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Karen Brown Burson is one of those beautiful people who has her head deep in politics, but is somehow still filled with hope. We talk about her experiences protesting against the Yellow Vests in Hamilton, and her perspective on leadership in Hamilton, and how the larger political and money influences in the world are shaping hate locally. Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.

Rabbi Hillel Lavery-Yisraëli recently had to deal with a hateful attack on his Synagogue in Hamilton. We spoke of this, and of hate in general, and how knowledge of it informs but does not form his life and community. Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.

This week I spoke with Kiel Hughes, who is a bold and beautiful gay black man from Hamilton. We discussed his experiences with hate, how none of what we are seeing now is new, and his thoughts on how we can all do better. Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.

The recent decision to do business with homophobic, transphobic, and xenophobic ‘think tank’ Cardus left a bad taste in my mouth, as did Fred Eisenberger’s thoughts on the matter. Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.

I had a quick chat with TJ Hepburn about how Pride went down in Calgary this year, and his Jesus giving hugs costume. I’ve also included the apology that was offered to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community by Calgary’s Chief of Police last year. It’s an interesting bit to ponder. Hear more from TJ on My Heart Remembers. Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.

Hamilton’s Citizen of the Year, Graham Crawford, joins PanoptiVox to discuss what it was like to be a queer activist after the bath raids in Toronto, the first Pride, and what the fuck is happening in Hamilton. Graham has been paying particular attention to the actions of the Hamilton Police, and has recently attended a meeting with Police Chief Girt. He provides some much-needed insight into their behaviour, as well as a first-person account to the arrest of anti-fascist Woody Boychuk at City Hall. Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.

Jelena Vermilion joins us this week for further exploration of Hamilton’s hate problem, and a good conversation about sex work. Learn more about Jelena at her website  or more about the Sex Workers Action Program in Hamilton. Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.

PanoptiVox took over the Hamilton City Hall forecourt recently (we just chilled in the chairs and chatted. I was joined by Sean Dowling, a vocal objector to the yellow vests and fascists who have been gather there every Saturday. We spoke about the departure of the yellow vests, violence, arrests of anti-fascists but not fascists, and a whole lot more…all to the noisy din of traffic flowing by on one of Hamilton’s superhighways through the core. Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.

This week we are joined by Kojo Damptey, a community leader, musician, hopeful soul, and interim Executive Director of the Hamilton Centre For Civic Inclusion. We chatted about how to stop hate in Hamilton, and how to let go of putting our hopes in leaders and institutions and grow together as people. Also, click below to give Kojo’s latest album a listen. It’s a soulful climb into a conscious and beautiful musical reality. Giants: Stories of Existence, Resilience, & Resistance by Kojo “Easy” Damptey Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.

This week on PanoptiVox, Cameron Kroetsch. Cameron is a member of the LGBTQ Advisory Committee in Hamilton, as well as the Pride Committee, and we had a in-depth conversation centring around the hate incidents that occurred at Pride this year and the responses. Of particular note is a conversation about the phone call and arrangements made with the Hamilton Police Service before Pride. Intro music by Sublimatus. PanoptiVox is hosted/edited by Dakota Lanktree and very thankfully produced by Zena Hagerty. Dakota’s dresses kindly supplied by Blackbird Studios.