December 28, 2024 • 22 mins
The second half of the show we discuss Luigi Mangione and how the criminal justice system can often expend a ‘benefit-of-the-doubt’ to felonious White actors, how that breaks down when class is introduced into the equation, and how infrequently such grace is extended to Black and Brown individuals.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Keep on riding with us as we continue to broadcast
the balance and defend the discourse from the Hip Hop
Weekly Studios. Welcome back to Civic Cipher. I am your host,
Rams this job.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
He is Rams this job. I am q Ward. You
are tuned into Civic Cipher, Yes, indeed, and stay tuned
because we've got some more to talk about. If you've
been paying attention to the news, you might know the
name Luigi Mangioni. And normally this isn't something that we
you know, it's well covered in the news.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
But we've made some interesting connections Q in particular, and
we thought this was worth worth discussing because you know,
sometimes things look a little funny and you know, we're
in the position and we've been empowered to speak up
and so we will. So stay tuned because we're going
to talk about obviously who he is if you don't know,
(00:46):
but we're gonna present the way he's being framed in
a decidedly black lens and you you know, take from
it what you will, but we we think there might
be something worth pondering there, so stay tuned for that
and so much more. Before we get there, though, it's
time to discuss Baba becoming a better ally Baba. On
Today's Baba a sponsored by Friends of the Movement, you
(01:06):
can sign up for the free voter wallet from fotmglobal
dot com to support black businesses and allied businesses as
well as make an impact with your spending. Again, that's
fotmglobal dot com Today, I want to share with you
MATW Project dot org, founded by Ali Banat in twenty sixteen.
Muslims Around the World Project That's MATW is a global
(01:27):
Islamic charity working across thirty countries around the world. They're
one hundred percent donation policy ensures that every single donation
goes the extra mile and reaching those most in need.
Millions are suffering worldwide. Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese need urgent help.
Your priceless donations will help them save lives. Alas says
in the Quran, whoever saves one life, it is as
(01:48):
though he has saved all of mankind. This is Chapter five,
verse thirty two. The devastating nightmare which has impacted Gasa
in Palestine for more than a year is now entered Lebanon.
Two point three million lives change forever in Palestine millions
more are now at risk across the region. Men, women
and innoca children are facing surreal circumstances which are claiming
(02:08):
lives daily. MATW Project are on the ground delivering vital
relief across Gaza daily and in Lebanon, where the number
of displaced and homeless people is rising every single hour.
Please donate urgently as this assistance will go a long
way and relieving the pain and distress of orphans, widows
and the elderly. They operate on a one hundred percent
donation policy, so rest assured one hundred percent of your
(02:29):
contributions will reach the Palestinians directly. This project is also
the COT applicable and we want you to find out
more at MATW project dot org. If that's tough to
remember if you're driving, however you're listening to the show,
just think Muslims around the world Matwproject dot org. And yeah,
(02:50):
we think that it's worth looking into. So check out
the website see if it's up your alley and if
you can make a donation, make an impact and let's
change world together, all right. Luigi gi Mengioni, you know
we work at the Black Information Network. Man, we talk
about the news. You know, we we we're supposed to
(03:14):
consume and discuss the news with a black perspective. You
and I have been black our whole lives since the eighties,
and it's not impossible that we might connect some dots
that the mainstream news sources might not connect. Even if
(03:35):
we worked at those mainstream news sources, we would connect
the dots that those other folks might not connect. And
this story has been sort of confusing at different points
because I'm like, Okay, is this what's happening here? Like
this a class warriors? Is this guy one of us?
Is this guy one of them? You know? And I
don't even know who us and them is? But you know,
(03:56):
you get what I'm trying to say. How you process
the details as the story it continues to unfold. So
if you're like me and you are still just kind
of watching it all unfold, stay tuned. But if if
you're not like me, and you're not like you, and
you're not in a newsroom, you know, six days a
(04:17):
week consuming all the news that exists, this might be
news to you. So allow us to just paint a
brief picture for you, all right. This from the Associated Press,
The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of United
Healthcare wrote quick backstory. There was a video that came out.
I'm sure you all saw it, but for those that hadn't,
it's just a man who's walks up to the CEO
(04:38):
as he's walking down the street, shoots him in cold
blood and gets on a bike and rides away. Okay,
it appeared to be a targeted attack. There was no robbery,
nothing like that. He's out in front of a hotel,
walks up to the guy, shoots him. He falls on
the ground, then he bounces to the ounce. All right.
