[intro music begins]
Crystal
abolition is for everybody is a podcast that tackles the sometimes-difficult conversations around prison abolition. I’m Crystal.
Graham
And I’m Graham. This season is about the media’s involvement in carceral or abolitionist thinking.
Crystal
How it uses narratives to impact, radicalize, and shift culture.
Graham
Just a reminder friends, though the title of this episode may give you some warning, remember that harm itself tends to create situations of alternate harms.
Crystal
There will likely be other painful topics brought up too. Take care of you.
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Crystal
Hey everyone. Welcome to the episode where we talk about mass shootings. Today we are joined by author, attorney and Sirius XM host, Qasim Rashid.
Graham
We’re excited that you’re here with us. We know you have a lot of experience talking about this in various ways: TikTok, Twitter, in articles that you’ve written. Mass shooting and how the media represents it is such a heavy topic. What has been your experience talking about this? And are people receptive?
Qasim Rashid
You know, I’ve been fortunate. First of all, thank you for having me; I really appreciate this. I think this kind of advocacy, and elevating these conversations is a critical component to bringing about this promise made in our founding documents of a more perfect union, one built on justice. And that is my North star when I talk about these things. So we’re talking about mass shootings, for example, my North star is: how do we uphold justice? I know there’s some on the Left who say we should ban all guns altogether. I’m not in that camp. I perfectly understand the need to have a firearm for self-defense. I don’t think guns are inherently bad or evil. I also believe that the other side, that there should be no limit whatsoever, is also absurd and detrimental as the data and evidence proves. We’ve gotten to a point now where we’re suffering hundreds of mass shootings a year. And we’ve become so desensitized to it that I fear what’s going to happen in the next generation, what’s gonna be the next escalation. I was in high school when Columbine happened. And I remember thinking two things. One, what a horrific atrocity that kids my age were gunned down and murdered, for no other reason than being at the wrong place the wrong time. And the second thought I had was, well, hopefully, the silver lining from this is that our politicians will get their act together, and this will never happen again. And that’ll be the end of that. Obviously, I was very wrong in that second one. And when we look at how the United States compares to every developed country in the world, we have by far, I mean, it’s like comically vast, the difference in the number of mass shootings. And what I want to explore more today is helping folks understand that that’s not by accident. There’s no such thing as an accidental mass shooting. There’s no accidents when it comes to guns. It’s negligence, and it’s the negligence of our electeds. And the malice of our lobbyists from the gun lobby that is allowing this to continue to happen. But all that to say to answer your question, I’m seeing immense support. I’m seeing the conversation moving in the right direction. And hopefully we can activate more people off the sidelines, more young people especially, to play a meaningful role and ensure we accelerate that change, to ensure true justice and safety for all people in this country.
Crystal
Thank you for that. And I also remember watching Columbine when it happened a really, really long time ago. And I want to touch a little bit more about your experience, and your experience Graham, with how desensitized we’ve become. And the way that the media portrays it. I currently have a, two nephews, one who is in, a junior in high school and one who is in fourth grade. And my little nephew comes home and explains, like the different things that they have to do during their shooting drills. And the first time he told me about it, I thought he was talking about an earthquake drill. And I was like, “Oh, do you mean like when you go under your desk in case the earth shakes?” And I was trying to understand he’s like, “No, no, no. This is if, you know, if a bad guy comes in, this is what we do.” And he started explaining to me and I was like, “Oh, a shooting drill.” And we’re in California. We have those now along with the earthquakes drill. So can you speak a little bit more to the different ways that you’ve seen over time, since you know, you witnessed Columbine, how we’ve become desensitized to these shootings, and how the media plays a role in that.
