<Begin Segment 16>

AI: Well, I also wanted to ask, on a more personal level, you just mentioned about conservative talk shows and I know that you have spoken on some of those and also you've been very visible publicly with public speaking, and I was wondering, given this whole situation and the negative attitudes and feelings that are out there every day, what kind of impact has that had on you, and as an individual and the way that you live your life now?

PJ: Well, I'm unlisted. You know I, I especially when I go on the conservative talk shows, which I do frequently, because I think we need to learn to speak to people that are not the choir. And we need to know what those arguments are and we need to know what people are saying, 'cause they're saying it regardless of whether they say it to us or not. So we should know how to deal with that. But I get lynching threats and death threats when I go on those shows and, you know, it's, I think I feel like sometimes I can't believe the amount of hate and prejudice and violence that's out there, and it makes me very discouraged. But, then the other part of it is that part of the work that Hate Free Zone does and part of the work that I do is, I'm in the business of hope. I don't think that we are gonna get anywhere if we're discouraged. And so it's that balance constantly, I think, that as an individual, as a leader in this work, you have to find a way to take that discouragement and sadness and fear, because they're all there, and channel it into a creative energy. And that's a, that's a... it's an incredibly energy-consuming process. And so what I realize is that when I go out and do speeches and I come back, I'm usually exhausted. If it's an hour-long speech, which I do quite often, I always end on a message of hope. What is it that each of us can do, and what is that each of us can bring, and why is it so important for us to engage? Because I think people are hungry for that. And I, I see the reaction. People are just charged to do something, and that's incredibly invigorating. But for me personally, it's, it's an enormous investment of energy and it's been absolutely worth every minute of it, but it's a lot of, it takes a lot to be able to do that, personally.

AI: Yes.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.