From Ohio to Activism: A Journey of Standing Up and Speaking Out with Warren West

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Coming up on this episode of the
Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise podcast.

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Why do you think the black churches were
not receptive to letting a small group

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of NAACP people needed their church?

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Why do you think that?

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Welcome to the Healthy, Wealthy,
and Wise podcast with Dr.

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William T.

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Choctaw, MD, JD.

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This podcast will inform, educate,
and motivate you to live a more

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healthy, wealthy, and wise life.

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It's powered by the over 50 year
of medical experience of this Yale

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University Medical School trained
surgeon who also received his Juris

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Doctorate from Western State Law School.

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He has executive experience as a
former mayor of Walnut, California,

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as a chairman of the non profit
Servants Armed, and as president of

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Choctaw Medical Group, Incorporated.

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You've got questions or concerns,
he's got answers for both.

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So let's listen in on an
interview already in progress.

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Welcome, welcome.

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Good morning, Brother West.

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Good morning.

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Good morning,

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Jesse.

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You know, every time I say that, um, I
always think of, um, the Wild Wild West

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and, uh, and, uh, what was his name?

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He was a Secret Service agent.

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I forget his name.

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Jim west.

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Yes.

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I'm sick of it.

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So he already knows

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They know all about the west

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Well, thank you so much brother west for
joining us this morning Uh, jesse and

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I were just commiserating about the the
democratic convention that that's just

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been going on this past week and uh Jesse,
I I basically just watch it on tv You

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know 24 hours or something or whatever.

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Jesse watches it on YouTube and
all the other online types of uh,

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uh, uh, venues available, but we
still get the same information.

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Uh, so what have you been
watching it this year?

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Yes, I watched it.

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Uh, so what, what, what did you think?

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Well, I thought it was the
best one I've ever seen.

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I've been watching it
for quite a few years.

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Yep.

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Same here.

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Same here.

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Same here.

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So I, I, I'm just anxious to see
what's going to happen in the next,

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what, 70 days?

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Right, right, exactly, exactly.

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Uh, it's, it's, it's an exciting time.

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It's definitely an exciting time.

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I guess my first convention, I
remember, uh, Fatty Lou Hamer.

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And I think this was 64.

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I was in college, I think.

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No, I was in high school in 64.

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Um, but I remember her, she,
she brought a, a, a delegation

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from Mississippi because she
felt that they should be seated.

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And the other delegation from
Mississippi didn't want to seat her.

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You know, um, and so that was this
big fight and on and on and on.

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Uh, but that, I think, that was
probably my first convention.

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Then I saw the, the Hubert Humphrey one.

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You know when Johnson said
he wasn't going to run.

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Of course Johnson didn't
endorse Hubert Humphrey.

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Johnson just didn't do anything and of
course Hubert Humphrey was just destroyed

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in the general election, I mean, you
know, he He didn't have a choice.

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So it didn't have a chance.

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Well, you know, Johnson, I
read a backstory on that.

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He was actually hoping that people would,
uh, like write him in or would back

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around and encourage him to jump back in.

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Because he only jumped out because of,
you know, Vietnam in the situation.

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Right, right, right.

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So, I don't want to take
up most of your time.

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So usually, the way we do this, we've been
doing this about a year and a half now.

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And basically, you can talk about
whatever you want to talk about.

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I, I, I moved to West Covina in 69.

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Oh, okay, 1969, yeah.

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And, uh, my kids were
young, going to school.

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When, uh, I think it was
the first, second, and third

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grade or something like that.

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And, uh, they had a hard time.

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Uh huh.

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They came in, uh, was calling
names and all that kind of stuff.

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Really?

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Really?

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Okay.

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I live north of the freeway, which
is a small portion of West Cormeter.

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Okay.

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North of the 10 freeway.

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North of the 10 freeway.

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Okay.

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Okay.

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And there was only another black couple
that lived north of it at the time.

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Uh, okay.

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But my kids had to go to Covina.

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school district.

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Uh huh.

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And yeah, the other black family,
they went to the West Covina district.

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Don't ask me where the dividing line was.

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Got it.

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Got it.

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So my kids were the only
ones that was going.

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To, uh, schools.

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Got it.

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And, uh, it was pretty rough for them.

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They got

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called names and everything.

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Is that right?

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And this is in 1969?

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Yeah.

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I had to call the NAACP.

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Okay.

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It

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was really rough for my children.

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So, so that was how you got
involved with the NAACP?

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That's how I got involved with them.

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Okay, okay.

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And, so,

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I really got, and really involved
them in about 67, 66 or 67.

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Okay.

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No, I mean, 76 and 77.

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Okay.

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My, uh, son was playing football.

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And, uh, the kids was calling
names out on the football field.

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Yes.

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Into it during a game.

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Okay.

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The school wanted to kick
him off the football team.

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So, I really got involved with it, and
then, after that, it just continued,

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I ran for Vice President, and,

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of the NAACP.

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Yeah, yeah.

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That chapter,

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huh?

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I got, um,

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disturbed because the black
churches out here didn't, they

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didn't, uh, volunteer to help.

