1 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:03,320 Speaker 1: Media. 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 2: All right, you ready, Homy, I'm ready to do it. 3 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: All right, ladies and gentlemen, Hood politics prov this week. 4 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: So happy to have another guest this year, like man 5 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: so look, Ryan normally won't do a lot of guests 6 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: for a number of reasons. One was, after doing enough 7 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: focus groups, got to realize it like, I. 8 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 2: Don't know if that's what the people want. 9 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: And then secondly for me, it was like the stress 10 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: levels and the feelings of rejection when people tell you 11 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: no or when they don't respond, I'll just be like 12 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: I don't want to like be at the mercy of 13 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: everybody's schedule, you know what I'm saying. And some of 14 00:00:57,760 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: that was just like you know, you gotta get your 15 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: weight up if your show is like you know what 16 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: I'm saying, like you actually, you know, doing something like 17 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: you get it Like if you're doing something, it's like, 18 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: you know, people will start making time for you. But 19 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: that being said, the guests we have had over the 20 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: years have been like like my own friends network, extending 21 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: the people that I've known doing you know, dope stuff. 22 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: But the hope was always to bring to the table 23 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: people that are just who understand what you're doing. You 24 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,040 Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. So like where there's this is 25 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: what I like about what we're about to talk right now, 26 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: There's there is a moment. There's moments that it's necessary 27 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: for you to step in front of the camera beyond 28 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: you know, be on the stage, take the mic and 29 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: like and deliver. 30 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. 31 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: Where it's just like, all right, you got to get 32 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: up there and cook. And then there's other times when 33 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: you need to go round the back into the kitchen, 34 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,919 Speaker 1: go behind everybody and be like, y'all don't know what we're. 35 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 2: Working on back here. 36 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, But this is really what's 37 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: gonna push the movement forward, you know what I'm saying. 38 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: And a lot of times, as I found, as I've 39 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: grown in my advocacy, you know, activism and stuff like that, 40 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: Like I've learned to not only appreciate that but enjoy it. 41 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: You know what it takes to actually build something off 42 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: the stage. So I am grateful to have you, brother, 43 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: Ryan Wilson. I don't even know where to start. I'm 44 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: looking over here because I'm looking at the I'm looking. 45 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 2: At the resume ge. 46 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: But like, but before we do that, I'm just gonna 47 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: go ahead and let you introduce yourself. I have been 48 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 1: to the Gathering Spot, the one in DC, and uh 49 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: that's the one I have. 50 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 2: Like a specific memory for. 51 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:40,919 Speaker 1: I think I did a walk through out here in LA, 52 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: but like the DC joint stuck with me because my 53 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: mom's from DC. But let me set that aside for 54 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: a little bit and probably should have told you before 55 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: we recorded. 56 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 2: But like, but but everybody, like that's part of like. 57 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: The funt of the show is like like this is 58 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: real chill like you know this ain't Yeah, we no, 59 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: I don't see in like you can for show, like 60 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,119 Speaker 1: be yourself, you know what I'm saying, So like, man, 61 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: tell us who you are, tell us what you do. 62 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 3: Well, hey man, look look, first, I appreciate you having 63 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 3: me on, especially giving your comments around guests, and I 64 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,359 Speaker 3: understand I'm sure at some point we'll get to our 65 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 3: process was talking to a whole bunch of people and 66 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 3: getting to know a bunch of times, so that I 67 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 3: totally feel you on that. But Ryan Wilson, I am 68 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 3: co founding CEO of a business called the Gathering Spot. 69 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 3: The best way to understand what we're doing every single 70 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 3: day and what I really challenged myself with every single 71 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 3: day is we're in the people business, right. Our job 72 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 3: every single day is about connecting people. So our youngest 73 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 3: member is twenty one, our oldest is Ambassador Andrew Young, 74 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 3: who is ninety three years old. And our belief has 75 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 3: always been through dining, So we have a restaurant and bar, 76 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 3: through experiences, we have events, space, and through work. That 77 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 3: is how people connect with one another. So we built 78 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 3: the first gathering spot in It actually opened ten years 79 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 3: ago in twenty sixteen, and we have not changed from 80 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 3: that vision. The vision has always been like, we need 81 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 3: places where we can come together, and whether it's for 82 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 3: professional reasons or social reasons or a little bit of both, 83 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 3: we need a central hub to be able to connect 84 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 3: with one another. So that's what I do every single day. 85 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 3: It's the thing that I'm most passionate about. It's the 86 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:26,840 Speaker 3: only job I've ever had. It's the only thing I've 87 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 3: ever done professionally. 