The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 10.3 Taylor Swift Sex Tape Backlash, Extortion, Kidnapped Girl Saved, Organ Harvesting, & Todays News

Episode Date: October 3, 2023

Subscribe and save 20%. Plus, get an additional 15% off and a free frother with my code DEFRANCO when you click https://shopbeam.com/defranco  That's up to 35% off of the original price!  Get 50% of...f your first order of CookUnity meals - go to https://cookunity.com/defranco and use my code DEFRANCO50 at checkout to try them out for yourself! Thanks to CookUnity for sponsoring this video! Go Buy http://WakeandMakeCoffee.com 50% OFF select orders! This new batch won’t last long. Catch up on our latest PDS: https://youtu.be/ZxIRBo3I31I?si=bcZvefMKATHS6cgX Check out our daily newsletter! http://dailydip.co/pds  Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillydefranco/?hl=en  –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Police Find Nine-Year-Old Girl Kidnapped From Campsite  01:19 - Podcast Faces Backlash for Sexist Taylor Swift Remarks 03:37 - Exploitive Extortion Scams Increasingly Targeting Teen Boys 06:14 - Kylie Jenner Prompts Body Image Debate 08:20 - Sponsored by Beam 09:13 - Pakistan Busts Organ Harvesting Ring  10:20 - Education Department Finds that Liberty University Broke Safety Laws for Years 14:40 - Catholic Church Synod Discusses Blessing Same-Sex Unions  17:09 - Sponsored by Cook Unity 18:14 - CARE Courts Roll Out in California Counties 23:43 - Y’all Had Some Thoughts on Yesterday’s Bullying Story Liberty University Report: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/10/03/liberty-university-clery-act/  ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxx Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve  ———————————— #DeFranco #TaylorSwift #KylieJenner ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Today, we're talking about the Taylor Swift sex tape comments, controversy that's lit part of the internet on fire, why teen boys are actually the most common group to fall victim to this growing scam, the dramatic rescue of a nine-year-old girl who was kidnapped, organ harvesting rings, a new California law has activists fearing that it's going to lead to a rise in conservatorships. We're talking about all that and so much more on today's extra-large Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news, so just make sure you're subscribed and let's jump into it.
Starting point is 00:00:23 Starting with... A days-long panic over these parents' worst nightmare has finally come to an end. Because on Saturday, nine-year-old Charlotte Cena went missing during a bike ride through a state park in New York, with authorities quickly finding her bike but no girl and leading them to conclude that she had been abducted. So this kicked off a sweeping search of the area involving more than 400 people, dogs, and helicopters. Charlotte's parents absolutely distraught, others giving their sympathy from across the country. And all of that taking us to just past four in the morning yesterday, state police spotted a man dropping something in the family's mailbox. When they
Starting point is 00:00:51 opened it up, they found a ransom note. And so they checked it for fingerprints, they found one, and they began testing for a match. And the person it got traced back to wasn't the cop's initial person of interest, but rather Craig Nelson Jr., a 47-year-old man who was arrested for a DWI back in 1999. And so police descended on a camper behind his mother's trailer in Milton. They broke inside, and there they found him, as well as Charlotte, who was inside of a cabinet. So now Craig has been charged with first-degree kidnapping, and the little girl is reportedly in good health and has been reunited with her family. We obviously send them our well wishes, because that is just a nightmare. And then this is not the Taylor Swift
Starting point is 00:01:21 news I was expecting when I saw her trending. So a massive conversation Spark, thanks to the Barstool Sports Pardon My Take podcast. Because they were talking about Taylor Swift's NFL appearances and how kind of crazy everything's been. And if you watch yesterday's show, you know, I touched on this a little bit during the Yesterday Today segment. I like Taylor Swift. I like Travis Kelsey. I like them as people. I think the NFL has leaned into it so fucking much that it's cringeworthy. Well, they kind of echoed that and then went far more negative. One of the hosts then went further and said that they would justify her appearances if there was a sex tape if travis kelsey and taylor swift release a sex video i'll consummate this this uh relationship
