:17,000 Speaker 7: we can. 991 01:03:17,920 --> 01:03:19,800 Speaker 2: To me, it's been what it's all about. Did that 992 01:03:19,840 --> 01:03:22,680 Speaker 2: mean that it was an easy campaign. No, it was 993 01:03:22,720 --> 01:03:24,360 Speaker 2: a lot of work. It was a lot of. 994 01:03:24,320 --> 01:03:26,280 Speaker 7: Work that maybe a paid staff or would have done, 995 01:03:26,320 --> 01:03:28,840 Speaker 7: but we did it ourselves and it took longer, and 996 01:03:28,880 --> 01:03:31,400 Speaker 7: it took a lot of education as well of explaining 997 01:03:31,440 --> 01:03:33,760 Speaker 7: to my coworkers of like, hey, we want to form 998 01:03:33,800 --> 01:03:36,040 Speaker 7: a union and it's not just this thing that kind 999 01:03:36,080 --> 01:03:38,120 Speaker 7: of happens to you, Like, actually, you have to make 1000 01:03:38,120 --> 01:03:40,320 Speaker 7: it happen now if you want to do it. So 1001 01:03:40,400 --> 01:03:42,000 Speaker 7: I think that for us the choice to go in 1002 01:03:42,000 --> 01:03:46,880 Speaker 7: dependent independent has like only reaped benefits so far. 1003 01:03:47,000 --> 01:03:48,240 Speaker 2: It's been this wonderful thing. 1004 01:03:48,280 --> 01:03:50,760 Speaker 7: I think that we are all much better for it 1005 01:03:50,760 --> 01:03:53,800 Speaker 7: and much closer like as co workers. I think that 1006 01:03:53,800 --> 01:03:57,240 Speaker 7: people are more excited about their union. But it certainly, 1007 01:03:57,360 --> 01:03:58,919 Speaker 7: you know, it took a lot of work, It took 1008 01:03:58,960 --> 01:04:00,520 Speaker 7: a lot of time. It took a lot of trust 1009 01:04:01,080 --> 01:04:02,479 Speaker 7: from our coworkers as well. 1010 01:04:03,160 --> 01:04:09,080 Speaker 9: Yeah, I mean, one of the most formative experiences that 1011 01:04:09,720 --> 01:04:11,200 Speaker 9: has stuck with me, and I think I might have 1012 01:04:11,240 --> 01:04:14,640 Speaker 9: mentioned this in the interview before the interview was when 1013 01:04:14,640 --> 01:04:18,000 Speaker 9: we were shopping around with business unions. Rocky and I 1014 01:04:18,080 --> 01:04:20,880 Speaker 9: had sat down with somebody from a fairly large one, 1015 01:04:21,040 --> 01:04:24,800 Speaker 9: and we're trying to ask all of these questions about, 1016 01:04:25,360 --> 01:04:27,160 Speaker 9: you know, would we be able to have rank and 1017 01:04:27,200 --> 01:04:30,680 Speaker 9: file control of our own campaign, would we be able 1018 01:04:30,760 --> 01:04:38,200 Speaker 9: to you know, legitimately examine unconventional tactics for launching or 1019 01:04:38,200 --> 01:04:42,720 Speaker 9: sustaining our campaign, you know, what is the actual process 1020 01:04:42,800 --> 01:04:47,320 Speaker 9: for requesting finances from the larger affiliate if we needed it, 1021 01:04:47,800 --> 01:04:50,000 Speaker 9: And more or less, what we were told by this 1022 01:04:50,080 --> 01:04:53,000 Speaker 9: staffer was that none of this would be in the 1023 01:04:53,040 --> 01:04:55,320 Speaker 9: hands of rank and file, and it would either be 1024 01:04:55,400 --> 01:04:59,040 Speaker 9: determined by what this particular staffer thought was best or 1025 01:04:59,160 --> 01:05:02,480 Speaker 9: you know, they would have to get approval from you know, 1026 01:05:02,560 --> 01:05:07,200 Speaker 9: whoever was above them, which, despite the fact that this 1027 01:05:07,280 --> 01:05:09,960 Speaker 9: person was within the reform caucus of their union, did 1028 01:05:10,000 --> 01:05:12,000 Speaker 9: not strike them as being anti democratic at all. 1029 01:05:12,160 --> 01:05:13,440 Speaker 3: Yeah. 1030 01:05:13,760 --> 01:05:19,720 Speaker 9: Yeah, And at that point, I mean, you know, we'd 1031 01:05:19,760 --> 01:05:23,360 Speaker 9: been talking to our co workers for months at that point, 1032 01:05:24,400 --> 01:05:28,400 Speaker 9: you know, hanging out with them, becoming building community, and 1033 01:05:29,040 --> 01:05:33,000 Speaker 9: it didn't seem like there was really anything that you know, 1034 01:05:33,040 --> 01:05:35,320 Speaker 9: a larger business union would have had to offer to 1035 01:05:35,360 --> 01:05:39,680 Speaker 9: begin with. In fact, in my own experience, the idea 1036 01:05:39,720 --> 01:05:44,040 Speaker 9: of affiliation has more or less come across as an 1037 01:05:44,080 --> 01:05:46,720 Speaker 9: implicit threat of how else are you going to take 1038 01:05:46,760 --> 01:05:48,880 Speaker 9: on Nesley without all of the money and resources that 1039 01:05:48,880 --> 01:05:50,640 Speaker 9: we have but won't let you use anyways. 1040 01:05:53,080 --> 01:05:54,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, which is like not a thing. 1041 01:05:55,360 --> 01:05:57,360 Speaker 6: I don't know, if you've gotten to the point where 1042 01:05:57,360 --> 01:05:59,280 Speaker 6: your union is threatening you, and this is something that 1043 01:05:59,480 --> 01:06:04,400 Speaker 6: like happens more than you'd think, Like, you know, but 1044 01:06:04,640 --> 01:06:06,840 Speaker 6: listeners of this show may or may not have listened 1045 01:06:06,880 --> 01:06:09,680 Speaker 6: to some previous episodes talking to some of the reformed 1046 01:06:09,760 --> 01:06:12,120 Speaker 6: nurses slates that we've we've had on this show. 1047 01:06:12,000 --> 01:06:12,760 Speaker 3: Where that's happened. 1048 01:06:12,800 --> 01:06:15,160 Speaker 6: But if your union is threatening to you, something has 1049 01:06:15,160 --> 01:06:20,800 Speaker 6: gone very badly wrong, and you're probably you're in a 1050 01:06:20,800 --> 01:06:22,960 Speaker 6: position where you're probably going to be having to fight 1051 01:06:22,960 --> 01:06:25,040 Speaker 6: yourself out of a deep hole. And one way you 1052 01:06:25,080 --> 01:06:27,520 Speaker 6: can avoid getting in there in the first place is 1053 01:06:27,520 --> 01:06:29,880 Speaker 6: by not digging the hole and building something yourself. 1054 01:06:31,600 --> 01:06:34,440 Speaker 9: Yeah, exactly, And I mean, you know, one of the 1055 01:06:34,480 --> 01:06:37,160 Speaker 9: things that we heard a lot about at Labor Notes 1056 01:06:37,920 --> 01:06:41,320 Speaker 9: two weeks ago at this point was people within larger 1057 01:06:41,400 --> 01:06:44,040 Speaker 9: unions talking about how to fight off staffers or bureaucrats 1058 01:06:44,160 --> 01:06:48,080 Speaker 9: and I'm personally very glad that we are not in 1059 01:06:48,120 --> 01:06:50,560 Speaker 9: that fight ourselves because we have Nestlie to take care of. 1060 01:06:50,600 --> 01:06:56,640 Speaker 6: Now. Yeah, yeah, the sort of two way fight between 1061 01:06:57,000 --> 01:07:01,280 Speaker 6: your boss and then also and staffers is not a 1062 01:07:01,320 --> 01:07:02,880 Speaker 6: thing that usually goes well for you. 1063 01:07:04,360 --> 01:07:06,680 Speaker 3: It's a bad situation to be it. I would recommend 1064 01:07:06,760 --> 01:07:07,480 Speaker 3: of waiting it. 1065 01:07:08,480 --> 01:07:08,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. 1066 01:07:09,240 --> 01:07:11,680 Speaker 6: Yeah, So I guess the next thing that I'm sort 1067 01:07:11,680 --> 01:07:14,120 Speaker 6: of interested in is, you know, so you talked a 1068 01:07:14,120 --> 01:07:17,320 Speaker 6: bit about how sort of being an independent union like 1069 01:07:17,520 --> 01:07:21,200 Speaker 6: made the union closer. How else did that influence how 1070 01:07:21,200 --> 01:07:23,920 Speaker 6: the campaign went? And how is like how how has 1071 01:07:23,960 --> 01:07:26,160 Speaker 6: it been going in the past, Like, I know, I 1072 01:07:26,160 --> 01:07:30,120 Speaker 6: know you won your election. I mean, they're right, yeah, 1073 01:07:30,120 --> 01:07:31,880 Speaker 6: it was it was an election with sorry it has 1074 01:07:31,920 --> 01:07:34,400 Speaker 6: been this is This has been the most chaotic two 1075 01:07:34,440 --> 01:07:35,960 Speaker 6: weeks I've had in several years. 1076 01:07:36,440 --> 01:07:39,160 Speaker 9: So, I mean, it's just like Lennon said, there are 1077 01:07:39,400 --> 01:07:41,640 Speaker 9: years when you fuck around and weeks where you find out. 1078 01:07:44,720 --> 01:07:50,040 Speaker 9: I'm gonna get so much shit for that comment now, anyways. 1079 01:07:49,800 --> 01:07:54,000 Speaker 3: Cool Zobebia is not endorsed. Letting made two good lines. 1080 01:07:55,600 --> 01:07:58,760 Speaker 9: I promise I only said it for the joke. Yeah, 1081 01:07:58,800 --> 01:08:03,840 Speaker 9: our campaign started April third. There are six stores in 1082 01:08:03,920 --> 01:08:09,200 Speaker 9: the Greater Boston area, with roughly sixty seven sixty five 1083 01:08:09,320 --> 01:08:10,720 Speaker 9: workers across all of them. 1084 01:08:11,880 --> 01:08:14,880 Speaker 8: On April third, fifty. 1085 01:08:14,720 --> 01:08:19,280 Speaker 9: Workers from five of those stores handed cards like union 1086 01:08:19,280 --> 01:08:23,600 Speaker 9: authorization cards to management, announcing our campaign, our union, and 1087 01:08:24,479 --> 01:08:29,200 Speaker 9: asking for voluntary recognition by noon on April eighth. Management 1088 01:08:29,520 --> 01:08:33,160 Speaker 9: accepted the cards, but then did not recognize the union 1089 01:08:33,240 --> 01:08:36,360 Speaker 9: voluntarily by newon April eighth, and instead they put up 1090 01:08:36,560 --> 01:08:38,000 Speaker 9: a flyer in the back of the house of all 1091 01:08:38,040 --> 01:08:40,920 Speaker 9: the cafes saying that they would respect the outcome of 1092 01:08:40,960 --> 01:08:44,679 Speaker 9: an election, at which point, yeah, they didn't even publicly 1093 01:08:44,680 --> 01:08:48,120 Speaker 9: acknowledge us. So at that point, across five of the 1094 01:08:48,200 --> 01:08:50,599 Speaker 9: six stores, we had a walk out on the eighth, 1095 01:08:51,040 --> 01:08:55,000 Speaker 9: and then that same day went downtown to file for 1096 01:08:55,040 --> 01:08:58,600 Speaker 9: an election with the NLRB, which despite the fact that 1097 01:08:58,680 --> 01:09:00,680 Speaker 9: we called them a week in advance to be like, 1098 01:09:00,840 --> 01:09:02,599 Speaker 9: is it okay if a lot of people show up 1099 01:09:03,160 --> 01:09:07,200 Speaker 9: kind of spontaneously to file for an election, And despite 1100 01:09:07,240 --> 01:09:09,120 Speaker 9: the fact that the person in the office said, yeah, 1101 01:09:09,200 --> 01:09:10,800 Speaker 9: it's fine as so long as like less than one 1102 01:09:10,880 --> 01:09:12,519 Speaker 9: hundred and you don't have like a sound stage or 1103 01:09:12,520 --> 01:09:13,840 Speaker 9: anything you got to set up, and if you do 1104 01:09:14,120 --> 01:09:17,479 Speaker 9: get a permit. Once we walked up to the office, 1105 01:09:17,520 --> 01:09:20,439 Speaker 9: at least four DHS cop cars like a sump in 1106 01:09:20,520 --> 01:09:24,200 Speaker 9: front of us, and they would only let Rocky go 1107 01:09:24,439 --> 01:09:27,320 Speaker 9: into the office to file for our election while being 1108 01:09:27,560 --> 01:09:30,280 Speaker 9: escorted by a DHS agent the entire times. 1109 01:09:31,160 --> 01:09:34,320 Speaker 6: You know, sometimes you get just these this is something 1110 01:09:34,320 --> 01:09:36,400 Speaker 6: that's been happening, so like, well, I have no idea 1111 01:09:36,400 --> 01:09:38,360 Speaker 6: when this episode is gonna go. This is being recorded 1112 01:09:38,360 --> 01:09:40,639 Speaker 6: in the middle of the protest. Like literally today, seventy 1113 01:09:40,720 --> 01:09:43,960 Speaker 6: year old professors are getting dragged out of like protests 1114 01:09:44,000 --> 01:09:46,559 Speaker 6: by cops, and like this is one of these moments 1115 01:09:46,560 --> 01:09:51,680 Speaker 6: where when things actually happenet these really visceral demonstrations of 1116 01:09:51,800 --> 01:09:54,479 Speaker 6: like what the society you actually live in is. And 1117 01:09:55,040 --> 01:09:57,960 Speaker 6: I don't think there's like a more perfect demonstration of 1118 01:09:58,840 --> 01:10:01,680 Speaker 6: the National Labor Relations Boards sometimes will help you, but 1119 01:10:01,800 --> 01:10:05,360 Speaker 6: also also is very clearly a bureaucratic mechanism of a 1120 01:10:05,400 --> 01:10:06,040 Speaker 6: police state. 1121 01:10:06,680 --> 01:10:09,519 Speaker 3: Then the cops show up and only one of you 1122 01:10:09,600 --> 01:10:10,760 Speaker 3: can go talk to the n l R and P 1123 01:10:10,920 --> 01:10:14,599 Speaker 3: person escorted by police. That is wild. 1124 01:10:16,320 --> 01:10:16,519 Speaker 10: Yeah. 1125 01:10:16,560 --> 01:10:18,360 Speaker 9: It was also the same day as the solar eclipse. 1126 01:10:18,800 --> 01:10:24,000 Speaker 9: Oh my god, it was a very magic day. Yeah, 1127 01:10:24,600 --> 01:10:27,280 Speaker 9: nothing was more enchanting than the fact that we got 1128 01:10:27,320 --> 01:10:29,840 Speaker 9: to watch the eclipse when we otherwise would have had 1129 01:10:29,880 --> 01:10:31,880 Speaker 9: to have been at work at rules. 1130 01:10:32,760 --> 01:10:35,479 Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, I get I guess. I guess that's another 1131 01:10:35,560 --> 01:10:37,599 Speaker 6: way to get to get turnout for a walk out. 1132 01:10:37,640 --> 01:10:39,560 Speaker 6: It's like, hey, look we're gonna do a walk and 1133 01:10:39,760 --> 01:10:42,000 Speaker 6: also you could go see the eclipse instead of serving 1134 01:10:42,160 --> 01:10:43,360 Speaker 6: rich people coffee. 1135 01:10:43,760 --> 01:10:45,719 Speaker 3: And it worked. Hell yeah. 1136 01:10:47,400 --> 01:10:49,400 Speaker 2: Yeah. But all that is to say, I think being 1137 01:10:49,479 --> 01:10:51,760 Speaker 2: independent lets us do fun and creative things. 1138 01:10:51,920 --> 01:10:52,160 Speaker 5: Yeah. 1139 01:10:53,360 --> 01:10:55,400 Speaker 8: Yeah, thank you for remembering what the actual question was. 1140 01:10:58,880 --> 01:11:00,840 Speaker 7: Like, I think we're allowed to be a little silly 1141 01:11:00,920 --> 01:11:03,400 Speaker 7: with it, and we're allowed to have fun, and we're 1142 01:11:03,400 --> 01:11:05,360 Speaker 7: allowed to come up with ideas that maybe. 1143 01:11:05,240 --> 01:11:07,040 Speaker 3: Other like haters would shoot down. 1144 01:11:07,120 --> 01:11:08,719 Speaker 7: But when me and my cocher say yeah that would 1145 01:11:08,720 --> 01:11:10,920 Speaker 7: be cool and fun, we just get to do it 1146 01:11:12,200 --> 01:11:15,000 Speaker 7: and there's like joy and creativity and all of it. 1147 01:11:15,560 --> 01:11:29,760 Speaker 6: Yeah yeah, So I guess you know, do you have 1148 01:11:29,800 --> 01:11:31,200 Speaker 6: anything else that you want to make sure we get 1149 01:11:31,240 --> 01:11:32,559 Speaker 6: you before we sort of wrap things up. 1150 01:11:33,520 --> 01:11:34,080 Speaker 2: Yeah. So. 1151 01:11:34,280 --> 01:11:36,200 Speaker 9: I mean, as much as we've talked about a lot 1152 01:11:36,240 --> 01:11:40,440 Speaker 9: of the benefits of independent unionism, one of the downsides 1153 01:11:41,600 --> 01:11:44,599 Speaker 9: is that we have no money, and if people would 1154 01:11:44,640 --> 01:11:46,639 Speaker 9: be so gracious as to give us some of their money. 1155 01:11:47,760 --> 01:11:51,479 Speaker 9: You can go to link t R dot e E 1156 01:11:52,040 --> 01:11:56,519 Speaker 9: slash Blue Bottle Union so link tree slash Blue Bottle Union, 1157 01:11:57,200 --> 01:12:00,880 Speaker 9: where there'll be a link to our GoFundMe. I'll also 1158 01:12:00,920 --> 01:12:02,920 Speaker 9: say that since we don't have staffers, our overhead is 1159 01:12:02,960 --> 01:12:06,120 Speaker 9: incredibly low and this will once again allows us to 1160 01:12:07,000 --> 01:12:09,040 Speaker 9: you know, actually do cool and fun things like we 1161 01:12:09,120 --> 01:12:12,080 Speaker 9: were able to pay everybody that did the walkout because 1162 01:12:12,080 --> 01:12:14,120 Speaker 9: we were able to raise enough money in the in 1163 01:12:14,240 --> 01:12:17,640 Speaker 9: between from April third to eighth, which was incredible. 1164 01:12:19,160 --> 01:12:22,240 Speaker 10: I have like some personal stuff when it comes to 1165 01:12:23,280 --> 01:12:26,800 Speaker 10: like filing independent and talking with a lot of people 1166 01:12:26,840 --> 01:12:31,479 Speaker 10: that I know, I feel like it actually helped the 1167 01:12:31,560 --> 01:12:34,519 Speaker 10: fact that we were independent because you know, there was 1168 01:12:34,600 --> 01:12:38,439 Speaker 10: none of that background, oh unions. You know that there's 1169 01:12:38,479 --> 01:12:41,080 Speaker 10: this big influence when it comes to like unions and 1170 01:12:41,280 --> 01:12:44,800 Speaker 10: like big scary unions taking all your money through union 1171 01:12:44,920 --> 01:12:50,040 Speaker 10: dues and YadA YadA. But you know, with filing independent, 1172 01:12:50,640 --> 01:12:54,120 Speaker 10: you know we can just be like, actually, we don't 1173 01:12:54,200 --> 01:12:57,320 Speaker 10: have to worry about anything like that. We set union 1174 01:12:57,439 --> 01:13:01,640 Speaker 10: dues democratically and like and so it's just been like 1175 01:13:01,840 --> 01:13:07,400 Speaker 10: really helpful for when we were getting organized and everything. 1176 01:13:07,600 --> 01:13:14,360 Speaker 10: Just relaying that idea to coworkers, to family, friends and 1177 01:13:14,520 --> 01:13:17,519 Speaker 10: everyone just kind of like helps them be like, oh 1178 01:13:17,800 --> 01:13:18,639 Speaker 10: that makes sense. 1179 01:13:20,040 --> 01:13:20,240 Speaker 4: Yeah. 1180 01:13:20,280 --> 01:13:22,800 Speaker 9: I mean the old like you know, anti union talking 1181 01:13:22,880 --> 01:13:25,360 Speaker 9: point of like you know, there being an outside organization 1182 01:13:26,680 --> 01:13:29,840 Speaker 9: really falls flat with an independent union because it really 1183 01:13:30,000 --> 01:13:32,880 Speaker 9: is just you and all of your friends. And then 1184 01:13:34,080 --> 01:13:36,080 Speaker 9: on top of that, it also means that management hasn't 1185 01:13:36,080 --> 01:13:39,200 Speaker 9: known how to respond to us, because in the week 1186 01:13:39,560 --> 01:13:42,280 Speaker 9: leading up to our election, which we won thirty eight 1187 01:13:42,320 --> 01:13:47,200 Speaker 9: to four this past Friday, May third, Yeah, they put 1188 01:13:47,240 --> 01:13:50,840 Speaker 9: out like three or four different flyers, one talking about 1189 01:13:51,000 --> 01:13:53,880 Speaker 9: business unions that have signed management's rights clauses in the 1190 01:13:53,960 --> 01:13:55,840 Speaker 9: most fucking like I'm not owned. 1191 01:13:55,920 --> 01:13:56,519 Speaker 6: I'm not owned. 1192 01:13:56,760 --> 01:14:01,280 Speaker 8: I'm still going to get my mentionmans rights claus like ever. 1193 01:14:01,640 --> 01:14:06,800 Speaker 9: And then also another flyer about union dues and examples 1194 01:14:06,880 --> 01:14:09,479 Speaker 9: of business unions that you know, to anybody that doesn't 1195 01:14:09,479 --> 01:14:11,040 Speaker 9: know anything about unism, would seem high. 1196 01:14:11,760 --> 01:14:11,960 Speaker 2: Yeah. 1197 01:14:12,200 --> 01:14:14,200 Speaker 9: They also, in a letter that they sent out to 1198 01:14:14,360 --> 01:14:17,320 Speaker 9: all of us the night before our election, talked complained 1199 01:14:17,320 --> 01:14:20,120 Speaker 9: about us seeking external assistance, and all of this just 1200 01:14:20,200 --> 01:14:24,360 Speaker 9: completely falls flat because you know, it's literally we've done 1201 01:14:24,400 --> 01:14:26,760 Speaker 9: this mostly by like having pot lucks together to talk 1202 01:14:26,800 --> 01:14:29,320 Speaker 9: about all of our issues at work and or like 1203 01:14:29,439 --> 01:14:34,080 Speaker 9: movie nights or some shit, and it's much tougher to 1204 01:14:34,640 --> 01:14:37,400 Speaker 9: convince people to vote against the person that they're on 1205 01:14:37,479 --> 01:14:38,599 Speaker 9: the floor with eight hours a day. 1206 01:14:39,200 --> 01:14:42,360 Speaker 10: Yeah, the overall like way that these papers were received 1207 01:14:42,840 --> 01:14:46,000 Speaker 10: is has been like met with kind of like a 1208 01:14:46,080 --> 01:14:50,720 Speaker 10: lot of skull emojis in group chats and like just 1209 01:14:50,840 --> 01:14:54,880 Speaker 10: kind of like generally making fun of the whole thing. 1210 01:14:57,439 --> 01:15:00,080 Speaker 10: And I think that like that's been really good for 1211 01:15:00,200 --> 01:15:04,560 Speaker 10: morale as well, because like, you know, it's just not 1212 01:15:04,680 --> 01:15:09,080 Speaker 10: getting to us. It's goofy and like just doesn't work. 1213 01:15:10,120 --> 01:15:14,240 Speaker 10: So and also the way that they've been handing these 1214 01:15:14,280 --> 01:15:16,880 Speaker 10: flyers out, I don't know about like other cafes, but 1215 01:15:17,080 --> 01:15:22,880 Speaker 10: at mine specifically, it's been kind of awkward, like haha, 1216 01:15:23,200 --> 01:15:25,760 Speaker 10: cover my eyes, here's this flyer that I have to 1217 01:15:25,880 --> 01:15:33,080 Speaker 10: hand you kind of thing, and it's just like okay, yeah. 1218 01:15:34,560 --> 01:15:37,519 Speaker 6: Yeah, it really seems like it is something, you know, Okay, 1219 01:15:37,520 --> 01:15:39,560 Speaker 6: Diffinitely I'm I'm I'm not I'm not going to do 1220 01:15:39,680 --> 01:15:43,200 Speaker 6: my tangent about the infiltration of political parties. 1221 01:15:43,640 --> 01:15:47,040 Speaker 9: But yeah, I mean, really political cults within the Greater 1222 01:15:47,120 --> 01:15:51,880 Speaker 9: Boston area continuously subvert and undermine union elections are not 1223 01:15:52,080 --> 01:15:55,559 Speaker 9: just elections, but campaigns as well. I won't name examples 1224 01:15:55,600 --> 01:15:58,320 Speaker 9: because these same cults are also incredibly vindictive and they 1225 01:15:58,320 --> 01:15:59,439 Speaker 9: will try to dox me. 1226 01:15:59,560 --> 01:16:03,040 Speaker 8: But this is also the implicit threat. 1227 01:16:02,880 --> 01:16:05,000 Speaker 9: That you know, like if you know, they can't turn 1228 01:16:05,120 --> 01:16:08,080 Speaker 9: a union into their own stupid vanguard, then they will 1229 01:16:08,520 --> 01:16:11,439 Speaker 9: try and push through something that rank and file don't 1230 01:16:11,479 --> 01:16:14,000 Speaker 9: want and try and undermine or tank the campaign. 1231 01:16:14,640 --> 01:16:16,960 Speaker 6: Yeah, and that's that's something I think like to take 1232 01:16:17,000 --> 01:16:18,680 Speaker 6: it to okay, so to take a little step back. 1233 01:16:18,840 --> 01:16:21,360 Speaker 6: So yeah, one of the things that's very common in 1234 01:16:21,560 --> 01:16:24,320 Speaker 6: union in sort of like local union spaces is there 1235 01:16:24,360 --> 01:16:27,080 Speaker 6: will be like there'll be like a local of a 1236 01:16:27,200 --> 01:16:29,640 Speaker 6: union or like maybe sometimes its own union that's just 1237 01:16:29,800 --> 01:16:33,040 Speaker 6: run by a cult, and these sort of like these 1238 01:16:33,080 --> 01:16:35,439 Speaker 6: sort of like I don't know, sometimes you're Stalinis and 1239 01:16:35,520 --> 01:16:38,439 Speaker 6: under Trotskyites sometimes, like it depends, the ideology changes to 1240 01:16:38,560 --> 01:16:42,280 Speaker 6: some extent. But because because of like the you know, 1241 01:16:42,400 --> 01:16:46,160 Speaker 6: the because because you can run like a staff union 1242 01:16:46,280 --> 01:16:49,680 Speaker 6: with like five people, right, this is this is a 1243 01:16:49,720 --> 01:16:52,400 Speaker 6: pretty good way for them to sort of like like 1244 01:16:53,040 --> 01:16:55,400 Speaker 6: you know, gain something that looks like political power, and 1245 01:16:55,479 --> 01:16:57,160 Speaker 6: like it's a way for them to bring other people 1246 01:16:57,240 --> 01:17:00,879 Speaker 6: who don't know what's going on into like the influencers 1247 01:17:00,880 --> 01:17:06,040 Speaker 6: of their organization, and they this can get really bad 1248 01:17:06,160 --> 01:17:08,840 Speaker 6: and really dangerous, at least the stuff you're talking about where, yeah, 1249 01:17:08,880 --> 01:17:12,120 Speaker 6: they start trying to sabotage campaigns because they're not you know, 1250 01:17:12,240 --> 01:17:15,640 Speaker 6: like these groups aren't actually in this for you know, 1251 01:17:15,840 --> 01:17:17,519 Speaker 6: like they're not they're not in this for class struggles. 1252 01:17:17,600 --> 01:17:19,240 Speaker 6: But whatever they you know, will say about it, they're 1253 01:17:19,240 --> 01:17:21,479 Speaker 6: they're in this specifically to expand the influence of their 1254 01:17:21,520 --> 01:17:25,040 Speaker 6: own party. And you know, when you try to like 1255 01:17:25,200 --> 01:17:29,040 Speaker 6: actually do your own thing, this stuff happens. 1256 01:17:30,720 --> 01:17:31,599 Speaker 8: Yeah, one hundred percent. 1257 01:17:33,120 --> 01:17:37,680 Speaker 9: It's also really telling that despite the fact that you know, 1258 01:17:37,840 --> 01:17:40,560 Speaker 9: some of these groups are like known for undermining campaigns 1259 01:17:40,600 --> 01:17:42,960 Speaker 9: in this way, or for harassing staffers that you know, 1260 01:17:43,040 --> 01:17:46,920 Speaker 9: don't play ball with them or whatever, that they continue 1261 01:17:47,120 --> 01:17:48,599 Speaker 9: to do the entriest thing. 1262 01:17:50,200 --> 01:17:50,439 Speaker 2: Yeah. 1263 01:17:51,439 --> 01:17:52,800 Speaker 8: Yeah, I don't have. 1264 01:17:52,840 --> 01:17:56,559 Speaker 9: Any good ideas for how to subvert that, but I'm 1265 01:17:56,600 --> 01:17:58,439 Speaker 9: sure dear listeners will send me many of them. 1266 01:17:59,560 --> 01:17:59,760 Speaker 3: Yeah. 1267 01:18:00,040 --> 01:18:02,880 Speaker 6: I think also at some point we're gonna do the 1268 01:18:02,960 --> 01:18:07,720 Speaker 6: micro We're gonna do the micro sect episode Micro to 1269 01:18:07,880 --> 01:18:10,800 Speaker 6: the to like introduce people to the basics of like, hey, 1270 01:18:10,920 --> 01:18:15,160 Speaker 6: you are like the range of tiny political parties in 1271 01:18:15,240 --> 01:18:18,080 Speaker 6: the US that are actually cults that show up at 1272 01:18:18,120 --> 01:18:22,600 Speaker 6: protests all the time. So yeah, maybe maybe maybe that 1273 01:18:22,680 --> 01:18:24,200 Speaker 6: will help too, because I think a lot of it 1274 01:18:24,360 --> 01:18:26,600 Speaker 6: is people just you know, they're you run into like 1275 01:18:26,680 --> 01:18:29,720 Speaker 6: the World Workers Party, and like, you don't know that 1276 01:18:30,000 --> 01:18:32,639 Speaker 6: this party is a weird cult, right, They're just sort 1277 01:18:32,680 --> 01:18:36,439 Speaker 6: of talking about workers stuff. Yeah, so I think education 1278 01:18:36,520 --> 01:18:40,240 Speaker 6: will help with it too, but the bureaucratic maneuvering stuff 1279 01:18:40,640 --> 01:18:43,960 Speaker 6: is like the only thing they're good at because they're 1280 01:18:43,960 --> 01:18:46,160 Speaker 6: all these like weird micro party formations. 1281 01:18:46,720 --> 01:18:47,519 Speaker 2: So I don't know. 1282 01:18:48,200 --> 01:18:53,240 Speaker 9: Yeah, er, I only way that I think might help 1283 01:18:53,360 --> 01:18:57,120 Speaker 9: is you know, horizontalizing the structure somewhat, but then you 1284 01:18:57,200 --> 01:18:59,240 Speaker 9: still run into like the issue of like social capital 1285 01:18:59,320 --> 01:19:02,920 Speaker 9: within that structure. So if you know, somebody is savvy enough, 1286 01:19:03,000 --> 01:19:06,240 Speaker 9: they can still indoctrinate people into a silly cult. 1287 01:19:06,880 --> 01:19:07,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. 1288 01:19:07,240 --> 01:19:08,680 Speaker 6: I mean, I don't know, that's that's just something that 1289 01:19:08,720 --> 01:19:10,720 Speaker 6: you're gonna have to I mean, and we should also 1290 01:19:10,800 --> 01:19:14,479 Speaker 6: mention too, like these thing these groups like they work 1291 01:19:14,520 --> 01:19:17,840 Speaker 6: with larger unions too sometimes, Like so one of the 1292 01:19:17,840 --> 01:19:21,280 Speaker 6: most famous examples of this is Pride at Work, which 1293 01:19:21,320 --> 01:19:23,920 Speaker 6: is a really big afl CIO thing, but it's also 1294 01:19:24,040 --> 01:19:27,000 Speaker 6: jointly run with the Party of Socialism Liberation, which is 1295 01:19:27,000 --> 01:19:29,320 Speaker 6: another one of these cults because of a bunch of 1296 01:19:29,439 --> 01:19:33,479 Speaker 6: like long running actions even though like a bunch of 1297 01:19:33,520 --> 01:19:37,080 Speaker 6: their really senior staffers unbelief to be transphobic, and you know, 1298 01:19:37,439 --> 01:19:38,960 Speaker 6: there's there's a whole thing there. But yeah, this is 1299 01:19:39,000 --> 01:19:41,880 Speaker 6: something that is not just a problem with independent unions 1300 01:19:41,880 --> 01:19:45,240 Speaker 6: and not just a problem with sort of like random locals. 1301 01:19:46,760 --> 01:19:50,960 Speaker 6: It can and does get into actual like national unions. 1302 01:19:51,000 --> 01:19:53,519 Speaker 6: On the other hand, one way to avoid this is 1303 01:19:53,640 --> 01:19:55,920 Speaker 6: to in fact organize your own union and don't let 1304 01:19:56,000 --> 01:19:56,200 Speaker 6: them be. 1305 01:19:57,240 --> 01:20:00,360 Speaker 9: So this is actually something that we've thought conscious about 1306 01:20:00,400 --> 01:20:05,479 Speaker 9: with our own union is that on the we sent 1307 01:20:05,600 --> 01:20:08,720 Speaker 9: out a community support forum for people that wanted to 1308 01:20:08,720 --> 01:20:10,960 Speaker 9: show up the data, we announced our campaign, and on 1309 01:20:11,120 --> 01:20:14,120 Speaker 9: the form specifically, we made people tick a box saying 1310 01:20:14,120 --> 01:20:17,280 Speaker 9: that they wouldn't endorse or try to fly or for 1311 01:20:17,600 --> 01:20:22,040 Speaker 9: or otherwise promote any group that they might have affiliation with, 1312 01:20:22,439 --> 01:20:27,479 Speaker 9: including political parties or you know, otherwise organizations that are 1313 01:20:27,560 --> 01:20:29,679 Speaker 9: not you know, our specific union. 1314 01:20:30,840 --> 01:20:31,800 Speaker 8: And so far that's worked. 1315 01:20:32,439 --> 01:20:35,479 Speaker 7: Oh yeah, I would also say like in our constitution 1316 01:20:35,840 --> 01:20:38,000 Speaker 7: by laws. I don't know if that if it's in 1317 01:20:38,080 --> 01:20:40,320 Speaker 7: the current ones and we're revising them soon anyways. But 1318 01:20:40,360 --> 01:20:42,960 Speaker 7: it's a conversation that we've had before also, like people 1319 01:20:43,200 --> 01:20:47,120 Speaker 7: in like keyboard positions, what, yeah, what kind of affiliations 1320 01:20:47,200 --> 01:20:49,280 Speaker 7: can they have to outside political parties? 1321 01:20:49,360 --> 01:20:51,200 Speaker 2: Like where where are we drawing the line on that? 1322 01:20:51,360 --> 01:20:53,280 Speaker 2: Like that's something that I think we also considered very 1323 01:20:53,600 --> 01:20:56,080 Speaker 2: early on as well for people in the union. 1324 01:20:58,520 --> 01:21:00,599 Speaker 6: Yeah, and I think there's another aspec they're too, which 1325 01:21:00,640 --> 01:21:02,559 Speaker 6: is like another thing that can happen to your union 1326 01:21:02,720 --> 01:21:05,040 Speaker 6: is that it gets eaten by the Democratic Party machine. 1327 01:21:06,000 --> 01:21:08,160 Speaker 6: And that's happened to I mean, like this is this 1328 01:21:08,280 --> 01:21:10,639 Speaker 6: is a lot of how like these giant business unions 1329 01:21:10,680 --> 01:21:13,400 Speaker 6: became business unions, is they became basically these like lobbying 1330 01:21:13,640 --> 01:21:16,639 Speaker 6: firms on behalf of like whatever random like local democratic 1331 01:21:16,760 --> 01:21:20,000 Speaker 6: machine is running, Like this happens to Chicago, Like all 1332 01:21:20,120 --> 01:21:22,320 Speaker 6: the time you get these like just like the most 1333 01:21:22,360 --> 01:21:25,439 Speaker 6: important machine like candidates you've ever seen come out of 1334 01:21:25,439 --> 01:21:28,040 Speaker 6: the Democratic Party who are like guys who are like 1335 01:21:28,200 --> 01:21:30,880 Speaker 6: so comically corrupt that like you know, you're They're like 1336 01:21:30,960 --> 01:21:33,240 Speaker 6: walking down the street and like like bundles of cash 1337 01:21:33,240 --> 01:21:35,240 Speaker 6: are falling out of the suitcases and they're getting endorsed 1338 01:21:35,280 --> 01:21:37,840 Speaker 6: by like the team stars, and it's like, well, you know. 1339 01:21:38,000 --> 01:21:41,960 Speaker 3: Okay, I wonder, I wonder what happened there? Legally legally 1340 01:21:42,120 --> 01:21:43,439 Speaker 3: legally conjecture, but. 1341 01:21:43,920 --> 01:21:50,640 Speaker 9: You know, who's to say, really, yeah, you know, it 1342 01:21:50,800 --> 01:21:53,720 Speaker 9: just so happens that they have these large briefcases full 1343 01:21:53,760 --> 01:21:57,520 Speaker 9: of cash. Nobody can really say where the cash materialized. 1344 01:21:58,479 --> 01:22:00,280 Speaker 6: Yeah, but amazingly I was actually get to go on 1345 01:22:00,360 --> 01:22:02,600 Speaker 6: a different ranch, but political parties. So I'm going to 1346 01:22:02,640 --> 01:22:04,160 Speaker 6: circle back to there to close this out. Which is 1347 01:22:04,400 --> 01:22:06,519 Speaker 6: one of the nice things about independent unions is that 1348 01:22:07,400 --> 01:22:09,360 Speaker 6: you know, it's something they all three of you were 1349 01:22:09,400 --> 01:22:13,760 Speaker 6: started getting at, which is that, like employers have been 1350 01:22:13,880 --> 01:22:18,479 Speaker 6: fighting these sort of large corporate unions business unions for 1351 01:22:18,680 --> 01:22:21,559 Speaker 6: like one hundred years now, right. They know how they operate, 1352 01:22:21,680 --> 01:22:23,559 Speaker 6: they know how their campaigns work, they know what levers 1353 01:22:23,600 --> 01:22:25,960 Speaker 6: to push against them. On the other hand, they have 1354 01:22:26,080 --> 01:22:29,679 Speaker 6: not been fighting you specifically, random listener of this show, 1355 01:22:30,840 --> 01:22:34,280 Speaker 6: and you, specifically random listener of this show, and your 1356 01:22:34,320 --> 01:22:36,479 Speaker 6: coworkers can do things to surprise them and can do 1357 01:22:36,560 --> 01:22:38,800 Speaker 6: things in ways that they don't understand, and you know, 1358 01:22:38,960 --> 01:22:41,720 Speaker 6: you have we have a moment like right now, Like 1359 01:22:42,560 --> 01:22:45,400 Speaker 6: in like five years, they'll probably have worked out a 1360 01:22:45,400 --> 01:22:47,519 Speaker 6: bunch of stuff about how to break independent unions. But 1361 01:22:48,200 --> 01:22:51,720 Speaker 6: right now, like literally right now, we have a we 1362 01:22:51,800 --> 01:22:55,360 Speaker 6: have a master strategic advantage because their playbook wasn't written 1363 01:22:55,479 --> 01:22:57,400 Speaker 6: to deal with people who are running these sort of 1364 01:22:57,560 --> 01:23:00,679 Speaker 6: like very low to the ground, very agile, very nimble, 1365 01:23:00,920 --> 01:23:04,280 Speaker 6: very sort of like you know, these spontaneous and creative campaigns, 1366 01:23:04,400 --> 01:23:07,760 Speaker 6: and you can use that to beat the crap out 1367 01:23:07,800 --> 01:23:10,200 Speaker 6: of your boss and get more money from them. So 1368 01:23:12,120 --> 01:23:15,880 Speaker 6: this is the BA endorsement of doing doing fun things 1369 01:23:15,920 --> 01:23:16,840 Speaker 6: with unions. 1370 01:23:16,479 --> 01:23:17,719 Speaker 3: That your bosses don't expect. 1371 01:23:18,360 --> 01:23:20,840 Speaker 6: Hell yeah, Yeah. So I think unless there's anything else 1372 01:23:21,320 --> 01:23:23,960 Speaker 6: where where else can people find you, We'll have a 1373 01:23:24,040 --> 01:23:26,800 Speaker 6: link to your link tree in the description. Is there 1374 01:23:26,800 --> 01:23:29,400 Speaker 6: anywhere else like social media stuff where people can find 1375 01:23:29,479 --> 01:23:29,880 Speaker 6: the union? 