Malcolm McFadden briefly takes the mic after an extended spoken-word piece by a textile artist, applauding her performance and reflecting on the ‘What If’ poem’s sweeping vision of societal healing. His short transition comment underscores the communal spirit of the event before moving to the next segment.
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Transcript
[01:58:19] .
[01:58:20] .
[01:58:20] competed never invaded invaded but respected boundaries didn’t cut shoot
[01:58:26] beat rape ever again gave credit where credit is due stop using what belongs to
[01:58:32] others in the get-over mentality remember who we are what if we had
[01:58:38] Sunday dinners with family members again and what if we were that neighbor that
[01:58:42] you could get a cup of sugar from what if we saw needs and just fulfilled them
[01:58:46] versus doing nothing what if we stopped looking for ourselves and others what
[01:58:51] if we enhanced ourselves with add-ons and moderation and not as personal
[01:58:55] brands what if we reduce recycled every use what if we were not in the eyes and
[01:59:01] ears and brains of others but in our own what if we taught our kids coping skills
[01:59:06] for rejection what if we didn’t give our babies electronics as pacifiers to play
[01:59:11] classical music for the retender brains what if we stop the division in our
[01:59:15] society
[01:59:16] stop wishing failure on others and creating events just so they could fail
[01:59:22] what if we ended to take them down a few notches but uplifted others what if we
[01:59:27] lived in the live by the grass is greener where it is and so what what if
[01:59:32] we stopped throwing trash out of our car windows and by the way speaking of trash
[01:59:37] what if we left water and snacks and tips for our garbage men or women what
[01:59:42] if we helped the little person to become a giant meditated more left
[01:59:46] titles outside the office doors what if we didn’t do not live by contracts and
[01:59:51] tickets and secret societies stop bogging courts with bogus and
[01:59:56] wrongful accusations what if we looked strong ways to reduce our carbon and
[02:00:01] digital footprints we’re not rapist of our environment what if we knew that
[02:00:05] chivalry in romance are not things of the past what if we taught right from
[02:00:10] wrong and I’ll get you out of it what did we start doing what we should not do
[02:00:14] what if we were the ones who know where we shouldn’t stand for the label in the
[02:00:16] that said, I’m not going to do it just because
[02:00:18] everyone else is doing it, and we were the
[02:00:20] strong ones. What if we learned
[02:00:22] until our brains were overloaded with good
[02:00:24] knowledge? Didn’t honor the government’s
[02:00:27] control on how we were supposed to feel?
[02:00:29] Put survivors first
[02:00:30] and foremost. What if we made
[02:00:32] others rich unconditionally?
[02:00:34] They will remember that.
[02:00:36] What if we used the right amount
[02:00:38] of medication and treatments?
[02:00:40] What if we had parents that never forsake their
[02:00:42] children, no matter what age?
[02:00:44] What if we stopped waiting for someone else
[02:00:46] to do it, and we did it ourselves?
[02:00:48] What if we appreciated the rain,
[02:00:50] and God bless Texas, right?
[02:00:52] What if we rescued others and gave them
[02:00:54] fresh starts? What if
[02:00:56] we recognized our faults, and we did
[02:00:58] something about them? What if we
[02:01:00] had our own looks and likes versus what
[02:01:02] TV, social media, and
[02:01:04] our friends think they should be?
[02:01:06] What if we didn’t betray an
[02:01:08] honored loyalty? What if we gave
[02:01:10] more than we received because we have it
[02:01:12] like that? And I don’t trust
[02:01:14] me. What if we stopped the controlling
[02:01:16] the abuse that comes with it?
[02:01:18] Stop trading humans for groceries and utilities?
[02:01:21] Shut down platforms of
[02:01:22] abuse? Stop the implication
[02:01:24] in live streaming with cameras
[02:01:26] on us at all times, even in our
[02:01:28] bathrooms? What if we mended
[02:01:30] and repaired versus replaced?
[02:01:32] What if we grew our own food?
[02:01:35] Did something when others were
[02:01:36] being harmed? What if we kept
[02:01:38] people in their homes versus licking
[02:01:40] our chops at displacement?
[02:01:42] What if we healed our brains and twirled
[02:01:44] thoughts? What if we raised our
[02:01:46] vibration and frequency above
[02:01:48] the channel of abuse,
[02:01:50] viruses, demise,
[02:01:52] and destruction? What if we really
[02:01:54] did it by high?
[02:01:56] What if we aligned to others who are different?
[02:01:58] What if we freed those in
[02:02:00] injustice? What if we had more
[02:02:02] self-respect, self-love, and self-happiness?
[02:02:04] Embrace the I don’t need
[02:02:06] to be in a gang to do my
[02:02:08] thing. What if we cried, screamed
[02:02:10] instead of killing? What if
[02:02:12] our toolboxes had
[02:02:14] a 15-minute permission slip?
[02:02:16] To get out of it? To just
[02:02:18] get it out of us like a wretching on the floor?
[02:02:21] What if we stopped thinking the
[02:02:22] world owes us something?
[02:02:24] What if we ended the good old boy network
[02:02:26] of making it and realized we all
[02:02:28] are entitled? What if
[02:02:30] we changed competition to
[02:02:32] collaboration?
[02:02:34] What if we stopped bashing our leaders
[02:02:36] and do our part’s
[02:02:38] grassroots efforts in our own
[02:02:40] homes? What if we never broke
[02:02:42] into another person’s home and
[02:02:44] trespassed on their life but worked on
[02:02:46] our own property? What
[02:02:48] if we never joined or supported what we
[02:02:50] don’t understand? What if we stop
[02:02:52] setting people up and then pouncing
[02:02:54] on them when they respond and their
[02:02:56] reactions? What if we just stopped
[02:02:59] the Catherine Bates narcissistic
[02:03:01] abuse in our society?
[02:03:03] What if we stopped hiding with multiple
[02:03:05] identities
[02:03:06] and behaviors?
[02:03:08] And what if we did speak
[02:03:10] our truth and others heard
[02:03:12] it and did something about
[02:03:14] what they heard?
[02:03:16] what if we really did speak our truth? What if?
[02:03:20] Thank you.
[02:03:28] Can I get two seconds? So this was brought on the stage. This is one of my pieces of art.
[02:03:32] I’m a textile artist. This travels all around the United States.
[02:03:36] I hold a gold medal from the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of
[02:03:40] Art. Lots of credentials, lots of awards, but
[02:03:44] the one thing I am is I’m a human being, so don’t let all the credentials and
[02:03:48] titles say, oh, she’s got it like that. No. I’m just like you. We’re just like each
[02:03:52] other. We’re in this together, so thank you.
[02:03:56] Give it up for her, y’all.
[02:04:08] Wow. So many questions.