The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.8 Addison Rae Under Fire, DEFUND THE POLICE? What That Actually Means, BTS Army on BLM, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 So it is Monday. My name is Philip DeFranco. Welcome back to the show. Buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're going to talk about today actually starts with talking about how K-pop fits into the world of the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests against police brutality. Right, so if you're unaware, K-pop fans have proven themselves to be an incredibly strong force on the internet, and specifically social media, with the power to make pretty much anything go viral. And among the things we've seen them do over the past two weeks, I mean, you have examples of them spamming tip lines. When you had the Dallas Police Department, the police in Grand Rapids, Michigan, asking for tips saying, hey, send us videos. The K-pop fans spamming that app and portal

Starting point is 00:00:35 with K-pop fan cams. Reportedly when the FBI asked for similar tips, people started to flood them the same way with some also submitting videos of officers beating demonstrators, shooting rubber bullets, and firing tear gas during protests. K-pop fans have also been hijacking hashtags. For example, when some tried to get

Starting point is 00:00:49 White Lives Matter trending, you had fans spending days to make sure that the hashtag was just full of fan cams, song lyrics, and anything that could generate confusion. Though here there's been a little bit of a debate. You know, some have criticized the move, saying that, well, you've made the hashtag trend for days. But still, others argue against this,

Starting point is 00:01:03 saying that they're essentially making the tag useless across social media since it's now full of unrelated information. And they've done the same for days. But still, others argue against this, saying that they're essentially making the tag useless across social media since it's now full of unrelated information. And they've done the same for hashtags like MAGA, Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, and others. We've also seen a lot of these accounts clickbait their way to positivity. Right when they post or widely share these things

Starting point is 00:01:16 that are meant to lure people in for juicy gossip about a celebrity. But then they actually direct people to petitions, donation links, more information about the Black Lives Matter movement. But it also isn't just the fans. On Saturday, the news broke that BTS and its studio, Big Hit Entertainment donated $1 million

Starting point is 00:01:31 to Black Lives Matter. And this coming just days after the band made a statement saying, we stand against racial discrimination, we condemn violence, you, I, and we all have the right to be respected, we will stand together. And so in support of that, fans launched an effort to collectively match the donation themselves under the hashtag Match a Million.

Starting point is 00:01:46 And actually, as of Monday morning, they surpassed that goal with donations still rolling in. And according to the BTS ARMY site for the donations, those funds will be split evenly between 16 different organizations. Now, all of this isn't to say that K-pop fans are 100% on the same page about racial issues or without faults themselves.

Starting point is 00:02:02 You know, online we've seen some internal conversations about cultural appropriation as well as anti-black racism within the community and K-pop industry. And so there we've seen many calling for the discrimination within fandoms to end or have been urging K-pop stars to do more to speak out against racism. Also, as kind of a way to transition to the next story, which is, you know, what we're seeing with celebrities

Starting point is 00:02:19 and some of the backlash and support they've been getting as it relates to BLM. You know, like I said, as far as the K-pop fans, they've been having internal conversations about cultural appropriation, BLM. You know, like I said, as far as the K-pop fans, they've been having internal conversations about cultural appropriation, black culture. You know, kind of regarding that, over the weekend we saw the likes of Justin Bieber writing a statement to his nearly

Starting point is 00:02:32 140 million Instagram followers. "'I am inspired by black culture. "'I have benefited off of black culture. "'I am committed to using my platform from this day forward "'to learn, to speak up about racial injustice "'and systemic oppression, and to identify ways "'to be a part of much needed change. And with this, he's also been sharing posts

Starting point is 00:02:47 about prominent victims of police actions like Breonna Taylor. We've also seen the likes of Ariana Grande supporting the movement and the protests, urging people to register to vote, to actually go out and do it, highlighting projects like the Marshall Project, which is a nonprofit news group

Starting point is 00:02:58 that investigates cases of police brutality. You had Michael B. Jordan at an event this weekend demanding for Hollywood to commit to hiring more black actors and crew We also saw some celebrities getting into hot water over what they put out on social media starting with Terry Crews yesterday He tweeted out defeating white supremacy without white people creates black supremacy equality is the truth like it or not We are all in this together and at that time he didn't elaborate on his remarks But his use of black supremacy went trending on Twitter with people criticizing his tweet including Tyler James Williams

Starting point is 00:03:22 Who played Cruz's son and Everybody Hates Chris, writing, Terry brother, I know your heart, and you know I have love for you and always will. No one is calling for black supremacy in the narrative that we are hurts our cause and our people. We're just vigorously vetting our allies because time and time again, they have failed us in the past.

