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We believe in the power of empathy for human good. Ultimately, we aim to inspire people to EMBRACE EMPATHY.
hey guys I'm Karen, thank you
so much for tuning into this episode of middle-ground after the episode please stick around for a word from our sponsor or Skillshare learn how to get two months of Skillshare premium for free and hear about one of the courses that is keeping me sane during my time in self-isolation I'm glad it's keeping I like it alright Bhama was a representation of something important Obama didn't do anything but an abomination to us to this whole nation what's the biggest misconception black liberals have about you that we are so hating we hate our mom we hate our day we don't know history we're out of touch is that we don't have any real-world experiences we don't really know what we're doing what is a misconception black conservative people have about probably that I have no moral character I believe in chaos and anarchy no I believe in I believe in the rule of law I literally cannot comprehend the notion of anyone being American and black and having conservative views when you all live behind a screen behind the black mirror you could say pretty much whatever you want do whatever you want between you right here you got to be a my name is Kevin Martin I'm a business I was born and raised in Pennsylvania born into and raised in a conservative household and I'm still a conservative my name is Xavier I'm born and raised Los Angeles I'm liberal hi I'm ELISA I'm definitely as far left as one can walk I'm Anthony Logan I'm from Virginia originally grew up in a socially conservative household but very politically liberal I'm conservative now and I'm looking forward to here are you guys at the point of view my name is Lady KTLA I am a conservative Republican all right can I get my black liberals on the left and my black conservatives on liberals on the Left conservatives to the right okay you agree with the prompt you'll walk forward if not you'll stay people need to get over slavery all right so I guess I thought it over we all know that slavery was a terrible it was a human tragedy place we can't just be talking about slavery every day in India in 1865 this is 2020 we gotta press forward our ancestors they both were like if they died for us to be able to be here right now yes and the best country on planet Earth yes take advantage of what we have right now rather than looking in the past and saying oh well what was me because of slavery you know there have been other groups of people in slavery all throughout the world they came to state in that state so people a lot of times they stay right in a place and others are being able to pass them because mentally they've moved on while others have not because they used slavery to put them in a victim mentality we can't accomplish this because you enslaved my ancestors slaves were taught English slaves were taught how to become managers and secretaries and cooks and how to build water tanks and all sorts of things we're here now yeah okay all I really think honestly colonialism didn't teach us anything because we came from a society that was living and running so I don't think we need to get over slavery I think we need to talk about the repercussions of it like generational trauma like the system that exists because of it I don't think we should use it as a crutch take as foreign governments foreign visitors yet to hold yourself back you know what I mean I think it is a mindset as well I think one of the most dangerous aspects of generational advancement is misinformation I think a lot of young people especially young men especially young African American men and women often have questions about why things are the way they are why do I get treated this way why has my mother going through this or why does my grandma has my grandmother going through this what all comes down to the repercussions of slavery and so I think that just getting over something I think is just absolutely ridiculous and so when I hear people say that especially my fellow African American people and Friends I think it's ridiculous just getting over something as serious as that I think just plays into the whole idea of it just didn't matter anyway so how long do we can see you to harp on it how long do we continue forever well we do we never get over I don't mean educate educators education is fine that's a no history is one thing to not get over things right you can't minimize slavery but I listen to both of you and I even thought maybe I'll stay out of this one but the notion of ending the discussions on slavery they haven't begun we just got the lynching memorial in Alabama we just got the african-american Smithsonian in DC you cannot go to Germany and walk more than a mile without seeing some sort of tribute to the Holocaust some sort of marker the United States does not acknowledge slavery in that way we are beginning to discuss but we can't get over it until white folks acknowledge it being black should not influence a so yeah being black should not really influence how you think politically because what's good for us as black folks should be the same as everybody they're simply from the point of view of me being an American and what embeds for me in America I will vote for the best person that is running and so far has been in my situations been Republicans conservative Republicans I vote based on the issues that I care about and the issues that I care about stem from my personal experiences as someone that was raised in a conservative household I have different views on certain things I have different views on pro-life and pro-choice issues I have different views on economic issues I have different views on on trade and foreign policy I don't think the skin collar should have anything to do with a political view I would say I definitely don't vote for candidates just because they're black ben Carson can never get my vote however I do feel very much a part of a group I feel like I have a shared history with black people and descendants of slaves in this country and so I do not vote just based on what's okay for me I think people should vote for what's in the best interest of them and I don't think that skin color should dictate on what your interest should be based on skin did you ever vote your religious belief YES on abortion have I voted my religious beliefs on abortion yeah have and what's your religious belief on abortion or even talking about abortion it's nothing to do with this conversation we have nothing to do with the majority of abortions are done to the black race well I ask you should you say interested in answering that question really quick I want to ask you because you said you wanted to leave slavery behind you want to get over it but how did I forget it yeah you said to get over em so you don't let's not forget it you're a Christian I still say teach it you're Christian yes I am and where'd you where do you think we got that got what Christianity Christianity goes all the way back to the beginning of time so where did we learn it though where we learn it well the Egyptians had religions the Jewish