Light 'Em Up

Hatred, Domestic Violent Extremism (DVE) & Just Who Are The Proud Boys?

January 06, 2022 Phillip Rizzo Season 3 Episode 1
Light 'Em Up
Hatred, Domestic Violent Extremism (DVE) & Just Who Are The Proud Boys?
Show Notes

Happy New Year to each and every one of you!

We ended 2021 being downloaded in 84 countries – what a fantastic accomplishment!

Thank you so much for helping to pave the way for us to reach this tremendous milestone.

We’re extremely proud and excited to launch Season 3 with this episode! This by far is our most ambitious episode with so many new features for our exclusive elite members and subscribers!  Thank you to Apple Music & Pandora for this unique opportunity!

In a time of division, facts unite. In a time of uncertainty, facts provide clarity.  We know that the truth dies in the darkness.

As we continue to shed light on difficult topics and as we approached the 1-year anniversary of the brutal attack on our Capitol and democracy – we focus the intense light of the truth on Hate and Domestic Violent Extremism (DVE), with a special focus on The Proud Boys.

From Pittsburgh to Poway and Charlottesville to Charleston, HATE – and its divisive nature --seems to be everywhere.  HATE seems to permeate the very fabric of this country. HATE has always “sold well” and been a foundational characteristic of this country. HATE has a firm grip on our society: From slavery and the slave trade; to the genocide of Indigenous peoples, and the Indian Exclusion Act; to The Chinese Exclusion Act; to Executive Order 13769, titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”, a.k.a. the "Muslim ban" by ex-US President Donald Trump, which was nothing more than an Executive Order to discriminate.

I truly felt and still feel to this day that this country is “closer to Civil War than it ever was since April 4th, 1865, when the Civil War ended”.

Sadly, HATE crimes have been growing in number in recent years in the U.S.  The FBI says that HATE crimes are at their highest levels since 2008. More murders which were motivated by HATE were recorded than ever before.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has reported that there are at least 838 Hate Groups in America.  The Proud Boys are one of them.  In this episode, we define exactly what a HATE crime consists of.  We explore just who are The Proud Boys, what they believe, what are some of the things they have done.

The attack on The U.S. Capitol on January 6th was born from HATRED and it came from within – it wasn’t from a foreign entity or power – it was “home grown domestic terrorism”.

In a sea of an enraged, blood-thirsty, violent mob of seditionists, all Trump supporters -- members of The Proud Boys descended on the Capitol with their guns, bats, knives and shields.  The neofascist Proud Boys, who claim to be “past the point of peace and crazy enough to actually do something about their perceived wrongs”, had an outsized impact and effect on much of the violent chaos and mayhem that we witnessed on January 6, 2021.

Light ‘Em Up takes an in-depth look at an insurrectionist mentality that is becoming normalized and more popular in our country.  A new type of political movement that has emerged from the rabid right has extreme violence at its core.  Its proponents are emboldened to commit violence, and it is coming from the mainstream, which includes white collar workers: lawyers, doctors, business owners and architects, soccer moms and homemakers.  Tens of millions of Americans say they are willing to use violence to “change things” according to their way of how they feel things “should be”.

 We share in-depth information that only “Light ‘Em Up” had exclusive access to.

As we mark the 1-year anniversary when democracy was on the brink of collapse. we learn from history – that we don’t learn from history.  And America and Americans have a very short memory.

Thank you for joining us!  We are here for you and because of you!
Phil Rizzo 
Executive Producer