Qasim Rashid
I’m the father of three. My wife, Ayesha, and I have three amazing kids. They’re in elementary and junior high school right now. And the sheer thought of a shooting drill. I think back to when I was in school in the 1980s and 90s. It seems so bizarre at the time, just to kind of, you know, frame it. It seems so bizarre at that time. It would have been like, we should have a meteor shower drill, right, in case an asteroid strikes the Earth we should be ready for that right? It would be that bizarre. Or an alien abduction drill, if aliens come down, how do we prevent from being abducted? Right? I mean, it makes no sense logically. And I have family and friends all over the world: Canada, UK and Germany. And they look at me like “What world are you living in where this is okay?” Especially when you realize that the leading cause of death for children in America is what? It’s firearms. When you think about how individual toys or cribs are recalled, because one child, or one baby, or a few babies tragically died. But now we have thousands of children being killed by firearms, and there’s nothing more than thoughts and prayers. And I find that offensive as a person of faith. Because I believe in the power of thoughts and prayers, but I also believe that if you’re not willing to act, that those thoughts and prayers are a mockery. And, and in whatever faith you believe in, I think it’s a mockery. Because at the end of the day, your thoughts and prayers should be for yourself, and it should be for others, but you need to take action along with that. And the lack of action in this space that’s allowed us to be apathetic to it is enraging and infuriating. And the role of media, the fourth estate, is to hold those in power in check. And the lack of attention to the space to speak up for silence and marginalized voices is truly shocking. Now, I’m grateful for the local media in Sandy Hook, that didn’t air the nonsense, I’m not gonna say his name, for that right wing nut job, and valiantly supported the Sandy Hook parents. And they’ve gotten some level of, I wouldn’t say justice, but some level of accountability. But, that said, that can’t be the exception. We need that to be the norm. We need the narrative to be one in which, when we talk about freedom, we talk about liberty, and life and liberty, the pursuit of happiness, it has to be grounded in reality. It has to be grounded in facts and data. And the facts and data show that you can have firearms, but with common sense and comprehensive gun safety legislation, you can do so while minimizing, or nearly eliminating, firearm deaths. There’s no accident, like countries like Sweden and Japan, the UK, Germany, all have less than 1% of the firearm deaths that we do. And they’re not dictatorships. No one’s, you know, no one’s having their homes invaded by government tyranny or being denied free speech. On the contrary, all these nations rank higher than the US on the on the Freedom Index. They rank way higher than the US on the Peace and Safety Index. And they rank higher than the US on the Happiness Index. Their, their citizens are happier, as well. And they’re all thriving, you know, democracies with a capitalism-based economy. And so we need to relinquish this lie that gun reform legislation means our freedoms are magically taken away. This is a propaganda claim. And quite the opposite is true, that gun reform legislation actually increases liberty and happiness because fewer people die, and more people are living safer and healthier lives.
Graham
So what’s coming? I mean, it’s clear that there’s a political lockup. It’s a political freeze, and there’s politics and bureaucracy behind that. It’s clear that the media isn’t representing in a way that’s healthy for the public, right? They’re sensationalizing and they’re, they’re putting it out so people can view, alerting the public, but they’re just sensationalizing it and playing it, which causes this desensitization. So what are these countries doing that’s exactly different, that our country is not?