Starting point is 00:03:36 Our people are tired of white people who put on a good face and claim they aren't racist while operating and benefiting from the privilege of a clearly racist system. We're not trying to do this alone. We know we can't, but we refuse to have allies who won't go the distance. Cruz eventually did respond clarifying his position writing I understand Tyler. I was not saying black supremacy exists because it doesn't I am saying if both black and whites don't continue to work Together bad attitudes and resentments can create a dangerous self-righteousness That's all with him also going on and other tweets to say that his biggest problems were people who were quote

Starting point is 00:04:02 Gatekeepers of blackness written Right in there, adding, I have often been called out for not being black enough. How can that be? We also saw some people going after massive TikToker and now YouTuber Addison Wright. She posted this series of selfies with the caption, darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.

Starting point is 00:04:18 MLK Jr. And so following this, we had a number of people calling her tone deaf. Some people saying it is shallow as fuck. People commenting things like BLM is not an aesthetic. Now Addison ended up apologizing, writing, I am so sorry to anyone that I may have upset with this.

Starting point is 00:04:30 My intentions are pure and this quote is something that I believe in so deeply. Again, I am so sorry and I'll take it down. I believe supporting BLM on social media is just as important as what I'm doing outside of it, which I will continue to do. And going on to respond to someone saying she needs to read the room with, I agree.

Starting point is 00:04:43 I am learning and will continue to educate myself daily. I try my best to handle things in the right way, "'but I take full responsibility "'for not correctly communicating or displaying it "'in a respectful way.'" But yeah, with any and all of these stories, I pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on this?

Starting point is 00:04:53 You know, whether it be BTS, ARMY, Justin Bieber, and the wild growth we've seen from him as a human being over the past decade, the Terry Crews situation, and any internal fighting, any and all thoughts. And then let's talk about this whole situation with the NFL. Since we last left this situation on part two of the Thursday Philip DeFranco show with Drew Brees,

Starting point is 00:05:12 there has been a whole, a lot has happened. Right, so on Wednesday, Drew Brees says this. Well, I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Following that, you have a large number of people, including other athletes and even some of Breeze's teammates openly criticizing him.

Starting point is 00:05:29 One of the main criticisms was that Breeze was perpetuating the idea that kneeling during the national anthem was about anything other than racism and police brutality. So then it's Thursday and we see Drew Breeze publicly apologize. It's also reported that he apologizes to his teammates that same day in an emotional Zoom call.

Starting point is 00:05:43 That same day, we see the NFL release a statement where for the first time ever, we see them say Black Lives Matter. Also highlighting the $44 million the league has given to causes that fight systemic racism and pledging an additional 20 million for this year. And then later that night, we see a video posted by Saquon Barkley and Michael Thomas of players speaking out.

Starting point is 00:06:00 While we can't play the sound from that video, in it, we see those players saying, "'We will not be silenced. "'We assert our right to peacefully protest. It shouldn't take this long to admit, so on behalf of the National Football League, this is what we, the players, would like to hear you state. We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systemic oppression of black people. We, the National Football League, admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter."

Starting point is 00:06:25 And this video was reportedly created according to Axios. After Brian Dinn-Minter, a white 27-year-old NFL video producer, was disappointed with the NFL's initial statement on George Floyd's death. And so he reached out to Saints wide receiver, Michael Thomas, about making a video to voice what players were feeling.

Starting point is 00:06:37 Right, and so they worked from there, ultimately releasing the video the next day. Right, and so then Friday comes along, and according to reports, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell holds a town hall meeting. And in this, there are reports that you have numerous black employees sharing their feelings. There's one report saying that Goodell gets emotional.