So that man pleaded not guilty on Monday to state
(04:58):
murder and terror charges, while his attorney complained that comments
coming from New York's mayor could make it tough to
create and receive a fair trial. Luigi Mangioni, aged twenty six,
was shackled and seated in Manhattan court when he leaned
over to a microphone to enter his plea. The Manhattan
District Attorney charged him last week with multiple counts of murder,
including murder of as an act of terrorism, in a
(05:21):
state case that will run alongside his federal prosecution. His
initial appearance in New York State trial court was preempted
by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting.
The federal judges could sorry the federal charges could carry
the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentenced
for the state charges is life in prison without parole.
(05:42):
When a Mangioni's attorneys told a judge that government officials,
including New York Mayor Eric Adams, have turned Mangioni into
a political pawn, robbing him of his rights as a
defendant by tainting the jury pool. Maggioni was arrested in
a Pennsylvania McDonald's after a five day search, carrying a
gun that matched the one used in a shooting and
a fake ID. Police said he was also carrying a
(06:03):
notebook expressing hostility towards the health care, health insurance industry
and especially wealthy executives. According to federal prosecutors and Ivy League.
Graduate from a prominent Maryland family, Mangioni appeared to have
cut himself off from family and friends in recent months.
He posted frequently online about his struggles with back pain.
He was never a United Healthcare client, according to the insurer.
(06:27):
The killing has prompted some to voice their resentment at
US health insurers, with Mangioni serving as a stand in
for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills. It
is also sent shockwaves through the corporate world, rattling executives
who say they've received a spike in terror threats. Okay,
so Q, I know that you've connected some dots there.
(06:51):
We have a little bit more to share, but I'm
going to open up the Florida you to jump in,
just because I know that there was a reason that
we wanted to talk about this guy.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It came from I think that I have more questions
than connected dots.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
And that's fair. That's fair.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
There's some things that we just have to assume to
be true because we're not investigative reporters in this manner.
And maybe it's just inconsistencies in the information that was provided.
But when there was a suspect at large before this
young man was arrested and you know, paraded across our
TVs and had a movie style super villain type perp walk,
(07:38):
we just saw photos photos of a young man, face covered, hoodie, jacket, backpack.
And I'm sure I'm not the only person that noticed
that the hoodie, the jacket, the mask, and the backpack
are different. And a lot of the photos that were present,
which could be intentionally confusing, could be unintentionally confusing, could
(08:02):
be presented by sources without proper vetting. All these different
things can lead to all these different versions of the
information being presented to the public. And then you get
to public sentiment because many may have noticed a lot
of people weren't really angry about what happened. And then
(08:23):
I have to press pause because I'm a father and
I have children, right, and the idea that it should
be okay too because a system has failed you take
out a gun and walk up and take someone's life
on the street should be ridiculous to everyone. However, circumstances
(08:45):
and a person's potential mind state might make you at
least say, oh, he shouldn't have done it that way.
I don't agree that he did it that way. I
absolutely condemn how he did it. Didn't think what he
did was wrong, but I understand why he felt like that.
And as a black person in this country, it's not
(09:07):
difficult to mentally take yourself to the point where you
do not agree, do not condone, but understand that when
it feels like every system that is in places against
you and has failed you repeatedly, which you think wouldn't
be the case for this young man in this country,
(09:28):
you have to pause for a second and try to
figure out how come so many people in the public
are tattooing this man's face, and he's got his own
little cult following of fans and fangirls and people that
want to write letters, and he's become a sort of
pseudo celebrity in that way, not just a purp and
(09:50):
a heinous crime. The intention in the video, if you've
watched it, there are other people present. I thought it
very interesting that the word terrorism or terrorist was included
in the charges brought against this man who took out
a gun and shot one person, did not attempt to
(10:12):
shoot anyone else, did not disarm his weapon or i'm sorry,
discharge his weapon in the direction of anyone else. It's
very very premeditated, I'll take but interesting to call it
an act of terrorism when we've had people like Kyle
Rittenhouse and or name the mass shooter who didn't kill
(10:36):
a rich white American and that word was never brought up.