Qasim Rashid
Well, one, I think that there’s two elements that really, really important question, Graham. One element is that, even the politicization here in the United States, there’s a deep racial element behind it as well. Let’s remember, it was a Republican Governor, Ronald Reagan in California, who banned open carry in California. A Republican. I mean, the icon of conservatism, the icon of what Republicanism is, before Trump came around. And to many Republicans, still the same, you know, Reagan is the epitome of what it means to be a Republican. Well, he’s the one who banned open carry in California, and why? Because the Black Panthers, who’ve been demonized as a militant terrorist organization, in actuality, because the Black Panthers said, “We’re going to exercise our civil rights, and we’re going to open carry.” And suddenly it was an outrage. And the same people who banned the Black Panthers from open carry are the ones championing the Three Percenter terrorist organization and the Oathkeeper terrorist organization and the Proud Boy terrorist organization. So the hypocrisy of it, with the, this element of white supremacy, should be free and clear for anyone to see, black, brown, white. That’s one element. The second thing that other nations are doing that the United States isn’t, is looking at what the proven models are. I’ll give you a couple of really good examples, right? In the military. My brother’s a US Marine veteran. And you can ask any veteran this. In the military, to handle a firearm, you have to go through hours and hours and weeks and weeks and months and months of training. And firearm is kept separate from ammunition. You’re not allowed to walk with a firearm on a military base. Every single round is accounted for. Every magazine is accounted for. You have to have your firearm inspected. It goes through a thorough and detailed process. And that’s why you don’t have these kinds of mass shootings in the military. If you do, they’re the exceptions to the rule. But the psychopath in Uvalde, who turned 18, went and bought an AR-15, and then massacred a bunch of children and teachers. That behavior was enabled by Greg Abbott, who said, “We think this is a good idea.” In the military they realize, if you’re an 18 year old kid, you’re not trained to handle this weapon of war. We’re gonna train you and put strict parameters to make sure that you don’t hurt yourself or somebody else. But apparently, the Second Amendment magically allows people to have any weapon of war out in the streets, according to these right-wing nut jobs. I know I’m using harsh language, but we’re talking about the lives and deaths of children right now. You have a country like Japan, that is, by all means a thriving democracy. Nobody can argue that. But they have less than 10 firearm deaths per year. Because to apply for a firearm license, you have to do everything from show you’ve gone through the training, to show that you are physically able, that you have a mental health checkup. You need to provide references. They do a background check-up on you, you need to have a safe storage situation. You need to let know, let law enforcement know where it’s going to be stored. You need to carry ammunition separately. Ammunition is sold separately, you’re only allowed to discharge it upon a shooting range. I mean, the the requirements are so strict that, if somebody has ill intent, they’re not going to get access to a firearm. And if somebody has pure intent, they shouldn’t have any difficulty getting access to a firearm. And that’s what we see happening in in Switzerland, where there’s mandatory military service. So if you have a firearm, it’s because you’ve had mandatory military service. And, likewise, you go through intense training over and over and over again. You want to go the shooting range, you want to go hunting, you can by all means, but you go through this training to double check it. None of this means that these countries are somehow backwards, or dictatorships, or draconian. None of this means that people aren’t free, or that they’re not safe. Quite the contrary, the exact opposite is true. They are freer and safer. And these are all policies that should be implemented here. I’ll give you one good example of how we tried to implement it here. And the Republican hypocrisy behind it. When Mike Pence was governor of Indiana, he passed a Red Flag law. Red Flag laws basically say that if a man, or any person, is being violent towards the spouse, in most cases it’s men. Men kill more than 1600 women a year in gender-based violence, and their weapon of choice is a firearm. That they can petition the court, the court can issue a warrant. The warrant can be used to take away those firearms until the person is of sound mind or they stop being violent. It’s a due process thing. It’s not that they can just come in and take your guns. It goes through the court, goes through law enforcement. It’s an actual process. And when Mike Pence was asked about this piece of legislation, he said that this is a blueprint for the entire nation, because this is not anti-Second Amendment. It’s a blueprint for the entire nation. I’m like, wow, that’s an example of a man who is putting principles about politics. Great. The Virginia General Assembly took a carbon copy of that bill, and proposed it to be passed in Virginia. The same Republicans that praised Mike Pence for his Red Flag law in Indiana suddenly called this a gun grab communist takeover. Exact same bill, carbon copy. But when a Republican governor passed it, it was a “blueprint for the nation.” And that’s a quote. I’m not paraphrasing; it’s a quote. And when Democrats pass the exact same bill, it’s a communist takeover. Absurd, and people are dying as a result of it. So that’s where I think we as citizens need to be active and engaged and organized, and hold these politicians’ feet to the fire. Because right now, we’re literally in the firing line of extremists with firearms, and there’s very little being done about it. Sorry, I get fired up about this stuff. I have to keep using the fire analogy.
