[Music]
so the title for my topic is sorry
doesn’t cut it now today there is a
segment of our population that has lived
off of empty words of apology now I’ve
seen this via social media and through
my personal experiences and usually
that’s where the story ends with a
simple sorry now there are some people
who aren’t sorry at all about what I’m
about to talk about and we’re not really
going to talk about those people we want
to focus on the ones that do say sorry
now this is part of the family that I
grew up with growing up just to give a
little perspective of what I’m talking
about now an example I’m gonna give is
an example I gave or that I had with
Facebook several years ago I ended up
making a post about race and it was so
explosive and agitating that a bunch of
people who had never ever commented on
my posts before suddenly felt the need
to these people of course were of a
lighter skin tone a little bit lighter
than myself and the things that they had
to say were hey things are bad in the
past but we’re all good now or equal
let’s move on we’re sorry that reality
that they seem to have isn’t the in my
opinion objective reality that I think
more of us are a bit more privy to now
it’s I came to this conclusion based
upon the private messages I ended up
getting in my inbox from people who
didn’t feel comfortable enough to
actually post for others to see and the
one that meant the most was the one that
came from my beautiful and intelligent
cousin Nicole now this is once again
family but my cousin Nicole is right
next to my
uncle wearing glasses as you can see she
is she has a darker skin tone than
myself
and when I say cousin I do mean by blood
now it meant more coming from her what
she had to say about my post because of
how she looks and what that represents
to the world and that meant something to
me that at least I was on the right
track of what I was confronting when
talking to people and as you can see
this family is a little bit different
than maybe you were thinking when I
first showed those first two pictures
now
apologies are nice but if that’s where
it ends what’s the point what does a
sari really do if that’s where it ends
and that’s the main point that I want to
get at is it’s not about the sari people
don’t need the sari sari doesn’t make a
difference people don’t want to hear you
saying I you know what now
instead of feeling sorry instead of
thinking sorry instead of saying sorry
I’m urging everyone to instead actively
do something to change the societal
narrative that is our American culture I
work in politics and the reason I got
into it was because I wanted to be the
change instead of waiting for it now
that sounds all nice and cute be the
change but I’m gonna be a bit more real
with you I feel the need to be that
change because my family is now more at
risk and they have ever been in my
entire life
now my perception of family as well I
want to share with you because I think
it’s a little bit different than
is what you have come here today
thinking and or feeling all of this
happened on November 8th this start of
my action November 8th I ended up
sitting down with a friend of mine his
name is peyman and he always loved
learning about politics through me he’d
always a Vincent come on down let’s
educate me on what’s going on I don’t
know what’s going on all right cool
so November 8th we go to a brewery in
chino hills’ and we sit down grab some
beers and we came there with a very
cheerful uplifting mood of thinking like
are we know how this is going to go but
as time went forward and we could see
states changing to something that we
didn’t think it was going to be and we
saw an outcome that wasn’t what we had
hoped it to be
he ended up turning to me with tears in
his eyes then he asked me Vincent am I
going to be safe and the reason he asked
me that is because he’s it on him and he
felt scared and it was in that moment
that I felt ashamed of everything I had
ever done up into this point because
what had I done to make sure something
like this couldn’t happen and to be fair
does it happen across the globe it’s not
like it’s just happening here you see it
in the news politicians certain kinds of
politicians being elected based upon
fear and hate but we were here in this
country and I was ashamed of what I had
and I was ashamed because when he asked
me that question and I didn’t have the
answer for him I realized that the fear
he had I did not have for myself now as
a white enough male I’m white ish at
least that’s what people see when they
meet me they think I’m white enough it
occurred to me I will be the least
damaged by whatever is going to have
that whatever is going to come our way
and I felt in that moment that I wanted
to use that to use that white enough
voice of mine that seems to be heard and
acknowledged more in this country to
make a difference and do something with
it because of that and because of my
upbringing I have decided to pursue the
world that I am now going into to make a
difference instead of just saying sorry
my family and the the my upbringing is a
bit different than others as well
growing up I I feel I have a unique
perspective basically that allows me to
not only use my white voice but in the
correct manner the correct way and the
reason being is of how diverse my family
is now when I say family it continues I
remember growing up and hearing teachers
asked me who’s that black man that
brought you to school
who’s that Asian lady you called aunt
and even today people are still confused
when I tell them that I’m predominantly
or that I was raised in a predominantly
mexican-american family I don’t fit the
mold of what they expect and it’s
because of them that have led me to my
perspective that I had I can remember
all the power
and birthdays and gatherings that we
would have and the fact that when I
would look around when I think back to
my childhood memories the people that
were in those memories were so diverse
and I took that for granted the people
that surrounded me and who I called
family they were not related to me by
blood most of my family are not these
guys as an example I call my brothers
they don’t look like me but I still
acknowledge them as such and I know they
do the same for me the extra thing that
led to me finalizing my perception of
what race was was what I studied in my
undergrad at UCLA anthropology I don’t
know if any of you guys know what that
is but you should take a class or read a
book because damn it’s interesting stuff
and the reason why it’s interesting is
because it’s about all of us it’s about
humans now while there are some
