October 17, 2025 • 42 mins
BIN News Anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis join Hosts Ramses Ja and Q Ward to discuss the major news stories of the week.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's been another busy news week and we like to
review the major stories of the week here on the Bin. Today,
we are joined by bi In News anchors Esther Dillard
and Doug Davis to discuss this week's major stories. This
is the QR code. He is q ward and he
is Ramsay's job. All right, Doug and Esther, two of
(00:21):
my favorites. Welcome back to the show. Esther, anything noteworthy
been going on in your world?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Well, I have a birthday coming up, so that's a
really big thing. That's fun. And my son and I
have we share a birthday on October nineteenth, so that's
gonna be fun.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay, Well, happy early birthday to you and your son. Doug,
talk to me, man, what's the latest? Oh Man doing well?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Looking at going back to Las Vegas possibly next weekend.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
They got the big HBCU football classics there. He was
telling me about that.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Yeah, with Grambling State and Jackson State, two powerhouses. So
you know, I'm all about the HPCU. Thank So I'm
gonna have to travel back to Vegas Man to get
it in. I'm gonna have to hook up with reckless.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I'll let Q tell it, but you know, he was
kind of around for kind of the I guess the
inception of that is an idea. I know you were
on the ground there, Q. I'm sure this has to
be exciting for you too.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
It would be more exciting had I been able to
get it across the line, but I'm glad that it's happening.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Okay. Well, you know I remember that time being very exciting,
so I was excited for you. So in any event,
let's give the people what they came for, all right.
First up, as the government shut down continues, a nationwide
protest is scheduled for this weekend, and the event organizers
hope these peaceful protests will draw much needed attention to
the negative impact of the Trump administration's policies. Esther, let's
(01:43):
get today's show started with you. Tell us more about
the no Kings protests scheduled for this weekend, and then
Doug and Q will get your thoughts after.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Esther, Well, you are probably going to see a lot
of people out on the streets this weekend, and that's
because Saturday, October eighteenth has declared, like you said, No
King's Day of Peaceful Action. It's part of a nationwide
movement protesting the Trump administration. Organizers say that the president
is acting more like a king than a leader of democracy. Now,
(02:13):
this isn't a small effort. More than two hundred progressive
organizations are behind this, and they're stressing that all demonstrations
should remain or demonstrators should be peaceful and lawful. This
weekend's events are actually a follow up to what was
called No King's Day of Defiance back in June. I
know if you remember that, but there were more than
(02:34):
five million people that marched in all fifty states. This time,
they're expecting it to be bigger, over two thousand, five
hundred protests across the country. And although many people are
jazzed up about it, there are many Republican leaders, including
members of the Trump administration, that are calling these rallies
hate America events, and they claim that Democrats are using
(02:55):
the ongoing government shut down to build momentum for the protests.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Doug, Yeah, you know, I'm all for protesting.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
You know, we've seen how protesting can be a symbol
for change when the intent is real. And I don't
mean to sound pessimistic, but I'm afraid that some of
the same people who I believe will be protesting this Saturday,
or some of the very same ones that march for
black justice during the black you know, during the you know,
(03:26):
the George Floyd protests. So what gets me about mainstream
protests is this, when black folks protests, we mean it,
and something meaningful comes out of that protest, right you know,
we don't protest because it's cool or you know, the
(03:47):
right thing to do, you know, And right now, I
just feel like protesting is kind of trendy for lack
of a better word, you know, particularly against Trump's authoritative actions.
I mean, look, look what he's doing, you know, and
but look what this country has done for black folks.
And if I recall from my history lessons, the civil
rights marches did become trendy at one point, you know,
(04:09):
Hollywood celebs.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Began joining in.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
It became this kind of big multicultural thing, you know.
And like I say, do we march with intention? And
look what came about. Right I marched with my parents
for the MLK Holiday in DC in the dead of
winter in February nineteen eighty and ice, snow, cold temperatures,
and we marched with intent, and look what happened. We
(04:31):
got the King holiday, So what are these folks really
marching for? When it comes to intent, I mean, you know,
I'll say intentionally the campus protests about what was happening
in guys, that did bring about some change, particularly of
attitudes with the Americans, although no major policy shifts were made.
(04:52):
You know, there were marches for reproductive rights, what happened.
So I only hope and pray that this time around,
with this No King's protest, you know, this will really
add the fuel to the fire about what's happening inside
the White House right now and inside the halls of Congress.
Black folks, I know we have always said, but this
particular situation, we're tired of marching. You know, we voted
(05:14):
for Kamala and they didn't, and so you know, some
of us feel like this isn't our fight, But I
feel like this is our fight.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
This is a moment that can change America.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
So as Mark Morial, of course, the Urban League says,
we're in a state of emergency, and I really just
hope something positive really comes out of these marches because personally,
I'm tired of march and I want to see some action.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Before you say anything. If I may, I want to
offer our listeners my thoughts on kind of the purpose
of these protests, because you do bring up a really
interesting and compelling point, Dug, I want to I want
(06:02):
to hear from you, though qu is that okay by
all means okay? So so yeah, you do bring up
an interesting point. A lot of people can look at
protests like, oh, well, this is simply the opposition. You know,
taking a day to go hang out with each other
(06:23):
doesn't really have any meaningful impact on the way that,
you know, politics will be administrated in this uh, in
this country. There's there's just no impact that these sorts
of protests have. I think that protesting still has its place.
(06:48):
My particular style of protesting that that I have come
to espouse from history, that the kind that I think
is a little bit more immediate and terms of the
changes that it that it brings about would be considered
a bit more aggressive than holding a sign and walking
down the street. You know, I'm from la and LA
(07:12):
is busy, as you well know, so you know that
forces people to make moves. But you know that's not
everybody's way, and you know there are people on the
political opposite opposition that we'll look at that and say, oh,
look at these thugs and rioters and blah blah blah.
You know, I'm sure they have a point. What I think, though,
(07:35):
is when you have the numbers, it really shows exactly
what's at stake. Donald Trump and this administration has done
its best to paint literally half of the country as
anti American, as terrorists, as you know, whatever, whatever the
(08:04):
narrative it is that they're trying to chronicle of the
day and it's not working. I mean, you like, think
about that, you can't like half the country, like even
ten percent of the country is the country that you
have to account for that group as well, Right, So
showing up and getting the numbers out there kind of
(08:28):
holds the elected officials fee to the fires. And the
thing that people that are elected must always remain mindful
of is that the people have the power at the
end of the day. Now, Q rightfully would point out
at this point in the conversation that, well, the people
don't have the army, that people don't have the drones,
that sort of thing, and obviously that is factual. But
(08:52):
my position when it comes to protest is that the
people showing the numbers that they have show exactly. Uh,
the amount of power that they have now how they
choose to wield that power is yet to be determined.
Sometimes people will march right up into the you know,
the governor's mansion or the prime minister's house or whatever,
(09:15):
depending on you know what country we're talking about, and
they'll grab the person who they've elected who's failing them
and bring them outside and off with his head or
off with her head. Right, It's happened many times throughout history.
The people ultimately will take their power back. But in
this country, you know, this is a we we live
(09:36):
in a capitalistic framework, right, and the people need to
be well governed in order for the economy to keep working.
If the people aren't well governed, then the economy doesn't
work and everybody loses. Not of the people lose, everybody
loses something, right, And we've lived through those times, and
(10:00):
people don't like it. So it's a lot worse when
one hundred percent of the people are looking at you
as the source of the problem that ails the entire country. Right,
So this very would well could be you know, people
just kind of showing their aversion to this administration, their policies,
(10:20):
et cetera. But it also shows, Okay, we have you know,
twenty you know million people that have gone out to protest.
