Dan Barach is a licensed Social Worker who specializes in Veteran assistance. In 2012, Dan worked at the Cuyahoga Jail in Cleveland, OH for 3.5 years and helped clients connect to the outside world. Dan is also a writer who illuminates the realities of life in jail. You can find his work on Medium under the username @SirKrinkly. Our discussion covers everything from child abuse and trauma, to the emotional thick skin social workers need to develop in order to stay grounded in their jobs.

On today's episode of Woke Fu, I spoke with Ashley Jones, a youth behavioral specialist at a Residential Treatment facility, author of "I work with Fucking Monsters," and a long-time member of the LLAG community.

Our discussion covered everything from the emotional baggage of social work and clients who call in the middle of the night, to the lack of Diversity within the social work industry.

I am and will always consider myself a leftist, but I can't help but notice how rigid some people are when it comes to their definition of leftists. You might share 80% of the same values as another leftist, but does that 20% variance disqualify you from being considered a "valid" lefty?

What does it mean to "figure yourself out"? I've spent the last few years trying to understand my mental health and time and time again, I end up in the past. I know who did what to me, and how it affects me today, but I'm now faced with a bigger question: what do I do with all these answers? A big focus of mine is to figure out who I am when I'm not depressed, and who I was before my trauma.

A professor at Duke University is in hot water after exposing the rampant racism in one of their graduate programs. Megan Neely, the director of graduate studies for the Duke University’s Master of Biostatistics program, passed around an email discouraging Chinese-speaking students from speaking their native language. The emails revealed a plot within the faculty to deny specific Chinese students from opportunities on the basis of them speaking a foreign language in the break room.

Many moons ago, I wanted to become a fashion designer. Unfortunately for me and my mom's account balance, we couldn't afford the tuition cost of $100k for the San Francisco Art Institute. So instead, I went to community college and on a whim, picked Business Administration.

Then I changed it to Communication Studies and never looked back. But did this decision help me out in the end? Now that I'm five years removed from graduating college, I have a better appreciation for the decision I made in my earlier years because it's definitely paid off -- kinda.

Here's a quick story about my college life, the classes I took, and the skills I developed and continue to use today.

Gillette is one of the oldest companies in America. Founded in 1901, they've been making razor blades since before women and people of color started gaining any damn rights in this country.

Forged in the past, Gillette came out this weekend with a viral commercial addressing the #MeToo movement, sexual harassment, and toxic masculinity, a move very much in-tune with 2019.

The commercial was endearing and honest without feeling too sensational. It wasn't a call-out so much as a call-in.

While a handful of men enjoyed the commercial, a disturbing amount saw this harmless ad as some bizarre "war on men." I'm here today to explain briefly why that's full of shit, why the war on men doesn't exist, and why the arguments used against Gillette's commercial carry zero weight.

Oh yeah. And there's ONE talking point that I actually agree with that was brought up by Fox News. Listen till the end to find out!

A lot of men get upset when women order expensive items on the menu, even if both parties agreed on the same restaurant in the first place. I think the root cause of this issue has to do with men not being honest with their finances. Today we'll discuss a post shared on our Facebook group (LLAG +Fam) about a man upset because he thought his first date would cost $25 but it came out to $65.

It's easy to dismiss cultural appropriation as a whine-fest for annoying SJWs that don't have anything better to do. But there is utility in policing culture, especially when there's money involved. Here are my quick thoughts on the importance of calling out cultural appropriation.

POC News: Quick recap of last week's top stories posted on LLAG with extra commentary from me and feedback from you.

Topics from December 30, 2018 - January 5, 2019

1.) Vietnamese Salon Owner Killed Over $35 Manicure Bill

2.) Man Assaults Black McDonalds Associate

3.) Leaked Audio of Louis CK's New Stand-Up Routine Features Anti-Asian Jokes

4.) Andrew Zimmern's Shows Have Been Cancelled After His Comments About Chinese Restaurants