interesting topics such as linguistics
or cognitive or archaeological
anthropology the ones that I think are
most important when it comes to concepts
or physical and cultural those aspects
of the discipline the reason being is I
learned through it scientifically
speaking we are all one race the human
race as an example people like to talk
about the differences in the color of
skin those differences
I came through natural selection
adaptations over time if you were at the
equator natural selection and adaptation
chooses for your skin to grow to gain
melanin so that you’re darker because it
protects you from direct sun rays and
the opposite is true if you move north
into areas like Europe there’s less
sunlight which gives us vitamin D and
trust me people you need vitamin D to
survive well how did they do it over
time they lost the melanin in their skin
which results in a wider skin tone it’s
all science and
I get it there are differences of course
there are differences based upon where
we came from geographically and the
languages we speak and yes the way we
look but those differences I promise you
are quite literally skin deep there are
cultural differences as well even within
this single nation of the u.s. there’s a
lot of cultural differences but culture
does not define who we are destined to
be don’t get me wrong we are all
products of culture but I can tell you
this we make culture we have more of an
ability to shape it and change the
perspectives of what it is than anything
else and it is stronger than what
culture can do to bind us culture and if
you think otherwise if you think we are
bound by culture well then you have
forfeit your destiny to something that
wouldn’t even exist if not for us there
is no culture without us we can change
that narrative and that is what I’m
urging so taking a step back to see a
bigger picture I saw all kinds of
different shades of color within my
world and I accepted that as family
because they were there for me that’s
what family is the people who choose to
be around you and even then family is
the family that’s in your home the
family that’s in your neighborhood the
city the region are we not all
Californians are we not all Americans is
that not a family and we are all
connected by the single bond that is
what makes us one single species we are
family and taking one final step back
because I’m really good at doing
long-winded stories and getting
off-topic my original point it’s sorry
isn’t good enough I can’t go forward and
tell my family sorry for the pains and
prejudices they face without having some
kind of shame no I love my family and
because I love my family I will do
everything within my power to protect
them because of that love all you need
to do is look around you to see that
everyone here is a part of that same
family and my message to the people who
look a little bit more like me and a
little bit brighter a little bit lighter
Hey we’re not doing enough sorry is not
enough put your words into action
because in this nation and it’s a big
one we have a job to do because we’re
not doing enough take a stand and step
forward and start protecting your
brothers and sisters because that’s what
a family does is protect each other
sorry isn’t gonna cut it any more thank you
so the title for my topic is sorry
doesn’t cut it now today there is a
segment of our population that has lived
off of empty words of apology now I’ve
seen this via social media and through
my personal experiences and usually
that’s where the story ends with a
simple sorry now there are some people
who aren’t sorry at all about what I’m
about to talk about and we’re not really
going to talk about those people we want
to focus on the ones that do say sorry
now this is part of the family that I
grew up with growing up just to give a
little perspective of what I’m talking
about now an example I’m gonna give is
an example I gave or that I had with
Facebook several years ago I ended up
making a post about race and it was so
explosive and agitating that a bunch of
people who had never ever commented on
my posts before suddenly felt the need
to these people of course were of a
lighter skin tone a little bit lighter
than myself and the things that they had
to say were hey things are bad in the
past but we’re all good now or equal
let’s move on we’re sorry that reality
that they seem to have isn’t the in my
opinion objective reality that I think
more of us are a bit more privy to now
it’s I came to this conclusion based
upon the private messages I ended up
getting in my inbox from people who
didn’t feel comfortable enough to
actually post for others to see and the
one that meant the most was the one that
came from my beautiful and intelligent
cousin Nicole now this is once again
family but my cousin Nicole is right
next to my
uncle wearing glasses as you can see she
is she has a darker skin tone than
myself
and when I say cousin I do mean by blood
now it meant more coming from her what
she had to say about my post because of
how she looks and what that represents
to the world and that meant something to
me that at least I was on the right
track of what I was confronting when
talking to people and as you can see
this family is a little bit different
than maybe you were thinking when I
first showed those first two pictures
now
apologies are nice but if that’s where
it ends what’s the point what does a
sari really do if that’s where it ends
and that’s the main point that I want to
get at is it’s not about the sari people
don’t need the sari sari doesn’t make a
difference people don’t want to hear you
saying I you know what now
instead of feeling sorry instead of
thinking sorry instead of saying sorry
I’m urging everyone to instead actively
do something to change the societal
narrative that is our American culture I
work in politics and the reason I got
into it was because I wanted to be the
change instead of waiting for it now
that sounds all nice and cute be the
change but I’m gonna be a bit more real
with you I feel the need to be that
change because my family is now more at
risk and they have ever been in my
entire life
now my perception of family as well I
want to share with you because I think
it’s a little bit different than
is what you have come here today
thinking and or feeling all of this
happened on November 8th this start of
my action November 8th I ended up
sitting down with a friend of mine his
name is peyman and he always loved
learning about politics through me he’d
always a Vincent come on down let’s
educate me on what’s going on I don’t
know what’s going on all right cool