Starting point is 00:01:53 and be like fine you guys can have sex you can be boyfriend girlfriend anyone with me should we demand it i want to see i want to see pnv i want to see insertion i'll say p pna pna or pNV or PNM. Yeah, PNM. I'll take PNM until that happens. I think it's fake and I think it's for clicks. And I think Taylor Swift is using the NFL to try to make her star bigger. And immediately those comments face tons and tons of backlash,
Starting point is 00:02:18 both from everyday people and fans to actress Rachel Zegler, who said, It's not news that the media is particularly and unwarrantedly cruel to Taylor Swift, but the way men feel entitled to speak about women, their bodies, and their sex lives needs to be seriously evaluated. And others saying things like publicly demanding sexual favors from a woman in return for simply allowing her to exist in a male-dominated space, implying to thousands of young men and boys that women should have to pay a price just for a seat at the table. I'm disgusted. Being a woman is so fucking exhausting. And this is the culture,
Starting point is 00:02:45 and yet NFL execs scratch their heads wondering why they do not have female viewership. Men are so absorbed in their locker room talk bubble that they cannot perceive women beyond something to be objectified and sexualized. Others also arguing that Taylor Swift's not the one, like, gaining here. They're saying it makes no sense for her
Starting point is 00:02:58 to use the NFL to make her star brighter. Because if anyone's benefited from the situation, it's Travis Kelsey and the NFL. And so with this, you had people unhappy with the NFL and Barstool Sports. So much so that it actually led to Dave Portnoy, Barstool Sports' founder, who also happens to be a big Swifty, responding to say, I literally lost sleep over Dan's grotesque comments. But we do live in a free country and I believe in freedom of speech. Hopefully Dan can learn from this and we all can
Starting point is 00:03:18 move on. Taylor is about love, not hate. And while you had people supporting that comment, you had others saying that it fell short. With people saying that he should take it more seriously not only because this is something that's coming out from his platform, but also because he and Barstool Sports have actually enriched themselves off of Taylor Swift's name. With him over the past few months selling so much merch that was inspired by Taylor Swift. But hey, with all that said, I gotta pass the question off to you. Where do you land on this? And then, the internet has brought the whole world closer together, but also, it sometimes does that in horrible ways that nobody wanted.
Starting point is 00:03:43 And the specific one that we're talking about today has become all that more common recently, and that is sextortion. And we've all heard the story before. You meet someone online, they ask for nudes, you send some, then they blackmail you for money. And it's a nightmare that affects a lot of people, but especially young people and especially teen boys. And these scammers are often professionals working out of India or Africa, but also it's getting a lot worse. In 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 10,000 tips of sextortion and minors from the public, as well as from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. But by just the end of this last July, the center had already received more than 12,500 reports with more continuing to pour in.
Starting point is 00:04:16 And so you have the executive director for the Exploited Children Division saying sextortion cases targeting young people have exploded in the past couple of years. Where they're adding, they're using shame, embarrassment, and fear, and they're tapping into that. They're exploiting children's worst nightmares. And as the co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center explains, presuming that sexting is a precursor to sextortion, it is possible that females may send nudes more so in the context of a romantic relationship,
Starting point is 00:04:35 whereas males may do so more casually and experimentally. This fact makes males more of an easy target. And with that, the social, emotional, and financial harms of this scam are obvious, but what's less known is that it can literally kill. kill at least a dozen boys taking their own lives in 2022 after they were blackmailed, according to the FBI. So that's why with all this, you have experts pushing certain precautions, right? Like if you're not going to just not send these things first, make sure that the person that you're talking to is actually real there. I mean, you might feel pretty confident, but a lot of these scammers make extremely detailed and convincing profiles.