Graham
No, that’s perfectly fine. That’s perfectly fine. A lot of really powerful things were said right now. So, I’m thinking about like, root causes, as you’re talking. And I’m thinking, you know, the laws that have been passed thus far, are essentially reactive laws. They’re reacting to a shooting. They’re reacting, they’re placing laws into the books that essentially stop things from this moment forward, but don’t do anything about the actual cause. So, like, what do you what do you suppose some of the causes of, like the development of the mass shooter, what what do you suppose is the root of that?
Qasim Rashid
Well, remember, mass shootings are just one element of it. Right? It’s the proliferation of guns in general. You’re talking more than 40,000 gun deaths a year. And it’s a, it’s this perfect storm of injustice that’s leading us here. One element is the lack of universal health care, right? This is a key component because, of those 30,000 annual deaths, my math might be off on this a little bit. But I want to say 10,000 or more are death by suicide. And the leading cause of death by suicide is a firearm. And so people are struggling with mental health or depression or suicidal thoughts, and they don’t have access to health care. Then we’re making it easier for them to harm and kill themselves. And that’s a problem. Imagine if somebody suffering from depression could get psychiatric or psychological treatment, to prevent them from getting access to a firearm, and therefore, committing this horrible, horrible act of killing themselves. Imagine how much pain people would be spared, family members would be spared. I know parents who’ve lost their child to death by suicide with a firearm. And just the pain is unimaginable, what they’re going through. So one element is a lack of universal health care. Other nations that I mentioned have universal health care as a human right, as a guaranteed right. We don’t have that. And so the second aspect of it is the wealth and income inequality that we’re suffering through right now. The United States, right now, suffers from more wealth and income inequality, than at any point in our nation’s history, including post-Great Depression. And that should make us reflect. Because when people who are low-income are suffering, and are struggling, and don’t have any means out, then when you have nothing to lose, bad things happen as well. And so providing that basic economic justice has to be a key component of it. The studies show that for every one-dollar an hour raise, increase of minimum wage, suicide rates dropped by 1%. Right? So there’s a massive economic element of this as well, that that can’t be ignored. The third aspect of it, I think, is the recognition that gun violence is a lot like a pandemic, right? And we’re going through COVID right now. And hopefully, we’ve seen the worst of it. But if you recall, we talked about social distancing. And we talked about staying away from large groups. And if you’re sick, don’t travel, because you can transport it. Because viruses don’t know boundaries, right? They don’t know borders. They don’t care what’s you know, Mexico or America or Canada. They don’t care what’s Illinois or Indiana or Wisconsin. They have, it’s a virus. Gun violence works the same way. And the anti gun reform folks will say, “Well, look at Chicago. Look at how much gun violence is in Chicago.” The first thing it tells me is they’re ignorant because Chicago is not even in the top 25 for most gun violence, for a gun violence rate. It’s like around 30th. But the bigger thing is that even the gun violence in Chicago is not due to guns from Chicago. It’s due to guns from Indiana and Wisconsin, which are right around the corner that have very lax gun laws. So if I want to usurp the system, and I want a firearm in Chicago, I have to go through the painstaking step of driving 15 minutes further across the border, getting a firearm and bringing it back. And so for gun reform legislation to truly work on a national scale, it has to be federal, it just, it simply has to be federal. And we know the data back it up. Nine of the top ten most violent states for gun deaths are Republican-led states that have lax or no gun reform legislation. Nine out of ten safest are Democratic states. In fact, I think all top ten safest, with the lowest gun deaths, lowest gun violence, are Democrat states that have comprehensive and common-sense gun reform. And guess what? Those ten Democratic states are by no means communist dictatorships where people can’t get, make a living. That’s where the majority of Americans live, as well. So, so you have this this this this like, three-headed monster of lack of health care, economic injustice, and lack of a comprehensive federal legislation to gun reform. And then you add this this very violent spark of racism and white supremacy and misinformation. And you get to where we are right now. And you wonder how is it not more than 40,000 deaths? Even though 40,000 is an atrocious number, in and of itself. The reality is, is that this number is not going to get any better unless we take meaningful action to address all three of those things together.