That word was never used, even when they killed an
even when they killed mass people. You know why, though,
It's because it's white on white crime, white on rich
white crime, which is an entirely different thing. And you know,
(10:56):
all of it just it gives you pause. It makes
you like, yo, something's off here. Yeah, because if you
read the story, it sounds straightforward. A guy walked down
the street, took out a gun, killed someone, got arrested,
and it's going to jail. Nothing to talk about here.
But like you said, if you watch the news, or
if you're on social media, or if you've been paying
attention to this story at all, it has from the
(11:19):
very onset felt different. Something was different. And this system
that in any other place in the world would be
regarded as a scam. And that's literally insurance in the
United States, of all forms. You pay into this fund
right in case something bad happens, in case something bad
(11:41):
happens to you.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
And if nothing bad happens.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
If nothing bad happens, that you don't get a rebate,
you don't get a refund, nothing. And when something bad happens,
they don't say, oh, here's the money we promised. Nope.
They then start to investigate you for having made a claim.
Even if your claim is just, you now have to
pay them more money the next time around to continue
(12:07):
to cover you, or they can determine your claim isn't
just and do nothing for you. And that's legal, and
in most cases that insurance is required, as in to
operate a motor vehicle. If you are found to not
have coverage, you will be fined. But if somebody sign
(12:27):
swipes you and keeps going and you're not hurt that bad,
they can decide we'll fix some of it. You've been
paying us without accident for twenty years, we'll fix some
of it. Maybe you've been paying us without incident for
twenty years.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I think they said something recently. If you're on an
under anesthesia too long, we won't pay for all of it.
If you have a preexisting condition, we won't cover you. Yeah,
you have coverage, but not for that thing that you
thought you did. And people die because these billion dollar
(13:07):
corporations that they pay to ensure them, to protect them
in the event that something happens to them, decide we
don't want to And when tens of thousands or hundreds
of thousands or millions of people have to see their
loved ones die because the company they paid to ensure
them decided they didn't feel like it, over and over again,
(13:29):
because their corporation is not people. It's like these oppressive,
racist systems that we brought up before. They're not held
to the same level of scrutiny or the same level
of accountability. That corporation, by inactivity killed someone by the thousands,
by the hundreds of thousands, by the millions. And they
(13:50):
still get their pension, their bonuses, their vacation, their PTO,
their checks every month, every week, every other week, i'm sorry,
every year, profits, record breaking profits, and they get to
decide whether you live or die, and no one turns
and no one cares. So in this case, this young
(14:12):
man cared a lot, and his action may have zero impact.
Right It might start a conversation briefly, but we are
so callous as a nation and as human beings right
now we'll move on and we won't care. We have
fully accepted that this is just the way things are
(14:33):
across everything, politics, life, humanity. We live in a world now,
quite literally, where the rich are saying let them eat cake,
lining their pockets at the expense of our well being
(14:56):
and have convinced half of us to support them while
they do it. It's masterful, it's masterful, but it's diabolical.
All right, Listen, I want to say something just because
I feel led on this show we have to have
conversations about race. Such as the nature of the conversations
(15:18):
that we have on this show, we don't broach these subjects.
We don't do any healing when we talk about race.
We talk about things in general terms. And I want
to just put a note in here that we understand
and recognize and respect that individuals are individuals. Individuals are
smart individuals or beautiful. Individuals are compassionate, individuals are wonderful,
(15:42):
but groups of people tend to be really ugly. We
also specifically talk about white men quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
On this show, and I want to affirm on behalf
of myself and Q for those who might just be
coming to this conversation, we love white men the same
as any other human being on this planet. It is
the nature of my very being to love. I got
one setting, that's it. Do I get frustrated, yes, but
(16:12):
there is no hate in my heart. Okay, So when
we talk about white men in general terms. We are
talking specifically about the the white man that benefits from
and perpetuates those same invisible forces that ultimately oppress or
(16:38):
disenfranchise the rest of us. We know that there are
white men on various rungs of that latter. Some are
uber hateful and they are out loud with their racism,
and some are exceptionally kind and benevolent, and everyone in between,
and everyone is on their journey, such as the nature
(17:00):
of any being endowed with consciousness, certainly so with human beings.
I am growing as a human being, all of us,
Homo sapiens sapiens. This is the nature of our life.
