The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.24 Quaden Bayles Conspiracy Controversy, Weinstein GUILTY, Bernie Sanders Cuba Backlash

Episode Date: February 24, 2020

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Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you have a fantastic Monday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, buckle up, hit that like button and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today was easily the most requested story from the weekend. There's this massively viral video, it's heartbreaking to watch, of a nine-year-old boy in Australia named Quaden Bales,

who's reportedly born with a Chondroplasia dwarfism and regularly gets bullied at school and in other public spaces. And the video at the core of this is said to have been recorded by his mother right after Quaden got in the car after school, right in the aftermath of being bullied by a student. And in this video, we see Quaden crying,

expressing suicidal thoughts, his mom suggesting that he's attempted it before because of the bullying, and we hear her beg parents to educate their kids and to do something about bullying because it's so hard to see her son go through this every day. Hear me out right now, I'll freaking stab myself in the heart. You watch me.

Even you do, Carolyn, I'm looking at you. You don't even do anything. And I want people to know how much it is hurting us as a family. I want people to educate their children. The whole anti-bullying shit isn't working. And I've got a son that is suicidal almost every single day. But this is how bullying affects a nine-year-old kid.

And his mother, Yaraqa Bales, posted to her Facebook page, where it started to go viral, it started getting picked up by news sites, and then just blew up from there. And following this video blowing up, we saw tons of people showing their support for Quaden. Hugh Jackman sharing this video on Twitter. Quaden, you are stronger than you know, mate. And no matter what, you've got a friend in me. So everyone everyone let's please be kind to each other. Bullying, bullying is not okay. We saw Brad Williams, a comedian who also has the same form of dwarfism actually started GoFundMe for Quaden

and his family, writing on that page, "'I'm setting up this GoFundMe to let Quaden know "'that bullying will not be tolerated "'and that he is a wonderful human being who deserves joy. "'I want to fly Quaden and his mother to America, "'get them a nice hotel and bring them to Disneyland." And adding, this isn't just for Quaden, this is for anyone who has been bullied in their lives

and told they weren't good enough. Let's show Quaden and others that there is good in the world and they are worthy of it. And going on to say, any excess money will be donated to anti-bullying, anti-abuse charities. Now he set the goal on GoFundMe to $10,000, but as of recording this video, it's brought in around $470,000 with over 20,000 donors.

And while this was still blowing up, we started seeing a different narrative coming out. We saw people spreading conspiracy theories that Quaden was actually an 18 year old actor. People claiming that he was scamming people, he and his family wanted money. And around this, you had people sharing videos and photos of what appeared to be Quaden showing off money,

expensive looking things, saying that his sadness is being staged, that he actually comes from money. Though I will say those theories appear not to be true. Reports have consistently been coming in confirming that he is in fact nine years old. And in fact, he's actually been in the news before when he was younger and the timeline seemed to add up. He and his mother have also appeared in campaigns

promoting awareness for dwarfism, trying to reduce the stigmas around it. And around this, we also saw the likes of people like Cardi B taking to Instagram live to defend Quaden. I really don't think that he's lying on his age. And just because there's videos of him flossing money and acting all gangster and acting all cool and everything, it doesn't mean that kids do not pick on him.

Come on now. Also other people saying that they know the family are speaking up, saying that it is not a lie. Others pointing out and arguing that they didn't even start the GoFundMe and that most of the GoFundMe money is set to go to charity. Though I will say there are others who have said, yes, there was never a doubt that he was nine years old.

Yes, he has dwarfism. Yes, he may be getting bullied, but arguing his mother has and is exploiting his condition. And actually around this, we spoke with Brandon Farbstein, a motivational speaker and Gen Z activist who also has dwarfism. He thinks that even though good intentions may have been behind this,

it's incredibly counterproductive. It's very clear and evident that she's coming from a place of pure love and desperation for her son. And she wants to do absolutely anything and everything that she can to not only make this better, but she says to try and raise awareness for the situation. I personally don't believe this is the way to do it.

I believe that it's kind of digital exploitation of his, like I just mentioned, his darkest moment. Now all of that brings us to today because both Quaden and his mother are no longer on social media. It also appears that the original video has been taken down. His mother's Facebook set to private. Instagram pages also appear to have been taken down.

Right here, some attributing this to them maybe hiding something, some attributing this to the new harassment that they're receiving. Also, in connection to this story, it's opened up a conversation about posting kids on social media. Right, and I say that because you have a lot of people

thinking that the mother should not have recorded and posted that video of him in such a vulnerable state in the first place. Some asking why would her instinct be to record instead of comfort their child, take him somewhere safe. Right, arguing that it adds to the questions about the mother's intention in sharing this. You also had some bring up the larger problem

about the potential consequences of sharing a video like this. With David Perry writing, "'However loving the intention "'behind posting this video was, "'and I can well understand this mother's desperation. "'The fact is that for the rest of the boy's life, "'his name will likely always be associated with it.

"'What's more, the viral video is likely "'to encourage other parents to try to emulate it, "'continuing to break down the privacy rights of children. "'Remember that your kids are going to grow up. They will Google their names. You want them to be happy with what they find. So please stop sharing photos and videos of your child's worst moments on the internet."