Crystal
I love how much information and stats you have stored in your mind. I learned so much with that sentence. I am a strong believer, and I talked about this in season two, is that the United States sets a lot of systems of desperation. I believe I talk about it in the in the robbery episode, Graham, where you were a guest, of setting up a lot of systems of desperation. And then we punish the person when they react to that or when they do the things that they need to do in order to survive. So I I talk about that in regards to the episode on robberies. And I am also a strong advocate for health care mental health services. I also believe that if we were to invest on that, invest on preventing these things, it could help the issue a lot. Because I know that when mass shootings happen, that’s the number one topic we talk about in the media. And then it dies down again. And then we have another shooting, and then it goes back again. Yeah, so I’m wondering, if for the next time, unfortunately, there will be a next time. One of the things that we talk about this season a lot is media literacy, or, what are the different things that we can look at in the media, so we don’t buy into the, you know, the copaganda? Or, you know, the different ways that the media is upholding white supremacy? What are the different things that we can look at when, the next time we see in the news that a shooting happened? Is there anything aside from this, this these stats, and this list that you gave us that you think our listeners should should keep an eye on?
Qasim Rashid
Yes. Look, a beautiful question. Crystal, really a beautiful question. Because I think this strikes at the core of the solution to this maelstrom, of, of mayhem that we’re in. And that is that the purpose of media as the fourth estate is to hold government accountable. Right, it’s to hold power in check, it’s to expose injustice. That’s why our founders, as flawed as they were, ensured that a free press, free speech was the first amendment, right? It was part of the core, the foundation stone of the Bill of Rights, even before guns. They said free speech has has to be at the core. And we have to remember that. Right? That we must protect that aspect of it. And the only way that’s going to be effective is if each of us play an active role in building a government that’s by, of, and for the people. I’ll give you one really good example. Just recently, there was a mass shooting in North Carolina. Five people killed. And what was truly tragic about this, is that North Carolina State Legislature had proposed a bill that was basically an Amber Alert for mass shootings, that would allow the government to send a mass text message to where the shooter was located, and warn them to shelter in place. There’s a mass shooter at large, go inside, lock your doors, close your windows. Hide to stay the hell out of the public sight. Very common sense bill. Didn’t even talk about taking away your guns, didn’t talk about any kind of gun safety legislation. It just said, “Let us warn people, just like we would if there’s a tornado coming or a hurricane coming. Just like we would if there was a fire or if there’s an accident, you can warn people. Let’s warn them that there’s a mass shooter alert.” The Republicans killed the bill. They killed it and innocent people who otherwise would have been warned, died, because there’s no way to inform them quickly that there’s a mass shooter. I say all that to bring up that Republicans in the North Carolina Legislature then issued their condolences, their thoughts and their prayers, at this atrocity. What media needs to do to those people, is to expose them for the hypocrites and frauds that they are, and hold them accountable for the innocent people that died as a result of their callousness and apathy. And the way we do that is not just by exposing their records, but by being active in your own local politics. Get active in your school board, get active in your board of supervisors, city council, your mayoral elections, your state and your your State House and State Senate elections. We all talk about voting for president and voting for the vice president. And that’s fine, that’s important. But those aren’t the folks who are going to impact you on the local level. They’re just not. That’s just not the way government works. You’re going to be impacted on the local level by who your local mayor is. How many people listening to this podcast can can tell themselves right now: “My local mayor is Mayor So and So.” If you can’t, that’s a problem. Who is your city council person? Who’s your alderperson? Who is your school board representative? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, you’re enabling the problems that we’re in right now. And that sounds harsh, but I want you to hold yourself to that level of accountability. And if you find out who these people are, and you find out they’re good people that are supporting these issues of justice and reform and safety, then support them not just with your vote, but knock doors for them. If you can donate a few bucks, throw a few bucks at them. Make phone calls for them. Maybe you’ve got a special skill of smoke signals and training pigeons. Do that and get the word out for them. Whatever works, but be involved. And guess what? If you can’t find a good person on the local level, they’re all these, you know, extremists who believe that we should be arming toddlers with rifles. Then do something bold and run for office yourself. Be that change yourself. And I’m especially talking to young people. I’m especially talking to women. I’m especially talking to immigrants. I’m talking to anybody raised on welfare, anybody who’s been through the prison system before who sees this injustice firsthand, I’m talking to you, especially. Because it’s your voices who have been the most marginalized from this conversation. And so, when it comes to media, media’s gonna respond to what is going to get clicks. If it bleeds, it leads. That’s the old saying. And so what we need to get clicks are things that actually involve justice that happens. Look at yourself, look at your local community, and make that change locally. That will transform your state and your national politics as well.