I just I feel like I need to disclose this
right now. Both Q and I have best friends that
are white men. You know, shout out to Tommy, shout
out to Kevin Bulekev that we grew up with, you know,
(17:23):
and their families and their families have loved it. So
I want to make sure that that is well stated.
But also those white men understand that they live in
a world where they got some some advantages that other
people don't help have just the same way that I
rams this jaw Rudy King Taylor The second understands that
I live in a world where I have advantages that
(17:46):
my own sisters do not enjoy. And my sisters are
smarter than me. They're better looking than me, more ambitious
than me, pick a thing, you know what I mean.
But I, because I was born with, you know, a
Y chromosome, I got some access that they that either
they don't have or it's a little bit more challenging
(18:07):
for them to get there. So I want to make
sure that that stated. Another part of this that I
wanted to share, and this comes from Hollywood Unlocked. Okay,
let me back up a little bit. Those of you
that remember Derek Chauvin. He was the guy that kneeled
on the neck of George Floyd for eight minutes, causing
(18:28):
George Floyd to lose his life. He has gotten with
another doctor and petition the court in Minnesota to allow
him to have some evidence pieces of George Floyd's heart
(18:48):
material and his bodily fluids, so that they can try
to build a new case to somehow suggest that George
Floyd was going to die anyway, and that Derek Chauvin
had nothing to.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Do with his death. This We're all going to die anyway. Yeah,
So what they're suggesting is that George Floyd is more
responsible for his own death, or.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
That Derek Chauvin was not responsible at all. But there's
a judge in Minnesota who said, you know what, there's
enough here for me to reopen this or rehash this case.
I read the details, so you'll get him. But there's
a judge in Minnesota that says, you know what, yeah,
that's enough for me. And there in lies part of
(19:37):
what I think the point you've been trying to make
you is that a lot of times we'll see that
benefit of the doubt. A lot of times the fear
associated with black people won't be associated with white people
in the same circumstances doing the same thing. A lot
of times, the grace that we ask be, you know,
deployed evenly throughout the population is simply reserved for one
(19:59):
group of people. And of course that sounds like how
I feel. But the data, the conviction rates, the amount
of arrests are made, would certainly support that feeling, that
conclusion that I've arrived at right, And so what we're
looking at and I'll share Hollywood Unlocked. According to doctor Shazel,
Floyd appeared to have died from a high level of
(20:20):
cat kick cola mines, which CBS News reports is a
neural hormone important in stress response associated with the fighter
flight response. How about that or Tako Tsubo myocardith this
myocard died. This maybe a heart condition that develops in
(20:40):
response to intense emotional or physical experience. Okay, so this
is Derek Chauvin's case, hinges on this Doctor Schazel's theory
that George Floyd died because his heart was stressed out
because of fighter flight. Okay, Yeah, if someone's kneeling on
(21:01):
your neck, you're going to be feeling that you're an
experience at or it's this other condition, the mileo k
card death, this which develops in response to an intense
emotional or physical experience, right, like.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Having your neck kneeled on.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
He changed you. So what happens? A judge says, Okay,
let's put everybody through this all over again. The George
Floyd's family, the community, the country, the world. Let's put
them all through this again because the benefit of the doubt.
Even though we all, all of us reasonable people could
look at that and be like, well, clearly the George
flow would be alive and well, if this guy wasn't
kneeling on his neck, he is the reason we all
(21:34):
saw the video. We saw it multiple times. We're going
to see it forever. It's going to be taught about
in classrooms forever. But that benefit of the doubt exists there.
It exists with a lot of these individuals, and it
seldom exists for people when your skin is black and
we're looking at this guy the I forget his name,
but you know, imagine a black man shooting a white
(21:55):
man that's having a stroke and the stroke being blamed
for the death. Well, that's an interesting question uponder in
a great place to leave it. Thank you all for
tuning in for this episode and for every episode of
Civic Cipher. I have been your host, Rams's job.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
He is Ramsy's jah. I am q ward. Thank you
once again for ridding with us and hearing out our
perspective on some sometimes very very difficult stories. Man.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Yeah, yeah, and you know it might be our last
episode of the year, so I've interesting twenty of my
opinions Beyond that, it's an interesting twenty twenty four. But listen, man,
we're in it together and we're going to continue to
do our part again. This show is based in love.
We just have challenging conversations that don't always sound like it,
but I promise that that's every waking moment of our lives.