Starting point is 00:05:02 Then it's also recommended that if you're sending nudes to someone, always crop out any identifying markers on your body, like tattoos or the background of your room. Also, they recommend never, ever, ever include your face. And if you're a parent, in addition to, of course, having important conversations around these real-world things, they recommend you try to make your kids feel comfortable coming to you in a moment of panic. I mean, just getting scammed in general could be embarrassing on its own. So when sex is also involved, many teens are too afraid to tell their parents.
Starting point is 00:05:24 And with all that, if you have been or ever do get extorted or anyone you know does, it's highly recommended that you do not give them the money. That should be the last thing that you ever want to do. With experts saying they will not stop asking for more money and there's no guarantee they won't just post the photos anyway. Instead, it's recommended you just stop responding and block them because very often they won't even follow through on their threats. So they say to keep the conversation as evidence and report it to the FBI and the messaging platform. It's also incredibly important to find emotional support because that experience can be very traumatizing. So if you don't have a parent or someone else that
Starting point is 00:05:49 you can turn to, you can use a crisis text line to reach a counselor. Also, if you need help getting nude photos taken down that you've already posted, you can call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children if you're under 18. Their service actually has a 98% success rate and usually only takes a couple of days. And or if you got it like that, if you have a few thousand dollars to spare, you can actually hire the Digital Forensics Corporation to take over your account and message the scammer. They'll pretend to be you, track down the blackmailer's name,
Starting point is 00:06:10 location, and other information, and then blackmail them to keep them from posting your nude photos. And then, I guess it's that time of year again, Kylie Jenner has started a body image debate online. And this time it has to do with one of the looks she wore during Paris Fashion Week, with a silver Schiaparelli gown turning a lot of heads,
Starting point is 00:06:24 with people talking about it online though, specifically talking about her body with a lot of people making comparisons, saying they wish their body looked like hers. With that reaction then upsetting a lot of people online, saying there's no point in comparing your body to Kylie or really any of these famous people. That it's often just entirely unattainable
Starting point is 00:06:37 for everyday people to look like that. And actually with that, you had one tweet praising her body, even getting a community note on Twitter. With that note saying, not only might images of her in that dress be modified, but she's gotten numerous procedures to look that way. Others then arguing that may not be her body as much as the actual shaping of the dress. People saying we don't know exactly what's in the dress, but there could be pads or corsets in the dress and then add that to the implants and cosmetic procedures and saying she is the ideal
Starting point is 00:06:58 body type because her and her sisters made it that way with trend-based body shape. But some going as far as to say that Kylie Jenner should be charged with body image crimes against women and girls, saying she's done irreparable damage to the body image of female youth, as well as saying, I hate what the BBL culture and patriarchy has done to us women. This is unattainable without surgery and so obviously padded. Please don't make the unachievable a standard yet again. Though with that, you have some pushing back, saying the body image issues predate the Kardashians and Kylie potential as some herself, which is why, hey, I know this is easier said than done and being a man versus being a woman incredibly different with how the world perceives us. But if there is something that you're aspiring to, you're hoping to obtain,
Starting point is 00:07:33 please don't let it be the idea of like, I gotta be slim, thick, or I gotta be ultra thin or any of this bullshit. Body neutrality has been the best thing for me. Like what can I do with my body rather than like, what does it just look like? Because that's honestly just a recipe for disaster. And again, I say that as someone who I talked about in the past, I struggled with an eating disorder. I still struggle with body dysmorphia. What can I do with the thing that I've been so obsessed over how it looks? And honestly, get the fuck off of social media, but specifically Instagram. Social media just kind of like pushes and pushes us to just look at things and compare ourselves. That's one of the worst things you can
Starting point is 00:08:04 ever do. Not only because comparison in general is a thief of joy, but because online things you're comparing yourself to most of the time just are nowhere fucking near real. Or with a swipe left or right of a finger, all of a sudden you got perfect skin. Things get kind of brought in tight. It's all fake bullshit that's poisoning our minds. Anyway, I love you, you sexy bastards. Let's move on. And then sleep is the key to a happier, healthier life. But when you're busy with work, kids, and life's typical stressors, you don't always sleep well. That's even when you get to bed on time.