They're just picking a number. I'm not sure that that's
what it'll look like, but let's just say twenty million people.
That's a significant amount of people that have been able
to come outside and show their discontent with the administration.
(10:42):
If you took those twenty million people out of the
economics of the country, that would make some significant impact
fiscally speaking, across the board in this country. One of
the things that Q and I discussed on this show
oh frequently is that all of the businesses that operate
(11:05):
at a national level, they're heavily leveraged. They have a
lot of debt that they have to service, et cetera.
That's how they're able to expand, and so they live
and die on the tiniest of margins in terms of
their profits. Remove twenty million people out of the out
of economic consideration. Let's say these people choose to boycott,
(11:29):
these people choose to whatever. Now people are losing their jobs,
businesses are closing. The economy is imploding because businesses depend
on businesses. Businesses depend on people having money and spending it.
And if you have twenty million people that show up
that say we oppose this administration and we will not
(11:50):
be governor, we will be ungovernable until such a time
is our issues are heard. Right, they don't need to
be like la people with their protest and they could
just show their bodies on the streets. We showed up
because we oppose what he's saying. We oppose what this
administration is doing. We are not going to live in
(12:10):
this country and you have to deal with us. Right then,
that twenty million people drags the rest of the country
kicking in stream, screaming in one direction. It takes a
very tiny amount of people that are upset and consistent
to change empires to topple them. You don't need all
(12:32):
of the people. It's never happened in the history of
the world. You just need enough people. Let's get twenty protests,
I think show that go ahead, done.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah, Let's get twenty million people to call into their
congressmen and their representatives.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Right, yeah, that's what I call a protest. Right.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
I mean, sure, I'm not downing it. It's just symbolically, sure,
it looks great. Soul has shown us. What will it
really what will come about. Because again, I'm with you,
there's other ways that I like. I don't think phone
calls to Congress. I think phone calls to congressmen are
(13:09):
even easier to ignore than protests because protests, it's a
group of people outside chanting and shouting, widely covered by
news outlets. Fox News is going to be out there,
that's what's going on that day, So it'll make its
way to everybody, and they will see just how many
people are upset.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Now can you ignore that? Sure, But you could very
easily ignore a phone call. You don't even actually get
calls into your congress people. If you call an intern
and they make a note, and whether or not you
know you're elected representative reads it is they just don't
read that. I just, I mean, we all know that
that's not a real thing.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
But if it's flooding up the lines, if it's flooding
up the emails, if it's flooding up the phone lines,
it's making a difference. It was just an example.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
I get what you may yeah, yeah, And I get
what you're saying. There's other ways to do it, and
I totally agree, But I don't want to turn our
listeners off to the idea that their voice matters. And
I know that's not what you were saying. I just
want to make sure that I'm covering all of our
bases here. We don't those of us who feel that
(14:12):
a progressive agenda is more beneficial for this country long
term for us to just take everything on the chin
and say there's nothing that we can do and just
kind of bear it a mint, yeah, and just to
kind of accept defeat, you know what I mean. For
(14:33):
that to be our modus operandi in this moment, not
only does it allow them to continue doing what they're
doing make things even worse, but it makes them feel
even more fortified in doing so, because the people that
are more vocal in their worlds are the people that
support what it is they're doing, and from where they sit,
that's the majority of the country. Because Donald Trump got
(14:55):
the popular vote, not because most people didn't go out
and vote because they didn't like either candidate for one
reason or another, but because Donald Trump ended with the
popular vote, So in their minds, that means that most
people in the country like this, and I don't believe
that's true. I believe that sure, the majority of people
that voted they could make that argument based on the
(15:17):
factors that have made their way to them. There's still
a lot to be seen about how that election was
executed and whether or not the integrity was indeed in place.
But I just don't want people to give up hope.
I do believe that protests work. I do believe that
to a degree, you know, given you know the method
(15:37):
that you mentioned, the organizing of the you know, the
phone trees and the phone calls and that sort of thing,
that can have some impact as well. But the idea
that people should just stay home because nothing matters anymore,
I think that is a dangerous turn for us to make.
Not that that's what you were saying. I just don't
want people to hear what we're talking about now and decide,
(16:01):
you know what, nothing matters every man for himself, and
then people's material reality ends up a lot worse because
they have not stood up, pushback, voiced their concern and
you know, I could see that having a ripple effect
negatively for people that spouse a progressive agenda. Why don't
we see more more of us out there protesting. Look
(16:24):
I go out to the protests, I see you bust.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Out there I'm an Arizona, so I'm not saying you
in particular, but I'm just saying in general, as I
look at the protests and the footage and what happens,
you know in my area, I don't see us.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Sure, sure, So so here's what I think. So, first off,
if you take the population of the United States of America, okay,
and you let's let's call it thirteen percent thirteen percent
black people in this country, if you go out to
a protest or really anything, baseball game doesn't matter, if
you see thirteen percent of black people there, then black
(17:01):
people are well represented. Right, So that means that you're
going to look at eighty seven percent non black people,
and black people will be well represented. So when you
say I don't see us out there, it's a matter
of kind of keeping things in proper context. Now, in
terms of protests where it's voluntary, where people of means
(17:24):
typically have more time to go out, they can get babysit,
all that sort of stuff, you know, you might see
some overrepresentation of non black people out there. People that
have means, as I mentioned, people that can take off
of work, people that don't work weekends, whatever their circumstances
are and we know, based on you know, our fiscal
(17:45):
footprint in this country that the people that have more
means don't often look like us, So that could impact
numbers as well. But the sentiment I think is one
that most black people appreciate, as illustrated by the exit
(18:05):
poll numbers. I think it was ninety black women voted
for Kamala Harrison might have been something like eighty seven
percent black men, which is as close to one hundred
percent as you're ever going to get in a democracy
like this where everyone is entitled to their own opinion,
and that's not including third parties and whatever else. That's
just this last election. So I think that Black people
(18:26):
are well represented. I think all Americans are well represented
in these types of protests. It's just that if you
see things that don't reflect your material reality, like I
do in a place like Arizona where it's six percent
black people something like that. So if I see six
out of one hundred people, if I see six black peo,
if I see one black family out of one hundred people,
(18:49):
I'll be like, yeah, we're out here, you know what
I mean based on the population.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Right, But also, don't you think that it's also protest
is not just about standing in with a sign, but
protests can be organizing or policy advocacy or you know
all those other things. So just because you're not standing
out and in the middle of the street doing the protesting,
you may be the person is organizing or doing something else.
So you're supporting that in many different ways.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
There's ancillary roles absolutely, and I think that for a
person like me, as I mentioned, I like direct action,
like during the Black Lives Matter protest to twenty twenty
when people would just like walk onto the freeway. I
love that. I just think that's just brilliant. Everybody just like,
(19:33):
oh right, they're doing that. I'm going on about my business.
It doesn't matter to me. Nope, We're going to make
it matter to you. If this is annoying to you,
imagine how we feel. You're gonna feel this and then
eventually it makes its way up. People were getting arrested, Hey,
that comes with it. You know, people were getting pepper sprayed.
I got pepper sprayed. It comes with it, you know
what I mean. My fortunately my sons didn't get pepper sprayed,
but I definitely did. You know, it just comes with it,
(19:56):
you know, and like I just don't. I just don't
have as some people that's not their ministry, as Q
would say, you know what I mean, Like I my
heart doesn't beat fast like I'm here, let's get it.
You know, that's that's my style. And I get that's
not everybody's style. But you need people like me to
be willing to make sure that people recognize like, hey,
(20:18):
it could get worse. Let's don't get it worse, right,
You need a Malcolm X so that people will pay
attention to Martin, you know what I mean, Like, that's
just how it goes. And so yeah, there are different
ways that different people can do different things. But I
think a protest like this just shows the sheer numbers
of the opposition and the willingness of this opposition to
(20:39):
get outside and get active. These aren't people that are
at home just like, oh well look what he did today.