(22:46):
We exist, we walk in love, and we appreciate you
trusting us with your time and, as you mentioned, hearing
out our perspective. And until next year, y'all peace,
Keep on riding with us as we continue to broadcast
the balance and defend the discourse from the Hip Hop
Weekly Studios. Welcome back to Civic Cipher. I am your host,
Rams this job.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
He is Rams this job. I am q Ward. You
are tuned into Civic Cipher, Yes, indeed, and stay tuned
because we've got some more to talk about. If you've
been paying attention to the news, you might know the
name Luigi Mangioni. And normally this isn't something that we
you know, it's well covered in the news.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
But we've made some interesting connections Q in particular, and
we thought this was worth worth discussing because you know,
sometimes things look a little funny and you know, we're
in the position and we've been empowered to speak up
and so we will. So stay tuned because we're going
to talk about obviously who he is if you don't know,
(00:46):
but we're gonna present the way he's being framed in
a decidedly black lens and you you know, take from
it what you will, but we we think there might
be something worth pondering there, so stay tuned for that
and so much more. Before we get there, though, it's
time to discuss Baba becoming a better ally Baba. On
Today's Baba a sponsored by Friends of the Movement, you
(01:06):
can sign up for the free voter wallet from fotmglobal
dot com to support black businesses and allied businesses as
well as make an impact with your spending. Again, that's
fotmglobal dot com Today, I want to share with you
MATW Project dot org, founded by Ali Banat in twenty sixteen.
Muslims Around the World Project That's MATW is a global
(01:27):
Islamic charity working across thirty countries around the world. They're
one hundred percent donation policy ensures that every single donation
goes the extra mile and reaching those most in need.
Millions are suffering worldwide. Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese need urgent help.
Your priceless donations will help them save lives. Alas says
in the Quran, whoever saves one life, it is as
(01:48):
though he has saved all of mankind. This is Chapter five,
verse thirty two. The devastating nightmare which has impacted Gasa
in Palestine for more than a year is now entered Lebanon.
Two point three million lives change forever in Palestine millions
more are now at risk across the region. Men, women
and innoca children are facing surreal circumstances which are claiming
(02:08):
lives daily. MATW Project are on the ground delivering vital
relief across Gaza daily and in Lebanon, where the number
of displaced and homeless people is rising every single hour.
Please donate urgently as this assistance will go a long
way and relieving the pain and distress of orphans, widows
and the elderly. They operate on a one hundred percent
donation policy, so rest assured one hundred percent of your
(02:29):
contributions will reach the Palestinians directly. This project is also
the COT applicable and we want you to find out
more at MATW project dot org. If that's tough to
remember if you're driving, however you're listening to the show,
just think Muslims around the world Matwproject dot org. And yeah,
(02:50):
we think that it's worth looking into. So check out
the website see if it's up your alley and if
you can make a donation, make an impact and let's
change world together, all right. Luigi gi Mengioni, you know
we work at the Black Information Network. Man, we talk
about the news. You know, we we we're supposed to
(03:14):
consume and discuss the news with a black perspective. You
and I have been black our whole lives since the eighties,
and it's not impossible that we might connect some dots
that the mainstream news sources might not connect. Even if
(03:35):
we worked at those mainstream news sources, we would connect
the dots that those other folks might not connect. And
this story has been sort of confusing at different points
because I'm like, Okay, is this what's happening here? Like
this a class warriors? Is this guy one of us?
Is this guy one of them? You know? And I
don't even know who us and them is? But you know,
(03:56):
you get what I'm trying to say. How you process
the details as the story it continues to unfold. So
if you're like me and you are still just kind
of watching it all unfold, stay tuned. But if if
you're not like me, and you're not like you, and
you're not in a newsroom, you know, six days a
(04:17):
week consuming all the news that exists, this might be
news to you. So allow us to just paint a
brief picture for you, all right. This from the Associated Press,
The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of United
Healthcare wrote quick backstory. There was a video that came out.
I'm sure you all saw it, but for those that hadn't,
it's just a man who's walks up to the CEO
(04:38):
as he's walking down the street, shoots him in cold
blood and gets on a bike and rides away. Okay,
it appeared to be a targeted attack. There was no robbery,
nothing like that. He's out in front of a hotel,
walks up to the guy, shoots him. He falls on
the ground, then he bounces to the ounce. All right.