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Is that right?

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Interesting.

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And we wanted to have a place to meet.

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Yes.

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We figured the churches would be a
nice place for us to have meetings.

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Well, this is for the local NAACP chapter.

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Right.

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Yes.

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And I got kind of disturbed.

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So, anyway.

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So, let me ask you.

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There was quite a few of the black people.

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I don't know if you remember or not.

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Uh huh.

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Hank Williams.

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Yes, I do remember Hank Williams.

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Dorothy.

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Dorothy, um.

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Yes,

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Yes, I know who you're talking about.

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I don't remember her last name, but
I know who you're talking about.

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And Helen Williams.

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Okay.

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Um, Jimmy Dixon.

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Yeah, that sounds familiar.

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And those people were
quite involved, you know.

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Why do you think the black churches were
not receptive to letting a small group

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of NAACP people meet at their church?

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Why do you think that?

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I never understood it.

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I really didn't understand it.

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Okay.

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I think I do now, but I'm not sure.

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The people that I talk to, not in the
church, but black people that I talk

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to trying to get them to be members,
they, uh, felt, well, I got mine, and

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I don't want no problem out here in La
Puente, West Covina, California, right.

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They didn't want to
start no mess, you know.

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Are you originally from
California, brother?

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No, I'm originally from Ohio.

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Okay.

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I came to California on a vacation.

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Right out of high school.

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Okay.

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I've been here ever since.

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Yep, yep, that's why a lot of us got here.

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We came temporarily and never left.

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That's right.

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That's right.

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That's right.

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But uh, I had a hard time out here
too because I didn't understand

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the black culture out here.

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Because what was the difference?

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What were some of the differences?

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Well, they didn't, for me, being from
Ohio, my grandfather, my, and both my

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grandfathers and my father, we stood
up against anything that wasn't right.

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Yes.

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And these people out here didn't.

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Have that same attitude like
discrimination and that sort of thing.

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Uh huh.

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I got mine I'm not going to get involved
because I got mine, you know, yes.

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Yes.

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Yes

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That was very Disturbing to me And like
I said when I was working I joined the

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union You remember I became a union
steward Okay And the workers there

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they didn't want to stand up Really?

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Right.

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Uh, one time I did this
because things wasn't right.

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I shut the factory down.

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Okay.

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Because it wasn't right.

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Yes.

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And about six months later, they called
me in the office and made me a supervisor.

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you know, stop in production.

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Okay, they were smart.

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So I, I, I became a supervisor and
then eventually became a manager.

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So you were a very strong

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union man.

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Oh yes, I'm still a strong union man.

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Okay, so, so you, you, you're right
in, in keeping, certainly with, with

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where the Democrats are now, um, you
know, presidential candidate Kamala

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Harris, that, that particularly
Putting emphasis on unions and how

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it protects the middle class, um, and
you build from the middle class up.

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The standard

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that we make

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for

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jobs in the union reflects
to everybody else's job.

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Okay.

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I mean, even if it's not
in the same class or job

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type, it still reflects to the supervisors
who are not here, the managers who are not

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here, and it goes from there.

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Well, you know, brother was to,
to, to emphasize that point.

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When I, I came to California and
finishing my surgery training.

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And again, my idea was I'm going to
go out and finish up and then I'm

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going back east and blah, blah, blah.

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Raised the kids back there.

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I remember when I was a, a, a resident
supervisor, um, USC and, uh, but my,

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my paycheck came from the County.

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I mean, I was a County
employee, but I was.

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position and I, you know, didn't get
involved with anything outside of

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this, outside the operating room.

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And I remember one day I got
my check and I had a raise.

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And I said, Oh my goodness.

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And so I went out, I went outside of
my office and spoke to the secretary.

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And I said, I forget her name now.

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I said, you know, I just got
my check and I got a raise.

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And she says, yes, doctor.

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She says, you're a part of the union.

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And I said, I am.

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She says, she says, yes doctor, you're
a county employee, and as a county

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employee, you're part of the union.

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And I said, you know, I've
never been to the union, and she

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said, doctor, it doesn't matter.

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The union represents you, and
the union negotiated your raise.

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And I said, Oh my goodness.

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I, I've been loved this union.

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So my point is though, just to your point,
a lot of people like myself at the time,

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didn't appreciate unions or the benefit
of unions to society, to all of us.

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I mean, I'm a physician and I had to
go start all that, but, but I had a

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salary and the union through their
negotiation got, got me a raise.

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Um, and I think just, just to
validate what you just said, I.

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I've literally experienced
that in in my lifetime.

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Thank you for listening to the Healthy,
wealthy and Wise Podcast with Dr.

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William t Choctaw, MDJD.

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You can listen again to this in
any of the previous episodes.

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Leave a comment or pose questions to
the doctor by going to www.thwwp.com.

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That's www.th wwp.com and you've got it.

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It's also available wherever
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Be sure to follow, like,
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If you haven't already, then tune in
for the next episode of the healthy,

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wealthy, and wise podcast with Dr.

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William T.

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Choctaw, MD, JD, a production of
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