Starting point is 00:08:28 And that's where today's fantastic sponsor comes in, Beam. By now, you've heard me talk about Beam's delicious hot cocoa with five natural ingredients that put me right to sleep and helps me wake up feeling amazing. And not only is it delicious, it contains five powerful natural sleep-promoting ingredients like nano hemp, reishi mushroom extract, magnesium, L-theanine, and melatonin. It's third-party, lab-tested, contains no THC, and it's trusted by top athletes to help them get their best sleep and recovery.
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Starting point is 00:09:08 you will be too. That's shopbeam.com slash DeFranco and use code DeFranco to let them know we sent you. And then in a real what the hell is going on situation, authorities in Pakistan just announced that they managed to bust an organ harvesting ring with reportedly a group of about eight allegedly managing to get hundreds of kidneys from more than 300 patients in order to sell them to wealthy people waiting for a transplant. Although notably, officials suspect that the real number could be far higher. And the general game plan seems to have been that they'd find desperate people at hospitals and then convince them to do the procedure at a private residence. With oftentimes a victim not even knowing what was actually going on. And this was all clearly lucrative as reportedly they sold each kidney for tens of thousands of dollars.
Starting point is 00:09:42 And making matters worse is that the police seem to have been on the trail of the group's ringleader, who had been arrested at least five times for malpractice. But each time, he managed to get bail and get out, only for him to then kill at least three people while taking their kidneys. And looking even further into this, it was crazy to find out that Pakistan only banned the commercial sale of human organs back in 2007, and then strengthened the penalties for it in 2010. Those penalties included massive fines and decades behind bars by the authorities, hoping that it would curb wealthy foreigners from coming to secure organs from vulnerable people. But
Starting point is 00:10:07 because those bans and punishments weren't really put into place until relatively recently, if you think about like the whole scale of everything, it was for a time the central hub for organ trafficking and clearly some old habits die hard. But even more concerning, there's actually been an uptick lately of people hoping that this bus puts a massive dent in all that. And then this evangelical university that has marketed itself as having one of the safest campuses in the country has actually failed for years to keep its students safe in violation of federal law. That's what was found by a preliminary report from an education department inquiry into Liberty University, that infamous and powerful Virginia-based Christian school co-founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr. Now, notably, the report's
Starting point is 00:10:39 actually confidential, but the Washington Post obtained a copy, and two people familiar with the report's conclusions confirmed its findings. This report comes as part of an investigation into the school's compliance with the Federal Clery Act, which mandates that colleges that participate in federal financial aid programs disclose crime statistics and other data about campus safety. And if federal officials at the Department of Education have concerns about that reporting, they can actually launch an investigation that can result in fines or limited financial aid eligibility. And Liberty did confirm last year that the Education Department was conducting a investigation. Now, a key thing is that this is just a preliminary report.
Starting point is 00:11:07 The school still has the ability to respond to the findings and dispute them before the education department makes a final decision. But it's also unclear what the school would actually dispute, because holy shit, is this report insanely damning. And understand, this is not just my opinion. A campus safety consultant who used to file Clary Act complaints and is an expert in the space described this as, quote, the single most blistering Clary report I have ever read, ever. I cannot think of a single other comparable case in the entire 32-year history of the Clary Act. And adding that Clary probes are very rare and reserved for the most serious of circumstances because the government prefers to work with universities to fix the issues when they can instead of launching a whole ass inquiry.