So that man pleaded not guilty on Monday to state
(04:58):
murder and terror charges, while his attorney complained that comments
coming from New York's mayor could make it tough to
create and receive a fair trial. Luigi Mangioni, aged twenty six,
was shackled and seated in Manhattan court when he leaned
over to a microphone to enter his plea. The Manhattan
District Attorney charged him last week with multiple counts of murder,
including murder of as an act of terrorism, in a
(05:21):
state case that will run alongside his federal prosecution. His
initial appearance in New York State trial court was preempted
by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting.
The federal judges could sorry the federal charges could carry
the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentenced
for the state charges is life in prison without parole.
(05:42):
When a Mangioni's attorneys told a judge that government officials,
including New York Mayor Eric Adams, have turned Mangioni into
a political pawn, robbing him of his rights as a
defendant by tainting the jury pool. Maggioni was arrested in
a Pennsylvania McDonald's after a five day search, carrying a
gun that matched the one used in a shooting and
a fake ID. Police said he was also carrying a
(06:03):
notebook expressing hostility towards the health care, health insurance industry
and especially wealthy executives. According to federal prosecutors and Ivy League.
Graduate from a prominent Maryland family, Mangioni appeared to have
cut himself off from family and friends in recent months.
He posted frequently online about his struggles with back pain.
He was never a United Healthcare client, according to the insurer.
(06:27):
The killing has prompted some to voice their resentment at
US health insurers, with Mangioni serving as a stand in
for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills. It
is also sent shockwaves through the corporate world, rattling executives
who say they've received a spike in terror threats. Okay,
so Q, I know that you've connected some dots there.
(06:51):
We have a little bit more to share, but I'm
going to open up the Florida you to jump in,
just because I know that there was a reason that
we wanted to talk about this guy.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It came from I think that I have more questions
than connected dots.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
And that's fair. That's fair.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
There's some things that we just have to assume to
be true because we're not investigative reporters in this manner.
And maybe it's just inconsistencies in the information that was provided.
But when there was a suspect at large before this
young man was arrested and you know, paraded across our
TVs and had a movie style super villain type perp walk,
(07:38):
we just saw photos photos of a young man, face covered, hoodie, jacket, backpack.
And I'm sure I'm not the only person that noticed
that the hoodie, the jacket, the mask, and the backpack
are different. And a lot of the photos that were present,
which could be intentionally confusing, could be unintentionally confusing, could
(08:02):
be presented by sources without proper vetting. All these different
things can lead to all these different versions of the
information being presented to the public. And then you get
to public sentiment because many may have noticed a lot
of people weren't really angry about what happened. And then
(08:23):
I have to press pause because I'm a father and
I have children, right, and the idea that it should
be okay too because a system has failed you take
out a gun and walk up and take someone's life
on the street should be ridiculous to everyone. However, circumstances
(08:45):
and a person's potential mind state might make you at
least say, oh, he shouldn't have done it that way.
I don't agree that he did it that way. I
absolutely condemn how he did it. Didn't think what he
did was wrong, but I understand why he felt like that.
And as a black person in this country, it's not
(09:07):
difficult to mentally take yourself to the point where you
do not agree, do not condone, but understand that when
it feels like every system that is in places against
you and has failed you repeatedly, which you think wouldn't
be the case for this young man in this country,
(09:28):
you have to pause for a second and try to
figure out how come so many people in the public
are tattooing this man's face, and he's got his own
little cult following of fans and fangirls and people that
want to write letters, and he's become a sort of
pseudo celebrity in that way, not just a purp and
(09:50):
a heinous crime. The intention in the video, if you've
watched it, there are other people present. I thought it
very interesting that the word terrorism or terrorist was included
in the charges brought against this man who took out
a gun and shot one person, did not attempt to
(10:12):
shoot anyone else, did not disarm his weapon or i'm sorry,
discharge his weapon in the direction of anyone else. It's
very very premeditated, I'll take but interesting to call it
an act of terrorism when we've had people like Kyle
Rittenhouse and or name the mass shooter who didn't kill
(10:36):
a rich white American and that word was never brought up.
That word was never used, even when they killed an
even when they killed mass people. You know why, though,
It's because it's white on white crime, white on rich
white crime, which is an entirely different thing. And you know,
(10:56):
all of it just it gives you pause. It makes
you like, yo, something's off here. Yeah, because if you
read the story, it sounds straightforward. A guy walked down
the street, took out a gun, killed someone, got arrested,
and it's going to jail. Nothing to talk about here.