so November 8th we go to a brewery in
chino hills’ and we sit down grab some
beers and we came there with a very
cheerful uplifting mood of thinking like
are we know how this is going to go but
as time went forward and we could see
states changing to something that we
didn’t think it was going to be and we
saw an outcome that wasn’t what we had
hoped it to be
he ended up turning to me with tears in
his eyes then he asked me Vincent am I
going to be safe and the reason he asked
me that is because he’s it on him and he
felt scared and it was in that moment
that I felt ashamed of everything I had
ever done up into this point because
what had I done to make sure something
like this couldn’t happen and to be fair
does it happen across the globe it’s not
like it’s just happening here you see it
in the news politicians certain kinds of
politicians being elected based upon
fear and hate but we were here in this
country and I was ashamed of what I had
and I was ashamed because when he asked
me that question and I didn’t have the
answer for him I realized that the fear
he had I did not have for myself now as
a white enough male I’m white ish at
least that’s what people see when they
meet me they think I’m white enough it
occurred to me I will be the least
damaged by whatever is going to have
that whatever is going to come our way
and I felt in that moment that I wanted
to use that to use that white enough
voice of mine that seems to be heard and
acknowledged more in this country to
make a difference and do something with
it because of that and because of my
upbringing I have decided to pursue the
world that I am now going into to make a
difference instead of just saying sorry
my family and the the my upbringing is a
bit different than others as well
growing up I I feel I have a unique
perspective basically that allows me to
not only use my white voice but in the
correct manner the correct way and the
reason being is of how diverse my family
is now when I say family it continues I
remember growing up and hearing teachers
asked me who’s that black man that
brought you to school
who’s that Asian lady you called aunt
and even today people are still confused
when I tell them that I’m predominantly
or that I was raised in a predominantly
mexican-american family I don’t fit the
mold of what they expect and it’s
because of them that have led me to my
perspective that I had I can remember
all the power
and birthdays and gatherings that we
would have and the fact that when I
would look around when I think back to
my childhood memories the people that
were in those memories were so diverse
and I took that for granted the people
that surrounded me and who I called
family they were not related to me by
blood most of my family are not these
guys as an example I call my brothers
they don’t look like me but I still
acknowledge them as such and I know they
do the same for me the extra thing that
led to me finalizing my perception of
what race was was what I studied in my
undergrad at UCLA anthropology I don’t
know if any of you guys know what that
is but you should take a class or read a
book because damn it’s interesting stuff
and the reason why it’s interesting is
because it’s about all of us it’s about
humans now while there are some
interesting topics such as linguistics
or cognitive or archaeological
anthropology the ones that I think are
most important when it comes to concepts
or physical and cultural those aspects
of the discipline the reason being is I
learned through it scientifically
speaking we are all one race the human
race as an example people like to talk
about the differences in the color of
skin those differences
I came through natural selection
adaptations over time if you were at the
equator natural selection and adaptation
chooses for your skin to grow to gain
melanin so that you’re darker because it
protects you from direct sun rays and
the opposite is true if you move north
into areas like Europe there’s less
sunlight which gives us vitamin D and
trust me people you need vitamin D to
survive well how did they do it over
time they lost the melanin in their skin
which results in a wider skin tone it’s
all science and
I get it there are differences of course
there are differences based upon where
we came from geographically and the
languages we speak and yes the way we
look but those differences I promise you
are quite literally skin deep there are
cultural differences as well even within
this single nation of the u.s. there’s a
lot of cultural differences but culture
does not define who we are destined to
be don’t get me wrong we are all
products of culture but I can tell you
this we make culture we have more of an
ability to shape it and change the
perspectives of what it is than anything
else and it is stronger than what
culture can do to bind us culture and if
you think otherwise if you think we are
bound by culture well then you have
forfeit your destiny to something that
wouldn’t even exist if not for us there
is no culture without us we can change
that narrative and that is what I’m
urging so taking a step back to see a
bigger picture I saw all kinds of
different shades of color within my
world and I accepted that as family
because they were there for me that’s
what family is the people who choose to
be around you and even then family is
the family that’s in your home the
family that’s in your neighborhood the
city the region are we not all
Californians are we not all Americans is
that not a family and we are all
connected by the single bond that is
what makes us one single species we are
family and taking one final step back
because I’m really good at doing
long-winded stories and getting
off-topic my original point it’s sorry
isn’t good enough I can’t go forward and
tell my family sorry for the pains and
prejudices they face without having some
kind of shame no I love my family and
because I love my family I will do
everything within my power to protect
them because of that love all you need
to do is look around you to see that
everyone here is a part of that same
family and my message to the people who
look a little bit more like me and a
little bit brighter a little bit lighter
Hey we’re not doing enough sorry is not
enough put your words into action
because in this nation and it’s a big
one we have a job to do because we’re
not doing enough take a stand and step
forward and start protecting your
brothers and sisters because that’s what
a family does is protect each other
sorry isn’t gonna cut it any more thank you
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