Starting point is 00:11:40 With a post reporting that the draft paints a picture of a university that discouraged people from reporting crimes and underreported the claims that it received. According to the outlet, the Education Department launched its inquiry after the agency received a complaint in May of 2021. And just in its review of data over the course of six years, from 2016 to 2022, the initial report found that Liberty fundamentally failed to keep its students safe at every possible juncture. Not only did the school fail to properly take crime complaints, produce incident reports, and handle data, it also didn't adequately warn of safety threats and basic emergencies. With a post explaining, Liberty failed to warn the campus community about gas leaks, bomb threats, and
Starting point is 00:12:11 people credibly accused of repeated acts of sexual violence. With the draft reportedly outlining a number of examples, like in a 2020 case when a prominent student athlete was allowed to keep playing after he was accused of raping a woman, arrested by police, and found guilty of stalking. The school also failed to issue a warning when a 14-year-old girl enrolled for summer at Liberty reported that a man tried to grab her. Even when campus police told the officers to be on the lookout for the man in connection to an attempted abduction.
Starting point is 00:12:32 There were also numerous instances involving the school failing to provide warnings about alleged sexual violence perpetrated by their own staff, including a staffer who an incident report described as creating an ongoing threat, and a senior administrator who was accused of multiple instances of sexual harassment. And notably, when campus police filed an incident report about an alleged rape that was committed by a former Liberty president, the school didn't even enter
Starting point is 00:12:51 that into their crime log. Beyond that, the report also found that the school did a lot of work to silence people. The students who reported sexual violence and other occurrences complaining that the school then used its honor code, which bans drinking as well as sex outside of marriage, to discourage them from making complaints. Investigators noting that multiple victims of sexual violence were actually punished for violating the code while their assailants were left unpunished. Faculty members who spoke out also faced intimidation and even retaliation. And investigators found that campus police were literally directed not to issue safety warnings about crimes and other life-threatening conditions.
Starting point is 00:13:18 At one point, a campus police officer was even subjected to a disciplinary action for issuing a bomb threat notice literally in compliance with federal law. But the report also alleges that Liberty went way beyond just trying to silence people. It also claims that the school routinely underreported its crime statistics, so much so that it couldn't even substantiate its own crime figures. And the investigators writing at the university may have, quote, simply estimated its crime statistics or otherwise made them up to serve the longstanding narrative that it was the safest college in Virginia. But y'all, that is not where it ends. There's even more. Once the Education Department started investigating Liberty,
Starting point is 00:13:48 university officials literally destroyed evidence, despite being explicitly told that they needed to keep their records for the agency to review. And I really need to note, these are just the main highlights of the Post's report. I'm going to link to it in the description down below. But as far as how Liberty has responded, a spokesperson refused to answer specific questions from the Post. But I'm accusing the outlet of making claims based on some information that is false,
Starting point is 00:14:07 is not final, and is not public, and claiming that the school prioritizes the safety and security of every student without exception. But also very notably here, this is not the first time the school has faced similar allegations. For just two years ago, 12 anonymous women sued the university
Starting point is 00:14:19 and they accused it of failing to help them after they reported sexual assault or misconduct in violation of federal laws against sex discrimination. And this also isn't even the first Clary probe that the schools face, with Liberty also dealing with another serious investigation back in 2010. And while the latest draft review noted that some improvements have been made since then,
Starting point is 00:14:34 they still fall way short of what's needed. But for now, we'll keep an eye on the situation, see if more comes out, and hope that there's at least some sort of accountability. And then, in a fairly rare event, the Catholic Church is actually considering some fundamental changes this week. And that's because the Conference of Bishops from around the world, known as Synod, will officially convene tomorrow. And, for the first time ever,
Starting point is 00:14:52 lay people, meaning those who are not priests, will be allowed to join and vote. And that includes women. Which also, I do, yeah, need to take a second to acknowledge, it feels weird to be like in 2023, and even women get to vote. But, I mean, that and that decision kind of sets the tone for how many changes the church is considering. Because on the docket of possibly getting the blessing, you have same-sex unions, priest celibacy and marriage, extending sacraments to the divorced, and whether to ordain female deacons.