Starting point is 00:06:51 So later that night, we see the NFL release a video of Goodell on Twitter where he says, We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people. We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter. Right, and in this video, he hits almost

Starting point is 00:07:15 everything the players said they wanted to hear. But here you also had a number of people taking this statement as hollow, calling out the organization for its seeming hypocrisy and also asking, well, what about Kaepernick as well? People like sports journalist Taylor Rooks saying, the NFL should explicitly say Colin Kaepernick's name. Can't acknowledge the right to protest and not have his actions stated. Also with all of this happening,

Starting point is 00:07:34 we had the president of the United States getting involved. He of course slammed on the NFL and Kaepernick over and over and over when this was originally happening years ago. And here we saw Trump criticizing Drew Brees for apologizing, though notably later Friday saw Trump criticizing Drew Brees for apologizing though notably later Friday night, we saw Drew Brees swing back saying to Donald Trump,

Starting point is 00:07:49 through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates and leaders in the black community, I realized this is not an issue about the American flag. We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities. We did this back in 2017 and regretfully, I brought it back with my comments this week.

Starting point is 00:08:05 We must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial and prison reform. But there really is no reason to believe that Trump is going to hear any part of that conversation. I believe he sees this as a device of war that actually greatly benefits him

Starting point is 00:08:20 and so on Sunday we also saw him tweet. Could it even be remotely possible that in Roger Goodell's rather interesting statement of peace and reconciliation, he was intimating that it would be okay for the players to kneel or not to stand for the national anthem, thereby disrespecting our country and our flag. And so with all of this being said, it feels like it's setting the stage for the NFL

Starting point is 00:08:38 to essentially get a redo. With there now being a greater and national conversation about the treatment of black people and just people of color in general. Right, do we see this as the beginning of a meaningful change in the NFL or is it hollow word service? Because I really do feel like for the NFL,

Starting point is 00:08:52 it's going to be impossible to not pick a side here. Right, you can't say we support our players in the protest and we understand what people are going through and then at the same time have a rule that if someone doesn't wanna stand for the national anthem, they stay in the locker room or where you would penalize someone or even at this point, not back someone's ability to protest.

Starting point is 00:09:09 But with all of that said, I do now want to pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts around this whole situation? And the last thing we're going to talk about today starts with this. Don't waste our time! Get the out of here! Get the out!

Starting point is 00:09:22 Go home! Go home, Jacob! Go home! Go home, Jacob, go home! Go home, Jacob, go home! Go home, Jacob, go home! Go home, Jacob, go home! So that not a 14 year old boy is Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frott. And that clip was of him being booed out of a rally

Starting point is 00:09:39 on Saturday after he said he did not support abolishing the police. And so here, I wanna talk about the big news coming out of Minneapolis, but I also wanna talk about what it means when people say defund or abolishing the police. And so here, I wanna talk about the big news coming out of Minneapolis, but I also wanna talk about what it means when people say defund or abolish the police. Right, so the big news here is that yesterday, nine out of the 13 members of the Minneapolis City Council pledged to entirely disband the police department

Starting point is 00:09:55 and make a new system for public safety. Right, and so that is just hugely significant because the city council controls the police budget. And while Mayor Jacob Fry does have veto power, the nine-person majority is veto-proof. So even if he tried to, they could override him. And the thing Jacob Fry does have veto power, the nine person majority is veto proof. So even if he tried to, they could override him. And the thing is, if he could stop it, he probably would, because after the council members made their decision

Starting point is 00:10:11 yesterday, Fry doubled down on his opinion, saying that he would work with the Minneapolis police chief and the community toward deep structural reform in addressing systemic racism in police culture. But this veto proof majority of city council members have said that the city's police system cannot be reformed. And while they said on Sunday, they do not yet have solidified plans to announce for what this new public safety system would look like, they did promise to work with the community and draw on past studies and policies that have been put in place.

Starting point is 00:10:34 Which brings us to the sort of broader discussion that this story brings up, right? As these protests over the last few weeks have continued, they have grown, so have calls to defund or abolish the police. And while these ideas are not new, the fact that they have become more mainstream is. But there are also a lot of misconceptions about what this means in practice. Right, when a lot of people hear defund or abolish the police, you know, they think it means lawlessness.