These are people outside with their signs, marching and you know,
bearing witness to the speakers on the stage, the orators
going to booths. You know, it's a it's an organized thing.
You can go out, bring your family, get literature, figure
out how to be more active, all that sort of stuff,
run for local office, all that, there's strategists in place,
(21:02):
there's you know, these are good things for people who
want to push back people that don't want to just
take this on the chin. So again, I just want
to make sure that that while we can be critical
of everything, I think it's our job to be critical
of everything. We're journalists. We have to have a critical
mind in general. I recognize that the reason the Constitution
(21:24):
guarantees us freedom of assembly in the first Amendment in
our Bill of Rights is so that we have and
can use the power, and I want to use that
word intentionally, the power of protests to compel the government
(21:45):
to obey the wishes of the people, all of the people.
And we are the people here too. I mean, that's
the words of the concept we the people, you know.
So I just wanted to make sure I said that.
I'm so sorry, I Q. I know I probably stepped
all over your toes. I do it a lot forgive me.
I love you so much, man, I just wanted to
make sure that I got those bars off.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
The efficacy of peaceful protests has long been argued, I
believe Stokely. Carmichael argued famously that for nonviolence to be effective,
the oppressor must have a conscience.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Absolutely, I think we've all realized that that's no longer
the case. Even doctor King, who his entire movement was nonviolence,
he believed that it had the ability to generate understanding
and sympathy from the oppressor, which I think we all
know today is no longer the case. So talking about
(22:45):
how effective our non violent organizing and protesting will be,
I don't know, right. You just quoted the Constitution opposed
to a group who has made it very plain to
us that they don't care about our constitutional or stripping
them from us, or treating us like they don't exist.
So you know, I don't want us to spend an
(23:05):
hour on one topic, but I think all parties kind
of have a valid position on this, like nobody's wrong.
It's hard to feel like this will be effective when
we have people in place actively oppressing us, actively violating
our rights, stepping all over the Constitution with impunity. Who
(23:27):
would feel hopeful in such circumstances. But I digress. Moving on.
Although many people argue that racism does not exist in
our political system, our next story out of Kansas seems
to paint a very different picture.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Doug.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Let's start with you this time. Give us the latest
news surrounding the Kansas Young Republicans political group, and Esther
and ramses, we'll hear from you after.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Yeah, this is well, I'll say it didn't come as
a shock to me. So the latest is that the
Kansas Young Republicans are now inactive.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
After political dot.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Com they dropped a three thousand plus page like a
document of encrypted chats between its vice chair Alex Dwyer
and vice chair William Hendrix. Now, the messages were filled
with racial slurs, jokes about Jewish people, references to white
supremacy violence.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Here are just a few of the messages.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
And one said that black voters have low IQ and
they are easy to manipulate. Another said, you know, give them
a bucket of fried chicken and of forty and they'll
vote for anyone, all while praising Adolf Hitler. And you know,
the messages just gets worse. I don't need to go
any further. These encrypted chats, you know, included influential decision
(24:49):
making leaders from Kansas, Vermont, New York, and Arizona. Vermont's
governor Phil Scott called the comments disgusting. And unacceptable, and
you know, just as unacceptable as their response from our
Vice President jd Vance. I mean, for I was really
shocked by that statement sort of, but I'll just sittle
(25:11):
on that and pass some Mike deast.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
And honestly, I was trying to when I read through
the story, I was trying to say, why is this important?
Because you know, we've known, you know, most of us
in this room that are talking here know that there
are people who have behind closed doors, would probably say
a lot of things that we would think is vile
(25:36):
and disgusting, and why would you do that? And you
know that it's it's out there. People have their hearts
are not perhaps as kind as they should be or
open to other different different ethnicities and people. But when
I kind of dug deeper, I kind of felt like
there were two things that kind of took us a
(25:58):
takeaway that this These weren't just fringe extremists. They were
connected to state leadership and held positions of influence inside
the network of political networks. This means like rhetoric wasn't
just isolated, it was sitting close to power, shaping conversations
in spaces where policy is created. So the scandal exposes
(26:21):
kind of a deeper political strategy in many ways because
the chats included discussions about including accusations of racism as
a campaign tactic even while engaging in racist talk themselves,
and that kind of reveals the cynical political maneuvering using
racism as a weapon and a shield depending on who's
(26:44):
using it. So those are the things that I kind
of felt that were deeper about the shock value. And
you know, once you read it, you're like all these
horrible things, you're just like horrified. But it's like these
folks were in spaces which affect me on a deeper level.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
And that's about it. Ramses. Yeah, so we've had a
couple of conversations about these leaks, so I don't want
to rehash our thoughts again. Rather, I want to ask
(27:25):
anyone who wants to hear my thoughts and Q's thoughts
on this to check out Civic Cipher this weekend, or
check out the most recent prior to today's episode of The
QR Code. Because we actually went into the weeds and
broke this down. We provided some historical context. We did
a lot with these messages, and this should be a
(27:49):
lot more concerning than people know. So I'll leave it there,
but please please please check that out. Hey, what's up?
Speaker 4 (27:56):
This is Ramsey's job, and I am q Ward and
we're inviting you to subscribe the Civic Cipher, our weekly
social justice podcast right here in the app.
Speaker 5 (28:04):
We pride ourselves on creating a show that fusters allyship,
empathy and understanding, all the while conducting journalistically credible research
featuring influential, noteworthy yests and empowering historically marginalized communities.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
The African proverb reads, if you want to go far,
go together. So we are asking you to search for
and subscribe to Civic Cipher.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
That cibic cip h e er right here in the app.
Bin News anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis are here
with us discussing this week's major stories. All right. Ever
since former pro quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee, the
NFL has found itself in the crosshairs of a political controversy.
(28:43):
With every passing season now, this year's announcement of music
artists Bad Bunny as the halftime performer is not only
created controversy, but has also caused one political organization to
react in a very unusual way. Esther, let's go back
to you give us more details on this story, and
then Doug and Q we'll get your thoughts after well.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
A conservative group, Turning Point USA, just announced that they're
planning its own event, and what they're calling it is
the All American Halftime Show. It's set to run at
the same time as the official Super Bowl Halftime show
on February eighth at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara. Now,
(29:21):
the official NFL show will feature Bad Bunny, as you said,
the Puerto Rican superstar known for performing in Spanish, and
that choice, because he's going to perform it in Spanish,
has sparked a lot of criticism some conservative commentators who
argue that the performance doesn't represent quote traditional American values
(29:42):
and we all know what that means. Well, Turning Point
USA says that it's going to show their show is
going to focus on faith and family and freedom. And
they're at even asking people to vote on what kind
of music should be featured, me like country music or
classic rop pop worship music, And one of the choices,
(30:05):
which was quite controversial, was quote anything in English so
they feel like speaking in Spanish or having Spanish heritage.