1376 01:23:32,240 --> 01:23:32,400 Speaker 2: Yeah? 1377 01:23:32,479 --> 01:23:36,559 Speaker 7: Our social media for Twitter and Instagram is BBI Union 1378 01:23:36,880 --> 01:23:40,400 Speaker 7: and then on TikTok, I believe it is BBIU sixteen. 1379 01:23:43,479 --> 01:23:43,679 Speaker 2: Cool. 1380 01:23:43,960 --> 01:23:47,360 Speaker 6: We will have that in the description too. Yeah, and 1381 01:23:47,520 --> 01:23:50,200 Speaker 6: thank you all so much for coming on. And yeah, 1382 01:23:50,720 --> 01:23:52,439 Speaker 6: make make NESTLEI bleed for us. 1383 01:23:53,800 --> 01:23:56,240 Speaker 8: Yeah, thanks so much for having us. We can't say 1384 01:23:56,240 --> 01:23:57,160 Speaker 8: how much we appreciate it. 1385 01:23:57,360 --> 01:23:58,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you, of course. 1386 01:23:59,439 --> 01:24:01,280 Speaker 6: And yeah, this has been taken happened here. You can 1387 01:24:01,360 --> 01:24:05,200 Speaker 6: find us in the usual places. And yeah, you too 1388 01:24:05,280 --> 01:24:07,320 Speaker 6: can also go start your own union and make your 1389 01:24:07,360 --> 01:24:08,000 Speaker 6: bosses suffer. 1390 01:24:20,160 --> 01:24:23,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to it could happen here. I'm Robert Evans, and 1391 01:24:23,400 --> 01:24:27,080 Speaker 1: this is a podcast about things falling apart. This week, 1392 01:24:27,240 --> 01:24:30,639 Speaker 1: the thing falling apart was my bedroom. Allow me to explain, 1393 01:24:31,439 --> 01:24:33,880 Speaker 1: three years or so ago, I was finally able to 1394 01:24:33,920 --> 01:24:36,519 Speaker 1: buy a house or at least, you know, get a mortgage. 1395 01:24:36,960 --> 01:24:40,040 Speaker 1: This allowed me to achieve a very stupid lifelong dream, 1396 01:24:40,160 --> 01:24:43,200 Speaker 1: which was to finally own a waterbed. I know you're 1397 01:24:43,240 --> 01:24:45,320 Speaker 1: wondering what all of this has to do with solar power, 1398 01:24:45,360 --> 01:24:47,479 Speaker 1: and I swear there will be an answer to that question. 1399 01:24:47,960 --> 01:24:49,600 Speaker 1: I also want to make it clear upfront that this 1400 01:24:49,760 --> 01:24:52,160 Speaker 1: is not an ad. Some of the equipment I tested 1401 01:24:52,240 --> 01:24:54,720 Speaker 1: was provided for free as review units, some of it 1402 01:24:54,840 --> 01:24:57,400 Speaker 1: was purchased with my own money, and some with company money. 1403 01:24:57,680 --> 01:24:59,400 Speaker 1: I'll try to make it pretty clear at each point, 1404 01:24:59,479 --> 01:25:02,400 Speaker 1: but I promise it doesn't matter ari my opinions on 1405 01:25:02,479 --> 01:25:05,519 Speaker 1: any specific product. No one paid us in any way 1406 01:25:05,640 --> 01:25:09,360 Speaker 1: for their inclusion in this episode. Anyway, back to my 1407 01:25:09,520 --> 01:25:13,120 Speaker 1: stupid waterbed. The first thing to know about waterbeds is 1408 01:25:13,200 --> 01:25:16,080 Speaker 1: that they are surprisingly cheap. They cost about as much 1409 01:25:16,120 --> 01:25:19,880 Speaker 1: as an equivalent sized mattress. Knew, so not cheap, but 1410 01:25:20,000 --> 01:25:22,479 Speaker 1: the one I bought costs the same as any delivery 1411 01:25:22,600 --> 01:25:25,760 Speaker 1: mattress sold for, and cheaper than some of them. The 1412 01:25:25,840 --> 01:25:28,080 Speaker 1: reason that most people can't afford a waterbed isn't the 1413 01:25:28,160 --> 01:25:30,640 Speaker 1: actual cost of the bed itself. It's that landlords are 1414 01:25:30,720 --> 01:25:32,680 Speaker 1: terrified of the things, and so you can't get one 1415 01:25:32,760 --> 01:25:36,200 Speaker 1: if you don't own your own home. In case you're curious, 1416 01:25:36,600 --> 01:25:39,559 Speaker 1: my desire to own a waterbed is entirely the result 1417 01:25:39,600 --> 01:25:41,960 Speaker 1: of the fact that, as a small child, my aunt 1418 01:25:42,040 --> 01:25:44,080 Speaker 1: and uncle fell upon hard times and had to live 1419 01:25:44,120 --> 01:25:46,840 Speaker 1: with us for a while. Then for another while they 1420 01:25:46,880 --> 01:25:50,000 Speaker 1: lived elsewhere, but their stuff stayed with us. That stuff 1421 01:25:50,160 --> 01:25:53,360 Speaker 1: included a waterbed, and for a few glorious months it 1422 01:25:53,560 --> 01:25:56,840 Speaker 1: was my waterbed. I have craved the insane high of 1423 01:25:56,960 --> 01:26:00,920 Speaker 1: waterbed ownership ever since. For three perfect years. Then I 1424 01:26:01,040 --> 01:26:03,920 Speaker 1: slept in wavy comfort until about two days before I 1425 01:26:04,000 --> 01:26:07,439 Speaker 1: wrote this episode. My bed sprang a pinhole leak. I 1426 01:26:07,479 --> 01:26:09,680 Speaker 1: don't know how you might guess a cat, but the 1427 01:26:09,720 --> 01:26:12,919 Speaker 1: actual bladder that contains the water is inside and underneath 1428 01:26:12,920 --> 01:26:16,920 Speaker 1: a very thick, padded frame that cat claws can't really puncture. 1429 01:26:17,280 --> 01:26:19,200 Speaker 1: I should also note that the bladder sits inside a 1430 01:26:19,360 --> 01:26:22,080 Speaker 1: vinyl sort of soft cage, so that when it sprang 1431 01:26:22,160 --> 01:26:24,040 Speaker 1: a leak, it got some of my sheets wet, but 1432 01:26:24,120 --> 01:26:27,759 Speaker 1: it did not cause damage to my home anyway. Because 1433 01:26:27,800 --> 01:26:30,040 Speaker 1: waterbeds are the kind of product that only an insane 1434 01:26:30,120 --> 01:26:33,080 Speaker 1: manchild would dare to own, fixing a hole in one 1435 01:26:33,320 --> 01:26:36,559 Speaker 1: is not the same as performing maintenance on your regular mattress, 1436 01:26:36,880 --> 01:26:40,040 Speaker 1: because the kinds of beds that reasonable people own don't 1437 01:26:40,120 --> 01:26:42,840 Speaker 1: spring leaks. To patch the leak, then I had to 1438 01:26:42,920 --> 01:26:45,479 Speaker 1: purchase a patch kit. But you can't apply a patch 1439 01:26:45,600 --> 01:26:48,200 Speaker 1: kit to what is effectively a soft bladder filled with 1440 01:26:48,360 --> 01:26:51,120 Speaker 1: roughly a metric ton of water. I did do the 1441 01:26:51,200 --> 01:26:54,400 Speaker 1: bare minimum of research here, and king sized waterbeds weigh 1442 01:26:54,560 --> 01:26:57,720 Speaker 1: around two thousand pounds. Now that's not all water weight, 1443 01:26:57,800 --> 01:27:00,439 Speaker 1: but it is basically all water weight. I bring this 1444 01:27:00,560 --> 01:27:03,479 Speaker 1: up because I'm proud of myself for guessing right. So 1445 01:27:04,000 --> 01:27:06,519 Speaker 1: to apply the patch we had to first drain the bed, 1446 01:27:06,680 --> 01:27:09,759 Speaker 1: which necessitated attaching a hose to one of the spigots 1447 01:27:09,880 --> 01:27:12,400 Speaker 1: through which we had originally filled the bed. Because of 1448 01:27:12,439 --> 01:27:14,400 Speaker 1: the layout of my home and the ground outside of 1449 01:27:14,439 --> 01:27:16,640 Speaker 1: the window where we intended to pour the water, we 1450 01:27:16,720 --> 01:27:19,760 Speaker 1: couldn't get the hosts started without assistance, the kind of 1451 01:27:19,800 --> 01:27:22,840 Speaker 1: assistance that you would say, need to suck gasoline free 1452 01:27:22,880 --> 01:27:26,639 Speaker 1: if a stranger's truck were you hard up for fuel money. Thankfully, 1453 01:27:26,920 --> 01:27:29,040 Speaker 1: my roommate had a wet back which we were able 1454 01:27:29,080 --> 01:27:31,639 Speaker 1: to hook up to the hose, but how to power 1455 01:27:31,760 --> 01:27:34,880 Speaker 1: the wetback well. We could have run an extra long 1456 01:27:34,960 --> 01:27:37,799 Speaker 1: extension cord, but mine were all in use for various 1457 01:27:37,840 --> 01:27:40,920 Speaker 1: insane projects around the farm, and instead I opted to 1458 01:27:40,920 --> 01:27:43,120 Speaker 1: wheel out the solar generator that I had filled with 1459 01:27:43,200 --> 01:27:45,679 Speaker 1: the beneficence of the Sun God Raw just a couple 1460 01:27:45,720 --> 01:27:49,080 Speaker 1: of days earlier. The generator was one of two similar 1461 01:27:49,160 --> 01:27:52,559 Speaker 1: products I tested for this episode, a Jackery SG two 1462 01:27:52,600 --> 01:27:54,760 Speaker 1: thousand plus, which had been sent to me by the 1463 01:27:54,800 --> 01:27:58,040 Speaker 1: good people at Jackery in previous weeks. I'd tested it 1464 01:27:58,160 --> 01:28:00,640 Speaker 1: by powering my deep freeze and a refer refrigerator, and 1465 01:28:00,720 --> 01:28:03,720 Speaker 1: in case you're wondering with the panels outside in the sun. 1466 01:28:03,800 --> 01:28:05,880 Speaker 1: I got a little over a day before things ran 1467 01:28:06,000 --> 01:28:07,920 Speaker 1: dry on my refrigerator. If I'd had the panels in 1468 01:28:08,000 --> 01:28:10,040 Speaker 1: a better position, I could have had longer and the 1469 01:28:10,120 --> 01:28:12,960 Speaker 1: deep freeze it would have been able to power essentially indefinitely, 1470 01:28:13,040 --> 01:28:17,120 Speaker 1: because deep freezes are actually insanely efficient machines. I also 1471 01:28:17,240 --> 01:28:18,880 Speaker 1: used it to run a heat gun for my friend's 1472 01:28:19,000 --> 01:28:21,160 Speaker 1: art project, which is about as intense a test of 1473 01:28:21,320 --> 01:28:23,760 Speaker 1: output as you can run a battery through short of 1474 01:28:23,840 --> 01:28:27,000 Speaker 1: powering your home, and it handles that. In terms of specs, 1475 01:28:27,080 --> 01:28:29,439 Speaker 1: this battery is part of a more modular system that 1476 01:28:29,520 --> 01:28:31,640 Speaker 1: you could wire in to power your home or off 1477 01:28:31,720 --> 01:28:34,400 Speaker 1: grid setup. You can actually attach this to your breaker. 1478 01:28:34,880 --> 01:28:37,519 Speaker 1: It has a maximum output of six thousand watts in 1479 01:28:37,680 --> 01:28:41,000 Speaker 1: parallel connection and one twenty to two forty expandable voltage. 1480 01:28:41,439 --> 01:28:43,680 Speaker 1: For a rough idea of what that means, it can 1481 01:28:43,800 --> 01:28:47,599 Speaker 1: power most household electronics and even power tools for a while. 1482 01:28:48,040 --> 01:28:50,040 Speaker 1: You'd get about one and a half hours of running 1483 01:28:50,040 --> 01:28:52,360 Speaker 1: a home as unit, and more like two two and 1484 01:28:52,400 --> 01:28:54,400 Speaker 1: a half. You know, with a portable unit or a 1485 01:28:54,479 --> 01:28:58,120 Speaker 1: window unit, you could charge this thing too full in 1486 01:28:58,280 --> 01:29:00,840 Speaker 1: two hours with good sunlight. If you had six two 1487 01:29:00,960 --> 01:29:04,360 Speaker 1: hundred watt panels attached in perfect sunlight, which is another 1488 01:29:04,439 --> 01:29:07,160 Speaker 1: three thousand or so dollars in panels. But that's not 1489 01:29:07,280 --> 01:29:09,960 Speaker 1: an insignificant thing to be able to do, mind you, 1490 01:29:10,200 --> 01:29:12,640 Speaker 1: that would mean just running your ac most of the 1491 01:29:12,760 --> 01:29:16,040 Speaker 1: day and nothing else. Neither of these are cheap products. 1492 01:29:16,320 --> 01:29:19,839 Speaker 1: In Jackery's case, the battery itself runs about two thousand dollars. 1493 01:29:20,320 --> 01:29:22,920 Speaker 1: I understand that's out of reach, perhaps wildly so for 1494 01:29:23,000 --> 01:29:25,599 Speaker 1: a lot of people. We will be talking about cheaper 1495 01:29:25,720 --> 01:29:28,320 Speaker 1: options at the end, but it is an unavoidable fact 1496 01:29:28,400 --> 01:29:31,679 Speaker 1: that unless you are a skilled electrician and scavenger, setting 1497 01:29:31,720 --> 01:29:37,240 Speaker 1: up substantial solar systems costs money period. Jackery actually represents 1498 01:29:37,280 --> 01:29:39,439 Speaker 1: one of the more affordable options for a plug and 1499 01:29:39,520 --> 01:29:42,360 Speaker 1: play home backup system that is also portable, i e. 1500 01:29:42,800 --> 01:29:45,280 Speaker 1: Can be taken camping or hauled away with your shit 1501 01:29:45,560 --> 01:29:49,160 Speaker 1: during an evacuation. I should note that you can connect 1502 01:29:49,200 --> 01:29:52,120 Speaker 1: the Jackery SG two thousand plus directly to your breaker, 1503 01:29:52,160 --> 01:29:55,040 Speaker 1: and also connect the battery to other similar Jackery battery 1504 01:29:55,160 --> 01:29:58,560 Speaker 1: generators to g additional capacity and output from it. I 1505 01:29:58,680 --> 01:30:01,680 Speaker 1: tested another solar gener radar system for this episode, the 1506 01:30:01,760 --> 01:30:04,800 Speaker 1: Geniverse Home Power O two, which was provided to me 1507 01:30:05,000 --> 01:30:09,200 Speaker 1: by Genniverse. Both the Genniverse and Jackery systems are similar 1508 01:30:09,360 --> 01:30:11,560 Speaker 1: enough that they can use each other's solar panels and 1509 01:30:11,760 --> 01:30:15,920 Speaker 1: operate in basically the same manner. Jackery's product is cheaper. 1510 01:30:16,200 --> 01:30:19,000 Speaker 1: Other reviews I've read suggests the Geniverse system might be 1511 01:30:19,120 --> 01:30:23,000 Speaker 1: more robust, lasting longer over time. It is certainly heavier 1512 01:30:23,040 --> 01:30:25,960 Speaker 1: and thus has a higher capacity around twenty four hundred 1513 01:30:26,000 --> 01:30:28,040 Speaker 1: watt hours as opposed to a little over two thousand 1514 01:30:28,080 --> 01:30:31,240 Speaker 1: for the Jackery system. Both of these can be the 1515 01:30:31,320 --> 01:30:34,160 Speaker 1: basis of an off grid or full backup power system 1516 01:30:34,280 --> 01:30:36,680 Speaker 1: for your home, and we'll be talking about home off 1517 01:30:36,760 --> 01:30:39,599 Speaker 1: grid power in future episodes. I want to make clear 1518 01:30:39,680 --> 01:30:42,200 Speaker 1: upfront that what I'm advising you on today is the 1519 01:30:42,360 --> 01:30:45,920 Speaker 1: quality and utility of different solar generator battery products for 1520 01:30:46,080 --> 01:30:50,080 Speaker 1: emergency power. So let's talk about what emergency means. The 1521 01:30:50,160 --> 01:30:53,880 Speaker 1: primary emergency you might encounter that a battery solar setup 1522 01:30:53,920 --> 01:30:56,400 Speaker 1: would help with is a power outage at your home. 1523 01:30:57,160 --> 01:30:59,519 Speaker 1: In that case, you have a couple of immediate and 1524 01:30:59,640 --> 01:31:02,719 Speaker 1: real life needs. I will list these from most basic 1525 01:31:02,840 --> 01:31:05,839 Speaker 1: and easy cheapest to fill to most expensive and difficult 1526 01:31:05,880 --> 01:31:08,719 Speaker 1: to meet. Number one would be to keep your devices 1527 01:31:08,800 --> 01:31:11,439 Speaker 1: and stuff like flashlights that are chargeable topped off so 1528 01:31:11,520 --> 01:31:13,880 Speaker 1: you can keep in contact with your community and stay 1529 01:31:13,920 --> 01:31:16,800 Speaker 1: aware of breaking news on whatever emergency you happen to 1530 01:31:16,880 --> 01:31:19,680 Speaker 1: be in. Being able to entertain yourself with books and 1531 01:31:19,720 --> 01:31:22,240 Speaker 1: movies does, in my view, count as one purpose for 1532 01:31:22,400 --> 01:31:26,360 Speaker 1: these systems and an emergency, because morale ain't nothing. Number 1533 01:31:26,400 --> 01:31:30,200 Speaker 1: two is being able to run emergency cooling devices, starting 1534 01:31:30,280 --> 01:31:33,200 Speaker 1: with fans and terminating and stuff like window AC units 1535 01:31:33,280 --> 01:31:37,360 Speaker 1: or even portable camping AC units. Number three is being 1536 01:31:37,400 --> 01:31:39,920 Speaker 1: able to keep a fridge going so your food doesn't spoil. 1537 01:31:40,280 --> 01:31:42,760 Speaker 1: If you're prepping for disaster, you should have storable food, 1538 01:31:42,840 --> 01:31:45,280 Speaker 1: anything from freeze dried stuff to beans and rits, etc. 1539 01:31:45,760 --> 01:31:47,439 Speaker 1: But losing all of your shit in an outage is 1540 01:31:47,479 --> 01:31:50,080 Speaker 1: expensive and annoying, and it's nice to be able to avoid. 1541 01:31:50,720 --> 01:31:53,200 Speaker 1: The Most achievable of these systems for a person of 1542 01:31:53,360 --> 01:31:56,440 Speaker 1: normal income is number one, and if you have disposable 1543 01:31:56,479 --> 01:31:59,440 Speaker 1: income at all, you can afford some sort of emergency 1544 01:31:59,560 --> 01:32:01,800 Speaker 1: solars set up to keep your phone or laptop and 1545 01:32:01,880 --> 01:32:05,719 Speaker 1: rechargeable lights going. There are a wide variety of battery 1546 01:32:05,800 --> 01:32:08,360 Speaker 1: packs that have solar panels built into them. I have 1547 01:32:08,439 --> 01:32:09,920 Speaker 1: tried a lot of these over the years, and I 1548 01:32:10,000 --> 01:32:12,040 Speaker 1: have never once been happy with the quality, either of 1549 01:32:12,080 --> 01:32:14,320 Speaker 1: their ability to charge in the sun or to last 1550 01:32:14,400 --> 01:32:17,439 Speaker 1: over time. The system that I currently take with me 1551 01:32:17,520 --> 01:32:19,840 Speaker 1: on trips is made by a company called Goal zero, 1552 01:32:20,080 --> 01:32:23,360 Speaker 1: who produce a variety of solar battery and charger products. 1553 01:32:23,840 --> 01:32:27,280 Speaker 1: I purchase for myself a Nomad thirteen solar panels set, 1554 01:32:27,560 --> 01:32:30,120 Speaker 1: which folds into something that approximates the size of a 1555 01:32:30,240 --> 01:32:32,679 Speaker 1: trapper keeper set you had as a kid in school. 1556 01:32:33,080 --> 01:32:34,880 Speaker 1: I've had this for years. I take it with me 1557 01:32:35,040 --> 01:32:37,479 Speaker 1: on every flight as my carry on. I have it 1558 01:32:37,680 --> 01:32:40,559 Speaker 1: and two batteries, which are different incarnations of Goal Zero's 1559 01:32:40,680 --> 01:32:43,519 Speaker 1: Schirpa one hundred on me wherever I go. The Sriper 1560 01:32:43,560 --> 01:32:46,120 Speaker 1: one hundred has a little three prong outlet you can 1561 01:32:46,240 --> 01:32:49,320 Speaker 1: charge basically any laptop on it. You could even do 1562 01:32:49,520 --> 01:32:52,120 Speaker 1: like emergency power for a computer. I think with it 1563 01:32:53,000 --> 01:32:55,240 Speaker 1: this and one battery would allow me to keep my 1564 01:32:55,360 --> 01:32:59,519 Speaker 1: phone going for emergency purposes indefinitely. Two batteries and shars, 1565 01:32:59,520 --> 01:33:01,840 Speaker 1: I'm able to travel with roughly three or four working 1566 01:33:01,920 --> 01:33:04,479 Speaker 1: days of power for my laptop and phone wherever I go, 1567 01:33:04,800 --> 01:33:07,559 Speaker 1: and that's without me actually trying to recharge them using 1568 01:33:07,600 --> 01:33:11,400 Speaker 1: the panels. You can find various years of this battery 1569 01:33:11,479 --> 01:33:14,400 Speaker 1: model on Amazon or at other retailers, from two hundred 1570 01:33:14,400 --> 01:33:17,599 Speaker 1: dollars on up. The latest model retails for three hundred 1571 01:33:17,640 --> 01:33:21,679 Speaker 1: dollars off Goal Zero's website. These batteries are TSA approved, 1572 01:33:21,760 --> 01:33:23,840 Speaker 1: as are the panels. I have never had an issue 1573 01:33:23,880 --> 01:33:28,200 Speaker 1: flying with them. Obviously in different countries, your experience may vary, 1574 01:33:28,280 --> 01:33:31,040 Speaker 1: but I've taken these things to most parts of the world, 1575 01:33:31,080 --> 01:33:34,559 Speaker 1: and again I haven't had an issue. They have varying sizes, 1576 01:33:34,680 --> 01:33:37,080 Speaker 1: but the Nomad one hundred, which is one hundred watt hours, 1577 01:33:37,160 --> 01:33:39,000 Speaker 1: runs about three hundred bucks, So you're looking at five 1578 01:33:39,080 --> 01:33:41,479 Speaker 1: or six hundred dollars for this traveling setup, which is 1579 01:33:41,520 --> 01:33:43,400 Speaker 1: also great to keep in your home and just have 1580 01:33:44,240 --> 01:33:46,240 Speaker 1: less a bit. You know, if you find used versions 1581 01:33:46,280 --> 01:33:49,400 Speaker 1: on eBay or wherever, which is often possible, that's not 1582 01:33:49,479 --> 01:33:52,320 Speaker 1: an insignificant cost. But if you're building an emergency kit 1583 01:33:52,439 --> 01:33:55,679 Speaker 1: over time, most people are capable of bearing that cost 1584 01:33:55,840 --> 01:33:58,960 Speaker 1: again over time. You could just start with the battery, 1585 01:33:58,960 --> 01:34:01,000 Speaker 1: which is the most initially useful part of the kit, 1586 01:34:01,240 --> 01:34:03,240 Speaker 1: and then you could get a panel set six months 1587 01:34:03,320 --> 01:34:03,639 Speaker 1: or whatever. 1588 01:34:03,760 --> 01:34:04,479 Speaker 11: A year later. 1589 01:34:05,000 --> 01:34:07,560 Speaker 1: And this brings me to what I'm talking about quantifiably 1590 01:34:07,800 --> 01:34:10,120 Speaker 1: when I discuss a disaster and what you actually need 1591 01:34:10,280 --> 01:34:13,760 Speaker 1: when we're talking about emergency power in a disaster. It 1592 01:34:13,920 --> 01:34:17,479 Speaker 1: is uncommon for the average US consumer to lose power 1593 01:34:17,600 --> 01:34:19,599 Speaker 1: for more than an hour or two at a time. 1594 01:34:20,160 --> 01:34:23,120 Speaker 1: In twenty eighteen, most consumers lost less than two hours 1595 01:34:23,160 --> 01:34:28,120 Speaker 1: of power per year without quote major events. With major events, 1596 01:34:28,200 --> 01:34:30,840 Speaker 1: that number leaped to six hours per person per year 1597 01:34:30,920 --> 01:34:33,519 Speaker 1: on average. In twenty seventeen, it was closer to eight. 1598 01:34:33,840 --> 01:34:37,080 Speaker 1: As we deal with more climate change, more natural disasters, 1599 01:34:37,439 --> 01:34:41,240 Speaker 1: all of these things are going to become inevitably more common. 1600 01:34:41,560 --> 01:34:44,000 Speaker 1: These are also all averages of huge numbers of people 1601 01:34:44,120 --> 01:34:47,200 Speaker 1: in huge areas of terrain. I will guess that the 1602 01:34:47,360 --> 01:34:49,920 Speaker 1: percentage of people listening to this who have as adults 1603 01:34:50,240 --> 01:34:52,160 Speaker 1: lost power for a day or more at a time 1604 01:34:52,360 --> 01:34:56,600 Speaker 1: is very close to one hundred percent. Now, given the averages, 1605 01:34:56,840 --> 01:35:00,639 Speaker 1: you might consider just perching battery power units without sol panels, 1606 01:35:00,680 --> 01:35:03,240 Speaker 1: because in most instances, what you're trying to do is 1607 01:35:03,400 --> 01:35:05,320 Speaker 1: ensure that if your phone is dead and there's a 1608 01:35:05,360 --> 01:35:07,400 Speaker 1: bad storm and you know you run out of power 1609 01:35:07,439 --> 01:35:09,200 Speaker 1: by the time you get home, a two or three 1610 01:35:09,200 --> 01:35:11,880 Speaker 1: hour outage doesn't leave you unable to contact your people 1611 01:35:12,000 --> 01:35:15,400 Speaker 1: or emergency services. I have a fuckload of different portable 1612 01:35:15,400 --> 01:35:17,599 Speaker 1: batteries because I try to keep enough on my work 1613 01:35:17,640 --> 01:35:20,120 Speaker 1: bag wherever I go to function in my job for 1614 01:35:20,240 --> 01:35:22,639 Speaker 1: most of a week without power when I go on trips. 1615 01:35:23,280 --> 01:35:25,400 Speaker 1: This kind of preparation has stood me in good stead 1616 01:35:25,439 --> 01:35:28,360 Speaker 1: in places like Syria, Iraq and the desperate wilds of 1617 01:35:28,400 --> 01:35:30,640 Speaker 1: Seattle that one time. But if you're not going to 1618 01:35:30,720 --> 01:35:33,920 Speaker 1: such terrifying hellscapes, you can probably get a suitable battery 1619 01:35:34,000 --> 01:35:37,120 Speaker 1: that's reasonably tough for under one hundred dollars. And we 1620 01:35:37,200 --> 01:35:40,560 Speaker 1: will continue talking about batteries and talking about you know, 1621 01:35:40,680 --> 01:35:44,040 Speaker 1: next kind of home solutions and eventually cheap solutions. But 1622 01:35:44,160 --> 01:35:48,719 Speaker 1: you know what's not cheap is the products and services 1623 01:35:48,800 --> 01:35:52,479 Speaker 1: that support this podcast. Affordable but not cheap. Anyway, here's 1624 01:35:52,520 --> 01:36:02,120 Speaker 1: these ads. We're back and we're talking thinking about portable batteries, 1625 01:36:02,439 --> 01:36:04,479 Speaker 1: right And my only note here is that if you're 1626 01:36:04,520 --> 01:36:07,559 Speaker 1: buying portable batteries, you know, stuff not necessarily to run 1627 01:36:07,920 --> 01:36:10,000 Speaker 1: on solar, just to have some extra juice with you 1628 01:36:10,080 --> 01:36:12,280 Speaker 1: wherever you'd go to keep it home in an emergency. 1629 01:36:12,880 --> 01:36:16,720 Speaker 1: These fluctuate wildly in quality, and when it comes to 1630 01:36:16,960 --> 01:36:19,280 Speaker 1: disaster kit to something that you need to work in 1631 01:36:19,320 --> 01:36:22,519 Speaker 1: an emergency, it can be worth going with a brand 1632 01:36:22,600 --> 01:36:25,680 Speaker 1: that is a known quantity with a long record and 1633 01:36:25,760 --> 01:36:28,200 Speaker 1: a lot of testing done on their products, rather than 1634 01:36:28,280 --> 01:36:31,320 Speaker 1: whatever the Amazon algorithm spits out when you Google battery. 1635 01:36:31,880 --> 01:36:34,640 Speaker 1: The advantage of a small portable folding setup like the 1636 01:36:34,680 --> 01:36:36,439 Speaker 1: one I have from Goal zero is that you can 1637 01:36:36,479 --> 01:36:38,240 Speaker 1: take it with you and have it on demand if 1638 01:36:38,240 --> 01:36:40,439 Speaker 1: shit happens when you're traveling, or if you have to 1639 01:36:40,520 --> 01:36:44,599 Speaker 1: evacuate and it's idiot proof right. A good option if 1640 01:36:44,640 --> 01:36:46,479 Speaker 1: you just want something in your home to keep your 1641 01:36:46,520 --> 01:36:49,519 Speaker 1: devices topped off, is what I'd call a large small 1642 01:36:49,600 --> 01:36:53,120 Speaker 1: battery generator. These are a couple of steps below products 1643 01:36:53,200 --> 01:36:55,559 Speaker 1: like the Jaggery two thousand to the Geniverse that I tried, 1644 01:36:55,880 --> 01:36:58,439 Speaker 1: but above the handheld little batteries that many of you 1645 01:36:58,600 --> 01:37:02,000 Speaker 1: have already. The two examples of this product category that 1646 01:37:02,040 --> 01:37:04,200 Speaker 1: I have and have tested are the Yeti four hundred 1647 01:37:04,240 --> 01:37:08,000 Speaker 1: from Goal zero and the anchor a n Ker Solix 1648 01:37:08,160 --> 01:37:12,240 Speaker 1: Solix C eight hundred. The Yeti four hundred is the 1649 01:37:12,280 --> 01:37:14,880 Speaker 1: product I purchased with my own money and It's what 1650 01:37:14,960 --> 01:37:17,000 Speaker 1: I've taken with me for years into the mountains when 1651 01:37:17,000 --> 01:37:19,040 Speaker 1: I go shooting or hunting, usually with a set of 1652 01:37:19,080 --> 01:37:22,160 Speaker 1: folding panels. This ensures that if my car dies and 1653 01:37:22,240 --> 01:37:24,160 Speaker 1: I've been dumb enough to let my jumper box that 1654 01:37:24,200 --> 01:37:26,320 Speaker 1: I keep with me die, I have a backup that 1655 01:37:26,360 --> 01:37:28,559 Speaker 1: I can use to charge my jumper box. I also 1656 01:37:28,680 --> 01:37:30,680 Speaker 1: have a convenient way to top off my phone or 1657 01:37:30,760 --> 01:37:33,479 Speaker 1: my E reader or my sat phone, both for normal 1658 01:37:33,600 --> 01:37:36,960 Speaker 1: use and in an emergency. It handles extreme cold and 1659 01:37:37,080 --> 01:37:39,599 Speaker 1: extreme heat well, and that's not always something you can 1660 01:37:39,640 --> 01:37:42,960 Speaker 1: take for granted with batteries. Again, kind of top of 1661 01:37:43,040 --> 01:37:45,120 Speaker 1: the list is that I am an idiot. I don't 1662 01:37:45,160 --> 01:37:48,880 Speaker 1: know much about electricity, and these products are pretty idiot proof. 1663 01:37:49,040 --> 01:37:50,680 Speaker 1: When it comes to my YETI four hundred or the 1664 01:37:50,760 --> 01:37:53,120 Speaker 1: C eight hundred from Anchor, I keep them both plugged 1665 01:37:53,120 --> 01:37:54,800 Speaker 1: into the wall at all times that I can grab 1666 01:37:54,920 --> 01:37:58,280 Speaker 1: either for an emergency. Now, the Solix C eight hundred 1667 01:37:58,320 --> 01:37:59,800 Speaker 1: that I have was sent to me as a review 1668 01:38:00,280 --> 01:38:03,000 Speaker 1: by Solix, and by necessity, I have not been able 1669 01:38:03,040 --> 01:38:05,320 Speaker 1: to subject it to the years of rigorous real life 1670 01:38:05,360 --> 01:38:07,920 Speaker 1: testing that my Goal zero YETI four hundred has endured. 1671 01:38:08,560 --> 01:38:10,960 Speaker 1: I will note that it is well reviewed, and from 1672 01:38:11,000 --> 01:38:13,000 Speaker 1: the exploration I have done on it, which does not 1673 01:38:13,160 --> 01:38:16,160 Speaker 1: include years of testing but does include a decent amount 1674 01:38:16,200 --> 01:38:19,440 Speaker 1: of reading and some testing, I think it's better constructed 1675 01:38:19,479 --> 01:38:22,240 Speaker 1: and more conveniently laid out in the goal zero, and 1676 01:38:22,320 --> 01:38:24,800 Speaker 1: it also gets you about twice the storage nearly eight 1677 01:38:24,920 --> 01:38:27,439 Speaker 1: hundred watt hours as opposed to a bit over four hundred. 1678 01:38:27,920 --> 01:38:31,400 Speaker 1: Both products cost the same price around six hundred dollars, 1679 01:38:31,680 --> 01:38:35,639 Speaker 1: although older generations are often available cheaper online. New and used. 1680 01:38:36,280 --> 01:38:38,400 Speaker 1: Either is enough to keep a family of Force phones 1681 01:38:38,600 --> 01:38:41,880 Speaker 1: charged for a two or three day outage without severe rationing. 1682 01:38:41,960 --> 01:38:43,920 Speaker 1: You can get a lot more obviously on the anchor, 1683 01:38:44,720 --> 01:38:47,040 Speaker 1: and you might not want to have someone like gaming 1684 01:38:47,120 --> 01:38:49,320 Speaker 1: on an alien ware laptop or whatever with either, but 1685 01:38:49,400 --> 01:38:51,680 Speaker 1: you can charge your laptops and the like off of them. 1686 01:38:51,720 --> 01:38:53,160 Speaker 1: If you want to watch a movie at the end 1687 01:38:53,160 --> 01:38:55,160 Speaker 1: of the night, you're all huddled together there in the dark. 1688 01:38:55,479 --> 01:38:56,960 Speaker 1: That's not going to be something you have to stress 1689 01:38:57,080 --> 01:39:00,000 Speaker 1: out about too much. Again, theoncre solex is going toe 1690 01:39:00,160 --> 01:39:02,120 Speaker 1: you a lot more juice to play around with, but 1691 01:39:02,200 --> 01:39:04,479 Speaker 1: either should be enough for an average outage if you 1692 01:39:04,600 --> 01:39:06,880 Speaker 1: just keep them plugged in. You can also use them 1693 01:39:06,920 --> 01:39:09,240 Speaker 1: to power a fan during the day. They will not 1694 01:39:09,520 --> 01:39:12,920 Speaker 1: run small AC units. These are worth considering as an 1695 01:39:12,960 --> 01:39:16,200 Speaker 1: intermediate option for the more casual prepper. What you're looking 1696 01:39:16,240 --> 01:39:19,000 Speaker 1: for here is not a full off grid replacement, but 1697 01:39:19,200 --> 01:39:21,599 Speaker 1: something that can provide you with options from more than 1698 01:39:21,680 --> 01:39:25,560 Speaker 1: just basic gadget power. With these big, small batteries, you 1699 01:39:25,600 --> 01:39:28,000 Speaker 1: can run a fan or fans, maybe not long enough 1700 01:39:28,040 --> 01:39:30,360 Speaker 1: for comfort, but in bursts throughout the day to get 1701 01:39:30,400 --> 01:39:33,040 Speaker 1: you through the hottest part of the day during a blackout, 1702 01:39:33,200 --> 01:39:36,439 Speaker 1: during what we call a wet bulb event. This would 1703 01:39:36,439 --> 01:39:39,200 Speaker 1: be the life saving health emergency that a basic solar 1704 01:39:39,240 --> 01:39:42,200 Speaker 1: setup would be most useful in saving you from. For 1705 01:39:42,400 --> 01:39:44,760 Speaker 1: context in case people aren't up to date, a wet 1706 01:39:44,840 --> 01:39:47,919 Speaker 1: bulb event is a weather situation in which the temperature 1707 01:39:48,000 --> 01:39:51,120 Speaker 1: reaches a critical level above eighty eight degrees fahrenheit and 1708 01:39:51,240 --> 01:39:54,040 Speaker 1: does not drop below that point for an extended period 1709 01:39:54,080 --> 01:39:57,360 Speaker 1: of time. If people lack access to effective cooling during 1710 01:39:57,439 --> 01:40:00,720 Speaker 1: heating events like this, they will die. We saw one 1711 01:40:00,760 --> 01:40:02,280 Speaker 1: of these hit a couple of years ago where I 1712 01:40:02,400 --> 01:40:04,880 Speaker 1: live in Portland, Oregon, which has been long famed for 1713 01:40:04,960 --> 01:40:08,120 Speaker 1: its mild temperatures and thus most homes lack central air. 1714 01:40:08,680 --> 01:40:11,120 Speaker 1: During a three day heat wave, temperatures rose to record 1715 01:40:11,240 --> 01:40:13,160 Speaker 1: highs and did not drop low enough at night to 1716 01:40:13,240 --> 01:40:16,280 Speaker 1: allow people any recovery time. More than one hundred of 1717 01:40:16,320 --> 01:40:20,360 Speaker 1: them died. This kind of thing is possible anywhere. If 1718 01:40:20,400 --> 01:40:23,320 Speaker 1: you have central air standard where you live, the grid 1719 01:40:23,439 --> 01:40:25,880 Speaker 1: can always go down, as we've seen happen in Texas 1720 01:40:25,960 --> 01:40:28,840 Speaker 1: over and over again. For someone with money, your best 1721 01:40:28,880 --> 01:40:31,640 Speaker 1: bet might be pairing a portable air conditioner like the 1722 01:40:31,760 --> 01:40:34,760 Speaker 1: Idea Duo, which ranges from five hundred to six hundred 1723 01:40:34,760 --> 01:40:38,040 Speaker 1: dollars on Amazon, with something like the Jackery SG two 1724 01:40:38,080 --> 01:40:41,360 Speaker 1: thousand plus, which with panels and a good sunlight, would 1725 01:40:41,360 --> 01:40:43,479 Speaker 1: allow you to run it during the day at least 1726 01:40:43,520 --> 01:40:46,559 Speaker 1: in a single room. As an aside, this is actually 1727 01:40:46,600 --> 01:40:48,600 Speaker 1: a case in which someone with a window unit is 1728 01:40:48,640 --> 01:40:50,920 Speaker 1: at more of an advantage than someone with central air. 1729 01:40:51,439 --> 01:40:54,519 Speaker 1: You can connect your jaggery directly to the breaker, but 1730 01:40:54,680 --> 01:40:57,040 Speaker 1: without expansion batteries, it's not going to run a whole 1731 01:40:57,120 --> 01:40:59,320 Speaker 1: home long, so you'd want to unplug everything and turn 1732 01:40:59,400 --> 01:41:01,960 Speaker 1: off the lights, running your AC in short bursts, and 1733 01:41:02,120 --> 01:41:05,479 Speaker 1: maintaining discipline with your doors at windows, ideally putting up 1734 01:41:05,520 --> 01:41:08,560 Speaker 1: foil or at least cardboard over the windows to maximize efficiency. 1735 01:41:08,920 --> 01:41:10,519 Speaker 1: If you're just being able to run a fan because 1736 01:41:10,520 --> 01:41:12,720 Speaker 1: you've got a smaller unit, you're probably looking at something like, 1737 01:41:13,160 --> 01:41:15,479 Speaker 1: you know, getting towels and rags wet, putting them over 1738 01:41:15,520 --> 01:41:18,880 Speaker 1: people's chests and faces, and kind of getting directly under 1739 01:41:18,920 --> 01:41:20,479 Speaker 1: the fan for the periods of time that you can 1740 01:41:20,520 --> 01:41:23,519 Speaker 1: afford to run it. Again, we are not talking about 1741 01:41:23,520 --> 01:41:26,960 Speaker 1: the most ideal comfort situations here, we are talking survival. 1742 01:41:27,360 --> 01:41:30,479 Speaker 1: The limitations I found for are generally twofold. One is 1743 01:41:30,520 --> 01:41:33,400 Speaker 1: that even with good sunlight, folding panels like the ones 1744 01:41:33,479 --> 01:41:37,400 Speaker 1: Jackerie and Jennifer ship me don't always hit their advertised wattage. 