Graham
I love everything you just said. Crystal and I have had a million conversations about this subject. Because, I mean, I’m sure you’re aware of this. But I think a lot of people are unaware of just how disenfranchised folks feel, like being previously incarcerated, I came home and my thinking in terms of justice was “I did the crime, I did the time.” And it took a series of courses and engaging in the community that I’m in now to actually realize just how attached to the political system I am. And the media definitely, like, reinforces this, because they make it seem like an outside project. Like, everything, that’s all you do is cast a vote. And that’s all that matters. And they encourage you to cast a vote, but not much else. But in doing what Crystal and I get to do now, we have been able to become entrenched in what’s happening both locally and on a statewide level. And you see just how the system is designed to tell people: “You’re outside of it”, even though you’re not. That’s a really powerful statement. Like, in terms of the media and how they represented, let’s say Uvalde, which is a terrible tragedy. The media, at first from my memory, and I could be remembering wrong, but from my memory, they tried to represent it objectively. And also lean, support on essentially the police, like the police were doing their job. It was the public, it was the actual people of Uvalde, who continually spoke up, and continually cried out and said something terrible happened here. So that the media began to pay attention. And they regretfully leaned into the conversation on what really took place. And we see the result now. So yeah, thank you for everything you just said. That was amazing.
Qasim Rashid
Graham, you’re right. I mean, I recall Greg Abbott saying that these heroes ran in and they stopped the shooting. And the media just unapologetically ran with it. Yeah, that must have been what happened. When George Floyd was killed. The law enforcement headline, press release was: “Man dies in medical incident.” What the hell? Like? Are you kidding me? You know, you completely ignore the actual murder and, and media ran with that. All, all well and good. Ahmaud Arbery. Another example, right? Where, you know, man was burglarizing, and, you know, tried to take these guns and he, you know, was killed in self-defense. And then there was the video that obviously, you know, blew open the case. And so, that’s where I ask people not to become disillusioned or disheartened, because it’s very easy to. Very easy to, and I can’t blame you for being frustrated or angry. But I can blame you for giving up. Because we don’t have the luxury of giving up. That can’t be an option. Because it’s not just you you’re fighting for. You’re fighting for the next generation; you’re fighting for your nephews, your nieces, your kids. Heck, you’re fighting for your parents who may not be in a position to fight anymore. And so think about the people counting on you and think about the change that you can make. And this is why I say: there’s nobody who can hold you accountable more than yourself. And it’s got to come, in my view, intrinsically, where you got to put the burden on yourself and say, “Look, I will do better today than yesterday.” And that better today might be, it might be: “I’m going to vote for the first time in my life.” And to that person, I say, I applaud you and I champion you. And I give you a virtual high five when I see you. In real life, I’ll give you a real high five, right, I mean, I think it’s awesome. But then next time, think about the stuff beyond that. What’s the step beyond voting as well? Because, you know, I don’t know about you, I grew up playing sports. Even though I’m older now, I still pretend like I know how to play sports. But if there’s one thing you know about sports, is you don’t show up on the day of the championship and say, “Okay, now let’s get to work.” Right? That, that day is nine months earlier, after you’ve had a break from the last season. And you said; “Let me put in the work now. Let me do the two a days. Let me put in the extra mile. Let me hit the weight room an extra time. Let me watch my diet. Let me make sure I’m drinking enough water. So when I get to the championship day, I’m ready to execute.” And that’s what Election Day is like. I consider like, you know, the championship day. If you’ve done the work, made the phone calls, knocked the doors, sent the text messages, you know, did the pigeon couriers. Whatever it is, then on Election Day, that vote is a layup. It’s the last step to make it whole and if you do it right, we’re able to elect people actually committed to justice.