You also had Farbstein who said that he could really relate to the pain Quaden was feeling, adding, "- When he walks into school and he sees his classmates watching the video, it's gonna be mortifying. On his first date, on his first job, all that's gonna be associated with Quaden, unfortunately, is this video and him saying all of these things about him wanting to end his life,

and it's beyond heartbreaking. And if there is a place I can end this, because I know that there's gonna be a big debate regarding if she should or should not have filmed it, why, why not, and hey, I welcome you to answer that question in the comments down below. Where I would love to end this story and to use this story would be hitting on the note of bullying. It's like the question of how can we better convey to kids, don't bully because bullies are scumbags. How do we convey the point that making someone feel less than does not make you

more whole? In addition, I think, to us just constantly checking ourselves because bullying does not end in school. For those of us that are parents, I think it's having those conversations that at times may feel like unneeded. My angel would never do that, we say. I mean, having those conversations that are uncomfortable. And hey, I personally found what Dr. Mike said to me on that podcast months ago, right? It's all about our own actions,

watching our own actions because they mimic, they just soak up what we're doing like a sponge. We're never gonna get a 100% success rate, but we gotta try. The world is already devastating and hard enough as is. Yeah, I think if we talk about this story We have to end on that note. And then we have talked about this update Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty today and specifically a jury found him guilty of Criminal sexual act in the first degree as well as rape in the third degree And while the jury notably acquitted Weinstein of the two most serious charges, right? Predatory sexual assault,

those could have led to a life sentence. He is currently facing up to 25 years in prison with a minimum of five. And that thanks to the mandatory minimum of the Criminal Sexual Act conviction. And so as far as what happens next right now, Weinstein is set to be sentenced March 11th. The judge has ordered Weinstein to be taken into custody.

And also there is another case in Los Angeles. And there Weinstein is currently facing four counts of felony sexual assault. But ultimately that's where we are with this right now. It's going to be very interesting to see what kind of sentence we end up seeing. But with that said, around this conviction, around the potential sentence, what are your thoughts?

I'd love to know what you're thinking in those comments down below. And then let's talk about Bernie Sanders, who is in the news for a number of reasons right now. The first being that over the weekend, he absolutely dominated the Nevada caucus with 96% of precincts reporting that Bernie Sanders who is in the news for a number of reasons right now. The first being that over the weekend he absolutely dominated the Nevada caucus with 96% of precincts reporting that Bernie Sanders the clear winner raking in a whopping 46.8% of the vote.

Then Joe Biden with 20.4, Buttigieg with 13.9, Warren 9.8, Tom Steyer 4.6 and Amy Klobuchar 4.2. Which on that last note, right, with Amy Klobuchar, I hope this doesn't come off as rude. I have to ask what weight class does Amy Klobuchar, I hope this doesn't come off as rude. I have to ask, what weight class does Amy Klobuchar believe that she is in? Because no matter how bad she loses, she constantly says that she is punching above her weight.

But, back to Bernie, this was a big win for him for a number of reasons. Because in part, one of the major questions has been, can Bernie pull in voters outside of his normal base? Right, as NPR explained, Sanders won not only with voters under 30 and people who identify as very liberal, but also with men, women, Hispanics overwhelmingly, voters 45 to 64, and people with and without college degrees.

And adding, he also did well among black voters and moderates, finishing a close second to Joe Biden with both groups, which are supposed to be the former vice president's base. And this is something Bernie hit on in his victory speech. In Nevada, we have just put together a multi-generational, multi-racial coalition, which is gonna not only win in Nevada,

it's gonna sweep this country. But it has not been all positive news for Bernie Sanders. We are seeing a ton of criticism of Bernie Sanders coming from an interview that he did with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes. And there, we saw them play a clip of an interview Sanders gave in the 80s where he said that the Cuban people didn't rise up against Fidel Castro

because of education and healthcare. And regarding that clip, we saw Sanders say, You know, when Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it? There's a lot of dissidents imprisoned in Cuba. That's right. And we condemn that.

Unlike Donald Trump, Let's be clear You wanna I do not think that kim jong-un is a good friend. I don't trade love letters with a murdering dictator vladimir putin not a great friend of mine Right and so after that you saw a lot of people going after bernie a number of people pointing out that castro killed and jailed Dissidents others pointing out the other horrible things that he did to his people. And understand, we saw criticisms from both sides here. You had conservatives like Senator Marco Rubio tweeting, "'Likely Dem nominee' praised his supposed achievements "'of the Castro regime, and he's wrong about why

"'people didn't overthrow Castro. "'It's not because he educated their kids, "'gave them healthcare, it's because his opponents "'were jailed, murdered, or exiled.'" You also had Democratic Representative Donna Shalala of Florida tweeting, "'I'm hoping that in the future, "'Senator Sanders will take time to speak

"'to some of my constituents before he decides to sing the praises of a murderous tyrant like Fidel Castro. Though we also saw people defending Bernie Sanders. With tweets like, What Bernie did is point out to us that despite how bad Cuba was, there were positive elements that we could learn from.