1745 01:41:37,880 --> 01:41:39,360 Speaker 1: This is because you've got to deal with a lot 1746 01:41:39,439 --> 01:41:42,080 Speaker 1: of other factors, the movement of the sun throughout the day, 1747 01:41:42,400 --> 01:41:45,280 Speaker 1: where shadows fall in your home or property, your access 1748 01:41:45,320 --> 01:41:47,720 Speaker 1: to the roof, how clean the panels are, and under 1749 01:41:47,800 --> 01:41:50,960 Speaker 1: normal use conditions, it is surprisingly easy to get stuff 1750 01:41:51,000 --> 01:41:53,519 Speaker 1: on them. On a sunny spring day in Oregon, I 1751 01:41:53,560 --> 01:41:55,800 Speaker 1: found my two hundred wat Jackery panels tended to get 1752 01:41:55,840 --> 01:41:57,800 Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty two one hundred and fifty watts 1753 01:41:57,840 --> 01:42:00,320 Speaker 1: during the most optimal parts of the day. I was 1754 01:42:00,360 --> 01:42:03,320 Speaker 1: able to plug the Jackery panels into the Geniverse generator 1755 01:42:03,360 --> 01:42:06,439 Speaker 1: and vice versa, and I found that Jackerre's panels generally 1756 01:42:06,560 --> 01:42:09,720 Speaker 1: performed ten to fifteen percent better during real life conditions. 1757 01:42:10,400 --> 01:42:12,479 Speaker 1: I looked it up and on paper, the Genniverse has 1758 01:42:12,520 --> 01:42:15,679 Speaker 1: a solar cell efficiency or EFF rating of about twenty 1759 01:42:15,720 --> 01:42:19,160 Speaker 1: three point four percent. Jackery beats them by one percent 1760 01:42:19,240 --> 01:42:21,720 Speaker 1: with an EFF rating of twenty four point three. That 1761 01:42:21,880 --> 01:42:23,599 Speaker 1: is not enough of a difference to matter too much, 1762 01:42:23,800 --> 01:42:25,800 Speaker 1: although I should know that what I saw in real 1763 01:42:25,880 --> 01:42:29,479 Speaker 1: life use was a notable difference. You may experience something 1764 01:42:29,560 --> 01:42:31,960 Speaker 1: different with these panels, with any panels that you get. 1765 01:42:32,120 --> 01:42:34,280 Speaker 1: I can't claim to have tested anything but the ones 1766 01:42:34,360 --> 01:42:37,639 Speaker 1: that they shipped me. The Jackery Explorer two hundred plus 1767 01:42:37,800 --> 01:42:41,400 Speaker 1: is capable of taking fourteen hundred botts of input max, 1768 01:42:41,439 --> 01:42:43,960 Speaker 1: which would be seven sets of panels, although from what 1769 01:42:44,080 --> 01:42:46,160 Speaker 1: the manual says, it can take up to six solar 1770 01:42:46,200 --> 01:42:48,679 Speaker 1: Saga eighty panels to their two hundred wade panels under 1771 01:42:48,720 --> 01:42:52,240 Speaker 1: normal conditions. You can expand all this with added Explorer 1772 01:42:52,320 --> 01:42:55,599 Speaker 1: two thousands running in tandem and up to twelve solar 1773 01:42:55,680 --> 01:42:58,599 Speaker 1: Saga eighties on a single generator but doing that requires 1774 01:42:58,600 --> 01:43:00,760 Speaker 1: some wonky shit with cables, and at that point we're 1775 01:43:00,760 --> 01:43:02,920 Speaker 1: talking about a system beyond what most people are likely 1776 01:43:03,000 --> 01:43:05,560 Speaker 1: to want or need. When it comes to durability, I 1777 01:43:05,600 --> 01:43:08,679 Speaker 1: suspect that both the Jackerie and Genniverse are probably close 1778 01:43:08,760 --> 01:43:13,320 Speaker 1: and functioning. Online reviews give both systems good user reliability ratings. 1779 01:43:13,479 --> 01:43:15,920 Speaker 1: In real world conditions, I had the opportunity to do 1780 01:43:16,080 --> 01:43:18,000 Speaker 1: something that you never want to do in real life 1781 01:43:18,040 --> 01:43:20,240 Speaker 1: with the device you've paid for, which was work one 1782 01:43:20,280 --> 01:43:23,400 Speaker 1: of these systems to death. It shows the Genniverse and 1783 01:43:23,479 --> 01:43:26,400 Speaker 1: the torture test I used basically involved keeping it outside, 1784 01:43:26,479 --> 01:43:29,080 Speaker 1: charging and providing power at a fairly low trickle for 1785 01:43:29,200 --> 01:43:31,719 Speaker 1: twelve days of intermittent rain and wind in the Pacific 1786 01:43:31,800 --> 01:43:34,640 Speaker 1: Northwest late winter. We got about two inches of rain 1787 01:43:34,720 --> 01:43:36,960 Speaker 1: during this time, and that was enough to eventually kill 1788 01:43:37,040 --> 01:43:39,720 Speaker 1: the generator, but it took close to two weeks of 1789 01:43:39,840 --> 01:43:43,040 Speaker 1: downright irresponsible treatment. We are talking the kind of neglect 1790 01:43:43,120 --> 01:43:45,799 Speaker 1: you would not subject a product like this too without 1791 01:43:45,920 --> 01:43:49,400 Speaker 1: no other option. In subsequent tests with the Jaggery, I've 1792 01:43:49,439 --> 01:43:51,920 Speaker 1: been able to keep it operating outdoors in bad weather 1793 01:43:52,080 --> 01:43:55,320 Speaker 1: without damage through taking minimal measures to shield the generator. 1794 01:43:55,479 --> 01:43:57,920 Speaker 1: The least I did was stick a plastic home depot 1795 01:43:57,960 --> 01:44:00,680 Speaker 1: crate lid above it, literally at it down on top 1796 01:44:00,720 --> 01:44:02,479 Speaker 1: of the unit to stop water from just hitting the 1797 01:44:02,560 --> 01:44:05,680 Speaker 1: ports on the sides and back directly. The most elaborate 1798 01:44:05,760 --> 01:44:08,400 Speaker 1: protective set up outdoors was a simple tarp cover and 1799 01:44:08,479 --> 01:44:10,519 Speaker 1: making sure it was elevated a bit above the ground. 1800 01:44:11,200 --> 01:44:13,160 Speaker 1: When it comes to which of these systems would be 1801 01:44:13,240 --> 01:44:15,840 Speaker 1: best for you, the primary difference between the Giniverse and 1802 01:44:15,880 --> 01:44:19,120 Speaker 1: the Jackery is that the Ginniverse is higher capacity twenty 1803 01:44:19,160 --> 01:44:21,360 Speaker 1: four hundred nineteen watt hours as opposed to a little 1804 01:44:21,400 --> 01:44:24,560 Speaker 1: over twenty forty two for the Jackery. This means that 1805 01:44:24,600 --> 01:44:26,640 Speaker 1: without input, you can run a normal fridge off the 1806 01:44:26,720 --> 01:44:30,280 Speaker 1: Giniverse for about six hours, and goodsn you can recharge 1807 01:44:30,320 --> 01:44:33,320 Speaker 1: it fully in eight hours with two Geniverse solar powered 1808 01:44:33,360 --> 01:44:36,759 Speaker 1: two panels. The Jackery system will recharge in a similar 1809 01:44:36,840 --> 01:44:39,720 Speaker 1: timeframe under optimal conditions and give you a bit less 1810 01:44:39,800 --> 01:44:42,360 Speaker 1: usable power. It has the benefit of being almost twenty 1811 01:44:42,400 --> 01:44:46,240 Speaker 1: pounds lighter and significantly friendlier in design. For reasons that 1812 01:44:46,320 --> 01:44:50,280 Speaker 1: elude explanation, the Giniverse lacks a telescoping handle or wheels 1813 01:44:50,320 --> 01:44:52,559 Speaker 1: to help you maneuver it. Into or out of position. 1814 01:44:53,080 --> 01:44:55,759 Speaker 1: This sucks because it's heavy, and if it's not wired 1815 01:44:55,800 --> 01:44:58,360 Speaker 1: into your breaker and you're using this for an emergency, 1816 01:44:58,640 --> 01:45:00,479 Speaker 1: you might need to move it around so that you 1817 01:45:00,560 --> 01:45:03,160 Speaker 1: can have the panels in different positions to take advantage 1818 01:45:03,200 --> 01:45:06,360 Speaker 1: of the sun. This also makes the geniverse less useful 1819 01:45:06,400 --> 01:45:09,880 Speaker 1: than the Jaggery in normal daily life tasks. I started 1820 01:45:09,920 --> 01:45:12,799 Speaker 1: this episode with a rather ridiculous story about my waterbed, 1821 01:45:12,880 --> 01:45:15,120 Speaker 1: but I've actually found quite a few tasks at which 1822 01:45:15,200 --> 01:45:17,880 Speaker 1: having a weeelable battery capable of this kind of output 1823 01:45:18,040 --> 01:45:21,280 Speaker 1: is handy. Basically, any power tool that you are likely 1824 01:45:21,360 --> 01:45:23,879 Speaker 1: to own will run off of either of these systems, 1825 01:45:24,200 --> 01:45:26,320 Speaker 1: but only the Jaggery is friendly enough to want to 1826 01:45:26,400 --> 01:45:29,439 Speaker 1: move around outdoors to take advantage of this fact. And 1827 01:45:29,560 --> 01:45:31,519 Speaker 1: this kind of gets us to the crux of a 1828 01:45:31,640 --> 01:45:33,919 Speaker 1: question some of you have been asking this whole episode, 1829 01:45:34,520 --> 01:45:38,800 Speaker 1: how practical are any of these solutions. My answer is complicated, 1830 01:45:38,880 --> 01:45:41,479 Speaker 1: but I think fair. If you can't or aren't going 1831 01:45:41,560 --> 01:45:44,240 Speaker 1: to expend the energy to become competent with solar power 1832 01:45:44,280 --> 01:45:46,559 Speaker 1: to the extent that someone living off grid would generally 1833 01:45:46,640 --> 01:45:50,599 Speaker 1: want to be, these are exceptional solutions so long as 1834 01:45:50,640 --> 01:45:53,720 Speaker 1: you can afford them. In both cases, you're looking at 1835 01:45:53,760 --> 01:45:56,160 Speaker 1: around three thousand dollars for a setup that could power 1836 01:45:56,320 --> 01:45:59,400 Speaker 1: anything in your home and would handle all necessary tasks 1837 01:45:59,600 --> 01:46:01,760 Speaker 1: for law longer than the length of an average blackout. 1838 01:46:02,280 --> 01:46:05,240 Speaker 1: The Jackerree and Geniverse systems are also future capable. You 1839 01:46:05,360 --> 01:46:08,240 Speaker 1: can expand both with added batteries over time and add 1840 01:46:08,280 --> 01:46:10,920 Speaker 1: in more panel capacity up to a point that makes 1841 01:46:10,960 --> 01:46:14,400 Speaker 1: them quite attractive if you can afford them. My personal 1842 01:46:14,479 --> 01:46:17,760 Speaker 1: recommendation would be for the Jackery over the Geniverse for 1843 01:46:17,960 --> 01:46:20,920 Speaker 1: most people for a couple of reasons. Please note that 1844 01:46:20,960 --> 01:46:24,000 Speaker 1: I received review units from both companies and money from neither, 1845 01:46:24,160 --> 01:46:26,720 Speaker 1: so I have no vested interest in picking one over 1846 01:46:26,840 --> 01:46:30,400 Speaker 1: the other. One reason that I chose the Jackery Explorer 1847 01:46:30,439 --> 01:46:32,920 Speaker 1: two thousand is that it is a bit cheaper nineteen 1848 01:46:33,040 --> 01:46:35,240 Speaker 1: hundred for the base system and four hundred and seventy 1849 01:46:35,320 --> 01:46:37,879 Speaker 1: nine for each set of two hundred watt folding panels. 1850 01:46:38,400 --> 01:46:40,840 Speaker 1: Compare that to the Geniverse Home Power two Pro, which 1851 01:46:40,880 --> 01:46:43,479 Speaker 1: starts at two two hundred and ninety nine dollars and 1852 01:46:43,560 --> 01:46:46,439 Speaker 1: thirty four hundred dollars for the generator with two two 1853 01:46:46,560 --> 01:46:50,560 Speaker 1: hundred watt panels. The Jackery is also meaningfully easier to 1854 01:46:50,640 --> 01:46:53,280 Speaker 1: use in recreational situations, so it is a system that 1855 01:46:53,360 --> 01:46:55,880 Speaker 1: the average person will get more use out of. You 1856 01:46:55,960 --> 01:46:58,520 Speaker 1: can take it camping easily, you can use it for overlanding, 1857 01:46:58,720 --> 01:47:01,040 Speaker 1: and you can have it ready for another emergency. I 1858 01:47:01,120 --> 01:47:02,960 Speaker 1: will note that if you have a system like this, 1859 01:47:03,120 --> 01:47:05,040 Speaker 1: you will surprise yourself with how often it comes in 1860 01:47:05,080 --> 01:47:08,439 Speaker 1: a handy for simple tasks. What I like about both 1861 01:47:08,479 --> 01:47:11,680 Speaker 1: systems is again their future compatible. You can start with 1862 01:47:11,800 --> 01:47:14,200 Speaker 1: the base system and then add a couple of panels, 1863 01:47:14,240 --> 01:47:16,200 Speaker 1: and as you save more money, you can add an 1864 01:47:16,200 --> 01:47:18,920 Speaker 1: additional battery packs and panels to give you both more 1865 01:47:18,960 --> 01:47:22,240 Speaker 1: capacity and more input, with the goal of eventually storing 1866 01:47:22,280 --> 01:47:24,400 Speaker 1: a day or a couple of days of power and 1867 01:47:24,520 --> 01:47:28,000 Speaker 1: being able to run your home minimally during extended emergencies. 1868 01:47:28,560 --> 01:47:30,720 Speaker 1: The shortcoming that you'll find with either system is that 1869 01:47:30,760 --> 01:47:32,400 Speaker 1: if you have a normal home, it will cost as 1870 01:47:32,479 --> 01:47:34,200 Speaker 1: much as a nice used car to have a setup 1871 01:47:34,240 --> 01:47:36,360 Speaker 1: that could run your house for extended periods of time, 1872 01:47:36,640 --> 01:47:39,960 Speaker 1: let alone indefinitely. A typical home AC unit can burn 1873 01:47:40,040 --> 01:47:43,280 Speaker 1: something like fourteen thousand kilowat hours per day, and that's 1874 01:47:43,439 --> 01:47:46,559 Speaker 1: just half of what an average home draws heating amounts 1875 01:47:46,600 --> 01:47:48,560 Speaker 1: to a comparable draw. So while these systems can be 1876 01:47:48,640 --> 01:47:51,880 Speaker 1: expanded significantly with additional batteries, if you're dealing with an 1877 01:47:51,880 --> 01:47:55,520 Speaker 1: outage that extends past several days, you will encounter severe limitations. 1878 01:47:56,280 --> 01:47:58,800 Speaker 1: This brings me to the most impressive but least accessible 1879 01:47:58,880 --> 01:48:01,519 Speaker 1: piece of gear that I test for these episodes, The 1880 01:48:01,680 --> 01:48:05,439 Speaker 1: Anchor Solick's F thirty eight hundred portable power station. This 1881 01:48:05,560 --> 01:48:08,439 Speaker 1: holds about three eight hundred and forty watt hours of 1882 01:48:08,520 --> 01:48:12,720 Speaker 1: electricity and can output six thousand watts if necessary. You 1883 01:48:12,840 --> 01:48:15,680 Speaker 1: can charge your electric car or run a welding rig 1884 01:48:15,800 --> 01:48:18,439 Speaker 1: off of this thing. It can be expanded with additional 1885 01:48:18,479 --> 01:48:20,639 Speaker 1: battery storage, and if you had thirty or forty grand 1886 01:48:20,720 --> 01:48:22,760 Speaker 1: to spend, you could wire this thing up to power 1887 01:48:22,800 --> 01:48:25,280 Speaker 1: your house for close to a week without sunlight. The 1888 01:48:25,439 --> 01:48:28,600 Speaker 1: F thirty eight hundred itself costs four thousand dollars, and 1889 01:48:28,680 --> 01:48:30,719 Speaker 1: you can run two of them in tandem with twelve 1890 01:48:30,800 --> 01:48:32,840 Speaker 1: battery packs each to power your home for about two 1891 01:48:32,880 --> 01:48:35,280 Speaker 1: weeks for just the cost of at this point a 1892 01:48:35,400 --> 01:48:38,880 Speaker 1: rather nice car that is wildly out of reach for 1893 01:48:38,960 --> 01:48:41,439 Speaker 1: most people, But if you can afford it, the Anchor 1894 01:48:41,560 --> 01:48:44,559 Speaker 1: is a really cool system. There's been a tremendous amount 1895 01:48:44,560 --> 01:48:46,479 Speaker 1: of thought put into everything, from how the device is 1896 01:48:46,560 --> 01:48:48,920 Speaker 1: constructed and laid out to how you carry it. I 1897 01:48:49,040 --> 01:48:51,360 Speaker 1: particularly appreciate the fact that you can wheel it like 1898 01:48:51,400 --> 01:48:53,439 Speaker 1: a big suitcase or lay it on its side, where 1899 01:48:53,439 --> 01:48:56,160 Speaker 1: it has additional pop out handles to enable you to 1900 01:48:56,200 --> 01:48:59,599 Speaker 1: carry it in multiple different ways. All of Anchor's products 1901 01:48:59,680 --> 01:49:02,000 Speaker 1: feel premium, and the metal handles that I said pop 1902 01:49:02,080 --> 01:49:04,840 Speaker 1: out are like metal. They're very solid. Everything has a 1903 01:49:04,920 --> 01:49:07,400 Speaker 1: clean interface and what I would describe as an exceedingly 1904 01:49:07,520 --> 01:49:10,439 Speaker 1: livable industrial design. If you happen to be one of 1905 01:49:10,479 --> 01:49:13,160 Speaker 1: the people who can consider putting down four thousand dollars 1906 01:49:13,240 --> 01:49:16,320 Speaker 1: for an emergency battery, the Solix F thirty eight hundred 1907 01:49:16,360 --> 01:49:18,639 Speaker 1: will see you through ninety nine percent of the power 1908 01:49:18,720 --> 01:49:22,000 Speaker 1: loss situations you are likely to encounter, and require minimal 1909 01:49:22,120 --> 01:49:24,760 Speaker 1: knowledge to set up and get working. It is easy 1910 01:49:24,840 --> 01:49:27,400 Speaker 1: to attach to your home breaker, and Anchor's instructions for 1911 01:49:27,520 --> 01:49:30,559 Speaker 1: doing so are simple to follow for folks who can 1912 01:49:30,640 --> 01:49:33,560 Speaker 1: afford the cost then, and that cost is not inconsiderable. 1913 01:49:33,720 --> 01:49:35,760 Speaker 1: It is a great mix of might save your life 1914 01:49:35,840 --> 01:49:39,040 Speaker 1: and will definitely come in handy. I should also note 1915 01:49:39,080 --> 01:49:41,840 Speaker 1: that the Jaggery system has a better pedigree than the 1916 01:49:41,880 --> 01:49:45,639 Speaker 1: Geniverse system in the industry, probably similar to Anchor. They've 1917 01:49:45,680 --> 01:49:48,160 Speaker 1: got a long track record and are well regarded not 1918 01:49:48,280 --> 01:49:50,840 Speaker 1: as inexpensive solution, but as a reliable one with a 1919 01:49:50,880 --> 01:49:53,840 Speaker 1: good warranty and a lot of history to back them up. 1920 01:49:54,479 --> 01:49:57,120 Speaker 1: All of these systems are, in my experience, reliable and 1921 01:49:57,280 --> 01:49:59,800 Speaker 1: easy to use. All of them are and I have 1922 01:50:00,000 --> 01:50:02,640 Speaker 1: to hit on this a few times because it matters expensive. 1923 01:50:03,160 --> 01:50:05,360 Speaker 1: That presents a problem if you're someone who sees the 1924 01:50:05,479 --> 01:50:08,920 Speaker 1: value and these is potential emergency devices, but will realistically 1925 01:50:09,000 --> 01:50:11,680 Speaker 1: never be able to throw down three thousand dollars for them. 1926 01:50:12,360 --> 01:50:14,880 Speaker 1: It would be irresponsible of me to give you some 1927 01:50:14,960 --> 01:50:17,880 Speaker 1: specific technical advice because I lack that knowledge. But I 1928 01:50:17,960 --> 01:50:19,800 Speaker 1: have some experience here, and we're going to get to 1929 01:50:19,880 --> 01:50:28,360 Speaker 1: that after this next set of adds. We're back and 1930 01:50:28,520 --> 01:50:31,080 Speaker 1: we're talking about what you can do at least a 1931 01:50:31,160 --> 01:50:33,599 Speaker 1: little bit of what you can do. Again the furthest 1932 01:50:33,640 --> 01:50:35,240 Speaker 1: thing in the world from an expert here, but I 1933 01:50:35,320 --> 01:50:37,599 Speaker 1: wanted to at least provide some starting points from folks 1934 01:50:37,640 --> 01:50:39,800 Speaker 1: who are never going to be able to afford these 1935 01:50:39,920 --> 01:50:43,480 Speaker 1: more formal, easier to use idiot proof kind of situations, 1936 01:50:43,479 --> 01:50:45,600 Speaker 1: because while I'm not an expert on this, I have 1937 01:50:45,760 --> 01:50:47,599 Speaker 1: lived off grit a bit, and I have known people 1938 01:50:47,640 --> 01:50:50,800 Speaker 1: who have done so in a wide variety of weird situations. 1939 01:50:51,200 --> 01:50:54,320 Speaker 1: At one point, my partner operated a solar powered shack 1940 01:50:54,439 --> 01:50:57,320 Speaker 1: that they lived out of, with batteries so comparatively primitive 1941 01:50:57,520 --> 01:51:00,720 Speaker 1: that she had to regularly refill them with water. That 1942 01:51:00,880 --> 01:51:02,720 Speaker 1: kind of maintenance is going to be second nature to 1943 01:51:02,760 --> 01:51:04,880 Speaker 1: people who know they're shit with solar, and those people 1944 01:51:04,960 --> 01:51:07,880 Speaker 1: have a lot more options than the laymen. Probably the 1945 01:51:07,920 --> 01:51:10,560 Speaker 1: most impressive in cash neutral setup I saw was in 1946 01:51:10,600 --> 01:51:14,439 Speaker 1: a place called East Jesus in far southern California. This 1947 01:51:14,760 --> 01:51:17,800 Speaker 1: was a totally off grid power setup that kept around 1948 01:51:17,800 --> 01:51:21,080 Speaker 1: twelve to eighteen people alive year round and often intense temperatures, 1949 01:51:21,160 --> 01:51:25,000 Speaker 1: powering AC units and trailers and RVs, fridges, fans, lights, 1950 01:51:25,120 --> 01:51:28,839 Speaker 1: The entertainment equipment they used the wakes Now. Their setup 1951 01:51:29,000 --> 01:51:32,160 Speaker 1: was all scavenged or bought cheap in auction. The batteries 1952 01:51:32,200 --> 01:51:35,120 Speaker 1: they used, which took up an entire shipping container sized space, 1953 01:51:35,200 --> 01:51:37,800 Speaker 1: were purchased cheap from a telecom company in the area, 1954 01:51:38,040 --> 01:51:41,080 Speaker 1: which retired its deep cycle batteries once they hit eighty 1955 01:51:41,160 --> 01:51:43,760 Speaker 1: percent of their original functioning capacity or something like that. 1956 01:51:44,439 --> 01:51:47,920 Speaker 1: Panels were likewise scavenged or bought cheap and used. Since 1957 01:51:47,920 --> 01:51:50,360 Speaker 1: they had a lot of space but little money, Wiring 1958 01:51:50,400 --> 01:51:53,120 Speaker 1: a shitload of panels a varying efficiency together was a 1959 01:51:53,240 --> 01:51:55,360 Speaker 1: solution that they could afford, both in terms of the 1960 01:51:55,400 --> 01:51:57,200 Speaker 1: money that it cost and in terms of the space 1961 01:51:57,240 --> 01:52:00,320 Speaker 1: that was required. Most people lack the technical knowledg to 1962 01:52:00,360 --> 01:52:03,040 Speaker 1: set something like this up. I sure do, and even 1963 01:52:03,120 --> 01:52:05,320 Speaker 1: more of them lack the space, but it is an 1964 01:52:05,360 --> 01:52:07,519 Speaker 1: example of the sort of solutions that people with little 1965 01:52:07,520 --> 01:52:09,479 Speaker 1: to no cash can cook up if they're clever and 1966 01:52:09,600 --> 01:52:14,440 Speaker 1: knowledgeable about the fundamental technology. It would be extremely irresponsible 1967 01:52:14,439 --> 01:52:16,519 Speaker 1: if I did not add here that solar setups are 1968 01:52:16,560 --> 01:52:18,439 Speaker 1: the sort of thing where it behooves you to be 1969 01:52:18,600 --> 01:52:22,240 Speaker 1: exceedingly fucking careful. The chief benefit of the system's goal 1970 01:52:22,400 --> 01:52:25,880 Speaker 1: zero anchor, Jenniverse and Jackery make is that they are 1971 01:52:26,040 --> 01:52:28,280 Speaker 1: all as close to idiot proof as they can be. 1972 01:52:28,880 --> 01:52:30,559 Speaker 1: Part of the cost comes from the fact that they 1973 01:52:30,680 --> 01:52:35,519 Speaker 1: use expensive but extremely stable lithium iron phosphate batteries. These 1974 01:52:35,560 --> 01:52:38,240 Speaker 1: have long life spans. Jackery rates theirs at ten years 1975 01:52:38,320 --> 01:52:40,599 Speaker 1: and a cycle life of up to two thousand cycles. 1976 01:52:40,920 --> 01:52:43,719 Speaker 1: They have a good standby time too. Jackery rates theirs 1977 01:52:43,760 --> 01:52:46,679 Speaker 1: at up to fifty percent charge after two years in storage. 1978 01:52:47,240 --> 01:52:49,599 Speaker 1: A lot of the cheaper or scavenged options you find 1979 01:52:49,720 --> 01:52:53,439 Speaker 1: are lithium polymer batteries. These are rather infamous for igniting 1980 01:52:53,600 --> 01:52:56,840 Speaker 1: and burning down people's homes. There are solutions you can 1981 01:52:56,920 --> 01:52:59,519 Speaker 1: find online and if you're interested in cheaper homebrew solar 1982 01:52:59,560 --> 01:53:04,040 Speaker 1: setups out there, one place I'd suggest starting is diyssolarforum 1983 01:53:04,120 --> 01:53:07,800 Speaker 1: dot com. The people there will have suggestions for minimizing risk. 1984 01:53:08,400 --> 01:53:11,799 Speaker 1: Since LiPo is one of the most dangerous battery chemistry 1985 01:53:11,800 --> 01:53:14,719 Speaker 1: types out there. Some people build what are called battery bunkers. 1986 01:53:15,080 --> 01:53:16,920 Speaker 1: One a form I've seen this tape is basically a 1987 01:53:17,000 --> 01:53:19,760 Speaker 1: cube of bricks around and below the batteries with a 1988 01:53:19,840 --> 01:53:23,040 Speaker 1: ceramic flat sheet above them. Some people will suggest lacing 1989 01:53:23,160 --> 01:53:25,760 Speaker 1: sandbags above the bunkers that if the battery goes into 1990 01:53:25,760 --> 01:53:28,200 Speaker 1: a thermal runway, it will melt the sandbag and pour 1991 01:53:28,320 --> 01:53:31,479 Speaker 1: sand into the battery to stop the fire. Again, I 1992 01:53:31,560 --> 01:53:33,800 Speaker 1: am not giving advice here, just providing you with an 1993 01:53:33,880 --> 01:53:36,120 Speaker 1: example of the kinds of concerns that you do have 1994 01:53:36,240 --> 01:53:38,920 Speaker 1: to think about. When considering building setups like this for 1995 01:53:39,080 --> 01:53:42,559 Speaker 1: your own, it is unfortunate. The most financially accessible way 1996 01:53:42,600 --> 01:53:44,640 Speaker 1: to do this is by taking the research into your 1997 01:53:44,640 --> 01:53:47,000 Speaker 1: own hands and relying on the experience of hobbyists and 1998 01:53:47,080 --> 01:53:50,280 Speaker 1: lifestyle explorers who have been there before. But disasters aren't fair, 1999 01:53:50,479 --> 01:53:54,080 Speaker 1: and neither is life. Another exploratory option I'd suggest is 2000 01:53:54,120 --> 01:53:57,200 Speaker 1: googling questions like how to run small room ac off 2001 01:53:57,280 --> 01:54:00,160 Speaker 1: solar or how to run twelve volt fridge indefinitely I'm 2002 01:54:00,160 --> 01:54:02,760 Speaker 1: a solar, and then add Reddit as a search term. 2003 01:54:03,200 --> 01:54:05,880 Speaker 1: You'll find threads of people in off grids, solar or 2004 01:54:05,960 --> 01:54:09,080 Speaker 1: overlanding subreddits who have explored these problems for themselves and 2005 01:54:09,120 --> 01:54:11,320 Speaker 1: their journeys can at least act as a basis for 2006 01:54:11,479 --> 01:54:14,080 Speaker 1: your own. I'd like to thank at the end of 2007 01:54:14,120 --> 01:54:16,720 Speaker 1: this the reps at Jacker, each universe and anchor who 2008 01:54:16,800 --> 01:54:19,760 Speaker 1: sent products for me to review. It was incredibly nice 2009 01:54:19,800 --> 01:54:21,599 Speaker 1: of them all, and from an esthetic point of view, 2010 01:54:21,640 --> 01:54:23,759 Speaker 1: they all make great gear that is a genuine pleasure 2011 01:54:23,800 --> 01:54:26,479 Speaker 1: to use. Goll Zero didn't send me anything, but I've 2012 01:54:26,520 --> 01:54:28,160 Speaker 1: paid for their stuff for years and I've never had 2013 01:54:28,160 --> 01:54:30,280 Speaker 1: anything fail in the field, so I figure I owe 2014 01:54:30,280 --> 01:54:31,160 Speaker 1: them a shout out here. 2015 01:54:31,120 --> 01:54:33,280 Speaker 3: Too, and it's going to do it for us. 2016 01:54:33,680 --> 01:54:35,840 Speaker 1: It could happen here for the day, so you know, 2017 01:54:36,200 --> 01:54:39,160 Speaker 1: check in tomorrow or you know, Monday, depending on when 2018 01:54:39,200 --> 01:54:42,840 Speaker 1: you hear this. Whenever it drops and yeah, goodbye. 2019 01:54:57,760 --> 01:55:00,240 Speaker 12: Welcome to It could happen here. I'm Garrison, David, and 2020 01:55:00,520 --> 01:55:03,240 Speaker 12: once again it has been happening here as protest encampments 2021 01:55:03,240 --> 01:55:05,880 Speaker 12: have sprung up in at least eighty college campuses all 2022 01:55:05,920 --> 01:55:08,880 Speaker 12: across the country as Israel continues its genoside of the 2023 01:55:08,920 --> 01:55:12,280 Speaker 12: Palestine people and is now currently bombing multiple sides of Rafa. 2024 01:55:13,120 --> 01:55:17,120 Speaker 12: Last month, students at American universities began protesting their university's 2025 01:55:17,160 --> 01:55:20,520 Speaker 12: ties to Israel and weapons manufacturers, calling for divestment, as 2026 01:55:20,560 --> 01:55:23,400 Speaker 12: well as urging their institutions to join in calls for ceasefire. 2027 01:55:23,920 --> 01:55:27,520 Speaker 12: After a militarized police raid at the Humboldt protest utilizing 2028 01:55:27,560 --> 01:55:30,560 Speaker 12: a prison swat team, police departments around the country began 2029 01:55:30,640 --> 01:55:33,640 Speaker 12: cracking down more harshly on the protest encampments. The day 2030 01:55:33,680 --> 01:55:37,360 Speaker 12: after the Humboldt one, NYPD raided Columbia University and fired 2031 01:55:37,400 --> 01:55:40,640 Speaker 12: a gun inside Hamilton Hall while trying to use their 2032 01:55:40,640 --> 01:55:44,440 Speaker 12: handgun as a flashlight. The Portland Police Bureau quickly followed 2033 01:55:44,480 --> 01:55:47,440 Speaker 12: suit and cracked down at the encampment at Portland State 2034 01:55:47,560 --> 01:55:51,360 Speaker 12: University and have since barricaded that library. As of time 2035 01:55:51,400 --> 01:55:54,480 Speaker 12: of recording, around twenty five hundred arrests have taken place 2036 01:55:54,520 --> 01:55:57,600 Speaker 12: at college protests all around the country. Police have displayed 2037 01:55:57,640 --> 01:56:00,400 Speaker 12: incredible violence, sending people to the hospital with broken ankles 2038 01:56:00,400 --> 01:56:02,920 Speaker 12: and concussions. In many cities, there's been heavy use of 2039 01:56:02,920 --> 01:56:06,720 Speaker 12: pepper spray, pepperballs as well as tasers. The protests have 2040 01:56:06,800 --> 01:56:09,440 Speaker 12: also faced violence from a mix of far right agitators, 2041 01:56:09,600 --> 01:56:13,200 Speaker 12: zionist counter protesters, and racist frats that have targeted the 2042 01:56:13,240 --> 01:56:17,800 Speaker 12: protest encampments with physical violence, especially at UCLA. We here 2043 01:56:17,920 --> 01:56:19,680 Speaker 12: at it could happen here are lucky enough to have 2044 01:56:19,720 --> 01:56:22,480 Speaker 12: correspondence kind of based all around the country. So I'm 2045 01:56:22,560 --> 01:56:25,400 Speaker 12: joined today by Mia Wong, James Stout, and Molly Konger 2046 01:56:25,880 --> 01:56:29,520 Speaker 12: to discuss our experiences as people who have been present 2047 01:56:29,640 --> 01:56:33,280 Speaker 12: at some of these encampments all across the country. I'm 2048 01:56:33,320 --> 01:56:37,360 Speaker 12: going to start by talking about Emory University here in Atlanta, Georgia. 2049 01:56:38,800 --> 01:56:40,560 Speaker 12: This is a weird one and I think I'll actually 2050 01:56:40,600 --> 01:56:43,880 Speaker 12: go into more depth in a future episode, but this 2051 01:56:44,000 --> 01:56:46,400 Speaker 12: episode's going to kind of focus on discussions and we're 2052 01:56:46,400 --> 01:56:50,240 Speaker 12: going to kind of compare our experiences. So oddly enough, 2053 01:56:50,280 --> 01:56:52,880 Speaker 12: I think Emory was the first one to actually face 2054 01:56:53,120 --> 01:56:57,080 Speaker 12: significant police repression. Tents went up on the Emory Quad 2055 01:56:57,200 --> 01:57:00,720 Speaker 12: on April fifteenth, and that morning there was a heavy 2056 01:57:00,800 --> 01:57:05,440 Speaker 12: police response from EMORYPD, APD and Georgia State Patrol. They 2057 01:57:05,720 --> 01:57:09,040 Speaker 12: fired tasers, there was rubber bullets, pepper balls, and over 2058 01:57:09,160 --> 01:57:13,960 Speaker 12: two dozen arrests. Students and others began to rally later 2059 01:57:14,040 --> 01:57:16,800 Speaker 12: that afternoon to retake the quad. A few hundred people 2060 01:57:16,960 --> 01:57:20,440 Speaker 12: did so, and a small occupation began inside the Kendler 2061 01:57:20,520 --> 01:57:24,480 Speaker 12: School of Theology building. M REYPD was pinned up against 2062 01:57:24,520 --> 01:57:28,160 Speaker 12: this building. GSP arrived as reinforcements, and people started to flee, 2063 01:57:28,400 --> 01:57:31,040 Speaker 12: as you know, you see GSP kind of form this area. 2064 01:57:31,400 --> 01:57:33,680 Speaker 12: But people were able to calm some of those other 2065 01:57:33,720 --> 01:57:36,320 Speaker 12: students down and regroup and actually hold that position for 2066 01:57:36,360 --> 01:57:39,480 Speaker 12: a little while longer police began attacking students, a small 2067 01:57:39,560 --> 01:57:42,520 Speaker 12: clash began, there was pepper balls. People continued to kind 2068 01:57:42,520 --> 01:57:44,800 Speaker 12: of hold that ground in front of the building. There 2069 01:57:44,880 --> 01:57:48,080 Speaker 12: was students also inside. As people try to you know, 2070 01:57:49,000 --> 01:57:52,600 Speaker 12: render aid to those who have been pepper baled, and 2071 01:57:53,400 --> 01:57:55,920 Speaker 12: while maintaining this position in front of the building, more 2072 01:57:56,000 --> 01:58:00,120 Speaker 12: and more police arrived like a ridiculous number, and the 2073 01:58:00,200 --> 01:58:03,480 Speaker 12: crowd eventually starts to slowly disperse as police just flood campus. 2074 01:58:03,840 --> 01:58:06,680 Speaker 12: Police from all around the greater Atlanta area just flood 2075 01:58:06,760 --> 01:58:09,560 Speaker 12: this very small section of Decatur, which is a small 2076 01:58:09,600 --> 01:58:12,240 Speaker 12: suburb to the northeast of Atlanta or to the east 2077 01:58:12,280 --> 01:58:12,720 Speaker 12: of Atlanta. 2078 01:58:12,760 --> 01:58:13,080 Speaker 3: I guess. 2079 01:58:13,520 --> 01:58:17,480 Speaker 12: Emory President Greg Femmes said the Thursday protest was concocted 2080 01:58:17,560 --> 01:58:22,000 Speaker 12: by outside entities, which is why Emory PD, APD and 2081 01:58:22,160 --> 01:58:25,760 Speaker 12: GSP violently disrupted the protest because it was caused by 2082 01:58:26,080 --> 01:58:30,520 Speaker 12: outside agitators. Line that New York Mayor Eric Adams would 2083 01:58:30,520 --> 01:58:35,520 Speaker 12: then reiterate to justify the massive crackdown at Columbia. So 2084 01:58:36,080 --> 01:58:38,600 Speaker 12: the next day we had five hundred people march around 2085 01:58:38,720 --> 01:58:43,560 Speaker 12: campus and then this little kind of committee of Emory 2086 01:58:43,600 --> 01:58:48,000 Speaker 12: faculty and staff called the Every Open Expression Committee began 2087 01:58:48,080 --> 01:58:52,240 Speaker 12: to negotiate with the protest and they quote unquote allowed 2088 01:58:52,720 --> 01:58:56,160 Speaker 12: the protest to march around campus, and this small subset 2089 01:58:56,200 --> 01:58:59,000 Speaker 12: of the group began to occupy the Coxhaull Food Court 2090 01:58:59,520 --> 01:59:01,280 Speaker 12: and police. Plice were ordered to stay out of sight 2091 01:59:01,920 --> 01:59:04,000 Speaker 12: this whole day and a few of the days after 2092 01:59:04,400 --> 01:59:07,880 Speaker 12: unless the Open Expression Committee specifically called them in. And 2093 01:59:08,000 --> 01:59:09,800 Speaker 12: what was able to happen is that this Open Expression 2094 01:59:09,800 --> 01:59:12,440 Speaker 12: Committee was able to wield the threat of police as 2095 01:59:12,480 --> 01:59:15,880 Speaker 12: a deterrent from people taking kind of more militant action 2096 01:59:16,040 --> 01:59:18,240 Speaker 12: or to actually set up things that would hold down 2097 01:59:18,280 --> 01:59:21,040 Speaker 12: an encampment, like if tenths were set up, this would 2098 01:59:21,200 --> 01:59:24,280 Speaker 12: result in this Open Expression Committee to call in the police. 