Starting point is 00:10:54 I mean, that's exactly what I thought the first time I heard it. But as it turns out, that's not true. As Christie Lopez, a professor at Georgetown Law School and a co-director of the school's innovative policing program explains, "'For most proponents, defunding the police does not mean zeroing out budgets for public safety and police abolition

Starting point is 00:11:08 does not mean the police will disappear overnight or perhaps ever. So let's break down what it does mean. First of all, we need to give some short historical context. Defunding the police and abolishing the police are two different ideas, which we'll flush out in a minute, but they both rely on the same general concept. Redefining what we mean when we say public safety

Starting point is 00:11:25 and re-imagining what that looks like in practice, but it also goes beyond that. And as Philip McHarris, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Yale and lead research and policy associate at the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability said, "'It also means dismantling the idea "'that police are public stewards

Starting point is 00:11:38 "'meant to protect communities. "'Many black Americans and other people of color "'don't feel protected by police.'" And a big part of that is actually because of the historical roots of policing and law enforcement in the States. Law enforcement in the South literally started as a slave patrol. A group of vigilantes hired to capture slaves that escaped. And when slavery was abolished, the police were then used to enforce Jim Crow laws.

Starting point is 00:11:57 And even when we fast forward to now, police are far more likely to use force against black people, and black people are also disproportionately arrested and sentenced. So, when people talk about defunding or abolishing the police it's based on those two ideas. One, that the scope of the police is too big and there is a better, more effective way to invest in public safety. And two, that policing in America has racist roots

Starting point is 00:12:15 and have contributed to the racial disparities that we see in policing today and that normal reforms can't address. But that said, there's the question of, well, what does defunding or abolishing the police look like? And here there are a number of different ideas. Starting with defunding first in the simplest terms it means taking some of the funding from police departments and investing that money into communities and

Starting point is 00:12:30 specifically into marginalized communities where the majority of the policing occurs. And here there's a lot of budget to work with. In most major cities the police budget is the largest single expenditure. In fact, according to the Urban Institute state and local governments spent 115 billion dollars on policing in just 2017 alone. So on the community level, defunding the police means investing in mental health services, housing, hospitals, schools, and food. And according to Mick Harris, those are all of the things we know increase safety.

Starting point is 00:12:55 Right, and so part of the idea here is that when you invest in communities, those communities will become safer, and so there's less of a need for the police there anyway. And that's also something that we saw echoed by Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, who also recently said in an interview

Starting point is 00:13:06 that defunding law enforcement means that we are reducing the ability for law enforcement to have resources that harm our community. It's about reinvesting those dollars into black communities, communities that have been deeply divested from. But that's just one element of it. The other part is how we address occurrences

Starting point is 00:13:19 where police are normally calm, or things that won't just go away even when those communities are supported. And as Lopez explains, we have come to have an over-reliance on the police to deal with everything, from homelessness to domestic disputes. And adding, we turn to the police in situations where years of experience and common sense

Starting point is 00:13:33 tell us that their involvement is unnecessary and can make things worse. Right, so defunding the police means, yes, shrinking how much money they get, but also shrinking their responsibilities. And then, putting that money into other areas that are more equipped to deal with those specific needs. So that means investing more in social

Starting point is 00:13:47 and mental health providers, expanding community mediation and violence interruption programs, and providing more training for those individuals to help deescalate situations. And the thing is, this is not just hypothetical. There are some examples of this. For instance, one of the programs

Starting point is 00:13:58 that the council members in Minneapolis have reportedly cited is one in Eugene, Oregon, called CAHOOTS. And CAHOOTS is a nonprofit crisis intervention program, and according to its program coordinator, CAHOOTS. And CAHOOTS is a nonprofit crisis intervention program and according to its program coordinator, CAHOOTS has responded to more than 24,000 calls for service last year, about 20% of the area's 911 calls, on a budget of about $2 million,

Starting point is 00:14:14 probably far less than what it would cost the police department to do the work. So that is what defunding the police would look like and then you have abolishing. This, obviously it calls for getting rid of the police altogether, but like we said before, it is not something that is expected to happen overnight. And this idea is actually really well explained

Starting point is 00:14:27 in a fact sheet by the Minneapolis-based initiative MPD 150, which says, police abolition work is not about snapping our fingers and instantly defunding every department in the world. Rather, we're talking about a gradual process of strategically reallocating resources, funding, and responsibility away from police and toward community-based models of safety,

Starting point is 00:14:44 support, and prevention. And adding, the people who respond to crises in our community should be the people who are best equipped to deal with those crises. Rather than strangers armed with guns who very likely do not live in the neighborhoods they're patrolling, we want to create space for more mental health service providers,