88 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: So dope, which means you're a child, just kidding, I'm 89 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: being silly, No. 90 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 4: I mean, look, it's ten years I started young. I mean, yeah, 91 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 4: you're young, buck, Yeah. 92 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean we started when I was I was 93 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 3: twenty four technically when we got rolled. 94 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 2: Amazing. Yeah, that's amazing. Man. 95 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: A few things I love about the spot. The gathering 96 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: spot itself is like as black as hell, you know, 97 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: and I appreciate that for a number of reasons, one 98 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: of which is, like, so listeners know, but for the 99 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: sake of our conversation, Like, my father was a black panther. 100 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 1: I come from south central Los Angeles. I come from 101 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 1: where my childhood and my immediate experience was remarkably black. 102 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 2: But this is Los Angeles, so like so because of. 103 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: That, the neighborhood that I actually. 104 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 2: Existed in. 105 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: Was almost one hundred percent Latino, like one hundred percent Mexican, 106 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: you know. 107 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:34,159 Speaker 4: What I'm saying. 108 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: And then then we moved and it was Mexican and Filipino, 109 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. So you get this, Like 110 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: but again, as a child of a panther, you like 111 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 1: you you feel solidarity with suffering people everywhere, So like 112 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: there wasn't it wasn't a thing unless you unless we 113 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: were dealing with like you know, some of the gang 114 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: stuff and all that, like because it's still la but 115 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:59,280 Speaker 1: like generally, you know the intersections of what it meant 116 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: to exist. And I have a friend that visited from 117 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 1: Atlanta and I live in East LA and it still 118 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: kind of blows his mind because it's like in the 119 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: way that I picture what Atlanta is for blackness, in 120 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: the sense of it's just the full expression of it. 121 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 1: I'm saying, like you're the janitor, the person mowing the lawn, 122 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: and the principal and the mayor. 123 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 2: They black. I grew up like that. But Mexican, Yo, 124 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 2: I'm saying, but La. 125 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:28,359 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, where it's just like the 126 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:33,920 Speaker 1: whole diaspora of the experience. So because of just changing 127 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,160 Speaker 1: demographics for me to for me to experience something that 128 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: is just black as hell like we have now, I 129 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: have to go look for it, you know what I'm saying. 130 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:44,120 Speaker 2: And this is not. 131 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,840 Speaker 1: I know everybody understands this, like this isn't a problem. 132 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: Like I'm not expressing this as like a complaint. It's 133 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: just the that's Lamert Park, that's the West Side, that's Inglewood. 134 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,480 Speaker 1: If I want to go, I have to go to 135 00:06:57,560 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: something black rather than existing in it, you know what 136 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: I'm say. 137 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 2: And so walking into the space and seeing. 138 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: Like you said this, this diaspora, even just the the 139 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: menu choices, Like I mean, like I felt like my 140 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:12,360 Speaker 1: whole body relaxed. 141 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. 142 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: But but one thing I do think is interesting is 143 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: like the sort of socioeconomic part of it. Right, So 144 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 1: like I'm going to come from the generation in our 145 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: family where like in my lifetime we went from lower 146 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: class to middle class, like it happened in my in 147 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: my childhood, you know what I'm saying, like to move, 148 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 1: Like we moved four times, you know what I'm saying, 149 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: as we're and then my parents split and then we 150 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: had to go back blah blah blah. Right, But like 151 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: so because of that, like this idea of I don't 152 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: want to say affluence, because we knew where that was. 153 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: Like again, I was in Inglewood, you know what I'm saying, 154 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: as Baltmore Hills, Like we knew affluence, but that was 155 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 1: not I'm from South Central. So it felt to me 156 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,120 Speaker 1: like there were parts of this that I did not 157 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: understand until I became a professional. I'm like, oh, that's 158 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: us too. If that's making sense, Yeah, it makes it 159 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: makes a ton of sense. Look, I think the and 160 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about the math. 161 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 3: I'm talking about the money in a second, right, But 162 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 3: going back to the original thesis behind you, just like 163 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 3: from day zero, I wanted to have a place where 164 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 3: all of who you just described who exists in our 165 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 3: community could share space. Right, So the people who wear 166 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 3: a suit and tie every single day need to be 167 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 3: in a place where people wear t shirts and jeans, right, Like, 168 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 3: And my belief is is that when we actually get 169 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 3: to know one another, that's really where we're real progress happiness. 