2099 01:59:24,400 --> 01:59:28,040 Speaker 12: So this was a very successfully wielded threat. So as 2100 01:59:28,120 --> 01:59:30,000 Speaker 12: the night goes on, the Open Spression Committee does threaten 2101 01:59:30,120 --> 01:59:32,760 Speaker 12: to call police on the Cox Food Hall protest, which 2102 01:59:32,880 --> 01:59:35,360 Speaker 12: scares a whole bunch of these you know, young teens 2103 01:59:35,440 --> 01:59:38,360 Speaker 12: early twenties out of the building. A smaller group of 2104 01:59:38,400 --> 01:59:40,360 Speaker 12: around one hundred people remain on the quad till midnight, 2105 01:59:40,440 --> 01:59:43,160 Speaker 12: police arrive and then everyone disperses. The next day kind 2106 01:59:43,160 --> 01:59:46,400 Speaker 12: of follows a similar pattern open expression and some student 2107 01:59:46,480 --> 01:59:49,280 Speaker 12: organizers over the course of the next few days actually 2108 01:59:49,360 --> 01:59:53,200 Speaker 12: start directing police to detain and criminally trespass people wearing 2109 01:59:53,280 --> 01:59:57,200 Speaker 12: cafeas on suspicion of them having been engaged in like 2110 01:59:57,320 --> 02:00:00,480 Speaker 12: doing graffiti, and really it just allows police to target 2111 02:00:00,520 --> 02:00:03,360 Speaker 12: specific people that the Open Expression Committee kind of just 2112 02:00:03,480 --> 02:00:06,720 Speaker 12: don't want on campus based on either how they dress, 2113 02:00:06,840 --> 02:00:09,720 Speaker 12: how they're kind of walking, acting, behaving, that sort of thing. 2114 02:00:10,240 --> 02:00:13,400 Speaker 12: And this pattern followed basically up until the present. People 2115 02:00:13,440 --> 02:00:16,640 Speaker 12: would try to take buildings do smaller protests. Police would 2116 02:00:16,720 --> 02:00:18,560 Speaker 12: either be called or there would be threats that they 2117 02:00:18,600 --> 02:00:20,680 Speaker 12: would be called. It would kind of calm the crowd down, 2118 02:00:20,760 --> 02:00:23,320 Speaker 12: everyone would disperse. If ten's got set up, that was 2119 02:00:23,360 --> 02:00:25,480 Speaker 12: seen as like a major sign of escalation, which would 2120 02:00:25,480 --> 02:00:27,400 Speaker 12: result in police being called. And it's kind of the 2121 02:00:27,480 --> 02:00:29,760 Speaker 12: small back and forth, and eventually this just kind of 2122 02:00:29,840 --> 02:00:33,720 Speaker 12: led to the situation Emory slowly dissolving, slowly fizzling out 2123 02:00:34,320 --> 02:00:38,200 Speaker 12: as the people who were wanting to do stuff kind 2124 02:00:38,200 --> 02:00:40,600 Speaker 12: of got pushed more to the side, got pushed out, 2125 02:00:40,960 --> 02:00:44,400 Speaker 12: more and more people became began getting criminally trespassed, and 2126 02:00:45,040 --> 02:00:48,800 Speaker 12: the group of students at Emory just did not want 2127 02:00:48,840 --> 02:00:51,960 Speaker 12: to risk a further engagement with police after the first day, 2128 02:00:52,480 --> 02:00:55,600 Speaker 12: and that's kind of led to things slowly slowly dissolving, 2129 02:00:56,160 --> 02:01:00,200 Speaker 12: And that's basically with the situation currently. Things of the 2130 02:01:00,320 --> 02:01:02,840 Speaker 12: kind of tapered off. School's ending. I'm sure this will 2131 02:01:02,840 --> 02:01:05,600 Speaker 12: be a similar, similar thing across the country as the 2132 02:01:05,640 --> 02:01:09,520 Speaker 12: school season is ending and these protest encampments will so 2133 02:01:09,640 --> 02:01:13,280 Speaker 12: we also just dissolve away as police repression continues. Let's 2134 02:01:13,320 --> 02:01:16,560 Speaker 12: see who should we move on to the next little report? 2135 02:01:17,800 --> 02:01:21,720 Speaker 12: James James stout from you. You went to U see 2136 02:01:22,080 --> 02:01:22,800 Speaker 12: San Diego. 2137 02:01:23,600 --> 02:01:26,400 Speaker 3: That's right. I did both both as a graduate student 2138 02:01:26,480 --> 02:01:29,600 Speaker 3: and then again as an adjunct professor, and then again 2139 02:01:29,840 --> 02:01:31,840 Speaker 3: as a journalist last week, which is what we're going 2140 02:01:31,920 --> 02:01:34,760 Speaker 3: to talk about this time. So you see San Diego 2141 02:01:35,160 --> 02:01:38,440 Speaker 3: had it was interesting the encampment began on the first 2142 02:01:38,520 --> 02:01:41,400 Speaker 3: of May, but s JP had posted this thing about 2143 02:01:41,440 --> 02:01:44,200 Speaker 3: their big rally was going to be on the third 2144 02:01:44,280 --> 02:01:45,200 Speaker 3: of May, on the Friday. 2145 02:01:45,280 --> 02:01:45,360 Speaker 6: Right. 2146 02:01:45,560 --> 02:01:48,840 Speaker 3: S JP is Students for Justice in Palestine. It's one 2147 02:01:48,880 --> 02:01:51,560 Speaker 3: of the groups it's organized a lot of these protests 2148 02:01:51,640 --> 02:01:54,200 Speaker 3: across It depends you know where you're at. You might 2149 02:01:54,280 --> 02:01:56,800 Speaker 3: have the Council on American Islamic Relations, you might have 2150 02:01:56,880 --> 02:02:00,600 Speaker 3: the Muslim Student Association, you might have both. But yeah, yeah, 2151 02:02:00,600 --> 02:02:03,320 Speaker 3: you Jewish Fast for Peace. Yeah yeah. Very often they're 2152 02:02:03,520 --> 02:02:06,160 Speaker 3: they're collaborating, which is great. We love to see collaboration. 2153 02:02:06,800 --> 02:02:08,800 Speaker 3: So what they did was they posted that they were 2154 02:02:08,800 --> 02:02:11,720 Speaker 3: going to have a big rally on Friday, and that, 2155 02:02:12,280 --> 02:02:14,040 Speaker 3: as it turned out, was like a fake out, and 2156 02:02:14,080 --> 02:02:17,600 Speaker 3: they actually started their encampment on Wednesday, So they distracted 2157 02:02:17,640 --> 02:02:20,880 Speaker 3: admin with that Instagram post, which is pretty clever, pretty funny, 2158 02:02:21,280 --> 02:02:25,080 Speaker 3: And they began this encampment on Wednesday on Library Walk, 2159 02:02:25,120 --> 02:02:26,720 Speaker 3: which is kind of right in the middle of UCSD. 2160 02:02:27,520 --> 02:02:29,520 Speaker 3: If people have seen, you know, people would be familiar 2161 02:02:29,560 --> 02:02:31,840 Speaker 3: with the UCSD guys Le Library from the film Attack 2162 02:02:31,880 --> 02:02:34,720 Speaker 3: of the Killer Tomatoes, which it played important role in. Yeah, 2163 02:02:35,560 --> 02:02:38,640 Speaker 3: I can see the look of recognition on my colleagues faces. 2164 02:02:39,120 --> 02:02:41,720 Speaker 3: But yeah, that's the only thing that's ever cool that's 2165 02:02:41,720 --> 02:02:46,000 Speaker 3: happened at UCSD. So they set up this encampment. It 2166 02:02:46,240 --> 02:02:50,640 Speaker 3: wasn't huge, but it was certainly a serious presence, right, 2167 02:02:50,720 --> 02:02:55,040 Speaker 3: and they didn't barricade it or sort of make it 2168 02:02:55,160 --> 02:02:58,480 Speaker 3: make a defensible That was a conscious choice, right, And 2169 02:02:58,600 --> 02:03:04,440 Speaker 3: they did set up a security system whereby they had 2170 02:03:04,680 --> 02:03:10,080 Speaker 3: student security people controlling who entered and I guess left 2171 02:03:10,160 --> 02:03:12,880 Speaker 3: the encampment if you really wanted to, you get the 2172 02:03:12,960 --> 02:03:14,840 Speaker 3: cops got in, right, Like it was a wist high 2173 02:03:15,000 --> 02:03:18,840 Speaker 3: vinyl offence. But in theory, these people were controlling who 2174 02:03:18,880 --> 02:03:22,240 Speaker 3: went in and who went out. Some times these people 2175 02:03:22,280 --> 02:03:25,000 Speaker 3: were asking people to sign up on a sheet. I 2176 02:03:25,120 --> 02:03:29,400 Speaker 3: think I hope they stopped doing that because obviously that 2177 02:03:29,480 --> 02:03:32,120 Speaker 3: you're sort of helping the cops make their prosecution case. There. 2178 02:03:32,840 --> 02:03:37,040 Speaker 3: Over the next five days, the encampment was extremely peaceful. 2179 02:03:37,120 --> 02:03:39,480 Speaker 3: Right There was a focus among this group on not 2180 02:03:39,640 --> 02:03:44,120 Speaker 3: giving any provocation to police or to addmin to any 2181 02:03:44,240 --> 02:03:48,360 Speaker 3: reason to evict them. So they had some lectures, some speeches, 2182 02:03:48,640 --> 02:03:52,240 Speaker 3: they had some live music, they did some dancing, all 2183 02:03:52,320 --> 02:03:56,080 Speaker 3: stuff that's in no way provocation or violent. On the 2184 02:03:56,200 --> 02:03:59,840 Speaker 3: fifth of May, a large counter protest was organized. Most 2185 02:04:00,400 --> 02:04:03,800 Speaker 3: it bought kind of like get off my Law and 2186 02:04:03,880 --> 02:04:09,000 Speaker 3: boomer types, but then also like some right wing streamers 2187 02:04:09,480 --> 02:04:13,400 Speaker 3: Oreo Express or I guess the surviving half of Oreo Express, 2188 02:04:13,520 --> 02:04:17,040 Speaker 3: Josh Fulfer, was there. I think the guy who was 2189 02:04:17,120 --> 02:04:21,400 Speaker 3: first responded to media, Jsuay or Joe Felix, was also there. 2190 02:04:21,840 --> 02:04:23,720 Speaker 3: These are right wing streamers that, sadly, like, if you 2191 02:04:23,800 --> 02:04:25,640 Speaker 3: live where I live, you have to be familiar with 2192 02:04:25,720 --> 02:04:28,360 Speaker 3: where they do a lot of border harassment to They 2193 02:04:28,400 --> 02:04:30,720 Speaker 3: were obviously trying to film and identify students, so I 2194 02:04:30,800 --> 02:04:34,920 Speaker 3: guess this was on the evening of the fifth That evening, 2195 02:04:35,080 --> 02:04:38,520 Speaker 3: the Chancellor Costler sent around an email basically saying that 2196 02:04:38,640 --> 02:04:41,400 Speaker 3: what the students were doing was prohibited, that the tents 2197 02:04:41,560 --> 02:04:45,360 Speaker 3: were not included in freedom of speech, and asking them 2198 02:04:45,520 --> 02:04:50,600 Speaker 3: to disband peacefully. The next morning, at about five or 2199 02:04:50,640 --> 02:04:55,560 Speaker 3: six in their morning, literally hundreds of cops from several agencies. 2200 02:04:55,720 --> 02:04:59,720 Speaker 3: Right the UCPD does not have the footprint that we saw. 2201 02:05:00,040 --> 02:05:04,120 Speaker 3: There was California Highway Patrol, San Diego Sheriff's Department, and 2202 02:05:04,320 --> 02:05:09,240 Speaker 3: UCPD all in full right gear lined up opposite the encampment. 2203 02:05:10,240 --> 02:05:13,120 Speaker 3: They say that they asked students to leave and that 2204 02:05:13,280 --> 02:05:16,040 Speaker 3: those who didn't were arrested. And when they're arrested, obviously 2205 02:05:16,160 --> 02:05:18,160 Speaker 3: like violence was used by the police, as always is, 2206 02:05:18,760 --> 02:05:23,320 Speaker 3: the encampment was destroyed. Everything that was there was tossed 2207 02:05:23,360 --> 02:05:25,520 Speaker 3: into a dumpster. Some stuff was then recovered. I guess 2208 02:05:25,560 --> 02:05:27,840 Speaker 3: there's now a lost and found people to recover their 2209 02:05:28,240 --> 02:05:31,320 Speaker 3: things like laptops, right, like expensive personal items that were 2210 02:05:31,360 --> 02:05:34,720 Speaker 3: swept up. At that point, people were arrested and then 2211 02:05:34,840 --> 02:05:38,320 Speaker 3: detained in the Price Center at UCSD. The Price Center, 2212 02:05:38,520 --> 02:05:41,320 Speaker 3: if you've not been on campus, is like a large 2213 02:05:41,320 --> 02:05:44,840 Speaker 3: shopping mall that also has some lecture facilities. But it's 2214 02:05:44,880 --> 02:05:49,160 Speaker 3: where the Panda expresses on campus. It's not trapped in 2215 02:05:49,320 --> 02:05:52,560 Speaker 3: with the Panda Express, which is a dangerous situation. Yeah yeah, 2216 02:05:52,600 --> 02:05:55,160 Speaker 3: and the Panda Express is not operational sadly more it's 2217 02:05:55,160 --> 02:05:57,960 Speaker 3: a shame, but it's where they have those their dining horn. 2218 02:05:58,040 --> 02:06:01,360 Speaker 3: It's like a center of corporate operations on campus. It's 2219 02:06:01,400 --> 02:06:04,880 Speaker 3: a very bleak place. So they're trapped in the Price Center. 2220 02:06:05,680 --> 02:06:08,080 Speaker 3: The students around campus, those who are not in the 2221 02:06:08,160 --> 02:06:11,840 Speaker 3: encampment then rallied to protect these students and tried to 2222 02:06:12,040 --> 02:06:15,240 Speaker 3: block the police from loading them on buses and then 2223 02:06:15,440 --> 02:06:17,920 Speaker 3: block the buses from leaving. And that's when we saw 2224 02:06:17,960 --> 02:06:21,560 Speaker 3: the Sheriff's department using massive amounts of violence. Right, our 2225 02:06:21,600 --> 02:06:25,880 Speaker 3: Sheriff's department still carry just like big wooden sticks. They're 2226 02:06:25,920 --> 02:06:28,120 Speaker 3: not like the black night sticks, you know, with like 2227 02:06:28,240 --> 02:06:32,280 Speaker 3: the right angled grip. It's just a giant it's just 2228 02:06:32,360 --> 02:06:36,160 Speaker 3: a big wooden baton. Yeah, it's the esthetic of our 2229 02:06:36,240 --> 02:06:40,680 Speaker 3: Sheriff's Department's right gear is consciously or unconsciously something that 2230 02:06:40,720 --> 02:06:42,760 Speaker 3: I associate with the civil rights tear and the repression 2231 02:06:42,760 --> 02:06:45,680 Speaker 3: of the civil rights movement. Perhaps that's a choice. I 2232 02:06:45,720 --> 02:06:48,720 Speaker 3: don't know, but that was when the Sheriff's department started 2233 02:06:48,760 --> 02:06:52,480 Speaker 3: to become violent. That's when they brutalized and arrested both 2234 02:06:52,600 --> 02:06:56,760 Speaker 3: generalists and students. In total, sixty five people are arrested 2235 02:06:57,120 --> 02:06:59,840 Speaker 3: protests and moved down to the two jails. We have 2236 02:07:00,160 --> 02:07:03,480 Speaker 3: different facility. There's a men's journal at women's jail, and 2237 02:07:03,600 --> 02:07:07,920 Speaker 3: they tend to they tend to incarcerate trans people with 2238 02:07:08,040 --> 02:07:10,560 Speaker 3: the gender they're assigned at birth. I've heard about lots 2239 02:07:10,560 --> 02:07:13,360 Speaker 3: of things that happened in those jails that were pretty bad, 2240 02:07:14,000 --> 02:07:15,760 Speaker 3: but I haven't been able to confirm them enough that 2241 02:07:15,880 --> 02:07:20,360 Speaker 3: I think I'd be comfortable airing them. So people are released, 2242 02:07:20,480 --> 02:07:24,640 Speaker 3: lots of them charged with several misdemeanors, trespassing, encroachment, being 2243 02:07:24,680 --> 02:07:27,720 Speaker 3: at the scene of a riot, resisting arrests, things like that. Right, 2244 02:07:28,320 --> 02:07:32,360 Speaker 3: two members of faculty were also arrested. Forty people were students, 2245 02:07:32,400 --> 02:07:34,280 Speaker 3: and at the last time I checked, they hadn't confirmed 2246 02:07:34,320 --> 02:07:37,600 Speaker 3: the status of the other twenty ish people. So that 2247 02:07:37,800 --> 02:07:42,360 Speaker 3: happened on the sixth yesterday, which was of course the eighth. 2248 02:07:42,560 --> 02:07:45,120 Speaker 3: There was a big march about a thousand students. It 2249 02:07:45,200 --> 02:07:47,800 Speaker 3: looked like kind of both calling for the UC to 2250 02:07:47,880 --> 02:07:52,200 Speaker 3: divest and calling for the UC to drop charges and 2251 02:07:52,960 --> 02:07:55,360 Speaker 3: drop academic sanctions. So right now, all the people who 2252 02:07:55,360 --> 02:07:59,200 Speaker 3: are arrested are facing interim suspension, they're facing a viction 2253 02:07:59,360 --> 02:08:03,000 Speaker 3: from their student housing, which San Diego, if we've spoken 2254 02:08:03,000 --> 02:08:06,360 Speaker 3: about brazilion times, has an incredibly expensive housing market and 2255 02:08:06,680 --> 02:08:10,120 Speaker 3: it's almost impossible to access to affordable housing here. And 2256 02:08:10,480 --> 02:08:13,560 Speaker 3: in some cases, you know, they're facing serious academic sanctions. 2257 02:08:13,600 --> 02:08:15,840 Speaker 3: It could affect the rest of their academic careers, student 2258 02:08:15,960 --> 02:08:18,840 Speaker 3: workers who are arrested or also now not being allowed 2259 02:08:18,880 --> 02:08:22,560 Speaker 3: to work on campus. So one hundred and eighty three 2260 02:08:22,600 --> 02:08:25,360 Speaker 3: faculty signed the letter asking the university to not do that. 2261 02:08:25,800 --> 02:08:28,480 Speaker 3: That came out last night, and that's kind of where 2262 02:08:28,520 --> 02:08:32,000 Speaker 3: we're at in terms of what's happened to these people. 2263 02:08:32,440 --> 02:08:36,680 Speaker 3: I think it's probably worth noting that the U see 2264 02:08:36,760 --> 02:08:41,120 Speaker 3: Riverside settled, right that they negotiated a settlement. That's in 2265 02:08:42,320 --> 02:08:45,160 Speaker 3: so Riverside is north and slightly east of here, east 2266 02:08:45,200 --> 02:08:49,720 Speaker 3: of Los Angeles County. You see Riverside is. I don't 2267 02:08:49,720 --> 02:08:52,040 Speaker 3: know in terms of student numbers how big it is, 2268 02:08:52,160 --> 02:08:55,960 Speaker 3: but they settled I think on the Wednesday, so it'd 2269 02:08:56,000 --> 02:08:58,680 Speaker 3: be mad Mayda. The Friday, May the third, I was 2270 02:08:58,760 --> 02:09:01,160 Speaker 3: at the UCSD and meant that day and I heard 2271 02:09:01,200 --> 02:09:05,000 Speaker 3: them announce it. They were overside settlement. I'm just going 2272 02:09:05,080 --> 02:09:07,080 Speaker 3: to say it didn't achieve some of the more radical 2273 02:09:07,160 --> 02:09:10,240 Speaker 3: goals of the student organizing movement, not to be divestment, 2274 02:09:10,760 --> 02:09:13,320 Speaker 3: to be an academic boycott. They did get the university 2275 02:09:13,400 --> 02:09:17,080 Speaker 3: to publish its investments which are linked to Israel at least, 2276 02:09:17,680 --> 02:09:20,880 Speaker 3: which is a step. I guess. They got a task force. 2277 02:09:21,800 --> 02:09:23,520 Speaker 3: The university is going to be very willing to grant 2278 02:09:23,560 --> 02:09:26,400 Speaker 3: you task forces and panels and things which can turn 2279 02:09:26,480 --> 02:09:29,480 Speaker 3: your radical aims into a bureaucratic mess. Right, And they 2280 02:09:29,600 --> 02:09:31,880 Speaker 3: got the university to look into removing Sabra Hummas from 2281 02:09:31,880 --> 02:09:36,240 Speaker 3: its men use as well. Get get Yeah. 2282 02:09:36,920 --> 02:09:40,480 Speaker 8: The biggest concession was the Hummers, which isn't isn't great? 2283 02:09:41,120 --> 02:09:43,200 Speaker 13: Wait that was That wasn't a joke? I thought you 2284 02:09:43,280 --> 02:09:43,680 Speaker 13: were joking. 2285 02:09:43,880 --> 02:09:46,600 Speaker 3: No no, I'm not joking. No no, no, no, Sobra 2286 02:09:46,680 --> 02:09:49,760 Speaker 3: Hummas was called out by name. They didn't. I'm not 2287 02:09:49,840 --> 02:09:52,600 Speaker 3: saying they're really investment yeah, yeah, no, no, they're not 2288 02:09:52,760 --> 02:09:56,680 Speaker 3: divesting from Sabra Hummas, Molly, they're looking into doing that. 2289 02:09:57,840 --> 02:10:01,440 Speaker 3: In conjunction with their acquisitions procedure. Yeah, so you know, 2290 02:10:01,520 --> 02:10:03,960 Speaker 3: it's a huge dub. I don't want to undermine what 2291 02:10:04,040 --> 02:10:06,400 Speaker 3: these people have done. Like it's it's scary when the 2292 02:10:06,480 --> 02:10:09,800 Speaker 3: cops come to get you. And I understand, but this 2293 02:10:10,000 --> 02:10:11,920 Speaker 3: is a sort of visa concessions or university is going 2294 02:10:12,000 --> 02:10:15,400 Speaker 3: to give you. Right, you might get a snack task force, 2295 02:10:15,560 --> 02:10:20,560 Speaker 3: and you might get they're already publicly available investments listed 2296 02:10:20,600 --> 02:10:25,200 Speaker 3: in one place on their website at UCSD. The administration 2297 02:10:25,360 --> 02:10:30,080 Speaker 3: claims that the students were unwilling to negotiate. I wasn't 2298 02:10:30,120 --> 02:10:33,400 Speaker 3: able to ascertain if what system they had, right, Like 2299 02:10:33,520 --> 02:10:36,960 Speaker 3: I was trying to ask if they had delegates or representatives, 2300 02:10:37,720 --> 02:10:39,560 Speaker 3: who are going to do those being different things, right, 2301 02:10:39,840 --> 02:10:43,040 Speaker 3: who are going to negotiate? I was enabled to get 2302 02:10:43,040 --> 02:10:46,320 Speaker 3: a clear answer, and that they did very clearly publish 2303 02:10:46,360 --> 02:10:48,560 Speaker 3: their demands right, And the university doesn't seem to have 2304 02:10:48,640 --> 02:10:51,680 Speaker 3: proceeded to any of them. So that more or less 2305 02:10:51,840 --> 02:10:54,320 Speaker 3: is where we're at in San Diego. They're are ongoing 2306 02:10:55,080 --> 02:10:57,760 Speaker 3: panels and press conferences. I'm going to attend one, so 2307 02:10:57,880 --> 02:11:00,320 Speaker 3: it's going to be one by faculty tomorrow on the ninth, 2308 02:11:00,600 --> 02:11:02,800 Speaker 3: the faculty have also been organizing right in a group 2309 02:11:02,840 --> 02:11:05,720 Speaker 3: called Faculty for Justice in Palestine, and they've been organizing. 2310 02:11:05,760 --> 02:11:07,640 Speaker 3: I think it was very impressive that they like accepted 2311 02:11:07,640 --> 02:11:10,800 Speaker 3: student leadership and didn't try and like, you know, come 2312 02:11:10,880 --> 02:11:13,040 Speaker 3: in and take a vanguard roll or tell everybody what 2313 02:11:13,160 --> 02:11:15,560 Speaker 3: to do. But but there mostly to facilitate the student 2314 02:11:15,600 --> 02:11:18,839 Speaker 3: protest and protect it. So they're having a press conference tomorrow, 2315 02:11:18,920 --> 02:11:21,560 Speaker 3: so things that's definitely ongoing here. But that's kind of 2316 02:11:21,600 --> 02:11:24,080 Speaker 3: where we're at as of today, which is the ninth 2317 02:11:24,480 --> 02:11:24,680 Speaker 3: of me. 2318 02:11:25,560 --> 02:11:28,400 Speaker 12: We will be back in here about the happenings in 2319 02:11:28,560 --> 02:11:33,440 Speaker 12: Chicago and I believe Richmond Charlottesville after this outbreak. Yeah 2320 02:11:33,520 --> 02:11:40,800 Speaker 12: for Sobra, I hope probably not Chockolahamas. That's the chocolate 2321 02:11:40,840 --> 02:11:43,480 Speaker 12: Hammas is a travesty, crime against humanity. 2322 02:11:53,800 --> 02:11:55,120 Speaker 3: All Right, we are back. 2323 02:11:55,760 --> 02:11:59,040 Speaker 8: I have a big bowl of non Sobra chocolate hummers. Actually, 2324 02:11:59,160 --> 02:12:00,680 Speaker 8: so fuck all of you. 2325 02:12:02,760 --> 02:12:04,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, and the break Garrison got out that chickpeas and 2326 02:12:05,040 --> 02:12:07,000 Speaker 3: a blenda is a really beautiful thing. 2327 02:12:07,520 --> 02:12:09,800 Speaker 12: Let's hear from me about what's been happening in Chicago 2328 02:12:09,840 --> 02:12:13,440 Speaker 12: where there it's been multiple, multiple of these protest occupations. 2329 02:12:14,400 --> 02:12:17,879 Speaker 6: Yeah, so there's been four occupations so far in Chicago 2330 02:12:18,080 --> 02:12:20,880 Speaker 6: that it's it's possible. I don't know. I'm actually kind 2331 02:12:20,880 --> 02:12:23,000 Speaker 6: of surprised, Like the University of Ville Nois hasn't, Like 2332 02:12:23,200 --> 02:12:24,880 Speaker 6: there have been a few campuses that I thought would 2333 02:12:24,880 --> 02:12:27,240 Speaker 6: go up that haven't. Yeah, so we're gonna talk about 2334 02:12:27,240 --> 02:12:29,280 Speaker 6: three of them because the other one I didn't get to. 2335 02:12:29,440 --> 02:12:32,920 Speaker 6: We'll we'll well, we'll explain why I wasn't at the 2336 02:12:33,360 --> 02:12:35,240 Speaker 6: School of the Art Institute one because. 2337 02:12:35,000 --> 02:12:37,520 Speaker 8: That's a shit show, sixty eight arrests. 2338 02:12:37,960 --> 02:12:38,919 Speaker 6: Yeah, disaster. 2339 02:12:39,320 --> 02:12:40,080 Speaker 3: We will get to that. 2340 02:12:40,160 --> 02:12:42,040 Speaker 6: So the first one I was at was at Northwestern, 2341 02:12:42,360 --> 02:12:44,160 Speaker 6: And I think the other thing that's important about these 2342 02:12:44,200 --> 02:12:49,600 Speaker 6: encampments is that they're really really geographically spread out across 2343 02:12:49,640 --> 02:12:53,000 Speaker 6: the city. So Northwestern is not in Chicago, it is 2344 02:12:53,040 --> 02:12:56,880 Speaker 6: in is it a like is it a suburb called Evanston? 2345 02:12:57,040 --> 02:12:59,400 Speaker 6: Is a very rich suburb. Okay, the other thing we 2346 02:12:59,400 --> 02:13:02,160 Speaker 6: should probably get across this these the Chicago camp it's 2347 02:13:02,200 --> 02:13:05,680 Speaker 6: all started kind of late into this process. They're not 2348 02:13:06,240 --> 02:13:07,880 Speaker 6: there's reasons for this that I can't get into, but 2349 02:13:08,000 --> 02:13:10,640 Speaker 6: they're all kind of late comers. On April twenty fifth, 2350 02:13:10,720 --> 02:13:16,360 Speaker 6: Northwestern one starts and it's a really chill occupation for 2351 02:13:16,480 --> 02:13:18,080 Speaker 6: the most part. So there's like a police raid on 2352 02:13:18,240 --> 02:13:20,280 Speaker 6: night one, but then the kids just come back and 2353 02:13:20,320 --> 02:13:21,760 Speaker 6: put all the tents up again. And then after that, 2354 02:13:22,600 --> 02:13:25,640 Speaker 6: like the Evanston police department is a joke, right, Like 2355 02:13:25,720 --> 02:13:27,920 Speaker 6: they're not I mean, they've probably done terrible things, but 2356 02:13:28,000 --> 02:13:30,000 Speaker 6: like they're not. They're not like the police departments in 2357 02:13:30,040 --> 02:13:32,600 Speaker 6: the rest of the city, who are like the guys 2358 02:13:32,640 --> 02:13:35,040 Speaker 6: you teach the CIA how to torture people, right, Yeah, 2359 02:13:36,440 --> 02:13:38,080 Speaker 6: and so yeah, I wanted to talk a bit about 2360 02:13:38,120 --> 02:13:40,080 Speaker 6: kind of the vibes of it because it was it's 2361 02:13:40,080 --> 02:13:43,720 Speaker 6: a very like early occupation kind of vibe, right. It's 2362 02:13:44,040 --> 02:13:46,640 Speaker 6: I mean, like I walk in, there's it's a bunch 2363 02:13:46,680 --> 02:13:51,600 Speaker 6: of kids like sitting on tents doing homework. People are sleeping, 2364 02:13:52,080 --> 02:13:53,960 Speaker 6: There's like people are like eating meals. 2365 02:13:54,120 --> 02:13:57,120 Speaker 12: Everyone's really happy, very similar to people just hanging out 2366 02:13:57,160 --> 02:13:58,800 Speaker 12: in the quat at Emory and I'm sure many other 2367 02:13:58,880 --> 02:14:02,080 Speaker 12: places around the country. Yeah, I think I think in 2368 02:14:02,160 --> 02:14:04,800 Speaker 12: everything that that should be mentioned is you know, so 2369 02:14:04,920 --> 02:14:06,880 Speaker 12: like obviously these are these are proteo, these are camps 2370 02:14:06,920 --> 02:14:10,240 Speaker 12: insolidated with palessign, right, so you're you're expecting an internationalist event. 2371 02:14:10,400 --> 02:14:13,200 Speaker 12: This one like I walked in there and there is 2372 02:14:13,280 --> 02:14:15,440 Speaker 12: a woman on the stage in the encampment while I 2373 02:14:15,520 --> 02:14:18,320 Speaker 12: say stage, and there's a woman using their sound equipment, 2374 02:14:18,320 --> 02:14:19,520 Speaker 12: which made you quieter. 2375 02:14:21,000 --> 02:14:23,160 Speaker 3: Too, but was talking about the. 2376 02:14:23,200 --> 02:14:25,400 Speaker 6: Zapatistas and this is the thing you see over and 2377 02:14:25,480 --> 02:14:27,120 Speaker 6: over and over again, right, It's like, yeah, these are 2378 02:14:27,160 --> 02:14:28,960 Speaker 6: about these the enchampsts that I'm at are you know, 2379 02:14:29,000 --> 02:14:32,240 Speaker 6: obviously they're about Palestign, But there's this real there's very 2380 02:14:32,400 --> 02:14:36,680 Speaker 6: kind of there's a deep internationalism there that's very tangible 2381 02:14:36,720 --> 02:14:38,360 Speaker 6: and powerful. I mean, like, you know, I was walking 2382 02:14:38,400 --> 02:14:39,960 Speaker 6: through the tamp and I was I was like, you know, 2383 02:14:40,080 --> 02:14:42,160 Speaker 6: there are kids like reading on the on the lawn 2384 02:14:42,240 --> 02:14:43,960 Speaker 6: and I'm like I'm like pointing out like, oh hey, 2385 02:14:44,040 --> 02:14:45,440 Speaker 6: this is that's the copy of The Wretched of the 2386 02:14:45,480 --> 02:14:48,160 Speaker 6: Earth that I have from college. Like you know, it's 2387 02:14:48,160 --> 02:14:50,440 Speaker 6: all stuff like that. It was all very chill. It 2388 02:14:50,600 --> 02:14:53,000 Speaker 6: like rained on us. So we spend much time like 2389 02:14:53,040 --> 02:14:55,960 Speaker 6: waterproofing tents. I think the interesting things about this is 2390 02:14:56,000 --> 02:15:00,280 Speaker 6: that there's a there's a really kind of wild mix 2391 02:15:00,400 --> 02:15:03,040 Speaker 6: of people there. It's it's this, it's this thing you 2392 02:15:03,160 --> 02:15:05,360 Speaker 6: only really get in social movements that are like going 2393 02:15:05,480 --> 02:15:07,680 Speaker 6: somewhere where, you know, I mean I was running into 2394 02:15:07,720 --> 02:15:13,160 Speaker 6: people from groups like old school, like like I ran 2395 02:15:13,240 --> 02:15:15,320 Speaker 6: to zone from students for a democratic society, Like I 2396 02:15:15,320 --> 02:15:17,000 Speaker 6: didn't even know that groups still existed, like I thought 2397 02:15:17,000 --> 02:15:19,960 Speaker 6: I thought went down well, so there there was a 2398 02:15:20,000 --> 02:15:21,520 Speaker 6: second round of them in the two thousands, so I 2399 02:15:21,520 --> 02:15:24,080 Speaker 6: thought they died after that, but apparently not. You know, 2400 02:15:24,160 --> 02:15:26,040 Speaker 6: so you have these mix of people from like groups 2401 02:15:26,080 --> 02:15:28,200 Speaker 6: that everyone thought was dead, right, Like, you know, there's 2402 02:15:28,200 --> 02:15:30,400 Speaker 6: a lot of sort of very experienced, like student organizers. 2403 02:15:30,400 --> 02:15:33,120 Speaker 6: There's also a lot of grad students, which is a dynamic. 2404 02:15:33,120 --> 02:15:35,880 Speaker 6: I don't think it's talked about very much because it's 2405 02:15:36,120 --> 02:15:37,720 Speaker 6: it's not just like eighteen year olds. There are a 2406 02:15:37,720 --> 02:15:39,760 Speaker 6: lot of people in these camps who have been doing 2407 02:15:39,840 --> 02:15:42,480 Speaker 6: this for a very long time. And you know, so 2408 02:15:42,560 --> 02:15:44,760 Speaker 6: you have those people, but you also have people who 2409 02:15:44,960 --> 02:15:46,840 Speaker 6: just I mean, like I talked to people who this 2410 02:15:46,960 --> 02:15:48,920 Speaker 6: was literally their first protest, right, It's like the first 2411 02:15:48,920 --> 02:15:51,600 Speaker 6: thing that evertility they'd ever come out to, And you know, 2412 02:15:52,880 --> 02:15:54,920 Speaker 6: there was this very kind of there's this very sort 2413 02:15:54,960 --> 02:15:58,000 Speaker 6: of camarader ReVibe. What there wasn't was a functional democracy, 2414 02:15:58,520 --> 02:16:01,160 Speaker 6: and that's that's a very Dusty everything about this encampment 2415 02:16:01,240 --> 02:16:04,680 Speaker 6: that was very different than the Chicago one, which I'll 2416 02:16:04,680 --> 02:16:07,760 Speaker 6: be getting to in a second. It's like they there 2417 02:16:07,880 --> 02:16:11,000 Speaker 6: was this sort of there was this group that was 2418 02:16:11,080 --> 02:16:17,320 Speaker 6: negotiating with the administration, and no one could really tell 2419 02:16:17,440 --> 02:16:19,880 Speaker 6: what they were doing. Like every once in a while 2420 02:16:19,880 --> 02:16:22,240 Speaker 6: a representative would come back from them and you'd hear something. 2421 02:16:22,320 --> 02:16:24,640 Speaker 6: But in the meantime, everyone is sort of running around 2422 02:16:24,640 --> 02:16:26,600 Speaker 6: based on rumors, trying to figure out what these people 2423 02:16:26,600 --> 02:16:30,920 Speaker 6: are negotiating. And it turns out what they're negotiating is 2424 02:16:31,080 --> 02:16:35,920 Speaker 6: an end to the protests, and basically the students like, okay, 2425 02:16:35,920 --> 02:16:38,640 Speaker 6: so there's a complicated set of demands. What actually happens 2426 02:16:38,720 --> 02:16:41,080 Speaker 6: is that all of the entire occupation is taken down. 2427 02:16:41,120 --> 02:16:44,360 Speaker 6: After a week, it's completely gone. Now there's nothing there. 2428 02:16:45,240 --> 02:16:49,200 Speaker 6: What they get from it was the university is re 2429 02:16:49,480 --> 02:16:55,840 Speaker 6: establishing an advisory committee on investment responsibilities. They got like 2430 02:16:56,440 --> 02:17:01,000 Speaker 6: question this Northwest supposed to answer questions about holding some 2431 02:17:01,120 --> 02:17:05,680 Speaker 6: stakeholders which may be disclosure, may not be. And they 2432 02:17:05,800 --> 02:17:09,280 Speaker 6: got some stuff that like is real from for like 2433 02:17:09,800 --> 02:17:14,640 Speaker 6: visiting like Palestinian faculty. But basically they didn't get any 2434 02:17:14,720 --> 02:17:17,080 Speaker 6: of the goals of the encampment, right, there's no investments. 2435 02:17:17,360 --> 02:17:21,520 Speaker 6: There's you know, a committee that can make recommendations about 2436 02:17:21,560 --> 02:17:23,840 Speaker 6: the investment, and we'll see if that even happens, because 2437 02:17:23,879 --> 02:17:26,480 Speaker 6: that's supposed to be spun out back in the fall. So, 2438 02:17:26,680 --> 02:17:28,880 Speaker 6: you know, they take down the encampment, they get nothing, 2439 02:17:29,040 --> 02:17:31,760 Speaker 6: they get no leverage, and nothing is you know, and 2440 02:17:32,000 --> 02:17:34,240 Speaker 6: all of the sort of student negotiators, and these negotiators 2441 02:17:34,360 --> 02:17:38,040 Speaker 6: tend they you know, Okay, so there are also like 2442 02:17:38,120 --> 02:17:40,760 Speaker 6: political splits in the camp. Right, It's kind of hard 2443 02:17:40,800 --> 02:17:42,760 Speaker 6: to get a sense of them just from looking at it, 2444 02:17:43,520 --> 02:17:45,360 Speaker 6: but you know, if you talk to enough people, you 2445 02:17:45,400 --> 02:17:47,200 Speaker 6: can sort of get the sense of like what the 2446 02:17:47,280 --> 02:17:51,080 Speaker 6: splits are, right, and Northwestern was sort of split between 2447 02:17:52,280 --> 02:17:55,920 Speaker 6: like the sort of liberal nego student negotiators who are 2448 02:17:56,040 --> 02:17:59,440 Speaker 6: from a lot of like some of the sort of 2449 02:17:59,520 --> 02:18:02,040 Speaker 6: more liberal student organizations, and the people who want to 2450 02:18:02,200 --> 02:18:04,680 Speaker 6: like you know, they're sort of like Baxibleist radicals and 2451 02:18:04,680 --> 02:18:06,800 Speaker 6: the maximust radicals get out maduvry because there's just not 2452 02:18:06,920 --> 02:18:09,400 Speaker 6: enough of them, and so they take the encampment down. 2453 02:18:09,640 --> 02:18:12,160 Speaker 6: And the people who were doing the negotiations had this 2454 02:18:12,200 --> 02:18:14,400 Speaker 6: whole line by we're building power, this is just the beginning, 2455 02:18:14,440 --> 02:18:16,760 Speaker 6: and there's nothing. There's been nothing else. They're screwed. They 2456 02:18:16,840 --> 02:18:18,920 Speaker 6: lost everything. Their negotiating power is gone. 2457 02:18:19,040 --> 02:18:19,680 Speaker 3: They got nothing. 2458 02:18:20,879 --> 02:18:25,600 Speaker 6: So in the wake of this, the University of Chicago 2459 02:18:25,840 --> 02:18:29,480 Speaker 6: encampment starts up. Vnwversit of Chicago complete other side of 2460 02:18:29,520 --> 02:18:33,640 Speaker 6: the city, like Northwestern is in like the like the 2461 02:18:33,800 --> 02:18:38,360 Speaker 6: fucking bougiest, like richest, whitest of the like of like 2462 02:18:38,400 --> 02:18:40,160 Speaker 6: the north side of Chicago, which is like where rich 2463 02:18:40,200 --> 02:18:42,640 Speaker 6: white people are, except I mean, they're not even in Chicago, right, 2464 02:18:42,680 --> 02:18:45,680 Speaker 6: They're they're they're literally like they are they are a 2465 02:18:46,200 --> 02:18:48,960 Speaker 6: They're a suburb. The University of Chicago, on the other hand, 2466 02:18:49,240 --> 02:18:51,280 Speaker 6: is smack dab in the middle of the south side 2467 02:18:51,280 --> 02:18:54,560 Speaker 6: of Chicago. There's the University bubble, and then around the 2468 02:18:54,640 --> 02:18:56,440 Speaker 6: university this is like the heart, like the heart of 2469 02:18:56,440 --> 02:19:00,400 Speaker 6: black Chicago, right, very very different vibe. The other thing 2470 02:19:00,440 --> 02:19:02,520 Speaker 6: that's important about this is so the University of Chicago 2471 02:19:02,720 --> 02:19:06,280 Speaker 6: occupation starts in the context of the massive raids in Columbia, 2472 02:19:06,320 --> 02:19:11,600 Speaker 6: the raid and Humboldt, and very importantly the raids in UCLA, and. 2473 02:19:12,160 --> 02:19:14,400 Speaker 3: Both of both the sort of brutal police. 