Episode #2285 - Hammer and Nigel Full Show

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Hammer and Nigel.

SPEAKER_2 (0:01)

You believe these characters?

Nigel (0:02)

They're weird of us.

SPEAKER_4 (0:03)

So let's rock it!

Nigel (0:05)

My name is Nigel. Jason Hammer, right over there. Tell me what you think about this. Riley Children's Health. They're launching a first-of-its-kind program here in the state, Hammer, if you want to tell us a little bit more about this.

Jason Hammer (0:19)

So they're spending quite a bit of money here, quite a bit of resources for a violence intervention program aimed at helping young victims of gun violence and their families heal and recover without returning fire.

Hmm.

Reading a little bit more here, the Office of Community and Child Health, OCCH, leads the initiative and expands Riley Children's commitment to addressing the root causes and lasting impacts of community violence.

Nigel, I've talked about this before as a resident of Indianapolis, as a Marion County resident. I'm tired of hearing about the root causes. We've spent so much money, so many resources trying to find the root cause. Well, we all know what it is. It's unpopular to talk about. But the real reality is when you have soft on crime, you have elected officials and we put judges in that category, too. Sure. Some are appointed, but soft on crime officials and big portions of your hot spots of crime without fathers. And we've talked about this with Reverend Charles Harrison just the other day. There's a problem in the black community, certain parts of the black community, where there's no male role model, no father, no disciplinarian. And boom, there you go. I just saved all of you a lot of money on investigating the root causes of how we get to this point. I just don't think it's the gun. And I got to be honest with you, while I appreciate their willingness to do something, and it's their money, and they can do whatever they want with it, I just don't know if teaching these kids, don't fire back, is the message. I don't, because we are a state that has constitutional carry. And the unpopular fact, and somebody please don't tell Ryan Mears this because it'll make his head spin around like Beetlejuice, is that ever since constitutional carry has been passed in the state of Indiana, homicides are down. Justifiable homicides are up, meaning more citizens are taking the safety of their own loved ones in their own hands when bad actors come into their homes.

Nigel (2:45)

They're defending themselves.

Jason Hammer (2:47)

And there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that at all.

So I don't want the gun to be the bad guy in this story. I want the bad guy to be taught that it's the deadbeat dad that runs out on these kids. I want the bad guy to be the bad guy in the story, the actual perpetrator. There, I just saved you a lot of time and resources on the root causes. Now, can we stop acting like we have to spend millions of dollars on this? Just have the uncomfortable conversations. Where's BLM? Where's the City-County Council? Where are, you know, Andre Carson's supporters and fans?

This is the conversation they need to have.

Nigel (3:28)

Remember when Kamala was the border czar, and she was going to go down to like Guatemala and find out the root cause of why people were crossing the border illegally?

SPEAKER_1 (3:40)

Yes, that's that's what I hear.

Nigel (3:43)

Root cause. That's what I think about when you hear those words.

Jason Hammer (3:49)

Root cause. It's be prepared for frivolous spending. That's what you're going to get. A lot of money being spent and no real answers because nobody wants to have the tough conversation.

Nigel (4:00)

No real answers.

Jason Hammer (4:02)

David Biggerstaff, he's the president of Riley Children's Health. He put out a statement, quote, No family expects violence to become part of their story. But we see every day how deeply these injuries affect children, families and communities as Indiana's leading pediatric health system. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to support healing beyond the hospital walls. This program is designed to meet young people and their families where they provided hope, connection, and help break cycles of violence.

That's all great. That's all good. But as Rodney Dangerfield says, and back to class, are we living in fantasy land? Back to school. Thank you. Are we living in fantasy land?

Have the tough conversations.

Talk to BLM. Talk to your counselors. Talk to your elected officials. Hold bad guys accountable. Lock more people up and figure out some sort of way to break this cycle of fatherless communities in predominantly violent urban areas. You do that, bada bing, bada boom.