Starting point is 00:15:14 Now, some or all of that might seem esoteric to non-Catholics, but they are all major points of contention within the church, especially the issue of homosexuality. For months now, Pope Francis has stirred the hornet's nest by making statements that, relatively speaking, are pro-LGBTQ, with one of the newest ones, at least to us, being a letter that was just made public that he released in July. And in it, he told cardinals that he was pushing for priests to bless same-sex unions, and I need to emphasize union, because the stance of the church is still that marriages are an exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between
Starting point is 00:15:39 a man and a woman naturally open to procreation. But for many, this was seen as a huge step towards being more open to LGBTQ plus members. Additionally, it has been clear that the church was for, quote, everyone and doubled down when questioned if that included LGBTQ plus members. Not to mention that he has a long history of criticizing laws that criminalize homosexuality. But we also need to mention that the possibility that this could lead to priests being able to have sex or marry is also groundbreaking. Although if you actually look into it, in reality, this would just be returning things to how they used to be. You might not know this, but for the church's first thousand years or so, priests weren't required to be celibate. Though, it has been that way for about 900 years now.
Starting point is 00:16:11 And then, as far as women, there's been a recent push to allow them to become deacons and have more formal functions within the church. And many of these moves have received wide praise, even if they fall short for many. That being said, prominent activist groups such as GLAAD have applauded the church for even discussing the issue with its CEO saying, Pope Francis's response is both unprecedented and compassionate and continues to urge every Catholic and leader toward acceptance and recognition of LGBTQ people. Though really notable here, many cardinals very much disagree with any of these changes, especially those from the more religiously conservative countries. We're going to have to wait to see what happens, which on that note, do not expect changes anytime soon. This is just the first of at least two meetings that are expected to happen over the issue,
Starting point is 00:16:45 the next being in October. And that's actually because Francis is a Jesuit, which I'm not gonna go into specifics, but that order of priests generally like to have a cooling off period before making big decisions, where they think that it allows proper time for spiritual concerns to be considered. However, you have critics saying this practice
Starting point is 00:16:57 has just allowed him to kick major issues down the road. Though, I do also wanna say there could be a practical reason as well. It could, in theory, give Francis more time to convince cardinals and priests who are on the fence about the issue or get them to face pressure from their congregations to choose one way or the other. And then there are meal kit subscriptions as well as heat and serve fridge fillies. But thanks to our fantastic sponsor, CookUnity, you can get responsibly packaged chef-to-you meal delivery service
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Starting point is 00:18:15 And then mental health courts are coming to counties throughout California and you have activists incredibly concerned that they might actually hurt more than they help and could even lead to a dramatic rise in abusive conservatorships. So the program is called Care Court and Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law back in 2022 and at the time saying the framework is offering hope and a new path forward for thousands of struggling Californians and empowering their loved ones to
Starting point is 00:18:35 help. Okay, so how does this work and who is this for? Well, the Care Court system actually only applies to a pretty narrow group of people. It's not just for anyone experiencing any kind of mental illness. It's specifically focusing on people with untreated schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders. And those people either have to be experiencing a deteriorating condition that makes them unlikely to survive without supervision, or they are at risk of harming themselves or others. Notably, a wide range of people can petition someone to the court, including first responders, street outreach groups, family members, or roommates. And once a case is filed, the Department of Health will determine if this person is eligible for help. With the San Francisco Chronicle adding, the participants don't need to
Starting point is 00:19:07 be homeless, but the program is aimed in part at that population. And those in support of the law hope that it'll give people help before they potentially wind up in worse situations like incarceration, and that it'll give families a chance to advocate for their loved ones to receive psychiatric care. Because if a petitioned person qualifies for services, they get legal counsel and an advocate through the process as well, as a plan that includes treatment, medication, and housing. I got lots of CalMatters noting, the medication can be court ordered but not forcibly administered. These plans usually lasting for a year with court hearings held throughout to make sure that people are staying on track and people can choose to extend their program or graduate from it once the time comes.