2474 02:19:14,160 --> 02:19:19,160 Speaker 6: Raid and the like absolute horrowing mass fascist attack on 2475 02:19:19,200 --> 02:19:21,400 Speaker 6: the barricades where you know me of people getting beat 2476 02:19:21,480 --> 02:19:24,000 Speaker 6: up the middle pipes. They're shooting. They're shooting like Fourth 2477 02:19:24,080 --> 02:19:27,320 Speaker 6: of July ass fireworks, like directly into into the people 2478 02:19:27,400 --> 02:19:30,119 Speaker 6: on the barricades. They are trying to kill the protesters. 2479 02:19:30,200 --> 02:19:32,720 Speaker 6: They beat a bunch of student journalists like half to death. 2480 02:19:33,640 --> 02:19:38,000 Speaker 6: And so University of Chicago camp when I get there, 2481 02:19:38,280 --> 02:19:41,240 Speaker 6: is right in the middle of transforming from a kind 2482 02:19:41,280 --> 02:19:44,720 Speaker 6: of like Northwestern style everyone's getting along like singing Kumbaya 2483 02:19:44,840 --> 02:19:48,640 Speaker 6: camp to like an actual fighting camp. Because I get 2484 02:19:48,680 --> 02:19:51,240 Speaker 6: there and like that day I get there at like nine, 2485 02:19:51,480 --> 02:19:54,200 Speaker 6: right three hours from when I get there, they were 2486 02:19:54,240 --> 02:19:57,520 Speaker 6: scheduled to be a giant rally of like right wing 2487 02:19:57,680 --> 02:20:00,480 Speaker 6: frats that is going to go come and attack the encampment. 2488 02:20:01,040 --> 02:20:04,880 Speaker 6: So the vibe is extremely different. It is a fighting camp. 2489 02:20:04,959 --> 02:20:08,000 Speaker 6: Everyone is preparing to, like, you know, fight for their lives. 2490 02:20:08,560 --> 02:20:12,560 Speaker 6: Everyone knows what happens at UCLA, and also everyone knows 2491 02:20:12,600 --> 02:20:15,959 Speaker 6: what happened at Northwestern, and people are fucking pissed. People 2492 02:20:16,080 --> 02:20:19,520 Speaker 6: are like, I mean unbelievably angry that then you know, 2493 02:20:19,640 --> 02:20:23,160 Speaker 6: then their view is the Northwestern camp sold everyone out, sure, 2494 02:20:23,400 --> 02:20:25,840 Speaker 6: and so you know, I mean, and the other thing 2495 02:20:25,879 --> 02:20:27,960 Speaker 6: about Chicago that was different from Northwestern is that U 2496 02:20:28,040 --> 02:20:32,600 Speaker 6: Chicago had has functional general assemblies, So there are like 2497 02:20:32,800 --> 02:20:36,600 Speaker 6: functional democratic meetings where everyone in the camp goes, Okay, 2498 02:20:36,640 --> 02:20:38,200 Speaker 6: we're going to like figure out what we're going to do. 2499 02:20:38,800 --> 02:20:44,440 Speaker 6: And these meetings are people are not happy with, you know, 2500 02:20:44,560 --> 02:20:47,119 Speaker 6: like they're not happy with what happened at the Northwestern. 2501 02:20:47,840 --> 02:20:52,360 Speaker 6: They're also like really pissed off at the third occupation, 2502 02:20:52,920 --> 02:20:54,360 Speaker 6: which was well, I mean, I guess I think that 2503 02:20:54,440 --> 02:20:56,280 Speaker 6: Paul happened in the middle of there. But the third 2504 02:20:56,280 --> 02:20:58,840 Speaker 6: occupation was the occupation at the School of the Art Institute. 2505 02:20:59,000 --> 02:21:01,920 Speaker 6: The School of the Art Institute is literally right in 2506 02:21:02,040 --> 02:21:05,120 Speaker 6: the heart of downtown Chicago. Like it is across like 2507 02:21:05,200 --> 02:21:07,480 Speaker 6: it is like across the street from Ballennium Park. It 2508 02:21:07,600 --> 02:21:10,320 Speaker 6: is like across the street from like the Art Institute 2509 02:21:10,320 --> 02:21:14,320 Speaker 6: of Chicago. It is in like the corporate center of Chicago. Sure, 2510 02:21:14,680 --> 02:21:17,080 Speaker 6: so they they they do. They do an occupation right 2511 02:21:17,480 --> 02:21:19,760 Speaker 6: and inside of like like I think I think they 2512 02:21:20,000 --> 02:21:24,320 Speaker 6: got seven hours in before SWAT teams showed up. They 2513 02:21:24,400 --> 02:21:26,640 Speaker 6: rerest sixty of people. It is a brutal raid. 2514 02:21:26,680 --> 02:21:28,959 Speaker 3: They're they're like the cops are beating people with metal 2515 02:21:29,040 --> 02:21:30,640 Speaker 3: bars like it is. 2516 02:21:30,720 --> 02:21:30,920 Speaker 13: It is. 2517 02:21:31,080 --> 02:21:32,240 Speaker 6: It is fucking terrible. 2518 02:21:32,280 --> 02:21:33,840 Speaker 3: It's it is. It is a bunch of swat teams 2519 02:21:33,879 --> 02:21:36,000 Speaker 3: beating up art students, very switch and harsh. 2520 02:21:36,080 --> 02:21:38,320 Speaker 8: To make sure it doesn't become like a continued thing. 2521 02:21:38,720 --> 02:21:40,440 Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, because because then and this is the thing 2522 02:21:40,440 --> 02:21:43,400 Speaker 6: about but both U Chicago and DePaul to less tuge 2523 02:21:43,440 --> 02:21:48,120 Speaker 6: extent too. But U Chicago and Northwestern are on basically 2524 02:21:48,240 --> 02:21:50,320 Speaker 6: like opposite extremes of the city right there. They're not 2525 02:21:50,360 --> 02:21:52,000 Speaker 6: in the middle of the city, of the downtown area 2526 02:21:52,120 --> 02:21:54,000 Speaker 6: that yeah, like the political league care about. It's on 2527 02:21:54,040 --> 02:21:56,480 Speaker 6: the north side, on the south side. Yeah, yeah, the 2528 02:21:56,520 --> 02:21:59,039 Speaker 6: school the artistry, like this is literally the middle of Chicago. 2529 02:21:59,560 --> 02:22:02,600 Speaker 6: And so they like it's very clear orders are coming 2530 02:22:02,640 --> 02:22:06,000 Speaker 6: down from above that this encampment can't be allowed to stay, 2531 02:22:06,040 --> 02:22:07,760 Speaker 6: and so they get the ship beaten out of them. 2532 02:22:08,240 --> 02:22:10,480 Speaker 6: And this is important for a few reasons. One it 2533 02:22:10,600 --> 02:22:13,040 Speaker 6: kind of like it kind of heightens the fear of 2534 02:22:13,080 --> 02:22:15,640 Speaker 6: police deppression. But the thing that it does that's important 2535 02:22:15,840 --> 02:22:19,720 Speaker 6: is that this goes fucking this like completely backfires on 2536 02:22:20,000 --> 02:22:22,080 Speaker 6: Brandon Johnson and you know, so that's sort of the 2537 02:22:22,640 --> 02:22:26,000 Speaker 6: mayor of the political administration, because this is you know, 2538 02:22:26,080 --> 02:22:28,560 Speaker 6: it turns out people are very very angry that a 2539 02:22:28,600 --> 02:22:30,440 Speaker 6: bunch of swat teams just beat up a bunch of 2540 02:22:30,560 --> 02:22:33,400 Speaker 6: art students with metal bars, right, And the consequence of 2541 02:22:33,480 --> 02:22:36,360 Speaker 6: this is that Brandon Johnson like refuses to or at 2542 02:22:36,440 --> 02:22:39,240 Speaker 6: least openly what he's saying is that he won't use 2543 02:22:39,600 --> 02:22:43,000 Speaker 6: the Chicago Police Department at at at on the University 2544 02:22:43,040 --> 02:22:45,760 Speaker 6: Chicago campus. University of Chicago has its own police force 2545 02:22:45,800 --> 02:22:48,520 Speaker 6: that's about one hundred and fifty officers. It's sort of 2546 02:22:48,600 --> 02:22:50,960 Speaker 6: vaunted as like the largest police force in like the 2547 02:22:51,000 --> 02:22:52,800 Speaker 6: largest pri one of the largest private police forces in 2548 02:22:52,840 --> 02:22:56,760 Speaker 6: the world. You know, they also shot a fucking kit 2549 02:22:56,840 --> 02:22:58,840 Speaker 6: while I was at school there, so you know, I 2550 02:22:58,959 --> 02:23:02,480 Speaker 6: have a like depatriot of them. But what kind of 2551 02:23:02,560 --> 02:23:05,360 Speaker 6: ends up happening is so there's there's that big the 2552 02:23:05,440 --> 02:23:08,320 Speaker 6: day I'm there, there's this big like confentration between protesters 2553 02:23:08,360 --> 02:23:11,400 Speaker 6: and kind of protesters, and you know, the kids form a. 2554 02:23:11,400 --> 02:23:13,560 Speaker 8: Shield protesters and counter protesters. 2555 02:23:14,120 --> 02:23:14,320 Speaker 3: Yeah. 2556 02:23:14,400 --> 02:23:16,960 Speaker 6: Yeah, so so like the the FRAT show up, there's 2557 02:23:17,000 --> 02:23:19,760 Speaker 6: like a huge right wing media circus, but the kids 2558 02:23:19,840 --> 02:23:21,760 Speaker 6: have a shield wall, and the shield wall fucking holds 2559 02:23:22,000 --> 02:23:25,400 Speaker 6: and the counter protesters can't break it. They eventually back 2560 02:23:25,480 --> 02:23:29,240 Speaker 6: off and they're separated by the cops, and from there 2561 02:23:29,600 --> 02:23:33,000 Speaker 6: things get weird. The encampment gets cleared by a raid 2562 02:23:33,320 --> 02:23:36,400 Speaker 6: that probably could have been stopped, you know, it has 2563 02:23:36,560 --> 02:23:37,920 Speaker 6: they have one of these five am raids. 2564 02:23:38,920 --> 02:23:40,080 Speaker 13: You can't stop the police. 2565 02:23:40,440 --> 02:23:42,039 Speaker 6: Well, okay, So the thing I say about this, though, 2566 02:23:42,120 --> 02:23:45,040 Speaker 6: this is this isn't CPD, this is UCPD. They have 2567 02:23:45,200 --> 02:23:47,480 Speaker 6: like forty total, Like the number of people they can 2568 02:23:47,520 --> 02:23:51,840 Speaker 6: amass at one time is about forty. So like this 2569 02:23:52,120 --> 02:23:55,560 Speaker 6: this was the only occupation that like maybe like plausibly 2570 02:23:55,600 --> 02:23:57,640 Speaker 6: could have actually beaten off the beaten off the police 2571 02:23:57,720 --> 02:24:00,400 Speaker 6: tech because you know, if they only have four people 2572 02:24:00,440 --> 02:24:04,000 Speaker 6: and you have six hundred like that, that that that's 2573 02:24:04,080 --> 02:24:05,959 Speaker 6: about the point at which it's like plugs. 2574 02:24:06,040 --> 02:24:08,240 Speaker 13: It's unusual for cops to engage if they don't have 2575 02:24:08,280 --> 02:24:09,279 Speaker 13: the numerical advantage. 2576 02:24:09,360 --> 02:24:09,640 Speaker 3: That's odd. 2577 02:24:09,879 --> 02:24:12,680 Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, But what happens is that the basically the 2578 02:24:12,720 --> 02:24:16,400 Speaker 6: protesters through through through, like there's a very convoluted process 2579 02:24:16,400 --> 02:24:18,200 Speaker 6: of this. But the protesters decide not to define the camp, 2580 02:24:18,280 --> 02:24:20,200 Speaker 6: so I everyone it gets raided and they'll and like 2581 02:24:20,760 --> 02:24:22,600 Speaker 6: no one has I'm getting arrested, but they destroy the 2582 02:24:22,760 --> 02:24:25,760 Speaker 6: entire camp. And Okay, I guess there's one thing that 2583 02:24:25,879 --> 02:24:28,960 Speaker 6: I I probably should have fit this in better somewhere else. 2584 02:24:29,000 --> 02:24:31,400 Speaker 6: But something that's very interesting about both of these encampments, 2585 02:24:31,440 --> 02:24:33,080 Speaker 6: and this has been true of both of the encampments 2586 02:24:33,120 --> 02:24:36,960 Speaker 6: that I've I've seen, is is who is like the 2587 02:24:37,320 --> 02:24:41,320 Speaker 6: racial and gender composition of who's there, Because these are 2588 02:24:41,480 --> 02:24:42,959 Speaker 6: you know, and you could see this like when you're 2589 02:24:42,959 --> 02:24:46,960 Speaker 6: when when the counter protesters are facing off against the protesters, 2590 02:24:47,000 --> 02:24:51,320 Speaker 6: is the counter protesters they're like exclusively white, like most 2591 02:24:51,360 --> 02:24:55,040 Speaker 6: of them are white frat ros, white CIS dudes usually yeah, yeah. 2592 02:24:55,120 --> 02:25:01,280 Speaker 6: And then in the camps it is basically like it 2593 02:25:01,440 --> 02:25:04,560 Speaker 6: is like non it's non white people of all genders 2594 02:25:04,879 --> 02:25:10,879 Speaker 6: and like non sistued people of all races. Yeah, very 2595 02:25:11,000 --> 02:25:13,280 Speaker 6: very very very prominently. And this this is something that 2596 02:25:13,480 --> 02:25:16,520 Speaker 6: I think is a sign of how the sort of 2597 02:25:16,600 --> 02:25:18,760 Speaker 6: like American political alignment has changed and the kind of 2598 02:25:18,840 --> 02:25:22,120 Speaker 6: kinds of political alliances that are kind of so normal 2599 02:25:22,240 --> 02:25:24,240 Speaker 6: now that we don't even really think about them. But 2600 02:25:24,280 --> 02:25:26,000 Speaker 6: if you step back for a second and look at 2601 02:25:26,000 --> 02:25:28,400 Speaker 6: what's actually happening, this is this is the this is 2602 02:25:28,440 --> 02:25:32,440 Speaker 6: the actual political composition of these protests. It's queer people 2603 02:25:32,520 --> 02:25:35,640 Speaker 6: and non white people and obviously like people like me 2604 02:25:35,720 --> 02:25:38,520 Speaker 6: who are both. And I think that's an important thing 2605 02:25:38,640 --> 02:25:42,080 Speaker 6: because you know, it's it's a dynamic of these camps. 2606 02:25:42,120 --> 02:25:43,840 Speaker 6: It doesn't get talked about, it en off, but is 2607 02:25:44,280 --> 02:25:47,759 Speaker 6: the core thing that's happening like politically. 2608 02:25:47,720 --> 02:25:49,320 Speaker 12: I agree that that was the same that was the 2609 02:25:49,360 --> 02:25:52,880 Speaker 12: same demographic balance at Emory. Let's take another break and 2610 02:25:52,959 --> 02:25:55,160 Speaker 12: we'll come back and hear from Ali and then kind 2611 02:25:55,160 --> 02:25:56,760 Speaker 12: of have a bit more of an open discussion to 2612 02:25:56,760 --> 02:26:00,200 Speaker 12: close things out, comparing the similarities and differences for our 2613 02:26:00,240 --> 02:26:05,600 Speaker 12: experiences at these these four different protest encampments or different cities. 2614 02:26:05,640 --> 02:26:06,119 Speaker 2: I guess. 2615 02:26:16,600 --> 02:26:18,520 Speaker 3: All right, we are back. Mollie. 2616 02:26:19,640 --> 02:26:24,400 Speaker 12: You saw some pretty bad police violence at the camp 2617 02:26:24,560 --> 02:26:25,960 Speaker 12: in Chardsville, I believe right. 2618 02:26:26,520 --> 02:26:26,720 Speaker 3: Yes. 2619 02:26:27,240 --> 02:26:30,280 Speaker 13: The encampment at the University of Virginia was cleared on 2620 02:26:30,560 --> 02:26:35,680 Speaker 13: May fourth by Virginia State Police. It was not a 2621 02:26:35,760 --> 02:26:39,119 Speaker 13: pretty site, so the students at the University of Virginia 2622 02:26:39,360 --> 02:26:42,880 Speaker 13: set up an encampment on April thirtieth in the afternoon 2623 02:26:42,959 --> 02:26:45,440 Speaker 13: of the thirtieth. They had announced ahead of time that 2624 02:26:45,480 --> 02:26:47,800 Speaker 13: there will be programming during the day on May Day. 2625 02:26:48,600 --> 02:26:51,640 Speaker 13: So this sudden setup the day prior was I think 2626 02:26:51,680 --> 02:26:55,800 Speaker 13: a surprise to the university. When the students first put 2627 02:26:55,840 --> 02:26:58,320 Speaker 13: their stuff down, they put up some tents. The police 2628 02:26:58,400 --> 02:27:01,520 Speaker 13: chief of the university Police Force, Timothy Longo, showed up 2629 02:27:01,560 --> 02:27:04,200 Speaker 13: immediately and said, no tense tends to the red line. 2630 02:27:04,320 --> 02:27:07,360 Speaker 13: Take the tents down. So that first night they took 2631 02:27:07,400 --> 02:27:11,360 Speaker 13: the tents down, and so for three nights they slept 2632 02:27:11,400 --> 02:27:14,920 Speaker 13: outside unsheltered because it was clear from the university that 2633 02:27:15,520 --> 02:27:17,800 Speaker 13: the tents are going to be the problem. That's the 2634 02:27:17,879 --> 02:27:19,600 Speaker 13: only issue that we have is the tents. You can 2635 02:27:19,680 --> 02:27:21,320 Speaker 13: be here, you just can't put up the tents, and 2636 02:27:21,400 --> 02:27:24,039 Speaker 13: you can't use amplified sound. You can't be too noisy. 2637 02:27:24,400 --> 02:27:27,039 Speaker 13: The place where they'd set up was this patch of grass. 2638 02:27:27,200 --> 02:27:29,680 Speaker 13: That's so if you're familiar with the University of Virginia, 2639 02:27:29,760 --> 02:27:32,800 Speaker 13: there's the lawn. It's called the lawn. It's not the 2640 02:27:32,879 --> 02:27:34,800 Speaker 13: only grass, but it's just the special grass. It's the 2641 02:27:35,600 --> 02:27:38,720 Speaker 13: grass between the lawn rooms and the rotunda. It's like 2642 02:27:38,800 --> 02:27:40,560 Speaker 13: a long narrow They weren't on the lawn. I think 2643 02:27:40,600 --> 02:27:43,200 Speaker 13: that would have been a much bigger problem for the university, 2644 02:27:43,280 --> 02:27:45,120 Speaker 13: just because of the optics of it, and because students 2645 02:27:45,200 --> 02:27:47,080 Speaker 13: live in the lawn rooms, so they were actually on 2646 02:27:47,160 --> 02:27:49,520 Speaker 13: the other side of the rotunda, in this shady, grassy 2647 02:27:49,520 --> 02:27:54,080 Speaker 13: area between the rotunda and the chapel, so within kind 2648 02:27:54,120 --> 02:27:57,080 Speaker 13: of spitting distance of that statue of Thomas Jefferson that 2649 02:27:57,200 --> 02:28:00,440 Speaker 13: the Nazis famously surrounded in twenty seventeen, so that that 2650 02:28:00,560 --> 02:28:03,400 Speaker 13: same sort of area of the university. So for three 2651 02:28:03,480 --> 02:28:07,000 Speaker 13: nights they were out there unsheltered. It was pretty quiet. 2652 02:28:07,080 --> 02:28:08,840 Speaker 13: It was, you know, a few dozen students. Most of 2653 02:28:08,879 --> 02:28:11,520 Speaker 13: the time classes had just ended, so they were preparing 2654 02:28:11,560 --> 02:28:14,680 Speaker 13: for finals, they were writing papers. I think some afternoons 2655 02:28:14,720 --> 02:28:17,640 Speaker 13: they had tas come out and help people with their 2656 02:28:17,840 --> 02:28:19,279 Speaker 13: with their papers, help them study. 2657 02:28:19,600 --> 02:28:19,720 Speaker 6: You know. 2658 02:28:19,840 --> 02:28:22,040 Speaker 13: It was it was chill, they were they were just 2659 02:28:22,120 --> 02:28:25,000 Speaker 13: kind of out there vibing. And then on the evening 2660 02:28:25,080 --> 02:28:27,080 Speaker 13: of the third they held a vigil for the dead 2661 02:28:27,120 --> 02:28:29,680 Speaker 13: and Palestine. There was great turnout for that. A lot 2662 02:28:29,720 --> 02:28:32,320 Speaker 13: of people came out, students, families, you know, there were 2663 02:28:32,400 --> 02:28:35,760 Speaker 13: babies there, dogs, like it was. It was a safe place, right, 2664 02:28:35,800 --> 02:28:38,119 Speaker 13: It was a place where people felt safe letting their 2665 02:28:38,200 --> 02:28:41,040 Speaker 13: toddlers kick a ball around. Like it was not a 2666 02:28:42,040 --> 02:28:45,480 Speaker 13: violent or embattled environment. There were babies there and they 2667 02:28:45,520 --> 02:28:47,920 Speaker 13: held the vigil and after the vigil they had Shabbot dinner. 2668 02:28:48,480 --> 02:28:50,200 Speaker 13: But as the sun was going down, it was starting 2669 02:28:50,280 --> 02:28:52,480 Speaker 13: to rain, so they put up a pop up tent 2670 02:28:53,040 --> 02:28:55,960 Speaker 13: to cover the Shabbat dinner, you know, the food that 2671 02:28:56,040 --> 02:28:58,240 Speaker 13: had been set out. And it was at that point 2672 02:28:58,320 --> 02:29:01,640 Speaker 13: that they began setting up the camping tents. And you know, 2673 02:29:01,680 --> 02:29:04,440 Speaker 13: they've been told all along by the police chief, you 2674 02:29:04,480 --> 02:29:06,200 Speaker 13: can't put tens up. You can't put tens up. It's 2675 02:29:06,200 --> 02:29:07,960 Speaker 13: against the rules. That's that's when we're going to have 2676 02:29:07,959 --> 02:29:11,000 Speaker 13: to intervene if you put the tense up. But every 2677 02:29:11,080 --> 02:29:15,000 Speaker 13: UVA school policy is available on the school's website. They 2678 02:29:15,040 --> 02:29:17,280 Speaker 13: have a policy database where you can, you know, search 2679 02:29:17,360 --> 02:29:19,640 Speaker 13: by keyword. You can, you know, you can see every 2680 02:29:19,680 --> 02:29:22,320 Speaker 13: official school policy. And the official school policy is that 2681 02:29:23,280 --> 02:29:26,400 Speaker 13: tens are allowed. It's on the website. You can have 2682 02:29:26,480 --> 02:29:29,200 Speaker 13: a tent. And so now this, you know, the university 2683 02:29:29,280 --> 02:29:32,120 Speaker 13: is saying that this discrepancy as well. You know that 2684 02:29:32,200 --> 02:29:35,600 Speaker 13: actually isn't a policy. It was a sort it's guidance 2685 02:29:35,920 --> 02:29:40,200 Speaker 13: on the policy. But it is in the policy database 2686 02:29:40,280 --> 02:29:43,000 Speaker 13: on the policy website where they keep the policies and 2687 02:29:43,080 --> 02:29:45,560 Speaker 13: it says guideline on it, and a guideline it's a 2688 02:29:45,600 --> 02:29:47,800 Speaker 13: synonym for a policy. So they are there. I think 2689 02:29:47,840 --> 02:29:49,560 Speaker 13: the lesson to take away here, you know, I'm not 2690 02:29:49,600 --> 02:29:52,720 Speaker 13: going to Monday morning quarterback the student organizers. I was 2691 02:29:52,800 --> 02:29:55,240 Speaker 13: not privy to internal discussions. I don't think that's my role. 2692 02:29:56,440 --> 02:29:59,120 Speaker 13: I think the takeaway here though, is that they're always 2693 02:29:59,200 --> 02:30:03,360 Speaker 13: going to move the posts. The only protest the administration 2694 02:30:03,520 --> 02:30:06,119 Speaker 13: will ever approve of is one that happened at least 2695 02:30:06,160 --> 02:30:09,000 Speaker 13: thirty years ago. Right, you have to be decades removed 2696 02:30:09,040 --> 02:30:12,040 Speaker 13: from progress to see it as positive. They never like 2697 02:30:12,120 --> 02:30:15,080 Speaker 13: progress while it's happening. They never like protest while it 2698 02:30:15,200 --> 02:30:18,760 Speaker 13: is happening. There's nothing you can do that will be allowed. Right, 2699 02:30:18,760 --> 02:30:21,200 Speaker 13: Because the entire time of those first three days, when 2700 02:30:21,240 --> 02:30:23,360 Speaker 13: the police were keeping their distance, they were always there. 2701 02:30:23,520 --> 02:30:25,760 Speaker 13: There was always this sort of like needling back and 2702 02:30:25,879 --> 02:30:28,320 Speaker 13: forth while you know, can you just can you adjust this, 2703 02:30:28,560 --> 02:30:30,560 Speaker 13: can you change this kind of behavior, like you know 2704 02:30:30,640 --> 02:30:32,400 Speaker 13: you're not breaking the rules yet, but just you know, 2705 02:30:32,480 --> 02:30:36,840 Speaker 13: we're watching, be careful, this constant needling. And so in 2706 02:30:36,879 --> 02:30:39,080 Speaker 13: the end on the fourth when the Virginia State Police 2707 02:30:39,080 --> 02:30:43,760 Speaker 13: showed up, you know, up until that point, the idea was, well, 2708 02:30:43,800 --> 02:30:46,000 Speaker 13: the provocation was the tense. The problem was the tents. 2709 02:30:46,040 --> 02:30:48,440 Speaker 13: The police had to become because of the tents. You 2710 02:30:48,520 --> 02:30:53,400 Speaker 13: know that the policy on the school's website changed Saturday morning, 2711 02:30:53,600 --> 02:30:56,600 Speaker 13: like we have the you know, the cash on the website. 2712 02:30:56,640 --> 02:30:59,119 Speaker 13: You can see when the PDF was altered. 2713 02:30:59,200 --> 02:30:59,560 Speaker 2: It was that. 2714 02:31:00,360 --> 02:31:03,240 Speaker 13: So it's like, is it about the tents? Did you 2715 02:31:03,360 --> 02:31:06,600 Speaker 13: change this policy as pretext for the police raid? Because 2716 02:31:06,640 --> 02:31:09,080 Speaker 13: now in the aftermath, since they were caught out changing 2717 02:31:09,160 --> 02:31:12,440 Speaker 13: that policy immediately before the police raided the camp, they're saying, well, no, actually, 2718 02:31:13,000 --> 02:31:15,280 Speaker 13: actually it wasn't about the tents. That's not really what 2719 02:31:15,360 --> 02:31:18,640 Speaker 13: this is about. It's because they're saying now that you know, 2720 02:31:18,920 --> 02:31:22,800 Speaker 13: four men in essentially a black block, right, So four 2721 02:31:22,920 --> 02:31:25,680 Speaker 13: men in black were carrying backpacks with helmets were seen 2722 02:31:25,720 --> 02:31:27,840 Speaker 13: in the area and they're known to law enforcement. And 2723 02:31:28,480 --> 02:31:30,959 Speaker 13: I'll be honest with you, I did not see these individuals. 2724 02:31:31,480 --> 02:31:36,400 Speaker 13: But at the same time, who care who? It's public property, right, 2725 02:31:36,440 --> 02:31:40,200 Speaker 13: this is a public university. You know, this outside agitator narrative. 2726 02:31:40,200 --> 02:31:42,160 Speaker 13: You know, we had to beat and Pepper's bray these 2727 02:31:42,160 --> 02:31:45,200 Speaker 13: students because of these mysterious men. But at the same time, 2728 02:31:45,640 --> 02:31:47,520 Speaker 13: you know, the entire time that the students were in 2729 02:31:47,560 --> 02:31:51,800 Speaker 13: the encampment, they had faculty liaisons from Faculty for Justice 2730 02:31:51,840 --> 02:31:55,680 Speaker 13: in Palestine, and the faculty liaison were not you know, negotiating, 2731 02:31:55,720 --> 02:31:58,600 Speaker 13: because students were clear that there was no negotiation, right that, 2732 02:31:58,879 --> 02:32:00,640 Speaker 13: you know, they're not negotiating on their demands, but that 2733 02:32:00,760 --> 02:32:05,160 Speaker 13: all communication between admin and the police into the encampment 2734 02:32:05,240 --> 02:32:07,520 Speaker 13: came through these faculty liaisons and they were in constant 2735 02:32:07,640 --> 02:32:12,120 Speaker 13: open communication. And the faculty liaisms are saying, well, if 2736 02:32:12,160 --> 02:32:14,840 Speaker 13: there was someone dangerous here, if the police had identified 2737 02:32:14,879 --> 02:32:17,480 Speaker 13: like a you know, an actual danger in this space, 2738 02:32:17,920 --> 02:32:20,360 Speaker 13: they never communicated that to us, right that before this 2739 02:32:20,520 --> 02:32:22,640 Speaker 13: raid happened, no one ever said to the faculty liaison, 2740 02:32:23,280 --> 02:32:26,280 Speaker 13: someone here is dangerous, there's a known criminal here, there's 2741 02:32:26,360 --> 02:32:28,800 Speaker 13: you know, this is why this has to That was 2742 02:32:28,879 --> 02:32:31,280 Speaker 13: never communicated. So I'm not sure these you know, four 2743 02:32:31,360 --> 02:32:33,480 Speaker 13: mysterious individuals exist. 2744 02:32:33,800 --> 02:32:34,200 Speaker 8: I don't know. 2745 02:32:34,280 --> 02:32:36,880 Speaker 13: I think that is a manufactured, you know, sort of 2746 02:32:36,959 --> 02:32:40,480 Speaker 13: after the fact pretext. But in any case, on Saturday morning, 2747 02:32:41,200 --> 02:32:46,200 Speaker 13: the anniversary of the Kent State massacre, state police showed 2748 02:32:46,280 --> 02:32:50,520 Speaker 13: up a lot of them all at once, and there 2749 02:32:50,640 --> 02:32:54,240 Speaker 13: was you know, the local police set up a perimeter 2750 02:32:54,320 --> 02:32:56,760 Speaker 13: around the encampment. And again, so it had been raining 2751 02:32:56,800 --> 02:32:59,440 Speaker 13: all night. It was soaking wet. Like I showed up 2752 02:32:59,440 --> 02:33:02,200 Speaker 13: Saturday morning to take some wet blankets home to wash them, 2753 02:33:02,240 --> 02:33:05,680 Speaker 13: because things seemed fine, Things were very calm. Again, there 2754 02:33:05,720 --> 02:33:08,119 Speaker 13: had been babies there the day before. It was very calm, 2755 02:33:08,200 --> 02:33:10,959 Speaker 13: and so I thought, well, I'll wash their wet blankets 2756 02:33:11,000 --> 02:33:12,920 Speaker 13: and socks and bring them back and then we can, 2757 02:33:13,040 --> 02:33:15,920 Speaker 13: you know, they can regroup and move forward. And while 2758 02:33:15,959 --> 02:33:19,000 Speaker 13: I was in home washing wet socks, I heard that 2759 02:33:19,080 --> 02:33:21,800 Speaker 13: the raid was starting. And again so you know, because 2760 02:33:21,840 --> 02:33:23,360 Speaker 13: it had been raining, and it was a pretty small 2761 02:33:23,360 --> 02:33:25,920 Speaker 13: protest to begin with, people are doing their finals. There 2762 02:33:25,959 --> 02:33:28,600 Speaker 13: were maybe a few dozen people there, like a few 2763 02:33:28,720 --> 02:33:32,240 Speaker 13: dozen at most. But once the riot cops showed up, 2764 02:33:32,320 --> 02:33:35,560 Speaker 13: people start pouring out of the libraries. Hundreds and hundreds 2765 02:33:35,600 --> 02:33:38,840 Speaker 13: of students come to see what all the noise is about, right, 2766 02:33:38,840 --> 02:33:41,240 Speaker 13: they come to see what the disturbance is about. The 2767 02:33:41,360 --> 02:33:45,120 Speaker 13: university used the emergency alert system that texts students. It 2768 02:33:45,240 --> 02:33:47,640 Speaker 13: sends texts and emails for emergencies, you know, things like 2769 02:33:48,160 --> 02:33:51,640 Speaker 13: a fire or a tornado or a mass shooting. Right 2770 02:33:51,720 --> 02:33:54,320 Speaker 13: that a lot of these students have recent memory of 2771 02:33:54,560 --> 02:33:57,080 Speaker 13: a very serious shooting here that they got these texts for. 2772 02:33:57,360 --> 02:34:00,160 Speaker 13: These texts are for real emergencies, but they use the 2773 02:34:00,200 --> 02:34:03,039 Speaker 13: emergency alert system to tell students to avoid the area. 2774 02:34:03,200 --> 02:34:05,680 Speaker 13: So of course they poured into the area to see 2775 02:34:05,680 --> 02:34:08,240 Speaker 13: what was happening, and so they set up a perimeter 2776 02:34:08,240 --> 02:34:10,200 Speaker 13: around the camp so the people inside could not get 2777 02:34:10,240 --> 02:34:11,840 Speaker 13: out and the people who came to see what was 2778 02:34:11,879 --> 02:34:14,320 Speaker 13: happening could not get in, and a lie on riot 2779 02:34:14,360 --> 02:34:18,840 Speaker 13: cops marched into the camp and just bludgeoned and pepper 2780 02:34:18,920 --> 02:34:21,600 Speaker 13: sprayed at like point blank range. Pepper sprang them directly 2781 02:34:21,680 --> 02:34:25,040 Speaker 13: into their mouth, nose, and eyes. I think one student 2782 02:34:25,240 --> 02:34:27,600 Speaker 13: was wearing goggles and they removed her goggles so they 2783 02:34:27,600 --> 02:34:29,640 Speaker 13: could spray her directly in the eyes while she was 2784 02:34:29,680 --> 02:34:34,080 Speaker 13: already prone on the ground. One woman was having a seizure, 2785 02:34:34,240 --> 02:34:37,520 Speaker 13: but they didn't stop arresting her to let her seize 2786 02:34:37,560 --> 02:34:39,280 Speaker 13: in peace, and they were just sort of dragging her 2787 02:34:39,360 --> 02:34:43,840 Speaker 13: limp body away. It was very nasty and once they 2788 02:34:43,920 --> 02:34:47,720 Speaker 13: made their leave twenty six arrests, they turned on the 2789 02:34:47,800 --> 02:34:50,039 Speaker 13: crowd that had gathered to watch, and they started pushing 2790 02:34:50,080 --> 02:34:53,400 Speaker 13: this massive crowd of students out into the street. They 2791 02:34:53,440 --> 02:34:55,400 Speaker 13: didn't close the street, like there was a dean on 2792 02:34:55,640 --> 02:34:58,280 Speaker 13: scene who was watching this happen and sort of making 2793 02:34:58,320 --> 02:35:00,560 Speaker 13: frantic phone calls to try and close the street that 2794 02:35:00,640 --> 02:35:02,480 Speaker 13: the students were being pushed into because it was an 2795 02:35:02,520 --> 02:35:05,880 Speaker 13: open street with traffic. And then the frat boys showed up, right, so, 2796 02:35:06,000 --> 02:35:07,400 Speaker 13: you know, the students are coming out to see. Some 2797 02:35:07,480 --> 02:35:09,039 Speaker 13: of them are joining the protests, some of them are 2798 02:35:09,120 --> 02:35:11,240 Speaker 13: just curious, and all of a sudden, now there's an 2799 02:35:11,400 --> 02:35:13,920 Speaker 13: entire hillside covered in frat boys. Some of them have 2800 02:35:14,000 --> 02:35:17,280 Speaker 13: Israeli flags, some of them have American flags. And there 2801 02:35:17,320 --> 02:35:19,040 Speaker 13: were times as that, you know, the police were you know, 2802 02:35:19,480 --> 02:35:21,320 Speaker 13: I'm very short, I'm about five feet tall, so there 2803 02:35:21,360 --> 02:35:23,200 Speaker 13: were times as the police were pushing towards us. I 2804 02:35:23,280 --> 02:35:25,760 Speaker 13: can't actually see that because the person in front of 2805 02:35:25,800 --> 02:35:27,800 Speaker 13: me is taller than me, and I would know the 2806 02:35:27,879 --> 02:35:30,800 Speaker 13: police were starting to advance again because the frat boys 2807 02:35:30,920 --> 02:35:34,400 Speaker 13: would cheer. They would start cheering, and you know, at 2808 02:35:34,400 --> 02:35:37,640 Speaker 13: one point, I'm standing next to this older professor. You know, 2809 02:35:37,720 --> 02:35:40,160 Speaker 13: I don'tant to call anybody elderly, right, but this was 2810 02:35:40,200 --> 02:35:43,800 Speaker 13: this sort of a grandmotherly professor who had been Pepper 2811 02:35:43,840 --> 02:35:46,320 Speaker 13: sprayed and was, you know, shouldered or shoulder with students, 2812 02:35:46,480 --> 02:35:48,800 Speaker 13: And she looked over at those frat boys and she said, 2813 02:35:49,760 --> 02:35:52,560 Speaker 13: I don't know how we're supposed to teach them. 2814 02:35:53,200 --> 02:35:54,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, like it. 2815 02:35:55,240 --> 02:35:57,520 Speaker 13: I mean, I expect a cop to be a cop. 2816 02:35:57,600 --> 02:35:59,920 Speaker 13: I've been pushed around by a cop before. I'll also 2817 02:36:01,520 --> 02:36:04,960 Speaker 13: but I've never seen a cheering section for police violence before, 2818 02:36:05,760 --> 02:36:06,039 Speaker 13: and like. 2819 02:36:06,360 --> 02:36:08,680 Speaker 12: I have a few times, and it's one of the 2820 02:36:08,720 --> 02:36:12,760 Speaker 12: most disturbing feelings I've ever had, is when you have 2821 02:36:13,400 --> 02:36:17,320 Speaker 12: police attacking people and there's a group of like twenty 2822 02:36:17,440 --> 02:36:19,120 Speaker 12: to fifty to one hundred people on the other side 2823 02:36:19,120 --> 02:36:21,720 Speaker 12: of the police cheering them on. It's it's one of 2824 02:36:21,760 --> 02:36:26,240 Speaker 12: the most like like death worshiping moments in my life 2825 02:36:26,320 --> 02:36:27,320 Speaker 12: that I've like felt like. 2826 02:36:27,400 --> 02:36:30,160 Speaker 13: It's very ugly, very very ugly. 2827 02:36:30,959 --> 02:36:33,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, it reminds me of how like in It's not 2828 02:36:33,320 --> 02:36:37,920 Speaker 3: the same, but like like in Napoleonic Area, for certain battles, 2829 02:36:38,040 --> 02:36:40,400 Speaker 3: it became a thing to go and spectate and people 2830 02:36:40,440 --> 02:36:43,160 Speaker 3: would sit on hills and watch the like formations move 2831 02:36:43,280 --> 02:36:47,879 Speaker 3: and literally have a picnic, right and have this is real? Yeah, yeah, yeah, 2832 02:36:48,320 --> 02:36:50,320 Speaker 3: they did it in Turkey in the Battle of Kabani too. 2833 02:36:50,440 --> 02:36:54,000 Speaker 3: Like people they call it media Hill until the Turkish 2834 02:36:54,000 --> 02:36:58,039 Speaker 3: police take guests the BBC guys who were there, do you. 2835 02:36:58,080 --> 02:37:01,480 Speaker 8: Know, how do you know a round numbers for arrests 2836 02:37:01,879 --> 02:37:03,160 Speaker 8: or anything like that. 2837 02:37:03,640 --> 02:37:05,800 Speaker 13: I believe there were twenty six arrests, the majority of 2838 02:37:05,840 --> 02:37:08,920 Speaker 13: them students. One was a professor, one was a reporter, 2839 02:37:09,760 --> 02:37:11,840 Speaker 13: but a lot of students and grad students. And again, like, 2840 02:37:12,080 --> 02:37:13,920 Speaker 13: I think it's important to talk about this idea of 2841 02:37:13,959 --> 02:37:15,880 Speaker 13: the outside agitator, right because I don't want to get 2842 02:37:15,879 --> 02:37:17,600 Speaker 13: bogged down and like, oh, you know, a third of 2843 02:37:17,640 --> 02:37:20,520 Speaker 13: the arrests were not affiliated with the university. That doesn't 2844 02:37:20,800 --> 02:37:25,840 Speaker 13: mean anything, right, Like Charlottesville is a college town. Charlottesville 2845 02:37:26,080 --> 02:37:29,720 Speaker 13: is UVA. UVA is Charlottesville. It is the largest employer 2846 02:37:29,800 --> 02:37:31,480 Speaker 13: in the region. It is sort of the you know, 2847 02:37:31,560 --> 02:37:34,959 Speaker 13: the iconic focal point of the region. It's a public school. 