Even if you're an American, as those who are from
Puerto Rico, there are American citizens that they are not
quote Americans. So so far if they haven't announced who
(30:25):
will perform or how people can watch, but the timing
and the messaging make it clear that this isn't just
a concert. It's a cultural statement. And I'll leave it there.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Yeh, well, let's be I'll try to be as politically
correct as possible. I hate to say it, this is
getting to be comical to means. I mean, really, this
is how what's going down. Trump has really polarized as country,
or shall I say embolden in my opinion, racist America
to show their ugly faces in real time. Look, this
(30:59):
is straight big tree at its finest. In my opinion,
it's another shameless political stunt by MAGA to further divide
the country. And what American in my opinions, take of
the bait. I mean, come on, man, we all know
we create the culture. Yeah, bad Bunny's Puerto Rican, but
he's an American and we all know our African ancestry
(31:22):
is woven into Puerto Rican culture and Caribbean culture.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
You know, again, we are the culture. They know that.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
And I'm just gonna say this, I think whoever made
the decision for Bad Bunny to perform, and I'm not
saying any names, I believe was very intentional about this choice,
giving Bad Bunny an opportunity to amplify the voices of
Latin ex Americans in the wake of all these Ice deportations. So,
(31:50):
you know, MAGA wants to make a political stance with
this quote unquote alternative event, and they are.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
So let's see who wins out.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
And I bet you my fetching my last dollar, Bad
Bunny will come out winning. I think he's going to
say some words on that stage, whether in Spanish or
or English, you know, during that big halftime performance that
I believe will impact America and the world.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
I can't wait here.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
You know, there was an inflection point in the history
of this country where racism and capitalism were in conflict,
and for about fifty or sixty years, capitalism won and
caused racism to have to take a back seat in
the name of profits across professional sports, across the US corporations,
(32:41):
every company that you call in the country now, if
you call customer service, there's an option for Spanish because
they understand that a large portion of the population is
Spanish speaking, and most corporations, namely the NFL, want to
expand globally into other parts of the world Latin America
and in other parts of Europe, or Spanish is the
(33:02):
is the first language or official language of those countries,
then bringing someone like bad Bunny in is a massive
profit decision driven by a capitalist company. So this is
like the first time in my lifetime where capitalism and
racism are bumping heads against each other again in such
a way where we're not sure which one is going
(33:22):
to win. It seems as we watch companies preemptively bend
the need to this administration, that racism is winning a
lot of these battles. But the NFL, with you know,
probably eighty percent of its active players being minorities, is
kind of trying to tight rope the line of you know,
(33:44):
capitalism versus you know, bending to the whims of this administration.
So I'm hoping that they break records and that this
is the most watched Super Bowl halftime show ever, just
as a spit in the face to this counter programming
that they're trying to do, because I think it's kind
of ridiculous and as a lot of things that they
(34:05):
are doing are blatantly racist. And our final story this
week involves two pillars in the black community. They're not
only respective friends to this program, but also highly regarded
black media figures. Unfortunately, their recent war of words has
turned into an escalating feud and sadly, there's no side
(34:26):
of side, no signs. I'm sorry of either side backing down.
Doug break this down for our listeners, the story behind
the recent feud between Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett and ESPN
host stephen A Smith and Esther and Rams as you
guys chime in after.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
Absolutely so stephen A Smith, controversial sportscaster and commentators being,
in my opinion, ripped to the shreds after criticizing our
beloved sister in Congress, Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas,
for her opposing pretty much everything Donald Trump is doing
for the most part, so Smith basically said that her
heated to discussions are more about making headlines than helping
(35:03):
her district, and regarding her quotes, he said that quote
is that doing I'm sorry, is that what is that
doing to help your district? In Texas and of course,
you know black folks, particularly on social media. Clap back
Tamika Mallory said that Smith disrespected a powerful black woman.
(35:24):
Old school rapper rulely D said, Smith was, you know,
tearing down a black woman who's out here putting in
real work, and Scissus and bros. Of course on social
media game went berserk and they're still chopping up Smith
like a salad. So Smith responded on his podcast saying
that he has nothing but respect for Jasmine Crockett and
(35:45):
just really backed up what he said and that he
thinks her approaches counterproductive and said that he's calling or
that that he calls the calls to cancel him. He
said that the calls to cancel him are immature and shameful. Eyesay,
when will men learn come after black women, especially in public.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
You're going to get some backlash.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Indeed, esther, Well, I listened to the story and I
kind of felt like this. When Stephen A. Smith criticized
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, the internet lit up not just because
of what he said, but because of who he said
it about. Let's be real, this isn't just about a
(36:27):
debate of politics or performance. It's about what happens when
a black woman in power raises her voice in a
system that's still shaped by patriarchal and racist structures for generations, women,
especially black women, who speak boldly have been labeled a's angry,
on professional, too emotional, and when men use that same tone,
(36:50):
they're called strong or passionate. So the controversy here isn't
just about Stephen A. Smith or his tone. It's about
how America still struggles with who gets to speak loudly
and be heard without punishment. If Representative Crockett were a man,
would we be having this conversation. Maybe, but I don't.
(37:12):
I really doubt that it would have carried the same
fire or the same I don't know. Double standard and I'll.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Leave it there. Good point, Ramdas. I don't have much,
but I want to make sure that if you have
some thoughts, Q, that you can share them. Otherwise, I'm
just going to say something in brief. Please go ahead again,
(37:41):
like you said, these are both friends of the show.
You and I have long espoused the philosophy of protecting
black women. We have said it on this program, on
Civic Cipher and to countless crowds around the country that
we feel that black women are as close to God
as we can be on this planet. I recognize that
(38:05):
not all skin folks is kin folks. So there are
some black women who are definitely problematic. But I think
the philosophy I think is sound, and outside of that,
there's really not a whole lot else for me to say.
You know what I mean, I'm not knocking anybody, I'm
not taking anything away from anybody, But I'll say this,
it would not be my way to publicly criticize any
(38:27):
black woman doing anything positive at all period. I just
don't see that. If I did have something worth saying,
I would say behind closed doors and in a in
a constructive like sort of critique that type of manner.
But I just I just don't see how this would
(38:50):
would I don't I don't see myself wearing these clothes.
So that's really all I have to say. So with
that in mind, if I may, before we close, oheah,
go ahead. Because you said some black women are problematic,
I think a better statement would be some people are problematic.
I don't sure.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
I don't think that black women should have to wear
that code as like by the specific group that are problematic.
I think human beings in general and every group, every
ethnicity are problematic.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
And what we've noticed, unfortunately, is this is not the
first time that Brother Stephen A. Smith has encouraged someone
to just capitulate and be nice to Donald Trump. And
I think that's where kind of where people are starting
to take notice and starting to have a problem, not
just that you're challenging one of our sisters in a
(39:42):
very public, very aggressive way, but that you seem to
be caping up or standing up for this man who
has shown not to be that good of a person,
and no one thinks that that's the way in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Yeah, I want to say this to your point, to
help to make your point. You're right, Donald Trump's administration
has caused the most significant job loss for black women
in I think ever his second administration by itself, Donald
Trump's effect on Black women has been profound. And so
(40:19):
for anybody to then, as you mentioned, compel folks to
capitulate being the need that sort of thing is problematic.
And then this is just kind of a note for us.
And I think we mentioned this on the show, so
maybe our listeners would recognize. But the reason I said
black women in particular is because of that incident that
(40:40):
we had on the ground in DC with the women
from Chicago, the black Charlie Kirk Donald Trump supporters that
were very aggressive and vulgar, and they had like a
very angry sort of demeanor when they approached. I think
(41:03):
they were did us in a very awful They treated us.
Speaker 4 (41:06):
Right, So that's that's what I was trying to say
that again, is not unique to black women.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
Well no, no, you're absolutely right, but mind for black women.
But that's that's who I had in mind when I
said that. So yeah, anyway, we'll leave it right there.
As always, i'd like to thank you both very much
for your time and your insight. Once again. Today's guests
are bi In News anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis.
This has been a production of The bi In. Today's
show was produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd
(41:31):
like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature on
the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to hit
subscribe and download all of our episodes. I am Your Host,
Ramsey's Jah on all social media.
