 Hi everyone, welcome to real conversations with Liz and Adam. Hello, Liz. Hi Adam. Our topic today is the program 10 ways to fight hate Speak up. This is the fourth program in a 10 program series about ways to fight hate. Liz, what is this program about? Speaking up, what does that mean? Yeah, so this program really, there are, first of all, I want to say I think it's incredible that there are 10 ways that we have such a hate problem in this world that it really necessitates 10 programs about how we can fight this hate, but I also think it's so it's so hopeful, right, that there are these 10 different concrete actual ways that we can come together as people and Yeah, fight hate these ways. Okay, so this one is about speaking up. So in this program, it opens with an incident of hate against an Asian-American woman and really the beginning of the program really sets up how these incidents are on the rise and so this woman in this particular incident, she felt that one of the ways that she could make a difference is by speaking up about her experience. So it also talks, this program talks about how she would lead rallies and tell about her experience so that she can Yeah, share that and make it known so that people know it's a problem. Then it goes on to some statistics about how how hate incidents have been growing, especially in the US in this program, and then some actual ways to practice speaking up against hate because speaking up, it's a little bit of an idiom I feel like it's not just saying something, but it's maybe saying something that you feel uncomfortable saying because you know, you feel that you might feel embarrassed or something like that. But this program really shows a map of how you can start to speak up and why that's so important. This is a program in the series 10 ways to fight hate that I find personally the most challenging. I like to be kind. That's a value for me. And I assume that other people want to be kind and generally see the world the same way I do. So when I encounter someone who sees the world differently in a way that I think I even have a hard time saying that's hateful. But right. But there are people go ahead. No, no, I was I was going to add that, you know, you also it's difficult because you think of a person maybe as like, oh, this is a nice person. This is my aunt and she has always been kind to me. And then she says maybe something that is not OK. Maybe something racist or something like that where maybe she doesn't think it's racist, but it actually is. And I think that's also a very hard. That's a very hard time to speak up because you don't want to make her feel uncomfortable and you don't want to ruin that relationship. But you really feel like that's not an OK thing to say either. Right. The other thing that is sometimes at play in conversations is you need to talk to someone who has power in your life. And that could be someone you work with who you're going to have to continue to work with or someone who is in authority over you like a supervisor at work or a parent or some other maybe even a religious leader and speaking up could have consequences for you. Negative consequences. But but one of the things that I really liked about the program that I found helpful was and I think you mentioned this earlier was saying having some things having some things to say, I don't find that funny. Yes, that's very to point out that part of this program. Yeah, that's very different than saying that's not funny. But saying I don't find that funny or I find that offensive or I have I love someone just like that. Like if you make it about your experience, then you're not arguing. You're not trying to convince them of something else. So I found that super freeing to say that's that's something that I can do. Well, I wanted to point out this part in the program because I actually thought it was really, really great. And it was this comes from a website LearningForJustice.org, which is a site for teachers and how they can specifically deal with hate in their classrooms, maybe students who say something or other teachers who say something. But I really think it's applicable to everyone because it's so simple and I really think it works. OK, so one of the one of the key ways I thought is to prepare yourself and practice is what it says. Remind yourself that you are a person who speaks up against hate. Believe it. This simple exercise can change your mind from doing nothing to taking action. That is such a huge because when you're in those situations, like with your aunt, maybe, and you are like, oh, I don't know what to say here. I don't know what to do. But if you have prepared yourself, I'm a person who who doesn't accept that or who's going to speak up against hate. Well, then you already know what you're going to do, right? You're going to speak up against hate because you believe that you are a person who speaks up against hate. And I thought that was such a it's so simple, but it completely changed my view of what is possible for me personally to do. Right. And you don't have to have all the answers. You don't have to because you're going to be asked a bunch of questions like, well, that's not really hate. I didn't really mean that. I didn't really do that. That's those are going to come, right? But what you're doing is is you're taking a stand and you're saying, yeah, I this is who I am and as it goes into what you were saying as well, because the next step is to memorize just some simple phrases, right? Yeah. And you said one, I do not find that funny. Or the other one is that offends me. Or I'm surprised to hear you say that. And those are just phrases you can have just in your mind all the time. I'm surprised to hear you say that. So you don't have to think like when I hear I keep using my aunt, but do you have a specific aunt in mind? No, but, you know, if I if I'm standing there and my aunt or uncle or friend says something like and I believe that I am a person who speaks up against hate, I already have words in my mind that I can use. I don't have to think of the next thing to say or how I'm going to approach it. I can just say, I'm surprised to hear you say that. Well, and that is what what you're doing is people who are I don't think that there are villains. I don't think there are no one thinks that, you know what? I'm going to go up and be an evil person today. But they live in a world where they act a certain way and again and again. And just saying, you know, like that one thing can break that cycle. Yeah. And I'm surprised to hear you say that. They could be like, well, why be like, well, it just doesn't seem like it doesn't seem like a kind thing to say. Right. You know, yeah. So really just breaking that cycle and letting them know that that there are people in this world who see the world differently. That there's value in that. Yeah. The other part was you can also interrupt hate by asking questions. So what do you mean by that? Why would you say something like that? What point are you trying to make by saying that? I thought those were also like good things that you can memorize to use at an appropriate point, right? Because sometimes like we talked about this before, like maybe my aunt is really nice and she just doesn't recognize what she's saying is racist or, you know, not cool. So if you say what, what do you mean by that? Well, then she's forced to explain, well, I think this kind of people only does this one thing, which obviously is racist, right? Well, you and I would think so, but. Well, you know, little steps, little steps, exactly. So these are some really great tips about, you know, believing that you can speak up against hate and some ways that you can actually speak up against hate. And what I really like about this program as well is that it goes into every person can speak up against hate. So I'm an old lady now, but these there is this at the beginning of this program is a young woman. And at the end of this program is a teenager. And I love what he says in this last quote. So maybe do you mind if I read it, Adam? Because I think it's so good to do. OK, so he says, you have a voice for a reason. And if you have that voice, you should be able to use it for good. And especially in our modern day, you should use your voice to help others. It is especially important to educate yourself. This is not only for school, but socially as well. You need to be aware of what is happening to other people, not only those around you, maybe, but everywhere in the world. And I think, like, what a what an important thing for a young person to say, right? So it's not it's not just up to older people or younger people. It's all of us working together to be able to speak up against hate. And I think that's the only way that it's going to end. Yeah, it's such a big it's not it's not really up to one country, one person. We all we all need to speak up. Right. Well, we hope you've enjoyed listening to us talking about ways to speak up, ways to fight hate. And if you want to know more, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter and our website, which is www.spotlightenglish.com. And of course, can I also say we want to hear from you what what you found helpful about speaking up? Like, have you ever used methods like this or have you ever seen someone speak up either for a good effect or a bad effect? Unfortunately, sometimes speaking up can lead to, you know, more hate or more violence. But we hope that it would lead to good. So yeah, we would love to hear from you in this conversation. As well. Yeah, so leave a comment wherever you happen to be. We'll we'll read them all we try to respond to as many as we can. And if you haven't already, make sure you subscribe and hit hit the bell for notifications. Like this video. We appreciate that a lot. We don't want you to miss out on any other future content, of course. And until next time, listen, watch, practice and learn. Spotlight out.