2848 02:37:35,080 --> 02:37:38,080 Speaker 13: People attend sporting events there, They attend concerts that like 2849 02:37:38,120 --> 02:37:41,880 Speaker 13: our largest local concert venue as a UVA property. You know, 2850 02:37:42,320 --> 02:37:45,920 Speaker 13: I did attend UBA, and I sometimes speak at classes 2851 02:37:45,920 --> 02:37:47,960 Speaker 13: at UBA, so like I have some sort of tangential 2852 02:37:48,000 --> 02:37:51,119 Speaker 13: affiliation with the university, but I don't have to justify 2853 02:37:51,200 --> 02:37:54,000 Speaker 13: my presence there, right. I mean, that's like saying you 2854 02:37:54,040 --> 02:37:57,520 Speaker 13: can't protest Elbit or Boeing unless you purchase bomb systems 2855 02:37:57,640 --> 02:37:58,199 Speaker 13: or work. 2856 02:37:58,080 --> 02:38:01,640 Speaker 8: There, right right, Yeah, it's ridiculous. 2857 02:38:01,320 --> 02:38:04,120 Speaker 13: What this enormous institution does with its billions of my 2858 02:38:04,360 --> 02:38:07,320 Speaker 13: tax dollars. Actually is my business. It is my business. 2859 02:38:07,360 --> 02:38:10,080 Speaker 13: And if you're going to beat teenagers in my backyard, 2860 02:38:10,400 --> 02:38:11,679 Speaker 13: that is my business. 2861 02:38:12,920 --> 02:38:16,200 Speaker 3: Right yeah, And like this is yeah, the university is 2862 02:38:16,200 --> 02:38:18,360 Speaker 3: part of the community. They spend their entire like three 2863 02:38:18,440 --> 02:38:20,880 Speaker 3: hundred and sixty four days a year that that is 2864 02:38:20,920 --> 02:38:23,760 Speaker 3: their messaging. And yeah, let's as suit if the community 2865 02:38:23,800 --> 02:38:25,320 Speaker 3: shows up for the university, they change that. 2866 02:38:25,600 --> 02:38:28,200 Speaker 12: Let's maybe you have like a brief discussion about some 2867 02:38:28,240 --> 02:38:30,200 Speaker 12: of this. I think one thing I'm afterely hearing from 2868 02:38:30,280 --> 02:38:33,520 Speaker 12: from you, Mollie, is like like the presence of tents 2869 02:38:33,800 --> 02:38:36,879 Speaker 12: is seen as like a massive like sign of like escalation, 2870 02:38:37,080 --> 02:38:39,560 Speaker 12: like this this is this is there for some reason, 2871 02:38:39,640 --> 02:38:41,520 Speaker 12: that's where they decided to draw the line. It's like 2872 02:38:41,560 --> 02:38:43,280 Speaker 12: when tents are going up and that's what needs to 2873 02:38:43,320 --> 02:38:44,039 Speaker 12: be cracked down. 2874 02:38:43,959 --> 02:38:46,440 Speaker 13: On, which makes no sense because like I said, they'd 2875 02:38:46,520 --> 02:38:48,360 Speaker 13: been sleeping there for three days. 2876 02:38:48,600 --> 02:38:53,240 Speaker 12: Sure, not wanting to be very symbolic. Yeah, it's very symbolic. 2877 02:38:53,400 --> 02:38:54,920 Speaker 12: Like I think if especially if you look at like 2878 02:38:55,160 --> 02:38:57,840 Speaker 12: the images from the Columbia Quad, like it's a very 2879 02:38:57,840 --> 02:39:01,560 Speaker 12: symbolic thing of like tenses, like we are like staking territory, 2880 02:39:01,680 --> 02:39:05,040 Speaker 12: like literally putting down stakes. Yeah, I think like that 2881 02:39:05,280 --> 02:39:08,000 Speaker 12: that is has been a massive thing. I think it's 2882 02:39:08,040 --> 02:39:12,760 Speaker 12: interesting the universities that have and haven't had barricades set up, 2883 02:39:12,840 --> 02:39:14,720 Speaker 12: Like there was there was no barricades at every there 2884 02:39:14,760 --> 02:39:17,320 Speaker 12: was no really attempt to put barricades up. And you 2885 02:39:17,400 --> 02:39:20,080 Speaker 12: have like, you know, pretty pretty big barricades in Portland 2886 02:39:20,520 --> 02:39:24,000 Speaker 12: of course, and then like Humboldt being really the one 2887 02:39:24,040 --> 02:39:26,320 Speaker 12: that was like no, like you could like hold down 2888 02:39:26,360 --> 02:39:28,400 Speaker 12: a space for like a while if you have like 2889 02:39:29,240 --> 02:39:31,800 Speaker 12: lots of barricades. We see that, we see that in 2890 02:39:32,640 --> 02:39:37,000 Speaker 12: LA and I know the difference between the bear kids 2891 02:39:37,040 --> 02:39:38,640 Speaker 12: going up and the barricades not and how that that 2892 02:39:38,720 --> 02:39:41,360 Speaker 12: does kind of slow. That's just slow a police story. 2893 02:39:41,400 --> 02:39:44,039 Speaker 12: That just slow some police response. And I think one 2894 02:39:44,040 --> 02:39:45,720 Speaker 12: of the one of the one of the dynamics we 2895 02:39:45,800 --> 02:39:49,000 Speaker 12: have there is like at least her a emory, right, 2896 02:39:49,080 --> 02:39:51,640 Speaker 12: we had the first day people faced you know, a 2897 02:39:51,680 --> 02:39:53,640 Speaker 12: pretty sizable amount of plice violence. You know, there was 2898 02:39:54,000 --> 02:39:57,160 Speaker 12: like twenty twenty eight arrests. A lot of people were 2899 02:39:57,160 --> 02:39:59,920 Speaker 12: assaulted by police. And for many people, this this was 2900 02:40:00,080 --> 02:40:02,280 Speaker 12: their first protest. A lot of these people were too 2901 02:40:02,400 --> 02:40:04,960 Speaker 12: young to participate in twenty twenty, which is kind of 2902 02:40:05,080 --> 02:40:07,840 Speaker 12: you know, odd looking back on it, but yeah, a 2903 02:40:07,840 --> 02:40:09,960 Speaker 12: lot of these people were quite young, and this is 2904 02:40:10,040 --> 02:40:12,680 Speaker 12: their first experience of like police brutality in person. 2905 02:40:13,320 --> 02:40:15,600 Speaker 13: And like what a first protest though, I mean, like 2906 02:40:15,760 --> 02:40:18,240 Speaker 13: I'm trying to think back to like, you know, usually 2907 02:40:18,280 --> 02:40:22,199 Speaker 13: your first protest doesn't end like this. Sorry, my dogs 2908 02:40:22,200 --> 02:40:24,680 Speaker 13: are going crazy right now, but I you know, I 2909 02:40:25,080 --> 02:40:27,560 Speaker 13: was thinking about this. It's just I think it's a 2910 02:40:28,840 --> 02:40:32,360 Speaker 13: radicalizing and traumatizing first protest experience for a lot of 2911 02:40:32,440 --> 02:40:35,280 Speaker 13: young people. I was talking to a young student. Want 2912 02:40:35,320 --> 02:40:36,920 Speaker 13: to give too much information about her, but she was 2913 02:40:37,040 --> 02:40:38,880 Speaker 13: quite young, right, It was, you know, one of her 2914 02:40:38,920 --> 02:40:43,280 Speaker 13: first protest experiences. And she said, when the cop approached 2915 02:40:43,320 --> 02:40:46,000 Speaker 13: her with something in his hand, she didn't know what 2916 02:40:46,120 --> 02:40:50,840 Speaker 13: it was, and she couldn't understand what he was doing 2917 02:40:50,959 --> 02:40:53,119 Speaker 13: or what he wanted from her. And it wasn't until 2918 02:40:53,160 --> 02:40:55,880 Speaker 13: he raised the object above his head that she had 2919 02:40:55,959 --> 02:41:00,480 Speaker 13: this realization that he can hit me. Yeah, only can 2920 02:41:00,560 --> 02:41:02,400 Speaker 13: he hit me, but he is going to hit me. 2921 02:41:02,520 --> 02:41:05,800 Speaker 13: That like, to have that realization in real time that 2922 02:41:05,879 --> 02:41:08,119 Speaker 13: you are not safe in your body, that the state 2923 02:41:08,160 --> 02:41:10,960 Speaker 13: will carry out violence against you. To not have known 2924 02:41:11,040 --> 02:41:14,800 Speaker 13: that before and to find it out as it is happening, 2925 02:41:14,879 --> 02:41:16,720 Speaker 13: I think is truly horrifying. 2926 02:41:17,040 --> 02:41:18,959 Speaker 12: Well, yeah, and so we have all these people who've 2927 02:41:18,959 --> 02:41:21,440 Speaker 12: experienced it now for the first time, and when they, 2928 02:41:21,600 --> 02:41:25,400 Speaker 12: you know, return to the campus the next day, they 2929 02:41:25,440 --> 02:41:27,680 Speaker 12: don't want to go through that traumatic event again, Like 2930 02:41:27,760 --> 02:41:31,040 Speaker 12: they don't want to. And so after we saw this 2931 02:41:31,120 --> 02:41:33,160 Speaker 12: in a few cities, but we saw this even in Columbia, 2932 02:41:33,560 --> 02:41:37,280 Speaker 12: but like after the first police response, how people behave 2933 02:41:37,400 --> 02:41:40,440 Speaker 12: afterwards on campus can be quite different because they really 2934 02:41:40,520 --> 02:41:42,959 Speaker 12: don't want that, and now admin is able to kind 2935 02:41:42,959 --> 02:41:45,040 Speaker 12: of use threat of police. It's a very effective to 2936 02:41:45,160 --> 02:41:47,320 Speaker 12: turn to be like, hey, if you keep things kind 2937 02:41:47,320 --> 02:41:49,520 Speaker 12: of chill, no tense, nothing crazy. 2938 02:41:49,600 --> 02:41:51,440 Speaker 8: But if you just hang out on the quad, that's it. 2939 02:41:51,840 --> 02:41:54,360 Speaker 12: Like that's fine, but if you do anything else, we're 2940 02:41:54,400 --> 02:41:57,160 Speaker 12: gonna call in those guys again and they're gonna fuck 2941 02:41:57,200 --> 02:41:59,920 Speaker 12: you up even worse. And like that is a very 2942 02:42:00,040 --> 02:42:02,560 Speaker 12: very effective and scaring people away from from doing anything. 2943 02:42:02,640 --> 02:42:06,000 Speaker 12: And I think a big thing to navigate here is 2944 02:42:06,080 --> 02:42:08,440 Speaker 12: like how how can you get students to feel like 2945 02:42:08,560 --> 02:42:11,080 Speaker 12: empowered once again, to like actually be able to do stuff. 2946 02:42:11,400 --> 02:42:13,760 Speaker 12: There was this there's there's this one moment at Emory 2947 02:42:14,080 --> 02:42:16,840 Speaker 12: where some like some other like like more like you know, 2948 02:42:17,520 --> 02:42:20,640 Speaker 12: more militanty. I don't know their exact affiliation at the university. 2949 02:42:20,680 --> 02:42:23,160 Speaker 12: I don't care, but so some more some more like militant, 2950 02:42:23,200 --> 02:42:26,720 Speaker 12: need more anarchistic people. Because it's Atlanta, we're like kind 2951 02:42:26,720 --> 02:42:29,040 Speaker 12: of like like shaming some of the students for not 2952 02:42:29,160 --> 02:42:31,760 Speaker 12: like doing more stuff. Like they got on the microphone 2953 02:42:31,800 --> 02:42:33,200 Speaker 12: and were like shaving them be like hey, this this 2954 02:42:33,280 --> 02:42:36,280 Speaker 12: isn't a protest, You're just you're just hanging out, and like, 2955 02:42:37,480 --> 02:42:40,240 Speaker 12: I I get it, but also like what is that 2956 02:42:40,640 --> 02:42:42,760 Speaker 12: going to accomplish? I think I think shaming people for 2957 02:42:42,879 --> 02:42:44,880 Speaker 12: being scared of police is not effective. You need to 2958 02:42:45,080 --> 02:42:47,520 Speaker 12: you need to help them to feel empowered, and that 2959 02:42:47,600 --> 02:42:49,199 Speaker 12: that's a very different thing to navigate. 2960 02:42:50,120 --> 02:42:52,480 Speaker 13: And you can't expect, you know, can't expect their first 2961 02:42:52,520 --> 02:42:55,680 Speaker 13: protest action to be all out militant, nor should you 2962 02:42:55,760 --> 02:42:58,320 Speaker 13: want it to be. Like I'm sure I think one 2963 02:42:58,320 --> 02:43:01,320 Speaker 13: of the things to remember is that, you know, what 2964 02:43:01,440 --> 02:43:03,920 Speaker 13: does success look like that if you know, most of 2965 02:43:03,959 --> 02:43:06,760 Speaker 13: these university encampments aren't going to win divestment, right, They 2966 02:43:06,760 --> 02:43:09,080 Speaker 13: all have really similar demands and they include you know, 2967 02:43:09,280 --> 02:43:11,520 Speaker 13: divestment of university funds, and most of them aren't going 2968 02:43:11,560 --> 02:43:14,040 Speaker 13: to get that. But I think you can still envision 2969 02:43:14,160 --> 02:43:17,800 Speaker 13: success as you know, these are young people. They are 2970 02:43:18,320 --> 02:43:21,520 Speaker 13: learning to organize together, they're learning to create that space together, 2971 02:43:21,600 --> 02:43:24,280 Speaker 13: they are coming together to talk about this issue, and 2972 02:43:24,360 --> 02:43:26,960 Speaker 13: I think that can be success. I don't think you 2973 02:43:27,080 --> 02:43:29,400 Speaker 13: have to bleed to have succeeded. 2974 02:43:29,200 --> 02:43:32,040 Speaker 12: No, totally, absolutely. I think just this being a learning 2975 02:43:32,040 --> 02:43:34,200 Speaker 12: experience for people, and now you have a lot of 2976 02:43:34,320 --> 02:43:37,439 Speaker 12: both professors and students whose view of police will forever 2977 02:43:37,520 --> 02:43:40,040 Speaker 12: be different, which you know, in the long run, it's 2978 02:43:40,080 --> 02:43:42,240 Speaker 12: probably I would view that as like a quote unquote 2979 02:43:42,280 --> 02:43:44,000 Speaker 12: good thing, even though it is you know, it's short 2980 02:43:44,080 --> 02:43:47,640 Speaker 12: term trauma and possibly long term trauma. But like you 2981 02:43:47,800 --> 02:43:49,800 Speaker 12: have a much more accurate view of how the world 2982 02:43:49,879 --> 02:43:52,640 Speaker 12: works now, especially for a lot of these like Ivy 2983 02:43:52,720 --> 02:43:55,960 Speaker 12: League kids who've never never thought of police as a 2984 02:43:56,080 --> 02:43:59,160 Speaker 12: threat before. Police is always like a helper, right, A 2985 02:43:59,160 --> 02:44:01,960 Speaker 12: lot of these are like you know, good kids exactly, Yeah, 2986 02:44:02,320 --> 02:44:04,800 Speaker 12: and and and learning that like there doesn't need to 2987 02:44:04,840 --> 02:44:07,920 Speaker 12: be provocation to entice a police response. That is, that 2988 02:44:08,040 --> 02:44:09,640 Speaker 12: is not a that's not a real dynamic. 2989 02:44:10,480 --> 02:44:13,080 Speaker 13: I mean, especially UVA. Right, Like this wasn't one of 2990 02:44:13,120 --> 02:44:15,560 Speaker 13: those encampments where there had been prior clashes or real 2991 02:44:15,680 --> 02:44:19,280 Speaker 13: escalation or any sort of hardening of barricades. No, they were. 2992 02:44:19,400 --> 02:44:21,520 Speaker 13: They were lying in their tents when the cops showed up. 2993 02:44:22,560 --> 02:44:26,400 Speaker 13: Like the lesson is that nothing you can do is acceptable, 2994 02:44:26,480 --> 02:44:27,680 Speaker 13: so you might as well do what you want. 2995 02:44:28,520 --> 02:44:30,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, and like keep your eyes. The other thing I 2996 02:44:30,959 --> 02:44:34,040 Speaker 3: wanted to mention was like victory looks like a number 2997 02:44:34,080 --> 02:44:36,360 Speaker 3: of different things in these protests, but like you should 2998 02:44:36,400 --> 02:44:39,480 Speaker 3: focus on whatever that is. And like something I saw 2999 02:44:39,800 --> 02:44:43,200 Speaker 3: among faculty colleagues sometimes like it was just like should 3000 02:44:43,240 --> 02:44:46,560 Speaker 3: we get arrested? Like sure, suld, should we choose to 3001 02:44:46,640 --> 02:44:50,000 Speaker 3: get arrested? Like and like, no, you should not choose 3002 02:44:50,040 --> 02:44:52,960 Speaker 3: to get arrested, like you know, we always avoid it 3003 02:44:53,000 --> 02:44:56,040 Speaker 3: if you can, Yeah, avoid it. It is not an end. 3004 02:44:56,120 --> 02:44:59,240 Speaker 13: It's not a good strategic goal to get arrested on purpose. Yeah, 3005 02:45:00,160 --> 02:45:01,840 Speaker 13: I mean this is in DC where you get you know, 3006 02:45:01,920 --> 02:45:03,240 Speaker 13: a ticket and they let you go home. 3007 02:45:03,840 --> 02:45:05,879 Speaker 3: Yeah, no, this will fuck up as I'm lucky if 3008 02:45:05,959 --> 02:45:08,080 Speaker 3: your tenured faculty will suck up your life a lot 3009 02:45:08,160 --> 02:45:10,959 Speaker 3: less than people in other social and economic circumstances. 3010 02:45:11,040 --> 02:45:14,080 Speaker 13: Right, but even in the most privileged possible circumstance, like 3011 02:45:14,480 --> 02:45:15,440 Speaker 13: it fucking sucks. 3012 02:45:16,040 --> 02:45:18,240 Speaker 3: Yeah. You might be denied access to your medication, You 3013 02:45:18,360 --> 02:45:20,560 Speaker 3: might be confined in a cell with people who do 3014 02:45:20,680 --> 02:45:22,760 Speaker 3: not identify with the same gender as you. Right, the 3015 02:45:22,840 --> 02:45:24,480 Speaker 3: cops are going to be fucking mean to you. That's 3016 02:45:24,480 --> 02:45:26,680 Speaker 3: what they do, Like they do violence retect capital. 3017 02:45:26,720 --> 02:45:28,039 Speaker 13: That's why we have a lot of people are getting 3018 02:45:28,080 --> 02:45:30,600 Speaker 13: permanent nerve damage from being left in flexi cuffs. Like 3019 02:45:30,680 --> 02:45:33,280 Speaker 13: even if even if your charges get dropped, like you 3020 02:45:33,360 --> 02:45:34,520 Speaker 13: could suffer forever from this. 3021 02:45:35,240 --> 02:45:37,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, and there's you have, no you know, it doesn't 3022 02:45:37,440 --> 02:45:39,720 Speaker 3: matter how good your dad's lawyer is or whatever. They're 3023 02:45:39,720 --> 02:45:41,840 Speaker 3: the cops. They're going to get away with it. But yeah, 3024 02:45:41,920 --> 02:45:44,160 Speaker 3: Like when I think about the young people I was 3025 02:45:44,400 --> 02:45:47,400 Speaker 3: talking to people, and like when I think about twenty twenty, 3026 02:45:47,480 --> 02:45:50,840 Speaker 3: where I'm talking to young people, I'm older, I'm thirty seven. 3027 02:45:51,320 --> 02:45:53,320 Speaker 3: Like I think about my own like, you know, growing 3028 02:45:53,400 --> 02:45:55,040 Speaker 3: up as a little kid. Like there was the like 3029 02:45:56,120 --> 02:45:59,440 Speaker 3: the anti sweatshow movement, which morphed into the G eight movement, 3030 02:46:00,400 --> 02:46:04,039 Speaker 3: which morphed into like xapeties to Solidarity, which morphed into 3031 02:46:04,200 --> 02:46:06,920 Speaker 3: the Free Palestine movement and moving against the British National Party, 3032 02:46:06,959 --> 02:46:09,920 Speaker 3: and we got to like step up until we were 3033 02:46:09,959 --> 02:46:13,920 Speaker 3: fighting Nazis, right because folks, young people who are protesting 3034 02:46:14,040 --> 02:46:18,000 Speaker 3: now who didn't participate in twenty twenty didn't get like 3035 02:46:18,120 --> 02:46:19,920 Speaker 3: this was just like a baptism of fire. Like the 3036 02:46:19,959 --> 02:46:21,680 Speaker 3: people in twenty twenty got to go out in twenty 3037 02:46:21,720 --> 02:46:23,959 Speaker 3: sixteen for Donald Trump, bright in twenty seventeen and wear 3038 02:46:23,959 --> 02:46:27,080 Speaker 3: the little pink hats and walk around in the pink hats, 3039 02:46:27,080 --> 02:46:29,120 Speaker 3: you know, and they got introduced to the cops and 3040 02:46:29,360 --> 02:46:30,640 Speaker 3: the fact that they are just going to fuck you 3041 02:46:30,720 --> 02:46:33,360 Speaker 3: up because they want too slowly. But these people didn't 3042 02:46:33,400 --> 02:46:35,040 Speaker 3: And I don't think we should blame them for being 3043 02:46:35,200 --> 02:46:38,320 Speaker 3: like none of us are, to be clear, but like, folks, 3044 02:46:38,440 --> 02:46:40,160 Speaker 3: I've seen it too much on the internet, like don't 3045 02:46:40,200 --> 02:46:42,840 Speaker 3: do that shit, like teach people to be stronger than 3046 02:46:42,879 --> 02:46:45,480 Speaker 3: the state. Don't shame them for not already being there. 3047 02:46:46,040 --> 02:46:48,560 Speaker 6: That's something that happened, like I literally watched this like 3048 02:46:49,600 --> 02:46:54,720 Speaker 6: happen at the Chicago cant was people like getting ready 3049 02:46:55,080 --> 02:46:58,040 Speaker 6: to have to fight off like these rap ros and 3050 02:46:59,640 --> 02:47:02,040 Speaker 6: you know, like that experience, and you know, and this 3051 02:47:02,160 --> 02:47:04,160 Speaker 6: is something I think is interesting about these protests. Two 3052 02:47:04,320 --> 02:47:08,279 Speaker 6: was like from UCLA, Like UCLA was like a pretty 3053 02:47:08,360 --> 02:47:10,560 Speaker 6: explicit attempt to try to use these like right wing 3054 02:47:10,760 --> 02:47:14,760 Speaker 6: like paramilitary people to knock out an encampment, and they 3055 02:47:14,800 --> 02:47:17,720 Speaker 6: couldn't do it. Like, they hurt a lot of people, right, 3056 02:47:17,800 --> 02:47:19,720 Speaker 6: like two hundred people I think went to the hospital 3057 02:47:19,800 --> 02:47:21,760 Speaker 6: or at least treated by medics after it. Right, they 3058 02:47:21,840 --> 02:47:24,440 Speaker 6: hurt a lot of people. It was really scary, but 3059 02:47:24,520 --> 02:47:26,320 Speaker 6: they couldn't break they couldn't break the barricades. And that 3060 02:47:26,360 --> 02:47:28,880 Speaker 6: happened at Chicago too. It was like they couldn't like 3061 02:47:29,480 --> 02:47:33,000 Speaker 6: in the Chicago like those those like they're they're on. 3062 02:47:33,560 --> 02:47:35,600 Speaker 6: But at nine o'clock in the morning on the day 3063 02:47:35,640 --> 02:47:37,600 Speaker 6: of that encampment, there were no fucking barricades. It was 3064 02:47:37,680 --> 02:47:39,760 Speaker 6: just a bunch of tents at a lawn, right, and 3065 02:47:40,080 --> 02:47:42,240 Speaker 6: in like three hours they set up a thing that 3066 02:47:42,800 --> 02:47:45,199 Speaker 6: you know, still I mean they weren't still weren't really barricades, 3067 02:47:45,480 --> 02:47:49,960 Speaker 6: but like you got to watch these kids, and you know, 3068 02:47:50,080 --> 02:47:54,560 Speaker 6: the people who were there, like you know, like realize 3069 02:47:54,879 --> 02:47:57,920 Speaker 6: that a group of them can stand and fight and 3070 02:47:58,040 --> 02:47:59,879 Speaker 6: hold these people. And they and they did it. They 3071 02:48:00,040 --> 02:48:02,360 Speaker 6: fucking stood there, they stood their ground, they held them, 3072 02:48:02,400 --> 02:48:03,840 Speaker 6: they fought, and at the end of the day, the 3073 02:48:03,920 --> 02:48:08,240 Speaker 6: fucking trapros ran away and it wasn't really intel. And 3074 02:48:08,280 --> 02:48:10,160 Speaker 6: then this is I think it's been a really interesting 3075 02:48:10,200 --> 02:48:13,160 Speaker 6: element of this is that like these these per military 3076 02:48:13,160 --> 02:48:18,440 Speaker 6: groups have been just staggeringly unable to actually like beat 3077 02:48:18,560 --> 02:48:21,560 Speaker 6: a bunch of protesters like in you know, in in 3078 02:48:21,800 --> 02:48:23,520 Speaker 6: the sort of military sense of like who holds the 3079 02:48:23,600 --> 02:48:25,320 Speaker 6: field at the end of the fight. They can't do it, 3080 02:48:25,720 --> 02:48:27,160 Speaker 6: and only the cops have been able to. 3081 02:48:27,440 --> 02:48:30,360 Speaker 12: And the other thing about that is, like you had 3082 02:48:30,520 --> 02:48:34,879 Speaker 12: you have a more legitimate way to fight off these 3083 02:48:35,200 --> 02:48:38,640 Speaker 12: like non state actions, Yeah, yeah, right, whenever you there 3084 02:48:38,720 --> 02:48:41,080 Speaker 12: is because of the nature of the state's monopoly on 3085 02:48:41,120 --> 02:48:43,680 Speaker 12: the legitimate violence, fighting off the police can be a 3086 02:48:43,760 --> 02:48:48,840 Speaker 12: lot more tricky than fighting off these like frat boy groups. Yeah, 3087 02:48:48,920 --> 02:48:51,920 Speaker 12: like that that is that is a very different dynamic. 3088 02:48:52,600 --> 02:48:54,560 Speaker 6: That was a process that like unfolded there. It was 3089 02:48:54,560 --> 02:48:55,760 Speaker 6: like a lot of people who were like, yeah, we 3090 02:48:55,800 --> 02:48:58,600 Speaker 6: don't want to escalate, and it was like, well, okay, 3091 02:48:58,760 --> 02:49:00,879 Speaker 6: so like several hundred people are going to show up. 3092 02:49:00,920 --> 02:49:03,400 Speaker 6: We also happened to us the UCLA like it has 3093 02:49:03,560 --> 02:49:06,760 Speaker 6: to right, Like you know, I mean like like you 3094 02:49:06,920 --> 02:49:09,039 Speaker 6: can't just keep doing your sort of like we're not. 3095 02:49:09,040 --> 02:49:10,440 Speaker 3: Going to engage your counter protesters thing. 3096 02:49:10,480 --> 02:49:12,040 Speaker 6: Where's two hundred of these people who are going to 3097 02:49:12,080 --> 02:49:12,880 Speaker 6: try to beat the shit out of you? 3098 02:49:13,480 --> 02:49:15,400 Speaker 13: Right, there's I mean, there's choosing not to engage with 3099 02:49:15,480 --> 02:49:18,000 Speaker 13: someone who just wants attention, and then there is self defense. 3100 02:49:18,040 --> 02:49:20,640 Speaker 13: I think those are two different things. Yeah, definitely some 3101 02:49:21,000 --> 02:49:22,680 Speaker 13: like you don't you know, you don't give someone their 3102 02:49:22,760 --> 02:49:24,879 Speaker 13: viral video that they can put on YouTube or whatever. 3103 02:49:24,959 --> 02:49:26,400 Speaker 13: But if someone's going to beat you with a stick. 3104 02:49:27,560 --> 02:49:29,040 Speaker 6: Yeah, And it's like like I'm not saying either them 3105 02:49:29,040 --> 02:49:30,880 Speaker 6: are like right or wrong. It's just like, yeah, like 3106 02:49:30,959 --> 02:49:34,440 Speaker 6: you can't you can't use the same tactics. And being 3107 02:49:34,680 --> 02:49:38,280 Speaker 6: forced to defend yourself like had this real sort of 3108 02:49:38,600 --> 02:49:42,120 Speaker 6: like impact on people, and like I don't know, it's 3109 02:49:42,160 --> 02:49:44,440 Speaker 6: like like I gotta see people just like understanding what 3110 02:49:44,600 --> 02:49:47,800 Speaker 6: you can do with the physical mass of a group 3111 02:49:47,840 --> 02:49:50,680 Speaker 6: of people, and I don't know it was it was 3112 02:49:51,040 --> 02:49:52,920 Speaker 6: like it was it was a really emotional experience for 3113 02:49:53,040 --> 02:49:54,800 Speaker 6: like a lot of the people there, and it was 3114 02:49:54,840 --> 02:49:55,320 Speaker 6: really cool. 3115 02:49:55,920 --> 02:49:58,040 Speaker 12: So yeah, I think we it would be wrong just 3116 02:49:58,160 --> 02:50:04,280 Speaker 12: to like criticize these these students specifically for dropping the 3117 02:50:04,320 --> 02:50:06,320 Speaker 12: ball in various ways. I think the thing that we 3118 02:50:06,440 --> 02:50:09,320 Speaker 12: can completely criticize and point you as a as a 3119 02:50:09,520 --> 02:50:14,000 Speaker 12: as a massive failure is everyone who has not been participating, 3120 02:50:14,600 --> 02:50:17,080 Speaker 12: how they have been viewing what's going on, And this 3121 02:50:17,160 --> 02:50:18,440 Speaker 12: is this is this will be the last thing I 3122 02:50:18,520 --> 02:50:21,000 Speaker 12: talk about, especially even even it's on like the media 3123 02:50:21,080 --> 02:50:23,320 Speaker 12: side and in this general discussion, like there's been such 3124 02:50:23,360 --> 02:50:29,039 Speaker 12: a such a singular focus on the campus encampment like itself, 3125 02:50:29,720 --> 02:50:32,320 Speaker 12: instead of like why the protests are happening in the 3126 02:50:32,440 --> 02:50:35,520 Speaker 12: first place, what's going on in Gaza just instead just 3127 02:50:35,640 --> 02:50:40,040 Speaker 12: focusing on like, yeah, the actual the actual thing on campus, 3128 02:50:40,120 --> 02:50:42,480 Speaker 12: but but but not caring about why these protests are 3129 02:50:42,480 --> 02:50:48,160 Speaker 12: even happening, wilfully ignoring why it's happening, framing all literally 3130 02:50:48,320 --> 02:50:51,640 Speaker 12: all of the campus protests as inherently anti semitic, as 3131 02:50:51,680 --> 02:50:55,480 Speaker 12: if that is the main driver, and ignoring ignoring the 3132 02:50:55,840 --> 02:50:59,400 Speaker 12: many instances for people who have expressed anti Semitic things 3133 02:50:59,480 --> 02:51:02,160 Speaker 12: have been being like removed and pushed out of campus, 3134 02:51:02,480 --> 02:51:05,400 Speaker 12: which has happened in many places. But it's it's just 3135 02:51:05,560 --> 02:51:09,280 Speaker 12: it's just so lazy to totally like reject the reasoning 3136 02:51:09,360 --> 02:51:13,240 Speaker 12: for why these protests are happening, the framing of trespassing 3137 02:51:13,400 --> 02:51:16,560 Speaker 12: as a form of violence, call calling these encampments violent 3138 02:51:17,480 --> 02:51:20,440 Speaker 12: as if as if being on campus is violent, and 3139 02:51:20,720 --> 02:51:23,920 Speaker 12: meanwhile never once mentioning the actual violence on display, which 3140 02:51:23,920 --> 02:51:26,480 Speaker 12: is almost solely at the hands of police and these 3141 02:51:26,520 --> 02:51:29,760 Speaker 12: other far right groups. Friend of the Pod Cody Johnston 3142 02:51:29,840 --> 02:51:32,840 Speaker 12: had a had a very very good tweet quote, these 3143 02:51:32,920 --> 02:51:35,800 Speaker 12: people who I despise and never agree with, should protest 3144 02:51:35,879 --> 02:51:38,160 Speaker 12: the way I prefer unquote. 3145 02:51:38,840 --> 02:51:41,879 Speaker 13: Don't don't debate tactics with people who don't share your goals. 3146 02:51:42,879 --> 02:51:43,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, and. 3147 02:51:44,160 --> 02:51:48,040 Speaker 12: Again like these people who who who have like an 3148 02:51:48,080 --> 02:51:51,039 Speaker 12: ideological opposition to every single thing that these protest are 3149 02:51:51,080 --> 02:51:52,879 Speaker 12: staying for people. 3150 02:51:52,680 --> 02:51:57,240 Speaker 3: Doing this in the actual Bush administration just a wild 3151 02:51:57,360 --> 02:51:59,920 Speaker 3: fucking mental gymnastics to be like, it is a leag 3152 02:52:00,080 --> 02:52:02,040 Speaker 3: go for you to have your attempts here that is trespassed, 3153 02:52:02,040 --> 02:52:05,520 Speaker 3: Therefore we can violently displace you. Also, I stand with Israel, 3154 02:52:05,920 --> 02:52:06,800 Speaker 3: like exactly. 3155 02:52:07,959 --> 02:52:10,560 Speaker 13: Your head remind people of too is you know, you know, 3156 02:52:10,640 --> 02:52:14,119 Speaker 13: the saying like, well, technically they broke the rules. Okay, Well, technically, 3157 02:52:14,200 --> 02:52:16,360 Speaker 13: if you're going twenty over the speed limit, the cop 3158 02:52:16,440 --> 02:52:19,440 Speaker 13: can book you into jail. Would it be a bizarre 3159 02:52:19,600 --> 02:52:21,880 Speaker 13: escalation of force for him to do that? Do they 3160 02:52:21,959 --> 02:52:22,600 Speaker 13: normally do it? 3161 02:52:22,920 --> 02:52:23,040 Speaker 2: Now? 3162 02:52:23,120 --> 02:52:25,560 Speaker 13: They don't? Right, So, just because just because the police 3163 02:52:26,040 --> 02:52:29,280 Speaker 13: can intervene in certain ways doesn't mean it makes sense 3164 02:52:29,320 --> 02:52:29,760 Speaker 13: for them. 3165 02:52:29,640 --> 02:52:30,120 Speaker 9: To do so. 3166 02:52:30,600 --> 02:52:34,039 Speaker 12: Technically, you're not supposed to bomb forty thousand civilians, right 3167 02:52:34,840 --> 02:52:36,600 Speaker 12: So I think that's that's really. 3168 02:52:36,480 --> 02:52:39,720 Speaker 6: Weapons says are illegal the under under the Lahi Act, 3169 02:52:39,760 --> 02:52:40,720 Speaker 6: And it doesn't matter. 3170 02:52:40,640 --> 02:52:44,520 Speaker 13: For shit because the rules, you know, the police are 3171 02:52:44,680 --> 02:52:46,480 Speaker 13: only only powerful to punish you. 3172 02:52:47,240 --> 02:52:50,240 Speaker 12: The fact that there's more moral outrage across the country 3173 02:52:50,879 --> 02:52:55,119 Speaker 12: or students protesting a genocide than there is for forty 3174 02:52:55,200 --> 02:52:59,040 Speaker 12: thousand civilians being murdered is just looking at a deep 3175 02:52:59,120 --> 02:53:01,680 Speaker 12: hole at the at the conscience of this country. 3176 02:53:02,520 --> 02:53:02,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. 3177 02:53:02,720 --> 02:53:03,680 Speaker 3: Also, the thing I. 3178 02:53:03,720 --> 02:53:04,960 Speaker 6: Will say about that is if you look at the 3179 02:53:05,000 --> 02:53:08,560 Speaker 6: polling numbers on this, like, yeah, there's like like forty 3180 02:53:08,720 --> 02:53:12,720 Speaker 6: seven ish percent support for like banning like protesters on campus. However, 3181 02:53:13,000 --> 02:53:15,840 Speaker 6: when you actually look at the numbers, like especially if 3182 02:53:15,879 --> 02:53:17,240 Speaker 6: you look at the numbers of my cultures, you look 3183 02:53:17,240 --> 02:53:20,560 Speaker 6: at the numbers of people in general who now like 3184 02:53:20,800 --> 02:53:24,520 Speaker 6: who now support like ceasing like ceasing sending arms to Israel. 3185 02:53:24,560 --> 02:53:27,040 Speaker 6: It's been interesting, so like they have been working totally. 3186 02:53:27,120 --> 02:53:29,440 Speaker 12: It's just that the people who control this country is 3187 02:53:29,520 --> 02:53:32,600 Speaker 12: a different demographic than all the young people who are 3188 02:53:32,640 --> 02:53:34,760 Speaker 12: potesting on campus, right, which is what we are looking at. 3189 02:53:34,800 --> 02:53:37,600 Speaker 12: And I think it's also important to remind her that 3190 02:53:37,640 --> 02:53:41,840 Speaker 12: almost every single campus protest historically has been completely vindicated 3191 02:53:42,080 --> 02:53:44,920 Speaker 12: over time because they're obviously correct. 3192 02:53:45,360 --> 02:53:47,879 Speaker 8: And if you deny that, who are you fooling? 3193 02:53:47,959 --> 02:53:48,359 Speaker 3: Anyway? 3194 02:53:48,760 --> 02:53:50,800 Speaker 12: I think that this episode's already pretty long, but I 3195 02:53:51,080 --> 02:53:54,080 Speaker 12: was happy to hear a collection of our four different 3196 02:53:54,120 --> 02:53:55,600 Speaker 12: accounts from four different places. 3197 02:53:56,160 --> 02:53:57,680 Speaker 13: Oh, I do want to say really quick before we 3198 02:53:57,760 --> 02:53:59,760 Speaker 13: wrap this up. To everyone who says these students are 3199 02:53:59,800 --> 02:54:02,760 Speaker 13: too young to know what they are protesting, they couldn't 3200 02:54:02,760 --> 02:54:06,960 Speaker 13: possibly understand what they are talking about. Fred Hampton was 3201 02:54:07,000 --> 02:54:07,440 Speaker 13: twenty one. 3202 02:54:08,640 --> 02:54:13,040 Speaker 12: People forget how how young MLK was when he started 3203 02:54:13,080 --> 02:54:13,879 Speaker 12: doing Yeah. 3204 02:54:13,879 --> 02:54:16,600 Speaker 3: And they're young enough for fucking Israel to kill them, right. 3205 02:54:17,680 --> 02:54:20,920 Speaker 3: There are no universities in guars there anymore. It's just 3206 02:54:21,040 --> 02:54:23,360 Speaker 3: it's ridiculous. They're also young enough to join the idea 3207 02:54:23,440 --> 02:54:25,000 Speaker 3: for any other military and go and kill people. It's 3208 02:54:25,000 --> 02:54:27,320 Speaker 3: a ridiculous argument. Like, you don't have to go there 3209 02:54:27,360 --> 02:54:30,080 Speaker 3: and talk to these students. They know exactly what they're protesting. 3210 02:54:30,160 --> 02:54:31,800 Speaker 3: They know exactly what they're talking about. 3211 02:54:31,800 --> 02:54:34,240 Speaker 13: A lot of them are actually fairly well versed on 3212 02:54:34,280 --> 02:54:37,800 Speaker 13: the minutia of what divestment means and what that looks like, 3213 02:54:37,879 --> 02:54:40,400 Speaker 13: and what the fiduciary duties are. Like, they're not stupid. 