And with that, sharing a clip of then President Obama speaking at the Young Leaders of the America's Initiative Town Hall, where he said, And I said this to President Castro in Cuba. cuba i said look you've made great progress in educating uh young people every child in cuba gets a basic education that's that's a huge improvement from where it was medical care you know the the life expectancy of cubans is equivalent to the United States, despite it being a very poor country because they have access to health care. That's a huge achievement. They should be

congratulated. But you drive around Havana and this economy is not working. And so you have to be practical in asking yourself, how can you achieve the goals of equality and inclusion? And what I will say is it'll be interesting to see if this affects Sanders. Not only because one, opponents of Sanders are trying to connect him to communism nationally, but also because two, Florida is one of the most important swing states in the country.

And Florida has a huge Cuban population, actually the highest Cuban population in the entire United States. And unsurprisingly, a large number of Cuban Americans, not a fan of the Castros. Right, so the question becomes, will we see a notable drop in Sanders support in this very important swing state?

For now, we'll look to the polls, but ultimately we won't know until March 17th. But with that said, I'd love to know your thoughts on this. What do you think about the performance for Sanders in Nevada? Also, what do you think about this controversy? And then let's talk about what's happening in Chile, because we've talked about this.

The protests there have been raging for months. And yesterday we saw thousands of protesters attacking businesses and hotels near a major music festival. And so let's talk about how we got here starting back in October, what just happened and what could happen next. Right now regarding October, I'll link to that video down below,

but for a very basic summary, the protests began after Chile's capital, Santiago, raised subway fees. Right, and with that, we saw hundreds of students swarming subway stations and hopping turnstiles to protest the price hike. And from there, things escalated, because while this started due to raised subway fares,

this quickly became about a whole host of other issues. Things like healthcare, education, the price of utilities going up, like gas and electricity. And while those costs were rising, we saw the wages for poor and middle-class families staying the same. And so what we ended up seeing with these protests is they quickly became violent.

In October, their president, Sebastian Piñera, declared a state of emergency in multiple cities. We saw Piñera reverse the fare hike, but also place Santiago under curfew, also placing the military in charge of the city's security. What we ended up seeing with this part of the story was 18 people dying back in those October protests. Since then, the death toll has increased to 31,

with thousands more injured and arrested. So that is some background and that brings us to the music festival in the city of Viña del Mar. And this is a massive festival. It's one of the biggest in Latin America. It's one of the most watched events on TV in the country. And even though there was increased security at the event, reportedly that also stopping those trying to get in,

didn't stop them from attacking the shops and the hotel where many of the performers from the festival had been staying. And here, while reports vary, according to the BBC, about 150 masked individuals set at least seven cars on fire in front of the O'Higgins Hotel. They then tried to get into the hotel, but hotel staff fought them off with fire extinguishers.

We also saw these protesters clashing with police who threw tear gas, which then drifted into the hotel, forcing some guests to flee. This ultimately leading to the hotel beginning to evacuate guests around 8 p.m. And around that same time, police began to deploy water cannons. Now as far as the effect on the festival,

while it wasn't on the grounds, it did end up delaying the concert. This because the festival's opening acts were actually caught up in those evacuations. Also as far as the protesters, they did not stop at the hotel. Moving to municipal offices where they reportedly smashed windows,

broke down doors, looted shops. Also targeting two car dealerships, setting more cars on fire. And by the end of the night, according to reports, we saw 15 people arrested and 23 officers injured. And back on stage at the festival, we eventually saw singer Ricky Martin open the show with Martin telling Chileans that it's quote, important to let the leaders of our countries know what we need, provided we do so in an orderly manner. Adding that he is quote, with you Chile, never silent, always with love and peace. Now following all is quote, "'With you Chile, never silent, "'always with love and peace.'"

Now following all of this, the region's governor Jorge Martinez called the protesters part of radical groups, which are very much in the minority. Adding they want anarchy, they want disorder and violence. We also saw Vino Del Mar's mayor say, "'You can have demonstrations, but this is criminal "'and will be treated as such.'"

Now, as far as what's happening next, the government is expecting a fresh wave of protests in March. This, despite Piñera's attempts to try to stop them. In fact, back in November, the government even went so far to agree to hold a national referendum to change Chile's constitution. This, because right now its constitution still dates back

to the time of Chile's military rule in the 70s and 80s. That referendum is set to happen in April. And as far as why are we not only seeing protests, but they're continuing to escalate, it appears that it's in part because many Chileans say they want more than the constitution changed. With many saying they feel like the government is not listening to them.

But ultimately, that's where we are and we have to wait to see what happens next. Do we see a further escalation? What happens with the referendum? What happens from there? It'd be an interesting one to see. Of course, I'd love to know your thoughts, especially if you live in or have family there.

And that is where I'm going to end today's show. And hey, if you're not 100% filled in, you can check out the last Philip DeFranco show in case you wanna catch up, or maybe check out the last Philip DeFranco show in case you want to catch up, or maybe check out the brand new podcast I did with Sean Evans from Hot Ones. You can click or tap right there to watch either of those right now.

But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you liked this video. Subscribe if you like it.