taught no where did we do we're meeting Africa aspera in America you your slavery right they've learnt it from slavery their slaves also brought a gentle with them when they came so it was a mixture of everybody's religion but they learned how to read so what they what they learnt how to read was the Holy Bible and either you gotta believe the Holy Bible you're not we I believe you're not every to reap what Arabic what because it wasn't English that's my saying I'm when in America now everybody should speak English baby got I support the black lives matter well I am a public defender for 17 years I work in the criminal justice system I see a lot of the behind the scenes when it comes to police brutality so I'm a strong black lives matter supporter grew up in Compton my parents were born and raised there even as a child when they had the riots for Rodney King we had to move to Hampton yeah it was something that it was the first time I knew that it was wrong the way the police how they how they police the towns and his first time I got a sense of injustice I'm just interested since you identify as conservative I was surprised to see you come over and how that lines up with your political views or maybe just what your definition of conservative is since the movement started I've been torn for far too long we've had the police and police on the right and we've had black lives the african-american community and the black community on the left and it's just constantly it's just constant fighting and so I support the movement I support the agenda I support the mission I just have not always supported the way that that mission agenda was being carried out I agree with the fact that black lives do matter I think we all agree on that yes nobody's gonna deny but it's the tactics I don't like the tactics I mean I'm sorry in 2015 the Freddie gray situation also with Michael Brown and in Ferguson Missouri you burn in neighborhoods down you're tearing things apart I have people who will say well the percentage of blacks that are being killed is high and I said where'd you get that from well we see it on TV all the time but the ones who are not shown on television is it a much higher bracket of being shot quicker than a black man would and that's shown with FBI statistics black lives matter as an organization is about peaceful protest and is about bringing awareness there's no black lives matter organizers who's ever looted a CVS there's no black lives matter or organizer who has ever advocated for violence so in terms of saying look I see somebody black on the TV who is upset about the murder of a young black male that's not the same as saying black lives matter is therefore responsible likewise I'm not sure which FBI statistics but african-american men are definitely the most killed by police it's a very specific statistic police aren't killing white folks like that we can't just leave it there and say well we were being killed more therefore it's a problem with race why are we being killed more by the police is there a over-policed what is it more police in our communities they mean it means that the ratio the number of police at any given time where I live I am going to see police officers every hour I'm going to see patrol vehicles in a way that I don't see when I'm in predominantly white neighborhoods statistically and this is actually my line of research black youth are seen as four to five years older were seen as scary were seen as intimidating so that's why you see situations like Tamir rice you see police reacting quickly with lethal force you know he was but there was no one there let's say he had a real gun why couldn't the police say stop he was killed in less than 15 seconds a twelve-year-old boy it was had to be going that was their age and they look real too and you know my parents told me do not go outside with that and I'm in the all-black area do you now go outside what they and pointed at people because a little real and wiping it why can they did it hopefully because they recognize that as a black boy you're gonna be targeted you could do a whole podcast on that one right there I mean I'm going I want to go in Barack Obama did good things for black Obama didn't do much to black Americans or for Americans in general but what he did do was one very important thing that I got to give him credit for and that was the same day you can be black and be the president of the United States it's whole excuse oh oh I can't do anything cos on black and slavery uh I'm not trying to hear it no more you had the first black president the black way for the black kids all that good stuff for two terms not once it wasn't a fluke two terms Obama has done more damage to the african-american race than any of the other presidents he he came in to the he lied to our faces to get elected then once in he disavowed he just forgot about the blacks first of all all of us Obama didn't do anything but an abomination to us to this whole nation yo I mean I agree what you said you know he did a lot of damage and the the main thing that I remember from his term was when he had black lives matter in the White House Wow Ferguson was happening while it was happened now you guys doing a great job out there well you guys are doing fantastic didn't say hey something on the radio a little bit maybe because we got some problems no guys doing a great job keep on going so Obama was a representation of something important but also I think the whole thing is a big puppet show and you know hey brother I was I'm not I'm never really sure what's going on behind the scenes so we don't know what kind of deals are being made I do think that there was people that benefited from some policies that Obama put in place and I also believe that there were people that did not benefit and so I think that there are obviously good things about the Obama presidency and there's things that I disagree with with you about the president's educate your younger brother how'd you keep me yes did you go to college yes where'd you go Southern University at Pepperdine what do you study political science and law enforcement social studies I mean what social status of I teaching social science semesters it shows the black community should accept lgbtq+ rights I am not only a philosophical conservative but I'm also a religious conservative and I believe that God made everyone in His image and I also believe that we as Christians are people to judge and so who are we or who is anyone to deny someone their rights as a person based off of what their sexual orientation is or how they identify or the lifestyle that they choose to live you know I'm a part of I'm transgender so I was born female now there's a no no yeah it was an interesting Road even getting my family to understand you know who I was at times so I think it was like they didn't want me for lack of better terms to have another cross to bear which was what they felt like it was another burden or condition that would make me less than but really intrinsically like we're all okay Human Rights is one thing sexual rights is a whole nother thing the majority of the black community are religious when it goes against their beliefs