Father Gregory Boyle's work as the founder of Homeboy Industries has greatly impacted the lives of so many. His hilarious and inspiring story reminds us all that there is no us and them, just us.
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00:00 It's been the privilege of my life for 30 years to have been taught everything of value by gang members.
00:05 And in the last few years they've taught me how to text and so I'm really grateful to them because
00:09 I find it sure beats the heck out of actually talking to people and
00:14 and I'm pretty dexterous at it lol and omg and btw and the homies have taught me a new one
00:22 ohn which apparently stands for oh hell no and I've been using that one quite a bit lately
00:32 my alma mater Gonzaga University called me and said they were going to have a big talk on a
00:39 Tuesday night with a thousand people and so I you know I said sure and they said can you bring two
00:45 homies with you and I always pick homies who have never flown before just for the thrill of seeing
00:51 gang members panicked in the sky I've never picked anybody more terrified of flying than this guy
00:57 Mario he was just absolutely petrified in fact he was hyperventilating and we hadn't even boarded
01:05 the plane yet and then our flight crew arrives and I see two flight attendants females and they
01:11 both have very large cups of Starbucks coffee and they're schlepping up the front steps and Mario
01:17 goes when are we going to board the plane I said as soon as they sober up the pilots
01:22 I should tell you that Mario in our 30-year history at homeboy is the most tattooed individual who's
01:28 ever worked there his arms are all sleeved out neck blackened with the name of his gang
01:33 head shaved covered in tattoos forehead cheeks chin eyelids that say the end
01:41 so that when he's lying in his coffin there's no doubt and so I'd never been in public with him
01:48 and we're walking and people are like this and mothers are clutching their kids more closely
01:52 and thinking wow isn't that interesting because if you were to go to homeboy on Monday and ask
01:57 anybody there who's the kindest most gentle soul who works there they won't say me they'll say
02:05 Mario he sells baked goods at the counter at our cafe he's proof that only the soul that ventilates
02:15 the world with tenderness has any chance of changing the world so the nighttime talk comes
02:22 and it's a thousand people and I invite them up to share their stories in front of all these people
02:27 for five minutes each they were terrified but they did a good job and honest to god if their
02:32 stories had been flames you'd have to keep your distance otherwise you'd get scorched
02:38 I invite them up for Q&A and and I said yes ma'am and a woman stands and she says yeah I got a
02:45 question it's for Mario first question out the gate Mario steps up to the microphone he's a tall
02:51 drink of water skinny and clutching the microphone and he's terrified yes and she says well you say
02:58 you're a father and you have a son and a daughter who are about to enter their teenage years
03:03 what advice do you give them what wisdom do you impart to them and Mario clutches his microphone
03:13 and he's just terrified and he's trembling and he's getting a hernia trying to come up
03:17 with whatever the hell he's going to say when when finally he blurts out I just
03:24 and he stops and he retreats back to his microphone clutching terrified retreat
03:31 but he wants to get this whole sentence out
03:36 I just don't want my kids to turn out to be like me
03:43 and there's silence until the woman who asked the question stands and now it's her turn to cry and
03:53 she says why wouldn't you want your kids to turn out to be like you you are loving you are kind
04:00 you are gentle you are wise I hope your kids turn out to be like you
04:06 and a thousand total perfect strangers stand and they will not stop clapping
04:14 and all Mario can do is hold his face in his hand so overwhelmed with emotion that this room full of
04:21 people strangers had returned him to himself and they were returned to themselves and I think
04:30 you go from here to stand with the demonized so that the demonizing will stop
04:35 and you stand with the disposable so that the day will come when we stop throwing people away
04:44 and you stand with those whose dignity has been denied and you stand with those whose
04:50 burdens are more than they can bear and you stand with the poor and the powerless and the voiceless
04:56 make those voices heard
05:00 [Applause]
05:05 [Music]
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05:45 [Music]