Speaker 4 (41:42):
I am q Warred on all social media as well.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
And we'll be hosting another episode of a Civic Cipher
this weekend on a station near you. For stations, showtimes,
and podcast INPO, check civiccipher dot com and join us
Monday as we share our news with our voice from
our perspective right here on the QR code
It's been another busy news week and we like to
review the major stories of the week here on the Bin. Today,
we are joined by bi In News anchors Esther Dillard
and Doug Davis to discuss this week's major stories. This
is the QR code. He is q ward and he
is Ramsay's job. All right, Doug and Esther, two of
(00:21):
my favorites. Welcome back to the show. Esther, anything noteworthy
been going on in your world?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Well, I have a birthday coming up, so that's a
really big thing. That's fun. And my son and I
have we share a birthday on October nineteenth, so that's
gonna be fun.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay, Well, happy early birthday to you and your son. Doug,
talk to me, man, what's the latest? Oh Man doing well?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Looking at going back to Las Vegas possibly next weekend.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
They got the big HBCU football classics there. He was
telling me about that.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Yeah, with Grambling State and Jackson State, two powerhouses. So
you know, I'm all about the HPCU. Thank So I'm
gonna have to travel back to Vegas Man to get
it in. I'm gonna have to hook up with reckless.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I'll let Q tell it, but you know, he was
kind of around for kind of the I guess the
inception of that is an idea. I know you were
on the ground there, Q. I'm sure this has to
be exciting for you too.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
It would be more exciting had I been able to
get it across the line, but I'm glad that it's happening.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Okay. Well, you know I remember that time being very exciting,
so I was excited for you. So in any event,
let's give the people what they came for, all right.
First up, as the government shut down continues, a nationwide
protest is scheduled for this weekend, and the event organizers
hope these peaceful protests will draw much needed attention to
the negative impact of the Trump administration's policies. Esther, let's
(01:43):
get today's show started with you. Tell us more about
the no Kings protests scheduled for this weekend, and then
Doug and Q will get your thoughts after.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Esther, Well, you are probably going to see a lot
of people out on the streets this weekend, and that's
because Saturday, October eighteenth has declared, like you said, No
King's Day of Peaceful Action. It's part of a nationwide
movement protesting the Trump administration. Organizers say that the president
is acting more like a king than a leader of democracy. Now,
(02:13):
this isn't a small effort. More than two hundred progressive
organizations are behind this, and they're stressing that all demonstrations
should remain or demonstrators should be peaceful and lawful. This
weekend's events are actually a follow up to what was
called No King's Day of Defiance back in June. I
know if you remember that, but there were more than
(02:34):
five million people that marched in all fifty states. This time,
they're expecting it to be bigger, over two thousand, five
hundred protests across the country. And although many people are
jazzed up about it, there are many Republican leaders, including
members of the Trump administration, that are calling these rallies
hate America events, and they claim that Democrats are using
(02:55):
the ongoing government shut down to build momentum for the protests.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Doug, Yeah, you know, I'm all for protesting.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
You know, we've seen how protesting can be a symbol
for change when the intent is real. And I don't
mean to sound pessimistic, but I'm afraid that some of
the same people who I believe will be protesting this Saturday,
or some of the very same ones that march for
black justice during the black you know, during the you know,
(03:26):
the George Floyd protests. So what gets me about mainstream
protests is this, when black folks protests, we mean it,
and something meaningful comes out of that protest, right you know,
we don't protest because it's cool or you know, the
(03:47):
right thing to do, you know, And right now, I
just feel like protesting is kind of trendy for lack
of a better word, you know, particularly against Trump's authoritative actions.
I mean, look, look what he's doing, you know, and
but look what this country has done for black folks.
And if I recall from my history lessons, the civil
rights marches did become trendy at one point, you know,
(04:09):
Hollywood celebs.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Began joining in.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
It became this kind of big multicultural thing, you know.
And like I say, do we march with intention? And
look what came about. Right I marched with my parents
for the MLK Holiday in DC in the dead of
winter in February nineteen eighty and ice, snow, cold temperatures,
and we marched with intent, and look what happened. We
(04:31):
got the King holiday, So what are these folks really
marching for? When it comes to intent, I mean, you know,
I'll say intentionally the campus protests about what was happening
in guys, that did bring about some change, particularly of
attitudes with the Americans, although no major policy shifts were made.
(04:52):
You know, there were marches for reproductive rights, what happened.
So I only hope and pray that this time around,
with this No King's protest, you know, this will really
add the fuel to the fire about what's happening inside
the White House right now and inside the halls of Congress.
Black folks, I know we have always said, but this
particular situation, we're tired of marching. You know, we voted
(05:14):
for Kamala and they didn't, and so you know, some
of us feel like this isn't our fight, But I
feel like this is our fight.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
This is a moment that can change America.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
So as Mark Morial, of course, the Urban League says,
we're in a state of emergency, and I really just
hope something positive really comes out of these marches because personally,
I'm tired of march and I want to see some action.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Before you say anything. If I may, I want to
offer our listeners my thoughts on kind of the purpose
of these protests, because you do bring up a really
interesting and compelling point, Dug, I want to I want
(06:02):
to hear from you, though qu is that okay by
all means okay? So so yeah, you do bring up
an interesting point. A lot of people can look at
protests like, oh, well, this is simply the opposition. You know,
taking a day to go hang out with each other
(06:23):
doesn't really have any meaningful impact on the way that,
you know, politics will be administrated in this uh, in
this country. There's there's just no impact that these sorts
of protests have. I think that protesting still has its place.
(06:48):
My particular style of protesting that that I have come
to espouse from history, that the kind that I think
is a little bit more immediate and terms of the
changes that it that it brings about would be considered
a bit more aggressive than holding a sign and walking
down the street. You know, I'm from la and LA
(07:12):
is busy, as you well know, so you know that
forces people to make moves. But you know that's not
everybody's way, and you know there are people on the
political opposite opposition that we'll look at that and say, oh,
look at these thugs and rioters and blah blah blah.
You know, I'm sure they have a point. What I think, though,
(07:35):
is when you have the numbers, it really shows exactly
what's at stake. Donald Trump and this administration has done
its best to paint literally half of the country as
anti American, as terrorists, as you know, whatever, whatever the
(08:04):
narrative it is that they're trying to chronicle of the
day and it's not working. I mean, you like, think
about that, you can't like half the country, like even
ten percent of the country is the country that you
have to account for that group as well, Right, So
showing up and getting the numbers out there kind of
(08:28):
holds the elected officials fee to the fires. And the
thing that people that are elected must always remain mindful
of is that the people have the power at the
end of the day. Now, Q rightfully would point out
at this point in the conversation that, well, the people
don't have the army, that people don't have the drones,
that sort of thing, and obviously that is factual. But
(08:52):
my position when it comes to protest is that the
people showing the numbers that they have show exactly. Uh,
the amount of power that they have now how they
choose to wield that power is yet to be determined.
Sometimes people will march right up into the you know,
the governor's mansion or the prime minister's house or whatever,
(09:15):
depending on you know what country we're talking about, and
they'll grab the person who they've elected who's failing them
and bring them outside and off with his head or
off with her head. Right, It's happened many times throughout history.
The people ultimately will take their power back. But in
this country, you know, this is a we we live
(09:36):
in a capitalistic framework, right, and the people need to
be well governed in order for the economy to keep working.
If the people aren't well governed, then the economy doesn't
work and everybody loses. Not of the people lose, everybody
loses something, right, And we've lived through those times, and
(10:00):
people don't like it. So it's a lot worse when
one hundred percent of the people are looking at you
as the source of the problem that ails the entire country. Right,
So this very would well could be you know, people
just kind of showing their aversion to this administration, their policies,
(10:20):
et cetera. But it also shows, Okay, we have you know,
twenty you know million people that have gone out to protest.
They're just picking a number. I'm not sure that that's
what it'll look like, but let's just say twenty million people.