3214 02:54:40,720 --> 02:54:42,080 Speaker 13: They know what they're talking about. 3215 02:54:42,160 --> 02:54:45,840 Speaker 8: All these dumb college educated youngsters. 3216 02:54:45,520 --> 02:54:48,320 Speaker 13: All these lady it's at Columbia anyway. 3217 02:54:48,440 --> 02:54:51,360 Speaker 3: This fucking nerds you Chicago. It's like, we don't talk 3218 02:54:51,360 --> 02:54:53,280 Speaker 3: about Palestine enough in class. Is like I teach a 3219 02:54:53,320 --> 02:54:55,240 Speaker 3: lot of world history classes. It's certainly not on the 3220 02:54:55,320 --> 02:54:57,440 Speaker 3: little boxes you have to take. And some people came 3221 02:54:57,480 --> 02:54:59,520 Speaker 3: to the encampments to learn, and that's fucking great too. 3222 02:55:00,200 --> 02:55:02,600 Speaker 3: And some people taught people and that's great too, Like 3223 02:55:03,440 --> 02:55:05,960 Speaker 3: it's a place where a lot of learning happened and 3224 02:55:06,000 --> 02:55:09,080 Speaker 3: people became more informed over time. You don't need to 3225 02:55:09,200 --> 02:55:12,400 Speaker 3: have a PhD or master's in an area to understand 3226 02:55:12,400 --> 02:55:14,880 Speaker 3: that bombing children is bad and wanted to stop. We 3227 02:55:15,000 --> 02:55:17,600 Speaker 3: had a world war about this, like genocides are bad. 3228 02:55:17,959 --> 02:55:20,440 Speaker 3: So this will be a topic we continue to cover 3229 02:55:20,560 --> 02:55:23,080 Speaker 3: on the show over the course. At summer, we'll have 3230 02:55:23,520 --> 02:55:25,760 Speaker 3: I'm planning a deep dive about what happened at Emory. 3231 02:55:26,040 --> 02:55:28,240 Speaker 3: Margaret has an upcoming episode about how people who were 3232 02:55:28,280 --> 02:55:30,840 Speaker 3: engaged in the campus protests can stay involved over the summer, 3233 02:55:31,280 --> 02:55:33,960 Speaker 3: and of course we will continue to talk about what's 3234 02:55:34,000 --> 02:55:36,880 Speaker 3: been happening in Gaza. Thanks for listening, solid Air. To 3235 02:55:36,879 --> 02:55:37,600 Speaker 3: everyone who's out. 3236 02:55:37,520 --> 02:55:39,080 Speaker 13: There, Flush your eyes with water. 3237 02:55:39,320 --> 02:55:43,279 Speaker 8: Flush your eyes with water again, learned. 3238 02:55:57,640 --> 02:56:00,160 Speaker 13: Hello, and welcome back to it could happen here. I 3239 02:56:00,280 --> 02:56:03,200 Speaker 13: am once again your occasional host, Molly Conger joining me 3240 02:56:03,280 --> 02:56:06,360 Speaker 13: today for a very special episode. Are my friends and yours, 3241 02:56:06,720 --> 02:56:11,199 Speaker 13: Scharen and Mia so Sharinnia. We're here today to honor 3242 02:56:11,320 --> 02:56:14,760 Speaker 13: and reflect upon a very somber and important holiday. It 3243 02:56:14,920 --> 02:56:17,800 Speaker 13: is May fifteenth as we are recording this today, and 3244 02:56:17,840 --> 02:56:20,320 Speaker 13: today is actually recognized the world over as Knackba Day, 3245 02:56:20,400 --> 02:56:22,400 Speaker 13: a day to remember the first Knakba, the founding of 3246 02:56:22,440 --> 02:56:24,280 Speaker 13: the state of Israel and the force displacement of the 3247 02:56:24,320 --> 02:56:27,680 Speaker 13: Palestinian people. And this year, as a new Nakba continues, 3248 02:56:27,720 --> 02:56:30,240 Speaker 13: as the genocide is being committed against the Palestinian people, 3249 02:56:30,640 --> 02:56:33,080 Speaker 13: it's more important than ever to remember that these atrocities 3250 02:56:33,160 --> 02:56:38,240 Speaker 13: did not start last year. But that isn't the memorial 3251 02:56:38,320 --> 02:56:41,000 Speaker 13: day I invited you here to talk about. Here in 3252 02:56:41,040 --> 02:56:43,400 Speaker 13: the United States, the holiday officially on the books today 3253 02:56:43,560 --> 02:56:48,119 Speaker 13: is not Knackba Day. It is National Peace Officers Memorial Day. 3254 02:56:49,120 --> 02:56:52,280 Speaker 13: In nineteen sixty two, President Kennedy signed a proclamation establishing 3255 02:56:52,360 --> 02:56:55,640 Speaker 13: May fifteenth as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the 3256 02:56:55,680 --> 02:56:58,640 Speaker 13: week it falls within as National Police Week. It's an 3257 02:56:58,800 --> 02:57:01,879 Speaker 13: entire week to honor commemorate the brave boys in blue 3258 02:57:01,879 --> 02:57:04,400 Speaker 13: who've lost their lives in the line of duty. And 3259 02:57:04,480 --> 02:57:05,840 Speaker 13: I can't think of a better way to spend this 3260 02:57:05,920 --> 02:57:08,240 Speaker 13: afternoon with both of you than to talk about how 3261 02:57:08,280 --> 02:57:10,920 Speaker 13: this holiday is celebrated and to share some of these 3262 02:57:10,959 --> 02:57:15,800 Speaker 13: incredible stories of courage and sacrifice. So one of the 3263 02:57:15,840 --> 02:57:19,120 Speaker 13: most frequently cited sources during Police Week and year round 3264 02:57:19,160 --> 02:57:21,560 Speaker 13: when you're talking about the mortality rate of police officers 3265 02:57:21,720 --> 02:57:25,640 Speaker 13: is a website called the Officer Down Memorial Page. Highly 3266 02:57:25,760 --> 02:57:28,440 Speaker 13: encourage you to visit it, make an account browse the pages. 3267 02:57:29,440 --> 02:57:31,800 Speaker 13: The website is run by a nonprofit organization by the 3268 02:57:31,840 --> 02:57:34,760 Speaker 13: same name and has had tax exempt status since two thousand. 3269 02:57:35,520 --> 02:57:38,039 Speaker 13: According to their IRS Form nine nineties, the tax form 3270 02:57:38,120 --> 02:57:41,160 Speaker 13: that tax exempt nonprofits have to file annually, they're pulling 3271 02:57:41,200 --> 02:57:43,680 Speaker 13: in around seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year, 3272 02:57:44,120 --> 02:57:49,880 Speaker 13: a third of which goes directly toward executive compensation and 3273 02:57:50,080 --> 02:57:52,800 Speaker 13: why why shouldn't someone make a quarter of a million 3274 02:57:52,840 --> 02:57:56,520 Speaker 13: dollars annually to do such important work? Public records show 3275 02:57:56,560 --> 02:57:59,960 Speaker 13: the website's founder, Chris Cosgriff, is a police officer himself 3276 02:58:00,240 --> 02:58:04,240 Speaker 13: in Fairfax County, Virginia. Available salary data from twenty eighteen 3277 02:58:04,360 --> 02:58:06,840 Speaker 13: shows him making a policeman salary of about sixty nine 3278 02:58:06,879 --> 02:58:10,400 Speaker 13: thousand dollars. According to his LinkedIn page, Cosgriff still works 3279 02:58:10,400 --> 02:58:13,640 Speaker 13: for the Fairfax County Police Department as a recruiting supervisor 3280 02:58:14,920 --> 02:58:17,320 Speaker 13: the officer down memorial page. Tax documents show he paid 3281 02:58:17,400 --> 02:58:20,040 Speaker 13: himself a paltry twenty four thousand, five hundred dollars in 3282 02:58:20,120 --> 02:58:22,920 Speaker 13: twenty twenty three as the executive director of the nonprofit, 3283 02:58:23,480 --> 02:58:26,520 Speaker 13: though they list key employee compensation at an expense of 3284 02:58:26,600 --> 02:58:29,120 Speaker 13: two hundred and fifty thousand dollars that year, with no 3285 02:58:29,240 --> 02:58:31,480 Speaker 13: indication of who is being paid that remaining two hundred 3286 02:58:31,480 --> 02:58:34,000 Speaker 13: and twenty five thousand dollars or what that person's position is. 3287 02:58:34,959 --> 02:58:37,680 Speaker 13: When the organization received a thirty thousand dollars PPP loan 3288 02:58:37,760 --> 02:58:40,400 Speaker 13: in twenty twenty, they indicated on their loan documents that 3289 02:58:40,400 --> 02:58:44,320 Speaker 13: there were five employees at the organization. I'm not an accountant, 3290 02:58:44,440 --> 02:58:47,160 Speaker 13: so I won't hazard any kind of guesses here, but 3291 02:58:47,240 --> 02:58:49,280 Speaker 13: I am having trouble making sense of that twenty twenty 3292 02:58:49,400 --> 02:58:52,640 Speaker 13: four nine ninety, which lists five company officers by name 3293 02:58:53,040 --> 02:58:55,560 Speaker 13: and only cosgriff is drawing a salary, he paid himself 3294 02:58:55,600 --> 02:58:58,440 Speaker 13: fifty thousand dollars that year. So that same document from 3295 02:58:58,440 --> 02:59:00,920 Speaker 13: twenty twenty shows that the organization and had expenses of 3296 02:59:01,000 --> 02:59:05,200 Speaker 13: two hundred thousand dollars for compensation of officers, but it 3297 02:59:05,280 --> 02:59:07,600 Speaker 13: doesn't say where that remaining one hundred and fifty thousand 3298 02:59:07,640 --> 02:59:08,200 Speaker 13: dollars went. 3299 02:59:09,080 --> 02:59:11,800 Speaker 6: Hmmm, I worried. 3300 02:59:13,360 --> 02:59:16,080 Speaker 13: Maybe they have a secret employee that they're not counting. 3301 02:59:17,400 --> 02:59:19,800 Speaker 3: His son, his wife, his other wife. 3302 02:59:21,640 --> 02:59:24,400 Speaker 13: The website indicates that donations to the nonprofit go towards 3303 02:59:24,480 --> 02:59:28,000 Speaker 13: maintaining the website, making posts on their Facebook, maintaining the 3304 02:59:28,040 --> 02:59:31,720 Speaker 13: site's companion mobile app, and historic research, claiming that their staff, 3305 02:59:31,800 --> 02:59:35,280 Speaker 13: again those five people, have uncovered records of over two 3306 02:59:35,400 --> 02:59:38,640 Speaker 13: thousand fallen officers that otherwise would have been forgotten to time. 3307 02:59:39,640 --> 02:59:41,920 Speaker 13: The site has memorial pages for officers who died as 3308 02:59:41,959 --> 02:59:44,520 Speaker 13: far back as seventeen seventy six, so it's as old 3309 02:59:44,520 --> 02:59:50,280 Speaker 13: as America. That's not real, it's not We didn't actually 3310 02:59:50,320 --> 02:59:53,960 Speaker 13: really have what is considered modern policing back then, so 3311 02:59:54,000 --> 02:59:56,360 Speaker 13: they're really kind of stretching definitions, are. 3312 02:59:56,320 --> 02:59:59,880 Speaker 14: They including like people that went after slaves, you know? 3313 03:00:00,240 --> 03:00:07,400 Speaker 13: Yeah, yeah, tax collectors, yes, olive stretching. 3314 03:00:07,000 --> 03:00:07,640 Speaker 3: Yes a lot. 3315 03:00:07,879 --> 03:00:09,720 Speaker 14: I know you want to go that far back, but 3316 03:00:10,160 --> 03:00:10,680 Speaker 14: I mean. 3317 03:00:10,959 --> 03:00:11,240 Speaker 9: Do you. 3318 03:00:12,560 --> 03:00:16,400 Speaker 13: Donations also help fund their No Parole for cop Killers program, 3319 03:00:16,520 --> 03:00:19,240 Speaker 13: which tracks the cases of the people they call convicted 3320 03:00:19,360 --> 03:00:22,760 Speaker 13: cop killers and flood local parole boards with letters advocating 3321 03:00:22,800 --> 03:00:25,640 Speaker 13: against release. The donation page claims to have sent out 3322 03:00:25,680 --> 03:00:28,800 Speaker 13: over ten thousand such letters in the last six months alone. 3323 03:00:29,760 --> 03:00:31,879 Speaker 13: They also have a merch page where you can buy 3324 03:00:31,959 --> 03:00:35,200 Speaker 13: a lovely trio of thin blue line Christmas ornaments in 3325 03:00:35,280 --> 03:00:39,199 Speaker 13: a gift box for the low reasonable price of sixty dollars. 3326 03:00:39,800 --> 03:00:40,160 Speaker 3: Jesus. 3327 03:00:41,400 --> 03:00:42,959 Speaker 14: Kind of all the things I thought you were going 3328 03:00:43,040 --> 03:00:44,360 Speaker 14: to say. I did not think you were going to 3329 03:00:44,360 --> 03:00:45,400 Speaker 14: say Christmas ornaments. 3330 03:00:45,800 --> 03:00:49,600 Speaker 13: Oh yeah, beautiful, beautiful memorial ornaments. You can get them customized. 3331 03:00:50,080 --> 03:00:50,320 Speaker 6: Wow. 3332 03:00:52,200 --> 03:00:56,040 Speaker 13: The site lists information about American law enforcement officers, prison employees, 3333 03:00:56,240 --> 03:00:58,600 Speaker 13: and police dogs who have lost their lives in the 3334 03:00:58,680 --> 03:01:02,640 Speaker 13: line of duty. Kind of see. While the website is 3335 03:01:02,760 --> 03:01:05,360 Speaker 13: the source cited in every local news puff piece when 3336 03:01:05,360 --> 03:01:08,040 Speaker 13: May fifteenth rolls around every year, putting their version of 3337 03:01:08,040 --> 03:01:11,400 Speaker 13: the numbers in the headlines, the organization's stats don't match 3338 03:01:11,480 --> 03:01:14,040 Speaker 13: those in the FBI's annual report on the subject, an 3339 03:01:14,080 --> 03:01:17,480 Speaker 13: official annual report called the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and 3340 03:01:17,560 --> 03:01:21,360 Speaker 13: Assaulted or LEOCA Report. The data used by the FBI 3341 03:01:21,520 --> 03:01:23,880 Speaker 13: is collected as part of the uniform Crime Reporting System, 3342 03:01:24,520 --> 03:01:26,160 Speaker 13: and if you take just a minute to look at 3343 03:01:26,200 --> 03:01:28,920 Speaker 13: the Officer down Memorial Page's annual data, the reason for 3344 03:01:29,000 --> 03:01:32,760 Speaker 13: this mismatch is immediately clear. They're padding their numbers by 3345 03:01:32,800 --> 03:01:35,680 Speaker 13: including deaths by natural causes on duty, deaths due to 3346 03:01:35,720 --> 03:01:38,760 Speaker 13: accidents or incidents unrelated to the officer's duties, and they're 3347 03:01:38,760 --> 03:01:42,240 Speaker 13: including law enforcement adjacent personnel that the FBI does not 3348 03:01:42,480 --> 03:01:46,120 Speaker 13: consider to be law enforcement deaths in their reporting. The 3349 03:01:46,240 --> 03:01:50,040 Speaker 13: FBI's LEOCA report has really clear criteria for inclusion. To 3350 03:01:50,120 --> 03:01:52,400 Speaker 13: be considered a law enforcement line of duty death, the 3351 03:01:52,520 --> 03:01:55,320 Speaker 13: deceased must have been a duly sworn law enforcement officer 3352 03:01:55,400 --> 03:01:57,680 Speaker 13: acting in their official capacity at the time of their death. 3353 03:01:58,200 --> 03:01:59,880 Speaker 13: So they have to be a real cop, somebody who 3354 03:01:59,879 --> 03:02:01,600 Speaker 13: can carries a badge and a gun and has full 3355 03:02:01,680 --> 03:02:05,960 Speaker 13: arrest powers. And the FBI specifically excludes death by natural 3356 03:02:06,040 --> 03:02:09,160 Speaker 13: causes like heart attacks or COVID deesths that occurred on duty, 3357 03:02:09,280 --> 03:02:12,640 Speaker 13: but quote attributed to their own personal situation, such as 3358 03:02:12,760 --> 03:02:18,120 Speaker 13: domestic violence, neighbor conflict, et cetera, which like that they 3359 03:02:18,200 --> 03:02:21,320 Speaker 13: have to list that by name. If you died doing 3360 03:02:21,360 --> 03:02:24,760 Speaker 13: a domestic violence in uniform, that doesn't count. How often 3361 03:02:24,840 --> 03:02:25,440 Speaker 13: is that happening? 3362 03:02:25,920 --> 03:02:28,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, I hope people who killed them are getting. 3363 03:02:28,040 --> 03:02:32,360 Speaker 13: Parole, Like good God, right, Like if your wife kills 3364 03:02:32,400 --> 03:02:34,240 Speaker 13: you while you're beating her but you're on the clock, 3365 03:02:34,480 --> 03:02:38,160 Speaker 13: the FBI says, no dice. They also specifically note that 3366 03:02:38,160 --> 03:02:41,880 Speaker 13: they do not include corrections officers, Bureau of Prisons officers, 3367 03:02:42,080 --> 03:02:45,400 Speaker 13: bailiff's judges, probation and parole officers, or US attorneys and 3368 03:02:45,400 --> 03:02:48,879 Speaker 13: assistant US attorneys. So just cops, not the people who 3369 03:02:48,920 --> 03:02:51,280 Speaker 13: sort of work in the industry around them but are 3370 03:02:51,360 --> 03:02:51,879 Speaker 13: not cops. 3371 03:02:52,480 --> 03:02:55,760 Speaker 14: Not people that basically are cops, like actual cops, you know, 3372 03:02:55,840 --> 03:02:56,600 Speaker 14: in actual cops. 3373 03:02:56,680 --> 03:03:00,280 Speaker 13: Yeah, and the FAA is really aware clearly that the 3374 03:03:00,360 --> 03:03:03,160 Speaker 13: numbers on the ODMP get cited more often than their own, 3375 03:03:03,640 --> 03:03:07,240 Speaker 13: Because the FBI's Crime Data Explorer page offers this weasly 3376 03:03:07,360 --> 03:03:11,000 Speaker 13: little caveat quote. The FBI's LEOCA program is one of 3377 03:03:11,040 --> 03:03:13,440 Speaker 13: a number of entities that report information concerning line of 3378 03:03:13,480 --> 03:03:15,560 Speaker 13: duty deaths and or assaults of law enforcement officers in 3379 03:03:15,560 --> 03:03:18,960 Speaker 13: the United States. Each organization has its own purpose and 3380 03:03:19,040 --> 03:03:21,440 Speaker 13: may use different methods to collect and report information, or 3381 03:03:21,480 --> 03:03:25,440 Speaker 13: focus on somewhat different aspects of these important topics. Therefore, 3382 03:03:25,520 --> 03:03:27,640 Speaker 13: care should be taken not to compare LEOCA data to 3383 03:03:27,720 --> 03:03:31,080 Speaker 13: data provided by other entities, such as the Officer Down 3384 03:03:31,280 --> 03:03:35,640 Speaker 13: Memorial page. So they're specifically saying, we know these numbers 3385 03:03:35,680 --> 03:03:37,520 Speaker 13: don't match. We know these numbers don't match because a 3386 03:03:37,560 --> 03:03:39,560 Speaker 13: few years ago we gave them a few hundred thousand 3387 03:03:39,600 --> 03:03:42,000 Speaker 13: dollars in grant money to make numbers that are fake. 3388 03:03:42,760 --> 03:03:43,040 Speaker 2: Wow. 3389 03:03:43,959 --> 03:03:45,199 Speaker 3: Incredible, Wow. 3390 03:03:46,400 --> 03:03:48,640 Speaker 13: So the odmp is patting out their numbers with off 3391 03:03:48,720 --> 03:03:52,279 Speaker 13: duty accidents, prison guards, parking lot heart attacks, and COVID deaths. 3392 03:03:52,800 --> 03:03:57,279 Speaker 13: The database includes nearly nine hundred COVID deaths, causing massive 3393 03:03:57,320 --> 03:03:59,720 Speaker 13: statistical anomalies. In their twenty twenty, twenty twenty one, and 3394 03:03:59,760 --> 03:04:02,920 Speaker 13: twenty two data, they include officers who died of natural 3395 03:04:03,000 --> 03:04:06,760 Speaker 13: causes years after sustaining minor on the job injuries, which, 3396 03:04:07,120 --> 03:04:09,720 Speaker 13: you know, if you're involved in a civil lawsuit after 3397 03:04:09,800 --> 03:04:11,640 Speaker 13: the death of a loved one, you could maybe argue 3398 03:04:11,680 --> 03:04:14,120 Speaker 13: that this was sort of a you know, a downhill 3399 03:04:14,240 --> 03:04:16,000 Speaker 13: kind of thing. If you're trying geting a settlement from 3400 03:04:16,000 --> 03:04:17,800 Speaker 13: the state, maybe you could say that, you know, the 3401 03:04:17,879 --> 03:04:21,160 Speaker 13: injury sustained contributed to the death, but that's you can't 3402 03:04:21,240 --> 03:04:23,280 Speaker 13: tell me that slipping in the parking lot and then 3403 03:04:23,360 --> 03:04:27,080 Speaker 13: dying six years later is an experience unique to the 3404 03:04:27,200 --> 03:04:31,800 Speaker 13: dangers of law enforcement. A district attorney who flipped his 3405 03:04:31,920 --> 03:04:34,120 Speaker 13: car after hitting a log that fell off a truck 3406 03:04:34,200 --> 03:04:36,440 Speaker 13: on the highway on a Friday night is not a 3407 03:04:36,560 --> 03:04:38,840 Speaker 13: law enforcement line of duty death because that not only 3408 03:04:38,920 --> 03:04:41,440 Speaker 13: was that not a cop it was a single car accident. 3409 03:04:42,120 --> 03:04:44,960 Speaker 13: And when DeSoto County Search and Rescue Director Deputy William 3410 03:04:45,000 --> 03:04:47,800 Speaker 13: Nichols went on a beach vacation and took his family 3411 03:04:47,879 --> 03:04:51,320 Speaker 13: into the ocean despite red flag riptide hazard condition warnings. 3412 03:04:51,920 --> 03:04:54,640 Speaker 13: He lost his life trying to rescue his son. And 3413 03:04:54,760 --> 03:04:58,560 Speaker 13: that's very sad. But drowning on vacation is not a 3414 03:04:58,720 --> 03:05:02,640 Speaker 13: line of duty death. When Indiana Department of Natural Resources 3415 03:05:02,680 --> 03:05:05,320 Speaker 13: Sergeant Ed Bollman and his friend drowned in the middle 3416 03:05:05,320 --> 03:05:08,200 Speaker 13: of a frozen lake while ice fishing, that wasn't a 3417 03:05:08,360 --> 03:05:11,200 Speaker 13: line of duty death. It's just a sad accident while 3418 03:05:11,280 --> 03:05:12,160 Speaker 13: dudes were hanging out. 3419 03:05:13,800 --> 03:05:17,400 Speaker 3: These people, they really, they really should have a bad 3420 03:05:17,440 --> 03:05:18,480 Speaker 3: time around water. 3421 03:05:21,240 --> 03:05:27,119 Speaker 13: Float. There is a shocking number of drowning desks where 3422 03:05:27,120 --> 03:05:29,000 Speaker 13: the cop just like the second his feet caught we 3423 03:05:29,160 --> 03:05:34,040 Speaker 13: he just disappeared. Don't get them wet. It's not a 3424 03:05:34,080 --> 03:05:35,720 Speaker 13: gremlin situation to. 3425 03:05:35,720 --> 03:05:40,040 Speaker 14: Include swimming in the cop test, right, Oh no, I 3426 03:05:40,120 --> 03:05:42,800 Speaker 14: mean these people barely know how to point their guns. 3427 03:05:43,040 --> 03:05:46,160 Speaker 6: Like expecting them to be able to swim is the 3428 03:05:46,200 --> 03:05:48,120 Speaker 6: standards or that that's a bit too high of a 3429 03:05:48,160 --> 03:05:48,959 Speaker 6: standard for them. 3430 03:05:49,640 --> 03:05:51,200 Speaker 13: I mean, to be fair, most of these deaths are 3431 03:05:51,280 --> 03:05:54,840 Speaker 13: single car accidents. One guy died after t boning a 3432 03:05:54,959 --> 03:05:58,240 Speaker 13: school bus. The children were fine, the children. 3433 03:05:58,000 --> 03:05:59,800 Speaker 3: Were oh, thank god, okay, thank god. 3434 03:06:00,600 --> 03:06:02,160 Speaker 2: Weh and so. 3435 03:06:02,320 --> 03:06:06,040 Speaker 13: Rather than a detailed statistical analysis relying on uniformly reported 3436 03:06:06,080 --> 03:06:10,760 Speaker 13: official data, the ODMP relies on user submitted content. So 3437 03:06:10,879 --> 03:06:16,280 Speaker 13: people are submitting things and then Wikipedia, Yeah, Wikipedia for bootleggers, no, 3438 03:06:16,959 --> 03:06:20,600 Speaker 13: no thanks. But when National Police Week rolls around, it's 3439 03:06:20,720 --> 03:06:25,240 Speaker 13: their inflated numbers in every infographic, not the FBI's methodologically 3440 03:06:25,320 --> 03:06:27,920 Speaker 13: consistent data. And if I'm being generous, you know you 3441 03:06:27,959 --> 03:06:30,200 Speaker 13: could write that off on the ease of access to 3442 03:06:30,280 --> 03:06:33,199 Speaker 13: the data on ODMP. It's very user friendly. It shows 3443 03:06:33,200 --> 03:06:35,240 Speaker 13: you a little picture and a bio of each officer. 3444 03:06:35,400 --> 03:06:38,520 Speaker 13: It's very easy to use. You can search by year, agency, 3445 03:06:38,640 --> 03:06:42,040 Speaker 13: cause of death, state, or an officer's name. It's not 3446 03:06:42,160 --> 03:06:44,640 Speaker 13: a wall of small text with little data tables and 3447 03:06:44,720 --> 03:06:47,920 Speaker 13: links to ZIP files of more data tables. The FBI's 3448 03:06:47,920 --> 03:06:50,440 Speaker 13: report is ugly and it's uncompelling, and it's sort of 3449 03:06:50,480 --> 03:06:53,320 Speaker 13: overwhelming to navigate. If that's not something you are interested 3450 03:06:53,360 --> 03:06:55,200 Speaker 13: in doing, so don't want to be too hard on 3451 03:06:55,240 --> 03:06:57,440 Speaker 13: the twenty two year old news anchor scrambling to put 3452 03:06:57,520 --> 03:06:59,720 Speaker 13: something on the screen at six o'clock. The officer down 3453 03:06:59,760 --> 03:07:01,480 Speaker 13: the more page makes it a matter of a few 3454 03:07:01,520 --> 03:07:03,920 Speaker 13: easy clicks for your local news anchor to find a 3455 03:07:03,959 --> 03:07:06,640 Speaker 13: handful of local interest stories to run on May fifteenth. 3456 03:07:07,600 --> 03:07:10,160 Speaker 13: But the people who run the website know exactly what 3457 03:07:10,280 --> 03:07:14,160 Speaker 13: they're doing, and it's an intentional ideological project to perpetuate 3458 03:07:14,240 --> 03:07:17,480 Speaker 13: the myth of the courageous, noble policeman doing America's most 3459 03:07:17,560 --> 03:07:20,280 Speaker 13: dangerous and thankless job, a job that is uniquely and 3460 03:07:20,360 --> 03:07:25,480 Speaker 13: outlandishly perilous, standing apart from any other profession, and that 3461 03:07:26,440 --> 03:07:29,240 Speaker 13: that's not true. That's not true. And for this I 3462 03:07:29,360 --> 03:07:33,160 Speaker 13: take you to another government agency's annual reports, the Bureau 3463 03:07:33,200 --> 03:07:34,400 Speaker 13: of Labor Statistics. 3464 03:07:34,640 --> 03:07:37,480 Speaker 3: Oh, I love this report. This is the best one. 3465 03:07:38,959 --> 03:07:39,440 Speaker 6: The Bureau of. 3466 03:07:39,440 --> 03:07:42,120 Speaker 13: Labor Statistics has consistently reported, I'm talking, you know, for 3467 03:07:42,160 --> 03:07:45,119 Speaker 13: the last thirty years, consistently since the nineties, a fatal 3468 03:07:45,200 --> 03:07:48,760 Speaker 13: workplace injury rate for police officers of around fourteen per 3469 03:07:48,920 --> 03:07:52,680 Speaker 13: one hundred thousand full time equivalent employees. You know, it 3470 03:07:52,800 --> 03:07:55,360 Speaker 13: varies year to year, but it's consistently a little under 3471 03:07:55,440 --> 03:07:59,120 Speaker 13: fourteen per hundred thousand. And of course, yes, that is 3472 03:07:59,280 --> 03:08:01,959 Speaker 13: higher than the now average for all labor categories. 3473 03:08:02,320 --> 03:08:03,360 Speaker 3: So for all workers. 3474 03:08:03,440 --> 03:08:06,080 Speaker 13: In the US, the workplace fatality rate is about three 3475 03:08:06,160 --> 03:08:08,840 Speaker 13: point seven per hundred thousand, So the cops are dying 3476 03:08:08,840 --> 03:08:11,440 Speaker 13: at a rate of four times higher than the average worker. 3477 03:08:12,320 --> 03:08:15,640 Speaker 13: And of course it's more dangerous if your job requires 3478 03:08:16,080 --> 03:08:18,840 Speaker 13: driving all day most of these cops die in car accidents. 3479 03:08:19,200 --> 03:08:22,120 Speaker 13: Or if your job involves mishandling a firearm every day, 3480 03:08:22,200 --> 03:08:25,000 Speaker 13: of course it's more dangerous to do that than it 3481 03:08:25,120 --> 03:08:27,440 Speaker 13: is to do data entry or be a cashier. I mean, 3482 03:08:27,520 --> 03:08:30,240 Speaker 13: obviously we do not have a high mortality rate for 3483 03:08:30,320 --> 03:08:34,040 Speaker 13: the average desk job. But while it is more dangerous 3484 03:08:34,080 --> 03:08:37,600 Speaker 13: than being a receptionist, policing doesn't even crack the top 3485 03:08:37,800 --> 03:08:42,560 Speaker 13: ten for most dangerous professions. Loggers are seven times more 3486 03:08:42,720 --> 03:08:45,200 Speaker 13: likely to die on the job. Roofers are more than 3487 03:08:45,280 --> 03:08:47,640 Speaker 13: four times more likely than a cop to die due 3488 03:08:47,640 --> 03:08:50,280 Speaker 13: to a workplace incident. Being a fisherman is more than 3489 03:08:50,320 --> 03:08:52,280 Speaker 13: three and a half times more dangerous than being a cop. 3490 03:08:52,840 --> 03:08:56,600 Speaker 13: General construction work is more than three times more dangerous 3491 03:08:56,600 --> 03:08:59,880 Speaker 13: than police work. Delivery drivers are more than twice as 3492 03:09:00,120 --> 03:09:02,080 Speaker 13: likely to die at work than a cop. It is 3493 03:09:02,120 --> 03:09:04,199 Speaker 13: more dangerous to be a day laborer on a farm 3494 03:09:04,280 --> 03:09:07,320 Speaker 13: picking fruit, or to drive a garbage truck. Being a 3495 03:09:07,400 --> 03:09:09,480 Speaker 13: cop has a similar level of risk of death by 3496 03:09:09,520 --> 03:09:13,320 Speaker 13: workplace incident as being a groundskeeper, So it is about 3497 03:09:13,440 --> 03:09:15,840 Speaker 13: as safe as being the guy that cuts the grass 3498 03:09:15,879 --> 03:09:16,320 Speaker 13: at the park. 3499 03:09:17,120 --> 03:09:17,320 Speaker 4: Yeah. 3500 03:09:17,360 --> 03:09:21,120 Speaker 6: And I think there's a real issue with a labor 3501 03:09:21,200 --> 03:09:25,720 Speaker 6: reporting for like the category of farm worker, because whenever 3502 03:09:25,760 --> 03:09:28,000 Speaker 6: you see data that says like farm worker, that can 3503 03:09:28,200 --> 03:09:30,680 Speaker 6: either mean someone who's actually a farm worker, or it 3504 03:09:30,760 --> 03:09:32,680 Speaker 6: can mean like a guy who sits in an air 3505 03:09:32,720 --> 03:09:36,800 Speaker 6: condition office every day. And even the bure of Laboristics 3506 03:09:36,879 --> 03:09:39,840 Speaker 6: is not very good at actually sifting those out because 3507 03:09:39,879 --> 03:09:43,760 Speaker 6: there's been a sustained effort by like farm owners to 3508 03:09:44,760 --> 03:09:47,520 Speaker 6: make sure this data is like as non transparent as possible. 3509 03:09:47,680 --> 03:09:50,880 Speaker 6: So I am I will say, I am fairly confident. 3510 03:09:51,000 --> 03:09:52,959 Speaker 6: I cannot say this is nasty effect. I am fairly 3511 03:09:53,000 --> 03:09:55,720 Speaker 6: confident that farming is actually significantly more dangerous than the 3512 03:09:55,760 --> 03:09:59,160 Speaker 6: real labor statistics says, so like it is so much 3513 03:09:59,240 --> 03:10:02,800 Speaker 6: more dangerous you like pick your food that it is 3514 03:10:02,920 --> 03:10:03,600 Speaker 6: to be a cop. 3515 03:10:04,120 --> 03:10:05,960 Speaker 13: And because I think for a lot of industries there 3516 03:10:06,040 --> 03:10:09,560 Speaker 13: is a lot of incentive to underreport workplace accidents, I 3517 03:10:09,600 --> 03:10:11,600 Speaker 13: think policing is one of the only industries where they 3518 03:10:11,600 --> 03:10:15,680 Speaker 13: are incentivized to over report accidents. Right, So the data 3519 03:10:15,800 --> 03:10:18,080 Speaker 13: is I mean, even for as skewed as the data 3520 03:10:18,160 --> 03:10:20,760 Speaker 13: may be at the point of entry, it's still a 3521 03:10:20,800 --> 03:10:22,280 Speaker 13: lot safer to be a cop than it is to 3522 03:10:22,400 --> 03:10:23,040 Speaker 13: drive a truck. 3523 03:10:24,520 --> 03:10:26,360 Speaker 14: And this is with the numbers of them like falling 3524 03:10:26,400 --> 03:10:27,039 Speaker 14: into a puddle. 3525 03:10:28,320 --> 03:10:28,440 Speaker 6: Right. 3526 03:10:29,240 --> 03:10:31,320 Speaker 13: Well, so I think the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 3527 03:10:31,400 --> 03:10:34,720 Speaker 13: probably using something closer to the FBI numbers, Okay, which 3528 03:10:34,800 --> 03:10:37,280 Speaker 13: is still I mean, you know, on. 3529 03:10:37,280 --> 03:10:40,960 Speaker 6: The other hand, cops are the biggest babies about this 3530 03:10:41,240 --> 03:10:42,800 Speaker 6: in the entire world. 3531 03:10:42,879 --> 03:10:45,640 Speaker 13: Because they can't paid leave. If every time you had 3532 03:10:45,680 --> 03:10:47,640 Speaker 13: a booboo at work you could just go home for 3533 03:10:47,720 --> 03:10:48,680 Speaker 13: a week, you'd do it too. 3534 03:10:49,760 --> 03:10:49,960 Speaker 2: Yeah. 3535 03:10:50,040 --> 03:10:51,680 Speaker 6: But also, I mean, just like in the media, it's 3536 03:10:51,720 --> 03:10:54,680 Speaker 6: like these people never shut up about how dangerous their 3537 03:10:54,760 --> 03:10:58,440 Speaker 6: job is, and it's like your job is more safe 3538 03:10:58,920 --> 03:11:02,880 Speaker 6: than like most of the actual hard jobs people work, 3539 03:11:03,000 --> 03:11:04,920 Speaker 6: like please shut up, Oh my god. 3540 03:11:06,920 --> 03:11:09,120 Speaker 13: And the one thing that all those jobs have in common, 3541 03:11:09,240 --> 03:11:12,360 Speaker 13: aside from requiring you to be braver, smarter, and stronger 3542 03:11:12,400 --> 03:11:16,400 Speaker 13: than a cop, they don't typically come with platinum level 3543 03:11:16,480 --> 03:11:20,720 Speaker 13: healthcare paid leave for minor booboos. State subsidized life insurance, 3544 03:11:20,920 --> 03:11:23,200 Speaker 13: a pension, a discount at the coffee shop, and a 3545 03:11:23,320 --> 03:11:24,199 Speaker 13: license to kill. 3546 03:11:24,840 --> 03:11:26,560 Speaker 3: Do you know what else has a license to kill? 3547 03:11:27,120 --> 03:11:30,320 Speaker 13: Okay, I was gonna say, before we get into really 3548 03:11:30,440 --> 03:11:33,520 Speaker 13: honoring our boys on this special day, I think we 3549 03:11:33,560 --> 03:11:36,440 Speaker 13: should take a quick ad break that is hopefully not 3550 03:11:36,520 --> 03:11:51,000 Speaker 13: an ad for the Washington State Patrol. Okay, And with 3551 03:11:51,120 --> 03:11:53,440 Speaker 13: all that background out of the way, would you care 3552 03:11:53,520 --> 03:11:56,480 Speaker 13: to join me in commemorating some of the officers our 3553 03:11:56,600 --> 03:11:59,240 Speaker 13: nation is honoring this National Police Week. 3554 03:11:59,480 --> 03:12:00,480 Speaker 14: This is what I came here for. 3555 03:12:01,160 --> 03:12:01,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, so excited. 3556 03:12:03,160 --> 03:12:04,920 Speaker 13: Now, before we get into the handful I picked out 3557 03:12:04,959 --> 03:12:06,560 Speaker 13: for us today, I want to be really clear for 3558 03:12:06,640 --> 03:12:08,879 Speaker 13: the boys over at the officer down memorial page, because 3559 03:12:08,879 --> 03:12:13,160 Speaker 13: their website specifically prohibits the use of their content for 3560 03:12:13,280 --> 03:12:16,600 Speaker 13: commercial purposes. So I will say I found these names 3561 03:12:16,640 --> 03:12:20,160 Speaker 13: on their website, but I don't trust their methodology enough 3562 03:12:20,200 --> 03:12:22,240 Speaker 13: to take their content at face value, so I wouldn't 3563 03:12:22,280 --> 03:12:24,880 Speaker 13: use it as a source anyway, even if I were 3564 03:12:24,920 --> 03:12:27,480 Speaker 13: allowed to do that. So for each of these vignettes, 3565 03:12:27,520 --> 03:12:30,320 Speaker 13: I pulled original contemporaneous local reporting on the incidents, and 3566 03:12:30,440 --> 03:12:34,400 Speaker 13: in some cases actual court records, so you can't get me. 3567 03:12:37,520 --> 03:12:41,000 Speaker 13: In twenty ten, Saint Joseph, Missouri police officer Dan Dacry 3568 03:12:41,120 --> 03:12:44,480 Speaker 13: was participating in a training exercise. During a break, he 3569 03:12:44,560 --> 03:12:47,040 Speaker 13: and another officer put down the training weapons they've been using, 3570 03:12:47,280 --> 03:12:51,080 Speaker 13: which were loaded with something called simmunition, So simulated ammunition. 3571 03:12:51,160 --> 03:12:54,760 Speaker 13: It's not real bullets, it's a plastic, non lethal object 3572 03:12:54,879 --> 03:12:55,360 Speaker 13: that goes. 3573 03:12:55,240 --> 03:12:55,640 Speaker 2: In the gun. 3574 03:12:56,400 --> 03:12:59,320 Speaker 13: Before leaving the training facility, which was a recently closed 3575 03:12:59,360 --> 03:13:02,400 Speaker 13: elementary score to walk to a nearby convenience store to 3576 03:13:02,400 --> 03:13:05,320 Speaker 13: get a soda, the officers put down their training weapons 3577 03:13:05,560 --> 03:13:08,080 Speaker 13: and holstered their duty weapons. So to walk down the 3578 03:13:08,120 --> 03:13:09,920 Speaker 13: street to get to the seven eleven, they needed their 3579 03:13:09,959 --> 03:13:11,480 Speaker 13: real guns, so they put their real guns back on 3580 03:13:11,560 --> 03:13:15,520 Speaker 13: in case they encountered any emergency situations. Yeah, in case, 3581 03:13:15,640 --> 03:13:18,680 Speaker 13: you know, in case they saw it. We'll get to 3582 03:13:18,760 --> 03:13:23,480 Speaker 13: a dog, so they holstered their duty weapons. Upon returning 3583 03:13:23,480 --> 03:13:26,080 Speaker 13: after their break, drinks in hand, officer to Cry asked 3584 03:13:26,120 --> 03:13:29,680 Speaker 13: his colleague, officer Jason Strong, to shoot him with a 3585 03:13:29,760 --> 03:13:33,000 Speaker 13: simmunition round because he wanted to know what it would 3586 03:13:33,160 --> 03:13:33,640 Speaker 13: feel like. 3587 03:13:35,280 --> 03:13:39,200 Speaker 14: Oh my gosh, that's just a beautiful desire, you know, 3588 03:13:39,480 --> 03:13:40,039 Speaker 14: just curious. 