Crystal
I have a, I think what can possibly be a tough question. And every time a mass shooting happens, you had this thought process with Columbine, Columbine is, this is the one. This is the one that’s going to change things. Same thing with Sandy Hook. Same thing with the current elementary school that happened. Because I actually do want to mention that for the one in Stone Douglas, we criticized and we shamed the officer who stayed outside and didn’t go in. We got angry at the cops, who also stayed out and didn’t go in. And we saw the mom run in for her two little boys. And I am in the personal belief that we should build a world in a society where even cops don’t have to run in into a building that flying with bullets. But my question is, every time that happens, I get so hopeful. And I see a lot of people sharing, and I see a lot of people crying over the tragedy. And I know that the students from the Stone Douglas, a lot of them became activists, and a lot of them went to different shows to speak about this, and they still are. I see, like, their TikToks. Why do you think it kind of dies down? And what do you think that somebody ordinary and normal like me can do? Is it what you said? The TikToks, the voting? What do you think is that missing piece, that it just kind of dies down?
Qasim Rashid
Great question, Crystal. I think there’s a couple things. I think one: it is important to recognize the progress we’ve made. We have made steps forward. I mean, look at the work that Moms Demand does, Everytown. I mean, they’ve made meaningful progress, and they could cite you the hundreds of bills that they’ve passed on a local, state level, and now for the first time on the federal level, on gun safety. So we are making progress. And sometimes it’s hard to see that. But I think it’s important to acknowledge that because it’s not like we’re spinning our wheels, stuck in mud. We may not be on the race track the way we want to be, but we’re definitely making progress in some respects. So it’s one thing. Two, I think the reason why it dies down is, it’s the nature of the way the media cycle has become. We’re constantly running after the next shiny thing. At least, when I say “we” I mean media, right? And it’s driven not by justice, or the needs of society, but it’s driven by what’s gonna get more clicks and headlines. I mean, Queen Elizabeth dying, I mean, God rest her soul. Sure. But my God, did that need to be in the media cycle for six weeks, right? I mean, it’s like, alright, we get it. But there’s a lot more important, it’s one in nine kids are going hungry, you know. Twenty-two veterans a day are dying by suicide. 600,000 Americans a year dying due to lack of health care. I think there’s things that we can be talking about. We heard about the Pakistan floods, but not nearly as much as we heard about the Paris cathedral that burned down. And most people don’t even know that there were floods in Nigeria that were devastating. And so, and so there is, it dies down because of things like that. And, and the solution is for people to be involved locally. And actually, you know, I want to bring back another really important point you made, Crystal, about if you truly believe that, if you are one of the hardcore Blue Lives Matter people, right? I’m not gonna sit around convince you that it’s, it doesn’t make sense because you’re trying to equate an occupation with skin color. And I’m not going to argue with you about why that is just illogical, and downright offensive in many respects. But I will say this to you. If you truly believe that, then you of all people would want common sense gun reform. Because the people who suffer the most, who have the potential of suffering the most, I don’t wanna say suffer the most, who have the potential of suffering the most, is law enforcement. If you’re a law enforcement officer, and you arrive at a scene of a mass shooting, and every yahoo’s got his gun out, how do you know who’s the mass shooter and who’s not? You know, how many more law enforcement officers are killed because there’s a proliferation of weapons out there? Or because there’s bigger weapons out there? Or you got bulletproof vests? Vests? Well, great. Now they’re coming up with bullet piercing, bulletproof vest piercing bullets. And you know, where does it end? I was at an event once. And there was a sheriff on, and we were, it was a political event. And I was speaking. And he said to me, he goes, “Look just offline, you know, where are you on guns?” And I explained it to him, just look at it on the show. And he goes, “See, that makes sense to me. And I’m a lifetime carrying