That's a significant amount of people that have been able
to come outside and show their discontent with the administration.
(10:42):
If you took those twenty million people out of the
economics of the country, that would make some significant impact
fiscally speaking, across the board in this country. One of
the things that Q and I discussed on this show
oh frequently is that all of the businesses that operate
(11:05):
at a national level, they're heavily leveraged. They have a
lot of debt that they have to service, et cetera.
That's how they're able to expand, and so they live
and die on the tiniest of margins in terms of
their profits. Remove twenty million people out of the out
of economic consideration. Let's say these people choose to boycott,
(11:29):
these people choose to whatever. Now people are losing their jobs,
businesses are closing. The economy is imploding because businesses depend
on businesses. Businesses depend on people having money and spending it.
And if you have twenty million people that show up
that say we oppose this administration and we will not
(11:50):
be governor, we will be ungovernable until such a time
is our issues are heard. Right, they don't need to
be like la people with their protest and they could
just show their bodies on the streets. We showed up
because we oppose what he's saying. We oppose what this
administration is doing. We are not going to live in
(12:10):
this country and you have to deal with us. Right then,
that twenty million people drags the rest of the country
kicking in stream, screaming in one direction. It takes a
very tiny amount of people that are upset and consistent
to change empires to topple them. You don't need all
(12:32):
of the people. It's never happened in the history of
the world. You just need enough people. Let's get twenty protests,
I think show that go ahead, done.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah, Let's get twenty million people to call into their
congressmen and their representatives.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Right, yeah, that's what I call a protest. Right.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
I mean, sure, I'm not downing it. It's just symbolically, sure,
it looks great. Soul has shown us. What will it
really what will come about. Because again, I'm with you,
there's other ways that I like. I don't think phone
calls to Congress. I think phone calls to congressmen are
(13:09):
even easier to ignore than protests because protests, it's a
group of people outside chanting and shouting, widely covered by
news outlets. Fox News is going to be out there,
that's what's going on that day, So it'll make its
way to everybody, and they will see just how many
people are upset.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Now can you ignore that? Sure, But you could very
easily ignore a phone call. You don't even actually get
calls into your congress people. If you call an intern
and they make a note, and whether or not you
know you're elected representative reads it is they just don't
read that. I just, I mean, we all know that
that's not a real thing.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
But if it's flooding up the lines, if it's flooding
up the emails, if it's flooding up the phone lines,
it's making a difference. It was just an example.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
I get what you may yeah, yeah, And I get
what you're saying. There's other ways to do it, and
I totally agree, But I don't want to turn our
listeners off to the idea that their voice matters. And
I know that's not what you were saying. I just
want to make sure that I'm covering all of our
bases here. We don't those of us who feel that
(14:12):
a progressive agenda is more beneficial for this country long
term for us to just take everything on the chin
and say there's nothing that we can do and just
kind of bear it a mint, yeah, and just to
kind of accept defeat, you know what I mean. For
(14:33):
that to be our modus operandi in this moment, not
only does it allow them to continue doing what they're
doing make things even worse, but it makes them feel
even more fortified in doing so, because the people that
are more vocal in their worlds are the people that
support what it is they're doing, and from where they sit,
that's the majority of the country. Because Donald Trump got
(14:55):
the popular vote, not because most people didn't go out
and vote because they didn't like either candidate for one
reason or another, but because Donald Trump ended with the
popular vote, So in their minds, that means that most
people in the country like this, and I don't believe
that's true. I believe that sure, the majority of people
that voted they could make that argument based on the
(15:17):
factors that have made their way to them. There's still
a lot to be seen about how that election was
executed and whether or not the integrity was indeed in place.
But I just don't want people to give up hope.
I do believe that protests work. I do believe that
to a degree, you know, given you know the method
(15:37):
that you mentioned, the organizing of the you know, the
phone trees and the phone calls and that sort of thing,
that can have some impact as well. But the idea
that people should just stay home because nothing matters anymore,
I think that is a dangerous turn for us to make.
Not that that's what you were saying. I just don't
want people to hear what we're talking about now and decide,
(16:01):
you know what, nothing matters every man for himself, and
then people's material reality ends up a lot worse because
they have not stood up, pushback, voiced their concern and
you know, I could see that having a ripple effect
negatively for people that spouse a progressive agenda. Why don't
we see more more of us out there protesting. Look
(16:24):
I go out to the protests, I see you bust.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Out there I'm an Arizona, so I'm not saying you
in particular, but I'm just saying in general, as I
look at the protests and the footage and what happens,
you know in my area, I don't see us.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Sure, sure, So so here's what I think. So, first off,
if you take the population of the United States of America, okay,
and you let's let's call it thirteen percent thirteen percent
black people in this country, if you go out to
a protest or really anything, baseball game doesn't matter, if
you see thirteen percent of black people there, then black
(17:01):
people are well represented. Right, So that means that you're
going to look at eighty seven percent non black people,
and black people will be well represented. So when you
say I don't see us out there, it's a matter
of kind of keeping things in proper context. Now, in
terms of protests where it's voluntary, where people of means
(17:24):
typically have more time to go out, they can get babysit,
all that sort of stuff, you know, you might see
some overrepresentation of non black people out there. People that
have means, as I mentioned, people that can take off
of work, people that don't work weekends, whatever their circumstances
are and we know, based on you know, our fiscal
(17:45):
footprint in this country that the people that have more
means don't often look like us, So that could impact
numbers as well. But the sentiment I think is one
that most black people appreciate, as illustrated by the exit
(18:05):
poll numbers. I think it was ninety black women voted
for Kamala Harrison might have been something like eighty seven
percent black men, which is as close to one hundred
percent as you're ever going to get in a democracy
like this where everyone is entitled to their own opinion,
and that's not including third parties and whatever else. That's
just this last election. So I think that Black people
(18:26):
are well represented. I think all Americans are well represented
in these types of protests. It's just that if you
see things that don't reflect your material reality, like I
do in a place like Arizona where it's six percent
black people something like that. So if I see six
out of one hundred people, if I see six black peo,
if I see one black family out of one hundred people,
(18:49):
I'll be like, yeah, we're out here, you know what
I mean based on the population.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Right, But also, don't you think that it's also protest
is not just about standing in with a sign, but
protests can be organizing or policy advocacy or you know
all those other things. So just because you're not standing
out and in the middle of the street doing the protesting,
you may be the person is organizing or doing something else.
So you're supporting that in many different ways.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
There's ancillary roles absolutely, and I think that for a
person like me, as I mentioned, I like direct action,
like during the Black Lives Matter protest to twenty twenty
when people would just like walk onto the freeway. I
love that. I just think that's just brilliant. Everybody just like,
(19:33):
oh right, they're doing that. I'm going on about my business.
It doesn't matter to me. Nope, We're going to make
it matter to you. If this is annoying to you,
imagine how we feel. You're gonna feel this and then
eventually it makes its way up. People were getting arrested, Hey,
that comes with it. You know, people were getting pepper sprayed.
I got pepper sprayed. It comes with it, you know
what I mean. My fortunately my sons didn't get pepper sprayed,
but I definitely did. You know, it just comes with it,
(19:56):
you know, and like I just don't. I just don't
have as some people that's not their ministry, as Q
would say, you know what I mean, Like I my
heart doesn't beat fast like I'm here, let's get it.
You know, that's that's my style. And I get that's
not everybody's style. But you need people like me to
be willing to make sure that people recognize like, hey,
(20:18):
it could get worse. Let's don't get it worse, right,
You need a Malcolm X so that people will pay
attention to Martin, you know what I mean, Like, that's
just how it goes. And so yeah, there are different
ways that different people can do different things. But I
think a protest like this just shows the sheer numbers
of the opposition and the willingness of this opposition to
(20:39):
get outside and get active. These aren't people that are
at home just like, oh well look what he did today.