3589 03:13:40,200 --> 03:13:44,240 Speaker 13: He's just curious, you know, a day would be curious, 3590 03:13:45,959 --> 03:13:48,760 Speaker 13: and so officers Strong drew his weapon and shot officer 3591 03:13:48,840 --> 03:13:54,280 Speaker 13: to Cry in the back. I guess they both forgot 3592 03:13:54,520 --> 03:13:57,040 Speaker 13: that they put their real guns back on and not 3593 03:13:57,160 --> 03:13:59,520 Speaker 13: their training weapons. So I don't know if you ever 3594 03:14:00,040 --> 03:14:02,240 Speaker 13: may you probably know this, but the if it's not 3595 03:14:02,360 --> 03:14:04,560 Speaker 13: a real gun, if it has fake bullets in it, 3596 03:14:04,640 --> 03:14:07,520 Speaker 13: if it is a training object, it has an orange tip. 3597 03:14:07,920 --> 03:14:09,720 Speaker 14: I was going to ask that. I was going to ask, 3598 03:14:09,760 --> 03:14:11,960 Speaker 14: you can't look identical to a real gun. 3599 03:14:12,320 --> 03:14:17,040 Speaker 13: They're easily visually distinguishable for an important reason. And I 3600 03:14:17,080 --> 03:14:19,800 Speaker 13: guess he didn't look so he pulled it out and 3601 03:14:19,800 --> 03:14:22,560 Speaker 13: shot him in the back, and the officer Decry died 3602 03:14:22,640 --> 03:14:23,280 Speaker 13: later that day. 3603 03:14:23,520 --> 03:14:24,760 Speaker 14: Wow incredible. 3604 03:14:25,120 --> 03:14:25,800 Speaker 3: Well. 3605 03:14:26,560 --> 03:14:30,160 Speaker 13: Later reporting on the incident indicates the department did say 3606 03:14:30,160 --> 03:14:32,520 Speaker 13: they were going to revise some of their policies regarding 3607 03:14:32,560 --> 03:14:36,440 Speaker 13: standard procedure for checking weapons in and out at training exercises. 3608 03:14:36,720 --> 03:14:38,320 Speaker 13: So you have to check your weapon in when you 3609 03:14:38,440 --> 03:14:40,560 Speaker 13: get your toy gun, and then you check it back out. 3610 03:14:41,320 --> 03:14:44,440 Speaker 13: They did not do that previously, but they revised those 3611 03:14:44,480 --> 03:14:48,160 Speaker 13: procedures and declined to comment further. The officer who killed 3612 03:14:48,240 --> 03:14:50,720 Speaker 13: Dan Decry was not charged and remained with the department. 3613 03:14:51,240 --> 03:14:53,840 Speaker 13: Officer Decrai's family received a settlement of three hundred and 3614 03:14:53,879 --> 03:14:57,320 Speaker 13: seventy six thousand dollars from the City of Saint Joseph. Again, 3615 03:14:57,400 --> 03:15:00,320 Speaker 13: settlement money does not come from police departments. It comes 3616 03:15:00,360 --> 03:15:03,320 Speaker 13: from the municipality. It comes from just the taxpayers. It 3617 03:15:03,360 --> 03:15:05,240 Speaker 13: does not affect the police's budget to do this. 3618 03:15:05,600 --> 03:15:06,400 Speaker 14: That enrages me. 3619 03:15:08,040 --> 03:15:11,119 Speaker 6: You know, to give to give credit to that guy, though, 3620 03:15:11,440 --> 03:15:14,840 Speaker 6: actually hitting your cop, hitting their target on the first 3621 03:15:14,879 --> 03:15:16,279 Speaker 6: shot is pretty remarkable. 3622 03:15:16,320 --> 03:15:17,680 Speaker 3: That that is a shooting. 3623 03:15:17,760 --> 03:15:19,280 Speaker 6: The guy in the back on the first tries a 3624 03:15:19,320 --> 03:15:23,680 Speaker 6: pretty remarkable feet of cop marksmanship. So maybe for his 3625 03:15:23,760 --> 03:15:26,560 Speaker 6: knee though that's true, we don't know he was heading 3626 03:15:26,600 --> 03:15:27,000 Speaker 6: for the back. 3627 03:15:28,240 --> 03:15:30,280 Speaker 13: It's just remarkable. I just want to know what it 3628 03:15:30,320 --> 03:15:31,040 Speaker 13: would feel like. 3629 03:15:31,440 --> 03:15:33,520 Speaker 14: I wonder how close he was too. He must have 3630 03:15:33,520 --> 03:15:35,000 Speaker 14: been close. 3631 03:15:35,120 --> 03:15:37,520 Speaker 13: Yeah, I imagine there was sort of a conversational distance. 3632 03:15:37,680 --> 03:15:42,760 Speaker 14: That's insane. That is just I cannot well, well. 3633 03:15:42,640 --> 03:15:45,760 Speaker 13: Well, well, our next story of a cop who should 3634 03:15:45,840 --> 03:15:48,000 Speaker 13: not have gotten wet. It was not actually even about 3635 03:15:48,000 --> 03:15:53,000 Speaker 13: a cop. In two thousand and seven, David Polling drowned 3636 03:15:53,040 --> 03:15:56,720 Speaker 13: in the Ohio River. Polling, Who's thirty two at the time, 3637 03:15:56,800 --> 03:15:59,160 Speaker 13: had previously been employed as a police officer with the 3638 03:15:59,160 --> 03:16:02,600 Speaker 13: Gallipolis Police Department and at a different time as a 3639 03:16:02,640 --> 03:16:05,680 Speaker 13: sheriff's deputy with the Galia County Sheriff's Office, So by 3640 03:16:05,760 --> 03:16:07,640 Speaker 13: thirty two he's been both a police officer and a 3641 03:16:07,680 --> 03:16:09,959 Speaker 13: sheriff's deputy, but he is neither of those things anymore. 3642 03:16:10,640 --> 03:16:12,600 Speaker 13: In two thousand and seven, he was working as a 3643 03:16:12,879 --> 03:16:17,520 Speaker 13: parole officer. In the reporting from the time, it's not 3644 03:16:17,720 --> 03:16:22,000 Speaker 13: actually clear why he was present, but he was nearby 3645 03:16:22,400 --> 03:16:25,039 Speaker 13: when a police officer stopped a pedestrian on the sidewalk 3646 03:16:25,120 --> 03:16:27,600 Speaker 13: and frisked him because he suspected this man may have 3647 03:16:27,760 --> 03:16:29,840 Speaker 13: just come out of the house where he believed drug 3648 03:16:29,959 --> 03:16:32,120 Speaker 13: deals were being conducted, so he's doing a stop and 3649 03:16:32,160 --> 03:16:35,080 Speaker 13: frisk on a guy mined in his business. The man 3650 03:16:35,320 --> 03:16:37,560 Speaker 13: was not charged with a drug offense when this was 3651 03:16:37,600 --> 03:16:39,880 Speaker 13: all over, so I guess they didn't find drugs. But 3652 03:16:40,000 --> 03:16:43,640 Speaker 13: during the encounter, the man bolted, and Polling, who again 3653 03:16:44,080 --> 03:16:47,360 Speaker 13: had a cop just a guy who's nearby, chased after him. 3654 03:16:47,920 --> 03:16:50,400 Speaker 13: The man jumped into the Ohio River, and Polling jumped 3655 03:16:50,400 --> 03:16:54,000 Speaker 13: in after him. The suspect, Joseph Harris, made it quickly 3656 03:16:54,080 --> 03:16:55,720 Speaker 13: to a small island in the middle of the river, 3657 03:16:56,560 --> 03:17:00,920 Speaker 13: but polling immediately after hitting the water, sank and disappeared. 3658 03:17:01,840 --> 03:17:02,520 Speaker 6: No, he did not. 3659 03:17:04,240 --> 03:17:06,640 Speaker 13: It took hours for divers to recover his body. 3660 03:17:07,600 --> 03:17:09,959 Speaker 14: When you said they didn't float, that wasn't a joke. 3661 03:17:10,520 --> 03:17:12,640 Speaker 13: No, he just disappeared, like the second was the water. 3662 03:17:12,720 --> 03:17:13,440 Speaker 13: He was just gone. 3663 03:17:14,520 --> 03:17:14,800 Speaker 2: That is. 3664 03:17:16,440 --> 03:17:18,039 Speaker 14: Comical. I can't believe that's real. 3665 03:17:18,640 --> 03:17:21,240 Speaker 13: Like, did he not did he know he couldn't swim? 3666 03:17:22,760 --> 03:17:23,840 Speaker 6: He could float? 3667 03:17:24,200 --> 03:17:24,520 Speaker 4: Like what? 3668 03:17:24,879 --> 03:17:26,280 Speaker 14: He just stuck down to the bar. 3669 03:17:26,640 --> 03:17:28,960 Speaker 6: It's it's so good too, because it's like, you know, 3670 03:17:29,280 --> 03:17:33,000 Speaker 6: you could attribute this to just purely like the first 3671 03:17:33,040 --> 03:17:34,800 Speaker 6: story of a drowning, where it's like, Okay, the cop 3672 03:17:34,920 --> 03:17:36,920 Speaker 6: clearly went into a situation he shouldn't have been in 3673 03:17:37,000 --> 03:17:39,640 Speaker 6: because he's a cop and doesn't think about, oh wait, 3674 03:17:39,680 --> 03:17:40,720 Speaker 6: the ways you get to kill people. 3675 03:17:40,760 --> 03:17:43,760 Speaker 3: Like No, clearly this river was symable. The other guy 3676 03:17:43,920 --> 03:17:45,119 Speaker 3: made it made. 3677 03:17:45,560 --> 03:17:47,840 Speaker 13: The other guy was fine. Well, the other guy was 3678 03:17:47,920 --> 03:17:50,520 Speaker 13: fine until they charged him with manslaughter and he did 3679 03:17:50,600 --> 03:17:51,520 Speaker 13: four years in jail. 3680 03:17:51,760 --> 03:17:54,000 Speaker 14: Oh but he was but wait, this is the guy 3681 03:17:54,040 --> 03:17:56,160 Speaker 14: that didn't have was in charge with drugs but was 3682 03:17:56,240 --> 03:17:57,400 Speaker 14: charged with man kind of. 3683 03:17:57,520 --> 03:17:59,640 Speaker 6: A bad slaughter because the other guy jumped in. 3684 03:18:01,320 --> 03:18:04,280 Speaker 14: Wait for manslaughter for the cop that sunk. 3685 03:18:04,480 --> 03:18:08,040 Speaker 13: Yeah, yeah, wow, but like some guy who's not even 3686 03:18:08,080 --> 03:18:11,480 Speaker 13: a cop is just chasing you. That's kind of on him. Yeah, 3687 03:18:11,640 --> 03:18:13,360 Speaker 13: he was convicted of manslaughter. 3688 03:18:13,720 --> 03:18:17,520 Speaker 14: That is I hate that. But also can you just 3689 03:18:17,680 --> 03:18:21,840 Speaker 14: imagine just this cop like Mario, jumping into like a 3690 03:18:21,959 --> 03:18:26,320 Speaker 14: river and just completely just like like the video game 3691 03:18:26,400 --> 03:18:27,720 Speaker 14: sound and the bottom. 3692 03:18:29,720 --> 03:18:32,640 Speaker 13: And you do have to wonder how he had worked 3693 03:18:32,680 --> 03:18:35,080 Speaker 13: for two different police agencies and then didn't work for 3694 03:18:35,200 --> 03:18:37,879 Speaker 13: either of any more by the age of thirty two. 3695 03:18:39,280 --> 03:18:39,480 Speaker 4: I did. 3696 03:18:39,680 --> 03:18:41,760 Speaker 13: I did a little looking. I couldn't find anything about that, 3697 03:18:41,879 --> 03:18:44,200 Speaker 13: but it's it's an unusual career trajectory. 3698 03:18:44,560 --> 03:18:48,400 Speaker 6: Yeah. Yeah, it's like he's getting bounced down to lower 3699 03:18:48,520 --> 03:18:49,480 Speaker 6: leagues every time. 3700 03:18:49,520 --> 03:18:53,120 Speaker 3: It's like, howre you that? It's you're a cop? Like, 3701 03:18:53,200 --> 03:18:55,040 Speaker 3: it's how do you screw that? 3702 03:18:55,280 --> 03:18:56,120 Speaker 2: Up? Right? 3703 03:18:56,160 --> 03:18:58,000 Speaker 13: It would seem that he wasn't a cop anymore because 3704 03:18:58,000 --> 03:19:02,280 Speaker 13: he wasn't allowed to be a copy. Yeah, And now 3705 03:19:02,360 --> 03:19:04,240 Speaker 13: this third one is the one that I had in 3706 03:19:04,320 --> 03:19:06,720 Speaker 13: mind when I first started writing this episode, and it's 3707 03:19:06,760 --> 03:19:09,480 Speaker 13: really just on its surface, kind of the perfect encapsulation 3708 03:19:09,600 --> 03:19:11,600 Speaker 13: of this foolish project, right, it's got a guy getting 3709 03:19:11,600 --> 03:19:13,280 Speaker 13: shot in the crotch. It's got a cop trying to 3710 03:19:13,360 --> 03:19:15,840 Speaker 13: kill a dog. It's got a dirty cop. It's got 3711 03:19:15,879 --> 03:19:18,240 Speaker 13: a cop staying on the force after a string of 3712 03:19:18,360 --> 03:19:23,160 Speaker 13: expensive mishaps. This is just policing. But when I started 3713 03:19:23,160 --> 03:19:26,600 Speaker 13: looking for primary sources about this incident, actually just kept 3714 03:19:26,680 --> 03:19:28,680 Speaker 13: getting weirder. And now I'm kind of down a new 3715 03:19:28,760 --> 03:19:31,160 Speaker 13: rabbit hole of got some requests out for more documents. 3716 03:19:31,959 --> 03:19:34,680 Speaker 13: I'm gonna figure this out. Something happened here. But before 3717 03:19:34,680 --> 03:19:38,040 Speaker 13: I tell you about Officer Henry Macalene and Junior, we'll 3718 03:19:38,040 --> 03:19:50,840 Speaker 13: take another quick ad break, all right. I hope he 3719 03:19:51,000 --> 03:19:53,080 Speaker 13: used that ad break time not only to think about 3720 03:19:53,080 --> 03:19:56,360 Speaker 13: products and services, but to reflect on the sacrifice of 3721 03:19:56,920 --> 03:20:00,400 Speaker 13: the parole officer who drowned in the Ohio River. On 3722 03:20:00,520 --> 03:20:04,320 Speaker 13: August twenty first, two thousand, Miami Dade Police officers Henry 3723 03:20:04,360 --> 03:20:08,440 Speaker 13: Macalene and Junior and his partner Ittala Elias responded to 3724 03:20:08,520 --> 03:20:10,720 Speaker 13: a request from a home alarm company to check out 3725 03:20:10,760 --> 03:20:12,800 Speaker 13: what turned out to be a false alarm at a 3726 03:20:12,840 --> 03:20:16,240 Speaker 13: residential home in southwest Miami. Arriving on the scene, they 3727 03:20:16,280 --> 03:20:19,360 Speaker 13: found no sign of a break in, nothing unusual, and 3728 03:20:19,440 --> 03:20:22,640 Speaker 13: no one answered the front door. Normally a cop would 3729 03:20:22,640 --> 03:20:25,560 Speaker 13: probably just leave. They don't really like working. They don't 3730 03:20:25,560 --> 03:20:27,240 Speaker 13: really like doing their jobs. It's hard and it's boring, 3731 03:20:27,280 --> 03:20:29,080 Speaker 13: and they have candy Crush to play Molly. 3732 03:20:29,160 --> 03:20:31,240 Speaker 14: It's dangerous, it's dangerous. 3733 03:20:31,959 --> 03:20:34,960 Speaker 13: It was a weekday, afternoon in a nice neighborhood in Miami, 3734 03:20:35,520 --> 03:20:38,160 Speaker 13: but the home belonged to a retired Miami police detective. 3735 03:20:38,680 --> 03:20:41,640 Speaker 13: So they took you know, they did the extra mile. So, 3736 03:20:41,840 --> 03:20:44,280 Speaker 13: after determining there was no sign of the breaking out front, 3737 03:20:44,320 --> 03:20:46,080 Speaker 13: no one answered the door, they went around the back 3738 03:20:46,120 --> 03:20:49,520 Speaker 13: of the house and entered the backyard, where two rottweilers 3739 03:20:49,600 --> 03:20:52,760 Speaker 13: quote came running at them. According to a South Florida 3740 03:20:52,879 --> 03:20:56,920 Speaker 13: Sun article that week, Macalenan pulled out his expandable baton 3741 03:20:57,000 --> 03:21:01,560 Speaker 13: and began beating the dogs. Really just doing their job 3742 03:21:01,600 --> 03:21:02,480 Speaker 13: in their own backyard. 3743 03:21:02,920 --> 03:21:04,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, like that. 3744 03:21:04,360 --> 03:21:06,400 Speaker 6: That's the normal thing that happens when. 3745 03:21:06,320 --> 03:21:09,400 Speaker 3: You walk towards a dog, is it runs towards. 3746 03:21:09,120 --> 03:21:12,200 Speaker 14: You're invading its territory. You shouldn't be there. 3747 03:21:12,879 --> 03:21:14,800 Speaker 13: You gotta figure a guy who has a home alarm 3748 03:21:14,920 --> 03:21:18,000 Speaker 13: system and two rottweilers like that, is that dog's job? 3749 03:21:18,400 --> 03:21:21,840 Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I keep thinking about that, uh, that 3750 03:21:22,160 --> 03:21:25,160 Speaker 6: picture of Mike Bloomberg when he was running in twenty twenty. 3751 03:21:25,280 --> 03:21:29,120 Speaker 6: They were like, he just grabs the dog's face. Oh yeah, 3752 03:21:30,000 --> 03:21:32,959 Speaker 6: where It's like there's just something like on a fundamental level, 3753 03:21:33,280 --> 03:21:37,119 Speaker 6: like we co evolved with this animal, and like if 3754 03:21:37,160 --> 03:21:42,520 Speaker 6: you like cannot do the basic this is a dog 3755 03:21:43,040 --> 03:21:45,039 Speaker 6: and your response is like I'm gonna grab his face, 3756 03:21:45,160 --> 03:21:46,960 Speaker 6: or your response is I Am going to beat this 3757 03:21:47,120 --> 03:21:50,600 Speaker 6: dog up with a baton, like you have somehow fundamentally 3758 03:21:50,680 --> 03:21:52,840 Speaker 6: failed at like the process of being human. 3759 03:21:53,959 --> 03:21:56,640 Speaker 13: And also like if the dogs are immediately reacting to 3760 03:21:56,760 --> 03:21:59,360 Speaker 13: your presence in the yard and they were not previously 3761 03:21:59,440 --> 03:22:02,280 Speaker 13: reacting to anything, maybe you could assume there was no 3762 03:22:02,360 --> 03:22:04,360 Speaker 13: break in. Maybe you could assume the dogs have it 3763 03:22:04,440 --> 03:22:08,120 Speaker 13: covered and you maybe don't break into the yard. But 3764 03:22:08,240 --> 03:22:10,440 Speaker 13: our boy, Henry, he's beating these dogs with a stick, 3765 03:22:10,920 --> 03:22:13,360 Speaker 13: and I guess maybe he was struggling, so his partner, 3766 03:22:13,480 --> 03:22:17,320 Speaker 13: officer Elias, drew her service weapon and attempted to shoot 3767 03:22:17,400 --> 03:22:20,600 Speaker 13: the dogs as he is beating them. Wow. Now, we 3768 03:22:20,720 --> 03:22:24,800 Speaker 13: talked before about some problems with aiming, right, cops don't 3769 03:22:24,920 --> 03:22:31,840 Speaker 13: have great marksmanship. When you're talking about a complicated physical situation, right, 3770 03:22:31,920 --> 03:22:34,320 Speaker 13: they're sort of entangled. The dogs are small, the man 3771 03:22:34,480 --> 03:22:39,880 Speaker 13: is big. She shot him in the dick, so he's 3772 03:22:39,920 --> 03:22:43,280 Speaker 13: beating these dogs. She shoots him in the groin. It 3773 03:22:43,360 --> 03:22:46,480 Speaker 13: doesn't say what happened to the dogs, but it doesn't 3774 03:22:46,520 --> 03:22:49,720 Speaker 13: indicate she fired her service weapon multiple times, so maybe 3775 03:22:49,760 --> 03:22:53,040 Speaker 13: she just shot him and then put it up. He 3776 03:22:53,200 --> 03:22:56,440 Speaker 13: was airlifted to the hospital to undergo emergency groin surgery, 3777 03:22:56,800 --> 03:23:01,440 Speaker 13: and he did survive. Oh mackalleenen continued to serve with 3778 03:23:01,520 --> 03:23:05,800 Speaker 13: the Miami Dade Police Department for another sixteen years, and 3779 03:23:05,879 --> 03:23:07,800 Speaker 13: he was still with the department when he passed away 3780 03:23:07,920 --> 03:23:11,920 Speaker 13: in twenty sixteen at the age of sixty six. His 3781 03:23:12,040 --> 03:23:14,960 Speaker 13: own obituary does not list a cause of death, only 3782 03:23:15,040 --> 03:23:17,119 Speaker 13: that his wife was at his bedside for thirty six 3783 03:23:17,240 --> 03:23:20,640 Speaker 13: days before he passed. The first mention of macleen in's 3784 03:23:20,640 --> 03:23:23,200 Speaker 13: passing being a line of duty death is in a 3785 03:23:23,400 --> 03:23:28,440 Speaker 13: National Police Week local news piece the following year, which 3786 03:23:28,520 --> 03:23:32,680 Speaker 13: lists his cause of death as accidental gunfire. A year later, 3787 03:23:32,800 --> 03:23:35,960 Speaker 13: in twenty eighteen, a Police Week story indicates that he 3788 03:23:36,080 --> 03:23:39,200 Speaker 13: was quote killed by gunfire on the date that he 3789 03:23:39,280 --> 03:23:42,280 Speaker 13: died in twenty sixteen, it's not until years later that 3790 03:23:42,360 --> 03:23:45,160 Speaker 13: you start to see claims that his cause of death 3791 03:23:45,280 --> 03:23:47,960 Speaker 13: was due to complications from the sixteen year old wound. 3792 03:23:48,360 --> 03:23:51,440 Speaker 13: So it's not clear where that claim even originated. But 3793 03:23:51,520 --> 03:23:54,520 Speaker 13: he did die sixteen years after being shot, and during 3794 03:23:54,520 --> 03:23:57,200 Speaker 13: those intervening sixteen years, he was well enough to continue 3795 03:23:57,240 --> 03:23:58,120 Speaker 13: to serve on the force. 3796 03:24:00,280 --> 03:24:02,640 Speaker 14: I mean, if you know, if the family went with 3797 03:24:03,120 --> 03:24:05,280 Speaker 14: that lie, maybe they got money out of it. I 3798 03:24:05,280 --> 03:24:05,560 Speaker 14: don't know. 3799 03:24:07,560 --> 03:24:09,200 Speaker 13: I guess it's possible. 3800 03:24:09,320 --> 03:24:11,199 Speaker 14: Well, I mean, there was what else, What other motive 3801 03:24:11,240 --> 03:24:13,440 Speaker 14: is there other than I don't know. 3802 03:24:13,959 --> 03:24:16,800 Speaker 13: I see an indication that there was a wrongful death lawsuit. 3803 03:24:16,879 --> 03:24:19,640 Speaker 13: After he died. He did file a civil lawsuit in 3804 03:24:19,680 --> 03:24:22,680 Speaker 13: two thousand and four against the homeowner retired Miami detective 3805 03:24:22,720 --> 03:24:26,360 Speaker 13: Haysou's Karamas, but that was dismissed and he didn't even 3806 03:24:26,400 --> 03:24:28,400 Speaker 13: recover attorney's fees. He didn't get anything out of that. 3807 03:24:29,120 --> 03:24:34,080 Speaker 6: Wait, so he tried, so he started beating two dogs 3808 03:24:34,160 --> 03:24:37,080 Speaker 6: with a baton, and his partner shot him in the balls. 3809 03:24:37,160 --> 03:24:39,880 Speaker 6: Tried to hit the dog, and he tried to sue 3810 03:24:40,200 --> 03:24:42,120 Speaker 6: the guy whose house you broke into. 3811 03:24:43,160 --> 03:24:45,080 Speaker 3: I mean, this is incredible. 3812 03:24:45,520 --> 03:24:49,560 Speaker 13: If the homeowner hadn't been a retired potentially dirty cop. 3813 03:24:49,959 --> 03:24:52,400 Speaker 13: I found some articles in the eighties alleging that this, 3814 03:24:52,720 --> 03:24:55,360 Speaker 13: So I'm not alleging in the in the eighties, this 3815 03:24:55,840 --> 03:24:59,279 Speaker 13: officer Hasus Karamas, who is deceased now, but was suspended 3816 03:24:59,360 --> 03:25:03,040 Speaker 13: briefly during an investigation into a ring of Miami officers 3817 03:25:03,080 --> 03:25:06,360 Speaker 13: who were trafficking cocaine. Of course, I don't know how 3818 03:25:06,440 --> 03:25:07,200 Speaker 13: that turned out. 3819 03:25:08,280 --> 03:25:11,640 Speaker 6: Well, I mean probably it went fine, like well. 3820 03:25:11,640 --> 03:25:13,440 Speaker 13: Yeah, he didn't get fired because he was still at 3821 03:25:13,440 --> 03:25:15,080 Speaker 13: a force in nineteen ninety seven when he shot a 3822 03:25:15,080 --> 03:25:16,199 Speaker 13: guy during a traffic stop. 3823 03:25:16,520 --> 03:25:18,760 Speaker 14: Wow Christ, but no. 3824 03:25:18,840 --> 03:25:22,200 Speaker 13: His his lawsuit against the homeowner, the alarm company, and 3825 03:25:22,400 --> 03:25:26,480 Speaker 13: the woman who shot him did not succeed. Did not succeed. 3826 03:25:27,400 --> 03:25:30,840 Speaker 14: I mean, at least there's that he loved being a 3827 03:25:30,920 --> 03:25:34,240 Speaker 14: cop so much getting his or did I say Crosser cop? 3828 03:25:34,640 --> 03:25:36,720 Speaker 14: He loved being a cop so much as Crosser shot 3829 03:25:36,760 --> 03:25:40,400 Speaker 14: off and he doesn't stop him. I didn't stop him. 3830 03:25:41,120 --> 03:25:43,200 Speaker 13: I do have a request into the court clerk in 3831 03:25:43,280 --> 03:25:46,160 Speaker 13: Miami to see if I can so the documents are 3832 03:25:46,200 --> 03:25:48,400 Speaker 13: so old that they're not all uploaded on the court website, 3833 03:25:48,480 --> 03:25:50,880 Speaker 13: but I would like to see the original civil complaint 3834 03:25:50,920 --> 03:25:52,960 Speaker 13: because maybe it goes into more detail about sort of 3835 03:25:53,080 --> 03:25:55,000 Speaker 13: the severity of his injuries and the ways in which 3836 03:25:55,040 --> 03:25:57,640 Speaker 13: that he he truly suffered from this. Maybe that'll give 3837 03:25:57,680 --> 03:25:59,680 Speaker 13: us some more insight into how it killed him. 3838 03:25:59,600 --> 03:26:00,680 Speaker 6: Sixty years later. 3839 03:26:01,200 --> 03:26:03,880 Speaker 13: So hopefully, hopefully the clerk in Miami gets back to 3840 03:26:03,959 --> 03:26:05,920 Speaker 13: me with that, because I do want to know what happened. 3841 03:26:05,640 --> 03:26:06,360 Speaker 2: To the dogs. 3842 03:26:06,720 --> 03:26:09,400 Speaker 14: Oh yeah, that's all I really care about there now. 3843 03:26:09,520 --> 03:26:12,680 Speaker 13: The officer who shot Macalene and in the crotch, Ittala Elias, 3844 03:26:13,200 --> 03:26:15,120 Speaker 13: had been on the force for about five years at 3845 03:26:15,120 --> 03:26:17,760 Speaker 13: the time of the incident. In that time, she had 3846 03:26:17,800 --> 03:26:26,880 Speaker 13: wrecked her patrol car six times wow, injured her hand 3847 03:26:27,120 --> 03:26:30,720 Speaker 13: slamming it in a car door, and racked up fifty 3848 03:26:30,800 --> 03:26:35,000 Speaker 13: thousand dollars in workman's comp and medical expense reimbursement after 3849 03:26:35,160 --> 03:26:37,959 Speaker 13: falling off a bicycle during a training exercise. 3850 03:26:37,959 --> 03:26:38,119 Speaker 2: Oh. 3851 03:26:40,600 --> 03:26:43,120 Speaker 13: As of twenty twenty two, Ittala Elias is still an 3852 03:26:43,160 --> 03:26:45,960 Speaker 13: officer with the Miami Dade Police Department, earning one hundred 3853 03:26:45,959 --> 03:26:47,200 Speaker 13: and eight thousand dollars a year. 3854 03:26:47,760 --> 03:26:54,360 Speaker 14: Wow, that's just I mean, I wonder how many more 3855 03:26:54,440 --> 03:26:57,360 Speaker 14: car accidents she's she's been in. If that was her 3856 03:26:57,840 --> 03:27:01,039 Speaker 14: record in five years. Wow, that's impressive. 3857 03:27:01,120 --> 03:27:03,920 Speaker 6: Like, I am trying to think of another job that 3858 03:27:04,040 --> 03:27:07,560 Speaker 6: you could keep after crashing your car six times. 3859 03:27:07,360 --> 03:27:09,360 Speaker 13: On the j I'm shooting someone in the dick. 3860 03:27:09,959 --> 03:27:16,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, chid cops, well, cops. 3861 03:27:16,640 --> 03:27:19,160 Speaker 6: Cops have the kind of job security that was previously 3862 03:27:19,320 --> 03:27:22,920 Speaker 6: reserved for like workers in state owned industries in Maoist China. 3863 03:27:23,480 --> 03:27:25,840 Speaker 6: Like no one else has ever had this kind of 3864 03:27:26,000 --> 03:27:27,320 Speaker 6: job security before. 3865 03:27:28,360 --> 03:27:31,879 Speaker 13: And so I will end our stories here because Sophie 3866 03:27:31,920 --> 03:27:33,200 Speaker 13: will put one of us in the pit if the 3867 03:27:33,280 --> 03:27:36,160 Speaker 13: episodes keep coming out over an hour long. But there 3868 03:27:36,200 --> 03:27:40,040 Speaker 13: are an unbelievable number of stories of cops getting hurt 3869 03:27:40,160 --> 03:27:43,200 Speaker 13: doing shit they were not supposed to be doing. A 3870 03:27:43,280 --> 03:27:45,600 Speaker 13: cop who died because he didn't know which antibiotics he 3871 03:27:45,680 --> 03:27:47,959 Speaker 13: was allergic to when he went to the hospital because 3872 03:27:47,959 --> 03:27:50,320 Speaker 13: he was messing around with an injured feral cat and 3873 03:27:50,400 --> 03:27:54,280 Speaker 13: got scratched the fuck. A prison guard who tripped in 3874 03:27:54,360 --> 03:27:57,640 Speaker 13: the wreckyard and hit his head. A shocking number of 3875 03:27:57,720 --> 03:28:01,400 Speaker 13: accidents at the shooting range or during training exitizes. 3876 03:28:01,000 --> 03:28:02,680 Speaker 14: THEASE wan know what it felt like. THEASE want to 3877 03:28:02,720 --> 03:28:03,480 Speaker 14: know what it felt. 3878 03:28:03,320 --> 03:28:07,520 Speaker 13: Like, including one very weird one where they were role 3879 03:28:07,600 --> 03:28:10,080 Speaker 13: playing a scenario and so these were cops in the 3880 03:28:10,480 --> 03:28:13,800 Speaker 13: Gaming Commission, so casino cops, but during a training exercises, 3881 03:28:13,959 --> 03:28:16,360 Speaker 13: During a training exercise, they were role playing a scenario 3882 03:28:16,480 --> 03:28:18,800 Speaker 13: where one of the cops was being attacked by an assailant, 3883 03:28:18,840 --> 03:28:21,280 Speaker 13: and he was supposed to, you know, roleplay it out right. 3884 03:28:21,320 --> 03:28:24,600 Speaker 13: They're pretending this is pretend they're in a conference room. 3885 03:28:25,120 --> 03:28:28,040 Speaker 13: But he got scared and drew his real gun and 3886 03:28:28,240 --> 03:28:31,480 Speaker 13: really shot and really killed the director of the Mississippi 3887 03:28:31,520 --> 03:28:40,160 Speaker 13: Gaming Commission. Almost every cop death was completely preventable. They're 3888 03:28:40,320 --> 03:28:43,120 Speaker 13: careless and they're reckless, and they're doing shit they should 3889 03:28:43,200 --> 03:28:46,520 Speaker 13: not be doing. They're counting normal wear and tear, like 3890 03:28:46,640 --> 03:28:49,360 Speaker 13: knee injuries and heart attacks as though these are noble 3891 03:28:49,440 --> 03:28:52,480 Speaker 13: deaths of martyrs. And it's all part of this ideological 3892 03:28:52,560 --> 03:28:55,960 Speaker 13: project of myth making around American policing, right, because you 3893 03:28:56,160 --> 03:28:58,920 Speaker 13: have to believe that this is a uniquely dangerous and 3894 03:28:59,120 --> 03:29:03,560 Speaker 13: frightening job only the bravest boys can do. Because they're 3895 03:29:03,680 --> 03:29:07,000 Speaker 13: under so much risk, they have to react the way 3896 03:29:07,000 --> 03:29:10,000 Speaker 13: that they do. They have to react with extreme violence. 3897 03:29:10,040 --> 03:29:12,400 Speaker 13: They have to shoot first and ask questions later because 3898 03:29:12,400 --> 03:29:15,240 Speaker 13: their job is just so dangerous, Right, And I think 3899 03:29:15,280 --> 03:29:18,160 Speaker 13: it's interesting as we drive to a clothes to draw 3900 03:29:18,160 --> 03:29:21,959 Speaker 13: a comparison here, right, because they react with great violence 3901 03:29:22,000 --> 03:29:25,960 Speaker 13: against us because of their fear of imaginary violence that 3902 03:29:26,080 --> 03:29:30,360 Speaker 13: they might face. So the FBI prepares this meticulous report 3903 03:29:30,440 --> 03:29:34,320 Speaker 13: every year with rigorous and mandatory data collection processes, so 3904 03:29:34,400 --> 03:29:36,800 Speaker 13: we have a comprehensive set of data about not just 3905 03:29:36,840 --> 03:29:39,600 Speaker 13: every cop who dies, but every cop who is assaulted 3906 03:29:39,680 --> 03:29:42,320 Speaker 13: on the job. The LEOCA report includes on the job 3907 03:29:42,480 --> 03:29:45,400 Speaker 13: assaults and injuries, so we have a very clear idea 3908 03:29:45,440 --> 03:29:48,240 Speaker 13: of how much violence and how many accidents cops are 3909 03:29:48,320 --> 03:29:51,160 Speaker 13: exposed to, mostly in the form of single car accidents. 3910 03:29:52,120 --> 03:29:53,080 Speaker 8: But we have the data. 3911 03:29:53,879 --> 03:29:57,880 Speaker 13: There is no equivalent data for the kinds of violence 3912 03:29:57,920 --> 03:30:02,000 Speaker 13: police perpetrate on others. The FBI only started collecting information 3913 03:30:02,160 --> 03:30:04,720 Speaker 13: for the National Use of Force Database in twenty nineteen, 3914 03:30:05,240 --> 03:30:08,720 Speaker 13: and participation in that data collection process remains optional. 3915 03:30:12,920 --> 03:30:16,600 Speaker 14: Yeah, three years ago, four five, what year it is. 3916 03:30:16,920 --> 03:30:21,760 Speaker 13: That was revoluntary. It's voluntary. So police departments do not 3917 03:30:22,040 --> 03:30:24,440 Speaker 13: have to tell anyone, They do not have to tell 3918 03:30:24,560 --> 03:30:28,240 Speaker 13: the federal government when they kill someone. They don't have 3919 03:30:28,280 --> 03:30:31,760 Speaker 13: to report that. So comprehensive data on police killings is 3920 03:30:31,800 --> 03:30:35,080 Speaker 13: something that only exists when newsrooms and nonprofits scrape the 3921 03:30:35,120 --> 03:30:38,320 Speaker 13: information together on their own. The Washington Post has a 3922 03:30:38,520 --> 03:30:42,000 Speaker 13: very thorough police shooting database, and nonprofit websites like Mapping 3923 03:30:42,080 --> 03:30:45,080 Speaker 13: Police Violence do their best to document each case, but 3924 03:30:45,240 --> 03:30:48,840 Speaker 13: even they admit they aren't capturing every fatal encounter with police. 3925 03:30:49,720 --> 03:30:53,080 Speaker 13: So while the FBI reports literally just a few dozen 3926 03:30:53,680 --> 03:30:57,840 Speaker 13: officers a year fall into the feloniously killed category in 3927 03:30:57,840 --> 03:31:00,720 Speaker 13: the Leoga report, so not the our accident one. So 3928 03:31:00,760 --> 03:31:03,360 Speaker 13: there's a few dozen actual killings of officers a year, 3929 03:31:05,240 --> 03:31:07,440 Speaker 13: we can only hope to know the names of the 3930 03:31:07,520 --> 03:31:11,520 Speaker 13: average of over twelve hundred people who are killed each 3931 03:31:11,600 --> 03:31:15,480 Speaker 13: year by a cop, and that does kind of send 3932 03:31:15,520 --> 03:31:20,800 Speaker 13: a message about whose lives matter. So as you celebrate 3933 03:31:20,959 --> 03:31:23,000 Speaker 13: National Police Week this week, I guess you'll be hearing 3934 03:31:23,040 --> 03:31:24,680 Speaker 13: this on Friday if you listen to it the day 3935 03:31:24,680 --> 03:31:28,520 Speaker 13: it comes out, just take a moment to remember our 3936 03:31:28,640 --> 03:31:32,879 Speaker 13: brave boys like Lonnie Burton, who tripped on a curb 3937 03:31:33,040 --> 03:31:36,920 Speaker 13: outside of the Wayland Baptist University police station and later 3938 03:31:37,040 --> 03:31:41,760 Speaker 13: died of complications, or brave officers like Trooper Jack Holland 3939 03:31:42,240 --> 03:31:46,439 Speaker 13: who died because he was allergic to yellowjackets, or officers 3940 03:31:46,560 --> 03:31:49,840 Speaker 13: like Deputy Sheriff Joseph Baka, who was trying to tackle 3941 03:31:49,879 --> 03:31:52,480 Speaker 13: a suspect to the ground and fell into a bee's nest. 3942 03:31:53,080 --> 03:31:55,800 Speaker 13: It turns out he was allergic to bees. 3943 03:31:58,600 --> 03:31:59,840 Speaker 3: It's beautiful, coach. 3944 03:32:00,080 --> 03:32:02,080 Speaker 13: Yeah, I should have I should have asked you both 3945 03:32:02,080 --> 03:32:03,920 Speaker 13: your hometown so I could get you a local boy, 3946 03:32:04,480 --> 03:32:10,800 Speaker 13: because one of my favorites is patrolman Billy Toot. Billy Toot. 3947 03:32:11,640 --> 03:32:14,440 Speaker 13: He was a jailer in Richmond who died when two 3948 03:32:14,520 --> 03:32:18,200 Speaker 13: inmates were trying to escape after they obtained pistols that 3949 03:32:18,280 --> 03:32:20,880 Speaker 13: were smuggled into the jail inside of a baked turkey. 3950 03:32:21,120 --> 03:32:22,280 Speaker 13: That just sounds like a cartoon. 3951 03:32:22,800 --> 03:32:24,280 Speaker 3: Hell not how it worked for them? 3952 03:32:24,879 --> 03:32:27,760 Speaker 13: Yeah, well it it was in nineteen thirty four. I 3953 03:32:27,800 --> 03:32:29,880 Speaker 13: don't think you could put guns inside of a turkey anymore. 3954 03:32:30,760 --> 03:32:33,920 Speaker 14: I just have a whole turkey as security detector or something. 3955 03:32:35,480 --> 03:32:38,480 Speaker 13: But yes, And I hope you're all having a safe 3956 03:32:38,640 --> 03:32:41,400 Speaker 13: and healthy police week and that you celebrate that by 3957 03:32:41,520 --> 03:32:43,400 Speaker 13: not encountering any policeman. 3958 03:32:47,280 --> 03:32:50,400 Speaker 1: Hey, we'll be back Monday with more episodes every week 3959 03:32:50,520 --> 03:32:52,360 Speaker 1: from now until the heat death of the Universe. 3960 03:32:53,000 --> 03:32:55,320 Speaker 13: It could happen here as a production of cool Zone Media. 3961 03:32:55,600 --> 03:32:58,200 Speaker 11: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 3962 03:32:58,280 --> 03:33:01,400 Speaker 11: cool zonemedia dot com, or check out on the iHeartRadio app, 3963 03:33:01,400 --> 03:33:04,600 Speaker 11: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts, you can 3964 03:33:04,640 --> 03:33:07,280 Speaker 11: find sources for It could happen here, updated monthly at 3965 03:33:07,360 --> 03:33:10,560 Speaker 11: coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.