ya know it shouldn't happen and gluttony is part of the human race people lettin too much and LBD BT XYZ all right now my viewpoint on a thing about LGBT rights what are we talking about exactly I want to be very specific with this particular thing because when I hear that I'm thinking about Dwyane Wade saying he's 12 years old difficult over old boy should be able to call himself transgender is that what we're going to do do we think that we should have four and five year old children on puberty blockers hormone blockers because they think at that age they're transgender you can't even get a tattoo under the age of 18 you can't smoke cigarettes you can't drink beer if somebody wants to be gay trans whatever as an adult that's fine not my uncle my favorite uncle died of AIDS was gay that was my dog wonder % if you gave us your business I don't care that's you That's not me that's you we're talking about LGBT rights what do we mean I mean I think it's the right to exist Dwyane Wade's daughter knows exactly who she is and she doesn't right and and there's definitely research that says that you know anybody under 25 years old that your brain is not fully formed thing is I knew when I was small right talk I was pretty much telling my parents like these were the things that I was feeling and I what I knew about myself you know when you start to self-actualize you start that at that age you start at the early ages so if you look at like psychosomatic some children they start to voice and self actualize in toddlers ages we're just saying opening it up if they're voicing themselves okay you're voicing yourself and as a parent I just you a platform to flourish and bloom as you do and then when you're an adult if that's the decision the parent wants to make you can do what you want sure that's the decision my parents said did you kind of say what he's did so you can't even like on the same page with me that's like this this is what my parents did you do what you want when you're out of the house but the thing is if I had the if my parents had the resources in the education that they do now they would have probably allowed me to they would have offered me a decision that would have helped me you know live my life but you can't say that because it didn't happen it didn't but it couldn't be can now because we have the possibility you know we have those resources now they would have been yeah yeah if they had the resources that they have now definitely all you got to do is listen you just listen probably the first aspect of being discluded from the black community is by the way I talk so I was adopted to a Caucasian family I was raised around in a completely different culture and what most African American people are raised in or around or the black community is saying look you don't believe like us you don't think like us you know vote like us and I felt I felt excluded as well you know with the queerness transistor you know when people get to know me and learn that then there's like oh yeah I can't be doing all that gay [ __ ] but like you hear a lot of different stuff you know being anything doesn't make you any less black just by being conservative phrase that I had coming up in the black community people that I've known from just being out and around in Virginia some other kind of turned it back on you or you want to support you want to support chunk you hate black folks ought to say in a third now I feel like somebody that's kind of going away because a person like me being a black Trump supporter is less of a novelty at this particular point now it's kind of like a normal thing but we're not all the same you know when I'm on the list right have their own we are our own people we're diverse group of people I mean and I play hockey so a lot of people are like black people don't do that man I've never been outside of are excluded from my race I'm cool with everybody in my race and I'm cool with everybody in other races I ran for political office I've been member of Park MOEA height Neighborhood Council you win I did I represented Hyatt Park I wanted to say something even though I have felt excluded before black people in my life have been the most welcoming loving giving people that I witness you know regardless you know my background so there's been two ends of the spectrum for sure the reason why I came here all the way from Pennsylvania to do this is to show the world that even that all of us regardless of our skin color or the way we think politically we are so diverse we're so diverse just because I identify as a conservative doesn't mean I'm agree with you or agree with you just because you identify as a liberal doesn't mean you're gonna disagree with me on everything we found ourselves agreeing with a lot today common ground is here for this amazing crew here that's us in all this work you know great job that was that was intense but that was a super interesting conversation so kudos to you Michael for an awesome episode Thank You Evan I'm so excited to continue a conversation about this episode and all the topics that were discussed so if you want to continue the conversation with us join us on our Instagram live on April 6 at 12 p.m. we're gonna have more discussion around this definitely a big thank you also to our sponsor Skillshare for those of you who don't know Skillshare is an online learning community for creatives where it millions of people will come together to explore new topics the skills ranging from illustration design photography video freelancing and more there's a ton on there and a class that's keeping me sane right now and has been super helpful is the productivity master class create a custom system by youtuber and author Thomas Frank the reason I like it so much is cos like look we're working from home we're in self-isolation there's been a ton of disruption to our daily lives and the class has been really good on just like helping me create a new routine and bring me through all the basic steps to find something that works for me given my current situation which is the situation that I know a lot of us are in one of the best tips the class makes is for blocking up your calendar for deep work which Michael deep work what does it mean to you do deep work is so important I literally just need to turn off from everything and just like ID eight and focus on things that I need to focus on to come up with new series 100% one thing we have our directors do at tribally is block off their calendar for deep work so that people know not to disrupt them when they're thinking of all their amazing ideas that's just one of many tips the class gives it's a really great program and you can check that class out and the first 1000 subscribers to click on the link in the description below will get a two month premium membership so you can explore your creativity and more classes like that so make sure to click on the link in the description below for two months of skill shares Premium Membership stay safe stay healthy
One day we will meet again, face to face and heart to heart. We will wonder if it's o.k. to hug, grieving for how time and space pulle...
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