Starting point is 00:19:38 But the thing is, people petitioned can also just refuse the program. And also, in some cases, those who don't follow through on their plan can face consequences with a fact sheet on the law saying, participants who do not successfully complete care plans may, under current law, be hospitalized or refer to conservatorship with a new presumption that no suitable alternatives to conservatorship are available. Reports suggest that a handful of things
Starting point is 00:19:57 would have to happen to get to that point. According to CalMatters, simply refusing medication alone wouldn't make someone eligible for conservatorship referral. But the fact that care courts might carve a path for this is one of the many reasons there's a ton of pushback. With many claiming this is just not the right answer to the ongoing mental health and homeless crises in California. But here's the thing, it is already here. It rolled out in several counties at the start of October, including in San Francisco and San Diego. The law currently
Starting point is 00:20:17 requires the rest of California's counties to roll it out by the end of 2024. Because San Francisco is in the first group, all eyes are currently looking there because the city has become a major talking point in not just the states, but also the nation's issues with housing. And San Francisco's mayor, London Breed, has spoken in support of CareCourt, saying in a recent statement, while the program is voluntary,
Starting point is 00:20:34 it provides direct access for people to get connected to services and for them to be referred to that care by those who know them best. And adding, we are committed to finding ways to strengthen our entire behavioral health system from voluntary to involuntary options. And CareCourt is part of that program.
Starting point is 00:20:47 And we are ready to accept people and get them the help they need. But you've got tons of activists just not thinking that San Francisco is actually ready. With some highlighting the lack of hospital beds for psychiatric patients in the city, as well as pointing to the shortage of social workers. Then you've got civil rights concerns causing a big debate. Or because many have already maintained that the program does not revoke someone of their autonomy. That this is voluntary. With one clinical social worker explaining to CBS
Starting point is 00:21:06 News, because this is a civil court and not a criminal court, we can't force services. We really are focusing on the relationship building between the judge and the potential participant. In order to make them feel comfortable, we won't have the judge wear a robe or sit on a bench. We'll be having a conversation. But that's just not enough for people who still think this is a slippery, slippery slope, right? Arguing that there is wiggle room in what forced actually means. With Tal Clement, deputy of the San Francisco Public Defender's Office Mental Health Unit, telling a local ABC affiliate, it's voluntary in that the court cannot force you to take medications or put you into a locked facility, but you are still having to come to court. The court is still going to order a treatment plan
Starting point is 00:21:38 for you. So there is that aspect of it that can be somewhat coercive. And saying, if you are not successful in care court, it can be used in future proceedings to put you into a locked facility and conserve you, make you a conserved person. And while reports have said that conservatorships are only a last resort, that they are not the goal, people against these courts don't even want to hear the word conservatorship as part of this conversation, which is why ahead of it being signed into law, Disability Rights California sent an open letter signed by groups across the country, cautioning against care courts. The care court bill would create a new civil court system with mechanisms to force involuntary medical treatment and loss of autonomy and liberty, in addition to the collective loss of other human
Starting point is 00:22:11 and civil rights. Concerningly to us, because of California's nationwide leadership role, a harmful policy like care court is likely to be replicated across the country. And adding that the evidence shows that involuntary coercive treatment is not only ineffective, but harmful. So instead, imploring the state to invest more in housing and healthcare infrastructure and arguing that the efforts that put permanent and affordable housing first are the only way forward. You also had the ACLU of California condemning CARE courts, repeating many of these same points while also adding that it has the potential to bring harm to California's most vulnerable groups. Saying, quote, the harms of the CARE court framework will inevitably fall hardest on black, brown, and indigenous people who are