But like you said, if you watch the news, or
if you're on social media, or if you've been paying
attention to this story at all, it has from the
(11:19):
very onset felt different. Something was different. And this system
that in any other place in the world would be
regarded as a scam. And that's literally insurance in the
United States, of all forms. You pay into this fund
right in case something bad happens, in case something bad
(11:41):
happens to you.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
And if nothing bad happens.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
If nothing bad happens, that you don't get a rebate,
you don't get a refund, nothing. And when something bad happens,
they don't say, oh, here's the money we promised. Nope.
They then start to investigate you for having made a claim.
Even if your claim is just, you now have to
pay them more money the next time around to continue
(12:07):
to cover you, or they can determine your claim isn't
just and do nothing for you. And that's legal, and
in most cases that insurance is required, as in to
operate a motor vehicle. If you are found to not
have coverage, you will be fined. But if somebody sign
(12:27):
swipes you and keeps going and you're not hurt that bad,
they can decide we'll fix some of it. You've been
paying us without accident for twenty years, we'll fix some
of it. Maybe you've been paying us without incident for
twenty years.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I think they said something recently. If you're on an
under anesthesia too long, we won't pay for all of it.
If you have a preexisting condition, we won't cover you. Yeah,
you have coverage, but not for that thing that you
thought you did. And people die because these billion dollar
(13:07):
corporations that they pay to ensure them, to protect them
in the event that something happens to them, decide we
don't want to And when tens of thousands or hundreds
of thousands or millions of people have to see their
loved ones die because the company they paid to ensure
them decided they didn't feel like it, over and over again,
(13:29):
because their corporation is not people. It's like these oppressive,
racist systems that we brought up before. They're not held
to the same level of scrutiny or the same level
of accountability. That corporation, by inactivity killed someone by the thousands,
by the hundreds of thousands, by the millions. And they
(13:50):
still get their pension, their bonuses, their vacation, their PTO,
their checks every month, every week, every other week, i'm sorry,
every year, profits, record breaking profits, and they get to
decide whether you live or die, and no one turns
and no one cares. So in this case, this young
(14:12):
man cared a lot, and his action may have zero impact.
Right It might start a conversation briefly, but we are
so callous as a nation and as human beings right
now we'll move on and we won't care. We have
fully accepted that this is just the way things are
(14:33):
across everything, politics, life, humanity. We live in a world now,
quite literally, where the rich are saying let them eat cake,
lining their pockets at the expense of our well being
(14:56):
and have convinced half of us to support them while
they do it. It's masterful, it's masterful, but it's diabolical.
All right, Listen, I want to say something just because
I feel led on this show we have to have
conversations about race. Such as the nature of the conversations
(15:18):
that we have on this show, we don't broach these subjects.
We don't do any healing when we talk about race.
We talk about things in general terms. And I want
to just put a note in here that we understand
and recognize and respect that individuals are individuals. Individuals are
smart individuals or beautiful. Individuals are compassionate, individuals are wonderful,
(15:42):
but groups of people tend to be really ugly. We
also specifically talk about white men quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
On this show, and I want to affirm on behalf
of myself and Q for those who might just be
coming to this conversation, we love white men the same
as any other human being on this planet. It is
the nature of my very being to love. I got
one setting, that's it. Do I get frustrated, yes, but
(16:12):
there is no hate in my heart. Okay, So when
we talk about white men in general terms. We are
talking specifically about the the white man that benefits from
and perpetuates those same invisible forces that ultimately oppress or
(16:38):
disenfranchise the rest of us. We know that there are
white men on various rungs of that latter. Some are
uber hateful and they are out loud with their racism,
and some are exceptionally kind and benevolent, and everyone in between,
and everyone is on their journey, such as the nature
(17:00):
of any being endowed with consciousness, certainly so with human beings.
I am growing as a human being, all of us,
Homo sapiens sapiens. This is the nature of our life.
I just I feel like I need to disclose this
right now. Both Q and I have best friends that
are white men. You know, shout out to Tommy, shout
out to Kevin Bulekev that we grew up with, you know,
(17:23):
and their families and their families have loved it. So
I want to make sure that that is well stated.