These are people outside with their signs, marching and you know,
bearing witness to the speakers on the stage, the orators
going to booths. You know, it's a it's an organized thing.
You can go out, bring your family, get literature, figure
out how to be more active, all that sort of stuff,
run for local office, all that, there's strategists in place,
(21:02):
there's you know, these are good things for people who
want to push back people that don't want to just
take this on the chin. So again, I just want
to make sure that that while we can be critical
of everything, I think it's our job to be critical
of everything. We're journalists. We have to have a critical
mind in general. I recognize that the reason the Constitution
(21:24):
guarantees us freedom of assembly in the first Amendment in
our Bill of Rights is so that we have and
can use the power, and I want to use that
word intentionally, the power of protests to compel the government
(21:45):
to obey the wishes of the people, all of the people.
And we are the people here too. I mean, that's
the words of the concept we the people, you know.
So I just wanted to make sure I said that.
I'm so sorry, I Q. I know I probably stepped
all over your toes. I do it a lot forgive me.
I love you so much, man, I just wanted to
make sure that I got those bars off.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
The efficacy of peaceful protests has long been argued, I
believe Stokely. Carmichael argued famously that for nonviolence to be effective,
the oppressor must have a conscience.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Absolutely, I think we've all realized that that's no longer
the case. Even doctor King, who his entire movement was nonviolence,
he believed that it had the ability to generate understanding
and sympathy from the oppressor, which I think we all
know today is no longer the case. So talking about
(22:45):
how effective our non violent organizing and protesting will be,
I don't know, right. You just quoted the Constitution opposed
to a group who has made it very plain to
us that they don't care about our constitutional or stripping
them from us, or treating us like they don't exist.
So you know, I don't want us to spend an
(23:05):
hour on one topic, but I think all parties kind
of have a valid position on this, like nobody's wrong.
It's hard to feel like this will be effective when
we have people in place actively oppressing us, actively violating
our rights, stepping all over the Constitution with impunity. Who
(23:27):
would feel hopeful in such circumstances. But I digress. Moving on.
Although many people argue that racism does not exist in
our political system, our next story out of Kansas seems
to paint a very different picture.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Doug.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Let's start with you this time. Give us the latest
news surrounding the Kansas Young Republicans political group, and Esther
and ramses, we'll hear from you after.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Yeah, this is well, I'll say it didn't come as
a shock to me. So the latest is that the
Kansas Young Republicans are now inactive.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
After political dot.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Com they dropped a three thousand plus page like a
document of encrypted chats between its vice chair Alex Dwyer
and vice chair William Hendrix. Now, the messages were filled
with racial slurs, jokes about Jewish people, references to white
supremacy violence.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Here are just a few of the messages.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
And one said that black voters have low IQ and
they are easy to manipulate. Another said, you know, give them
a bucket of fried chicken and of forty and they'll
vote for anyone, all while praising Adolf Hitler. And you know,
the messages just gets worse. I don't need to go
any further. These encrypted chats, you know, included influential decision
(24:49):
making leaders from Kansas, Vermont, New York, and Arizona. Vermont's
governor Phil Scott called the comments disgusting. And unacceptable, and
you know, just as unacceptable as their response from our
Vice President jd Vance. I mean, for I was really
shocked by that statement sort of, but I'll just sittle
(25:11):
on that and pass some Mike deast.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
And honestly, I was trying to when I read through
the story, I was trying to say, why is this important?
Because you know, we've known, you know, most of us
in this room that are talking here know that there
are people who have behind closed doors, would probably say
a lot of things that we would think is vile
(25:36):
and disgusting, and why would you do that? And you
know that it's it's out there. People have their hearts
are not perhaps as kind as they should be or
open to other different different ethnicities and people. But when
I kind of dug deeper, I kind of felt like
there were two things that kind of took us a
(25:58):
takeaway that this These weren't just fringe extremists. They were
connected to state leadership and held positions of influence inside
the network of political networks. This means like rhetoric wasn't
just isolated, it was sitting close to power, shaping conversations
in spaces where policy is created. So the scandal exposes
(26:21):
kind of a deeper political strategy in many ways because
the chats included discussions about including accusations of racism as
a campaign tactic even while engaging in racist talk themselves,
and that kind of reveals the cynical political maneuvering using
racism as a weapon and a shield depending on who's
(26:44):
using it. So those are the things that I kind
of felt that were deeper about the shock value. And
you know, once you read it, you're like all these
horrible things, you're just like horrified. But it's like these
folks were in spaces which affect me on a deeper level.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
And that's about it. Ramses. Yeah, so we've had a
couple of conversations about these leaks, so I don't want
to rehash our thoughts again. Rather, I want to ask
(27:25):
anyone who wants to hear my thoughts and Q's thoughts
on this to check out Civic Cipher this weekend, or
check out the most recent prior to today's episode of The
QR Code. Because we actually went into the weeds and
broke this down. We provided some historical context. We did
a lot with these messages, and this should be a
(27:49):
lot more concerning than people know. So I'll leave it there,
but please please please check that out. Hey, what's up?
Speaker 4 (27:56):
This is Ramsey's job, and I am q Ward and
we're inviting you to subscribe the Civic Cipher, our weekly
social justice podcast right here in the app.
Speaker 5 (28:04):
We pride ourselves on creating a show that fusters allyship,
empathy and understanding, all the while conducting journalistically credible research
featuring influential, noteworthy yests and empowering historically marginalized communities.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
The African proverb reads, if you want to go far,
go together. So we are asking you to search for
and subscribe to Civic Cipher.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
That cibic cip h e er right here in the app.
Bin News anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis are here
with us discussing this week's major stories. All right. Ever
since former pro quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee, the
NFL has found itself in the crosshairs of a political controversy.
(28:43):
With every passing season now, this year's announcement of music
artists Bad Bunny as the halftime performer is not only
created controversy, but has also caused one political organization to
react in a very unusual way. Esther, let's go back
to you give us more details on this story, and
then Doug and Q we'll get your thoughts after well.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
A conservative group, Turning Point USA, just announced that they're
planning its own event, and what they're calling it is
the All American Halftime Show. It's set to run at
the same time as the official Super Bowl Halftime show
on February eighth at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara. Now,
(29:21):
the official NFL show will feature Bad Bunny, as you said,
the Puerto Rican superstar known for performing in Spanish, and
that choice, because he's going to perform it in Spanish,
has sparked a lot of criticism some conservative commentators who
argue that the performance doesn't represent quote traditional American values
(29:42):
and we all know what that means. Well, Turning Point
USA says that it's going to show their show is
going to focus on faith and family and freedom. And
they're at even asking people to vote on what kind
of music should be featured, me like country music or
classic rop pop worship music, And one of the choices,
(30:05):
which was quite controversial, was quote anything in English so
they feel like speaking in Spanish or having Spanish heritage.