Starting point is 00:22:42 routinely misdiagnosed with serious mental health disabilities. Entangling people in the legal system would traumatize those who are most heavily impacted by our failed systems. And adding that the plan would perpetuate racial disparities through an adversarial court process that does nothing to address the underlying structural conditions that lead to houselessness. But still, you have the people behind this law arguing it is a viable solution, and they've gone as far as to say that it could actually prevent people from being placed in conservatorships. With a press release from the city of San Francisco reading, many people who would benefit from help
Starting point is 00:23:08 may not recognize that they need it. And saying care court goes upstream prior to more restrictive conservatorships or incarceration. But obviously what we're talking about here is a back and forth and it's not quelling the concerns of activists. And so the big question is, well, what comes next? And there, I mean, we're at such an early stage,
Starting point is 00:23:21 we have to wait to see how this is gonna play out. Though for now, some still remain skeptical for a number of reasons. For example, one staffer at Orange County Healthcare Agency telling CalMatters that they have a feeling that a lot of people referred may not even qualify for the program anyways. Others questioning how many people will use it to begin with. Some saying it's a lot of money being thrown at a program too small to be efficient. But all that said, this is a new effort. A lot remains uncertain. We're going to have to see where all this goes. But in the meantime, what are your thoughts? And then let's talk about yesterday, today, the part of the show
Starting point is 00:23:47 where we look back at yesterday's show, where we covered a lot of news. We dive into those comments and see what stood out to you, your thoughts, your opinions, your feelings. And yesterday, the story that absolutely took over the comment section was that story around bullying. With many of you absolutely horrified and raging, but also not surprised. The people saying the story about that teenager being forced to move due to bullying is devastating and inexcusable. I hope the girl and her family get the justice they deserve and the perpetrators face the consequences. As well as I can say from experience that bullying never ends. We had to pull our middle child into homeschooling because it was so bad.
Starting point is 00:24:17 And I've made a vow if my youngest ever gets bullied, I'm going to ask the principal flat out, whose life is more important to you, the bullies or my daughters, because bullying ends lives. Bullying needs to start being a criminal offense. Others saying, I myself snapped after two or three years of bullying, and that's when I learned that violence is absolutely the answer, because all it took was one well-placed punch for it to all stop. Hopefully this legal action gets the school to do something about it before Rose does, to the bully or herself. But also noting here that years of that crap will already have done their damage, no matter what happens next. And while y'all in general aren't generally the most litigious bunch, many of you were happy with this lawsuit. With some of y'all saying $6 million lawsuit, I fully applaud those
Starting point is 00:24:51 parents for supporting their kid and going full scorched earth. And honestly, many of you were surprised and somewhat relieved that the yesterday's story didn't have a certain twist. With Alexander saying, throughout the whole bullying story, I was just praying that the story didn't end with a girl committing suicide. I was so relieved when it didn't, but it's still so ridiculous that it had to come to a lawsuit before anyone did anything about it. Which, yeah, that is a very unfortunate truth. A lot of people, but especially large groups, won't do anything unless it hits their pocketbooks. And I do want to close this section by saying not only, yes, thank you in general to everyone that shared their opinions and their experiences, but also people that shared their experiences like this
Starting point is 00:25:22 one. With Ben sharing, speaking from experience, helplines are an excellent way of getting help with bullying. Saying, In my case, they recognized that the police needed to be involved and they were kind enough to put me in contact with someone. But adding, Unfortunately or fortunately, the school in question had already closed down a long time before I had reached out to discuss my experiences,
Starting point is 00:25:37 so I wasn't able to get any sort of justice. But I really wanted to share that in case anyone who happens across this video is in a situation like that where they don't feel like they have a support system or that even if they have one that not enough's being done and that is where today's dive into the news is going to end now remember for more news you need to know i got you covered here you can click or tap or i got links in the description and as always my name is philip defranco you've just been filled in i love yo faces and i'll see you right back here tomorrow for more news

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