Starting point is 00:14:57 social workers, victims, survivor advocates, religious leaders, neighbors and friends, all of the people who really make up the fabric of a community to look out for one another. Right, so instead of just re-imagining and reorienting the role police play in public safety, religious leaders, neighbors, and friends, all of the people who really make up the fabric of a community to look out for one another. So instead of just re-imagining and reorienting the role police play in public safety, abolishing the police calls for getting rid

Starting point is 00:15:10 of that role full stop. So defunding and abolition involve the same two basic principles. One, moving funding from the police to the community, and two, shrinking the responsibilities of police and reallocating them to others who might be better suited to deal with certain situations. But the main difference here is that defunding

Starting point is 00:15:24 is more of a spectrum, right? Defunding the police could technically include cutting just 1% of the police budget, or it could involve cutting 95% of the police budget, and really anywhere else in between. In other words, the world of defunding is one where it is still possible that the police force exists,

Starting point is 00:15:36 but just at a more limited capacity. But for abolition, that is just the first step in a much longer process that eventually results in the police as we know it being eliminated and entirely replaced with an alternative public safety system. Right, and so with all that, you now know sort of

Starting point is 00:15:48 the basics behind defunding and abolishing the police. As for what's gonna happen in Minneapolis, we're gonna have to wait and see. Right now, it does seem like based on what the city council members have said, they are totally dismantling the police, so kind of more abolishment. We've also now seen reports today about Mayor Frye.

Starting point is 00:16:00 According to a local report, if what's called for is abolishing the police union, Frye says he's for it. That is what needs to change. I think we have to have precision in our words and what specifically we're talking about. Also with this story, it's important to point out that there are other examples of other cities starting to take at least some action.

Starting point is 00:16:14 For example, on Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would be moving some funding from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services, though he didn't really give details here. Also last week, we had Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti promising to cut as much as $150 million from part of the proposed police budget. But also of note that is just a tiny fraction of the $1.86 billion proposal. And interestingly this was something that had both sides angry. You had some saying, okay this is a step in the right direction, but it's also incredibly minimal compared to the total budget.

Starting point is 00:16:40 But on the other side of this you had people angry that this proposed budget was being cut in any way. For example, after Garcetti's announcement the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the Union for Rank and File Officers, said in a statement that the budget cuts would be the, quote, quickest way to make our neighborhoods more dangerous. Adding, cutting the LAPD budget means longer responses to 911 emergency calls, officers calling for backup

Starting point is 00:16:58 won't get it, and rape, murder, and assault investigations won't occur, or take forever to initiate, let alone complete. At this time, with violent crime increasing, a global pandemic, and nearly a week's worth of violence, arson, and looting, defunding the LAPD is the most irresponsible thing anyone can propose.

Starting point is 00:17:13 And ultimately, that is where we are right now. And what I'll say is, while it does feel like we're far away from any large-scale, substantive change, a lot of activists say even the discussions that we're having now are huge. As Cullors told the New York Times, "'This is massive. "'This is the first time we are seeing

Starting point is 00:17:26 "'in our country's history a conversation about defunding "'and some people having a conversation "'about abolishing the police and prison state. "'This must be what it felt like "'when people were talking about abolishing slavery.'" And so with all of that said, with this story, I do wanna pass a question off to you. What are your thoughts around this?

Starting point is 00:17:39 Are you of the mindset that you want the eventual abolition of the police? Are you of the mindset of defunding? Or are you of the mindset that both of these are abolition of the police? Are you of the mindset of defunding? Or are you of the mindset that both of these are bad ideas? Also with this, I wanna ask, has your opinion on this changed because of the last two weeks? Whether it be the looting and rioting that took place

Starting point is 00:17:54 or the numerous examples we've seen of police militarization and police brutality on display. Or even other stories that didn't happen in these protests but have popped up because of these protests like that of Breonna Taylor. And that is where I'm going to end today's show. As always, thank you for watching the video, liking it, sharing it, being a part of that conversation

Starting point is 00:18:10 in those comments down below. Also, if you're looking for more to watch, I got my two latest news videos right here that you can click or tap. 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.

Starting point is 00:18:23 I hope you liked this video. Subscribe if you like it.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.8 Addison Rae Under Fire, DEFUND THE POLICE? What That Actually Means, BTS Army on BLM, & More

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