Even if you're an American, as those who are from
Puerto Rico, there are American citizens that they are not
quote Americans. So so far if they haven't announced who
(30:25):
will perform or how people can watch, but the timing
and the messaging make it clear that this isn't just
a concert. It's a cultural statement. And I'll leave it there.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Yeh, well, let's be I'll try to be as politically
correct as possible. I hate to say it, this is
getting to be comical to means. I mean, really, this
is how what's going down. Trump has really polarized as country,
or shall I say embolden in my opinion, racist America
to show their ugly faces in real time. Look, this
(30:59):
is straight big tree at its finest. In my opinion,
it's another shameless political stunt by MAGA to further divide
the country. And what American in my opinions, take of
the bait. I mean, come on, man, we all know
we create the culture. Yeah, bad Bunny's Puerto Rican, but
he's an American and we all know our African ancestry
(31:22):
is woven into Puerto Rican culture and Caribbean culture.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
You know, again, we are the culture. They know that.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
And I'm just gonna say this, I think whoever made
the decision for Bad Bunny to perform, and I'm not
saying any names, I believe was very intentional about this choice,
giving Bad Bunny an opportunity to amplify the voices of
Latin ex Americans in the wake of all these Ice deportations. So,
(31:50):
you know, MAGA wants to make a political stance with
this quote unquote alternative event, and they are.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
So let's see who wins out.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
And I bet you my fetching my last dollar, Bad
Bunny will come out winning. I think he's going to
say some words on that stage, whether in Spanish or
or English, you know, during that big halftime performance that
I believe will impact America and the world.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
I can't wait here.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
You know, there was an inflection point in the history
of this country where racism and capitalism were in conflict,
and for about fifty or sixty years, capitalism won and
caused racism to have to take a back seat in
the name of profits across professional sports, across the US corporations,
(32:41):
every company that you call in the country now, if
you call customer service, there's an option for Spanish because
they understand that a large portion of the population is
Spanish speaking, and most corporations, namely the NFL, want to
expand globally into other parts of the world Latin America
and in other parts of Europe, or Spanish is the
(33:02):
is the first language or official language of those countries,
then bringing someone like bad Bunny in is a massive
profit decision driven by a capitalist company. So this is
like the first time in my lifetime where capitalism and
racism are bumping heads against each other again in such
a way where we're not sure which one is going
(33:22):
to win. It seems as we watch companies preemptively bend
the need to this administration, that racism is winning a
lot of these battles. But the NFL, with you know,
probably eighty percent of its active players being minorities, is
kind of trying to tight rope the line of you know,
(33:44):
capitalism versus you know, bending to the whims of this administration.
So I'm hoping that they break records and that this
is the most watched Super Bowl halftime show ever, just
as a spit in the face to this counter programming
that they're trying to do, because I think it's kind
of ridiculous and as a lot of things that they
(34:05):
are doing are blatantly racist. And our final story this
week involves two pillars in the black community. They're not
only respective friends to this program, but also highly regarded
black media figures. Unfortunately, their recent war of words has
turned into an escalating feud and sadly, there's no side
(34:26):
of side, no signs. I'm sorry of either side backing down.
Doug break this down for our listeners, the story behind
the recent feud between Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett and ESPN
host stephen A Smith and Esther and Rams as you
guys chime in after.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
Absolutely so stephen A Smith, controversial sportscaster and commentators being,
in my opinion, ripped to the shreds after criticizing our
beloved sister in Congress, Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas,
for her opposing pretty much everything Donald Trump is doing
for the most part, so Smith basically said that her
heated to discussions are more about making headlines than helping
(35:03):
her district, and regarding her quotes, he said that quote
is that doing I'm sorry, is that what is that
doing to help your district? In Texas and of course,
you know black folks, particularly on social media. Clap back
Tamika Mallory said that Smith disrespected a powerful black woman.
(35:24):
Old school rapper rulely D said, Smith was, you know,
tearing down a black woman who's out here putting in
real work, and Scissus and bros. Of course on social
media game went berserk and they're still chopping up Smith
like a salad. So Smith responded on his podcast saying
that he has nothing but respect for Jasmine Crockett and
(35:45):
just really backed up what he said and that he
thinks her approaches counterproductive and said that he's calling or
that that he calls the calls to cancel him. He
said that the calls to cancel him are immature and shameful. Eyesay,
when will men learn come after black women, especially in public.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
You're going to get some backlash.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Indeed, esther, Well, I listened to the story and I
kind of felt like this. When Stephen A. Smith criticized
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, the internet lit up not just because
of what he said, but because of who he said
it about. Let's be real, this isn't just about a
(36:27):
debate of politics or performance. It's about what happens when
a black woman in power raises her voice in a
system that's still shaped by patriarchal and racist structures for generations, women,
especially black women, who speak boldly have been labeled a's angry,
on professional, too emotional, and when men use that same tone,
(36:50):
they're called strong or passionate. So the controversy here isn't
just about Stephen A. Smith or his tone. It's about
how America still struggles with who gets to speak loudly
and be heard without punishment. If Representative Crockett were a man,
would we be having this conversation. Maybe, but I don't.
(37:12):
I really doubt that it would have carried the same
fire or the same I don't know. Double standard and I'll.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Leave it there. Good point, Ramdas. I don't have much,
but I want to make sure that if you have
some thoughts, Q, that you can share them. Otherwise, I'm
just going to say something in brief. Please go ahead again,
(37:41):
like you said, these are both friends of the show.
You and I have long espoused the philosophy of protecting
black women. We have said it on this program, on
Civic Cipher and to countless crowds around the country that
we feel that black women are as close to God
as we can be on this planet. I recognize that
(38:05):
not all skin folks is kin folks. So there are
some black women who are definitely problematic. But I think
the philosophy I think is sound, and outside of that,
there's really not a whole lot else for me to say.
You know what I mean, I'm not knocking anybody, I'm
not taking anything away from anybody, But I'll say this,
it would not be my way to publicly criticize any
(38:27):
black woman doing anything positive at all period. I just
don't see that. If I did have something worth saying,
I would say behind closed doors and in a in
a constructive like sort of critique that type of manner.
But I just I just don't see how this would
(38:50):
would I don't I don't see myself wearing these clothes.
So that's really all I have to say. So with
that in mind, if I may, before we close, oheah,
go ahead. Because you said some black women are problematic,
I think a better statement would be some people are problematic.
I don't sure.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
I don't think that black women should have to wear
that code as like by the specific group that are problematic.
I think human beings in general and every group, every
ethnicity are problematic.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
And what we've noticed, unfortunately, is this is not the
first time that Brother Stephen A. Smith has encouraged someone
to just capitulate and be nice to Donald Trump. And
I think that's where kind of where people are starting
to take notice and starting to have a problem, not
just that you're challenging one of our sisters in a
(39:42):
very public, very aggressive way, but that you seem to
be caping up or standing up for this man who
has shown not to be that good of a person,
and no one thinks that that's the way in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Yeah, I want to say this to your point, to
help to make your point. You're right, Donald Trump's administration
has caused the most significant job loss for black women
in I think ever his second administration by itself, Donald
Trump's effect on Black women has been profound. And so
(40:19):
for anybody to then, as you mentioned, compel folks to
capitulate being the need that sort of thing is problematic.
And then this is just kind of a note for us.
And I think we mentioned this on the show, so
maybe our listeners would recognize. But the reason I said
black women in particular is because of that incident that
(40:40):
we had on the ground in DC with the women
from Chicago, the black Charlie Kirk Donald Trump supporters that
were very aggressive and vulgar, and they had like a
very angry sort of demeanor when they approached. I think
(41:03):
they were did us in a very awful They treated us.
Speaker 4 (41:06):
Right, So that's that's what I was trying to say
that again, is not unique to black women.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
Well no, no, you're absolutely right, but mind for black women.
But that's that's who I had in mind when I
said that. So yeah, anyway, we'll leave it right there.
As always, i'd like to thank you both very much
for your time and your insight. Once again. Today's guests
are bi In News anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis.
This has been a production of The bi In. Today's
show was produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd
(41:31):
like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature on
the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to hit
subscribe and download all of our episodes. I am Your Host,
Ramsey's Jah on all social media.
Speaker 4 (41:42):
I am q Warred on all social media as well.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
And we'll be hosting another episode of a Civic Cipher
this weekend on a station near you. For stations, showtimes,
and podcast INPO, check civiccipher dot com and join us
Monday as we share our news with our voice from
our perspective right here on the QR code
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