member of the NRA.” I’m like, “Well, then speak up as a sheriff. Speak up.” He goes, “Yeah, I would, but it’s just gonna be too much of a backlash from the NRA lobby.” Like, well, that’s unfortunate, because people are dying. And I would hope that you would express the courage that they need you to have to speak up about this. The reality is this. If, if people think that law enforcement is safer by having more guns out there, then they’re not looking at the data and the statistics. They’re actually ignoring them altogether. And a lot of these pieces of gun reform legislation are actually supported by Sheriffs Associations. Because they recognize that our deputies will be safer out there if we know the only people who have firearms are the ones who are supposed to have firearms. That disconnect. I don’t know why media doesn’t, well actually I do know why media doesn’t talk about that, because it doesn’t get clicks or leads. But that’s a narrative I think we can be very adamant about, very deliberate about. And say, “This is not just a matter of keeping civilians safe, it’s also a matter of keeping law enforcement safe.” And ensuring a community is more cohesive as a whole as a result of it.
Crystal
Thank you for giving us and giving me a little bit of hope there because it can feel very hopeless a lot of the time, and scary. So, what did we miss? Is there anything that you would like to say to, you know, our listeners, before we hop off?
Qasim Rashid
I think we covered it. I just want to really double down on this point of every person taking personal ownership and personal accountability over your town, your city, your state. Own it on a very, very personal level, because that’s where meaningful reform comes from. It’s not going to come from top down; it’s always going to come from bottom up. Think about whether you voted in the midterm elections, and think about what role you’re going to play before the next elections. And play a critical and meaningful role so that, just like at the end of every championship, you can sit there exhausted on the court or the field and ask yourself, if you really gave it your all. After every election, you should ask yourself, “Did I really do everything I possibly could to make sure that everyone in my circle voted?” I don’t drink alcohol; I was always the designated driver in college. But that was my worry. That I made sure I got every one of my drunk friends so that nobody drove home drunk. You know, take that approach of voting. Make sure that you’re the person that people can rely on and trust and call, and that you can have the resources for them to get registered, to get to the ballot box, to vote, to know who they’re voting for. And then to activate them for the next election. So you can build your coalition as well.
Crystal
Thank you so much. And then, lastly, is there any project or anything that you’re working on, that you’d like to share with our listeners?
Qasim Rashid
Projects? I mean, I’m working on trying to elect the first Democrat mayor to the city of Naperville. In Illinois. I’m pretty excited about that. It’d be the first non-white person elected ever as well, which would be kind of historic. I am, I am just really focused on making sure people vote and making sure people are active. If you want to support my work, you can follow me on, across social media @QasimRashid. Just my name Q A S I M R A S H I D. I also run a PAC called Common Purpose, who try to elect more women and people of color to office. And I think it’s my way of just being active and involved. So to whatever extent you want to play a role, come check us out. I’ve got my Sirius XM radio show that airs every Sunday at 10 am Eastern on channel 126. But, bottom line, I think the one message I want to ask people is, whether it’s me or somebody else, just be involved. Be involved, be engaged. Play an active role in the shaping of our future because you deserve a country that treats you with justice, and your next generation deserves that same thing as well. And the beauty of it is that, despite all the trash and garbage out there, you have the ability to cut through it and make it happen. You just need to believe it and then act upon it.
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Crystal
You’ve been listening to abolition is for everybody. Be sure to follow us @abolitionIs_ on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for regular updates.
Graham
If you want to continue supporting this podcast and our work overall, you can donate to support Initiate Justice at initiatejustice.org/donate
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