But also those white men understand that they live in
a world where they got some some advantages that other
people don't help have just the same way that I
rams this jaw Rudy King Taylor The second understands that
I live in a world where I have advantages that
(17:46):
my own sisters do not enjoy. And my sisters are
smarter than me. They're better looking than me, more ambitious
than me, pick a thing, you know what I mean.
But I, because I was born with, you know, a
Y chromosome, I got some access that they that either
they don't have or it's a little bit more challenging
(18:07):
for them to get there. So I want to make
sure that that stated. Another part of this that I
wanted to share, and this comes from Hollywood Unlocked. Okay,
let me back up a little bit. Those of you
that remember Derek Chauvin. He was the guy that kneeled
on the neck of George Floyd for eight minutes, causing
(18:28):
George Floyd to lose his life. He has gotten with
another doctor and petition the court in Minnesota to allow
him to have some evidence pieces of George Floyd's heart
(18:48):
material and his bodily fluids, so that they can try
to build a new case to somehow suggest that George
Floyd was going to die anyway, and that Derek Chauvin
had nothing to.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Do with his death. This We're all going to die anyway. Yeah,
So what they're suggesting is that George Floyd is more
responsible for his own death, or.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
That Derek Chauvin was not responsible at all. But there's
a judge in Minnesota who said, you know what, there's
enough here for me to reopen this or rehash this case.
I read the details, so you'll get him. But there's
a judge in Minnesota that says, you know what, yeah,
that's enough for me. And there in lies part of
(19:37):
what I think the point you've been trying to make
you is that a lot of times we'll see that
benefit of the doubt. A lot of times the fear
associated with black people won't be associated with white people
in the same circumstances doing the same thing. A lot
of times, the grace that we ask be, you know,
deployed evenly throughout the population is simply reserved for one
(19:59):
group of people. And of course that sounds like how
I feel. But the data, the conviction rates, the amount
of arrests are made, would certainly support that feeling, that
conclusion that I've arrived at right, And so what we're
looking at and I'll share Hollywood Unlocked. According to doctor Shazel,
Floyd appeared to have died from a high level of
(20:20):
cat kick cola mines, which CBS News reports is a
neural hormone important in stress response associated with the fighter
flight response. How about that or Tako Tsubo myocardith this
myocard died. This maybe a heart condition that develops in
(20:40):
response to intense emotional or physical experience. Okay, so this
is Derek Chauvin's case, hinges on this Doctor Schazel's theory
that George Floyd died because his heart was stressed out
because of fighter flight. Okay, Yeah, if someone's kneeling on
(21:01):
your neck, you're going to be feeling that you're an
experience at or it's this other condition, the mileo k
card death, this which develops in response to an intense
emotional or physical experience, right, like.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Having your neck kneeled on.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
He changed you. So what happens? A judge says, Okay,
let's put everybody through this all over again. The George
Floyd's family, the community, the country, the world. Let's put
them all through this again because the benefit of the doubt.
Even though we all, all of us reasonable people could
look at that and be like, well, clearly the George
flow would be alive and well, if this guy wasn't
kneeling on his neck, he is the reason we all
(21:34):
saw the video. We saw it multiple times. We're going
to see it forever. It's going to be taught about
in classrooms forever. But that benefit of the doubt exists there.
It exists with a lot of these individuals, and it
seldom exists for people when your skin is black and
we're looking at this guy the I forget his name,
but you know, imagine a black man shooting a white
(21:55):
man that's having a stroke and the stroke being blamed
for the death. Well, that's an interesting question uponder in
a great place to leave it. Thank you all for
tuning in for this episode and for every episode of
Civic Cipher. I have been your host, Rams's job.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
He is Ramsy's jah. I am q ward. Thank you
once again for ridding with us and hearing out our
perspective on some sometimes very very difficult stories. Man.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Yeah, yeah, and you know it might be our last
episode of the year, so I've interesting twenty of my
opinions Beyond that, it's an interesting twenty twenty four. But listen, man,
we're in it together and we're going to continue to
do our part again. This show is based in love.
We just have challenging conversations that don't always sound like it,
but I promise that that's every waking moment of our lives.
(22:46):
We exist, we walk in love, and we appreciate you
trusting us with your time and, as you mentioned, hearing
out our perspective. And until next year, y'all peace,
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