170 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 3: And I mean from a business model standpoint. Right, I 171 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 3: was going to all these city clubs and country clubs, 172 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 3: and I could see pretty quickly that none of these 173 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,040 Speaker 3: places were ever designed thinking about us at all. Right, 174 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 3: there's a huge difference between being tolerated in a space 175 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 3: and being celebrated in a space. We are very used 176 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:05,600 Speaker 3: to being tolerated, like we we're almost in some ways, man, 177 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 3: we have we have it like like this is a 178 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 3: lot of the times people don't want to admit this 179 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 3: about themselves, but there are a lot of people who 180 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 3: have internalized they're racist, like racism so deeply that they 181 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 3: seek spaces where they are being only tolerated. And I 182 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 3: don't understand. I grew up in Atlanta, so like I don't. 183 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 3: I don't understand looking for that, right, But even if 184 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 3: you aren't, you you can get that experience in a 185 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 3: lot of places that you go to. I don't want 186 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 3: any part of the gathering spot to ever give that 187 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 3: feeling at all. I want when people come in to 188 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,480 Speaker 3: exactly what you described. I want you to see on 189 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 3: the artwork that's on the wall. I want you to 190 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,959 Speaker 3: hear the music that's playing. I want you to see 191 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 3: the food that's being served. I want you to see 192 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 3: the speakers that were highlighting that are coming to talk 193 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:54,959 Speaker 3: and know, wow, this person, this group of people, they 194 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,080 Speaker 3: were thinking about me in some way, shape or form. Okay, 195 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:02,679 Speaker 3: the math, yeah, figuring out how to fund all of 196 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:04,679 Speaker 3: what I just said. I'm like, we're not building spaces 197 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:07,839 Speaker 3: that are small. Like our smallest gathering spot is twenty 198 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 3: thousand square feet, right, so like these aren't gorgeous, Yeah, 199 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 3: they're not small, Like it takes real I mean, and 200 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 3: and we're in really big cities, right. So we have 201 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 3: two locations in Atlanta, one in DC, one in LA 202 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 3: right now, and the just the math of trying to 203 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,679 Speaker 3: make the model that I'm talking about happen has taken 204 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:30,360 Speaker 3: a lot of creativity over the years. 205 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:32,079 Speaker 4: But I'm proud of where we're at. Man. 206 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 3: I mean, there's a there's a tier that is more 207 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,640 Speaker 3: expensive that's two hundred nine dollars a month, but it 208 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 3: comes with with complimentary food and access to workspace and 209 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:46,319 Speaker 3: access to programming and access to the network that I'm 210 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,719 Speaker 3: talking about. But then I also have a model that's 211 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 3: one hundred dollars a year, right that that's meant for 212 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 3: people that need less of a commitment right every day. 213 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 3: So I'm trying to solve for it out in here. 214 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 3: You're black in America. This idea of only wanting to 215 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 3: be in a space where there are other folks that 216 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 3: are well resourced exclusively doesn't make any sense to me, 217 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:13,840 Speaker 3: given the challenges that we have as a community. 218 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 4: Yeah, statistically speaking, if. 219 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 3: You are black and well off, you have someone that 220 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 3: is not in your in your family, right, like, like 221 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 3: you don't have to search for you have to like, like, 222 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,320 Speaker 3: there's a quick story I was. I was at this 223 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 3: bank a couple years ago now and the bankers were like, Yo, 224 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 3: what do you want your Atlanta legacy to be? And 225 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:40,199 Speaker 3: I paused the conversation and was like, look, it's really 226 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,839 Speaker 3: hard for me to have a conversation with you about 227 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 3: generational legacy building. When we were having this conversation, you're Thanksgiving, 228 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 3: I was like, I'm going to go to Thanksgiving in 229 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 3: a couple of weeks and there's poverty at my table. 230 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:56,439 Speaker 4: Yes, So the idea that I can get caught. 231 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 3: Up in this idea of only wanting to be around 232 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,199 Speaker 3: people that have been privileged enough to have access to 233 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 3: resources exclusively, that doesn't that doesn't work for me. It 234 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 3: doesn't work for me in my heart or in my head. 235 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 3: And uh, that's not what TGS has ever been pursued. 236 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: I think, even just from a pragmatic perspective, like you're 237 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: you're hitting it on the head, like you know, our 238 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:22,960 Speaker 1: president in the most elegant way possible. It makes it 239 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:25,440 Speaker 1: very clear this past weekend, like you know, I know 240 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:27,719 Speaker 1: I'm time stamping this event, but this thing you're not 241 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 1: supposed to But like, I don't care how much don't 242 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 1: care how much money you got, I don't care how 243 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 1: much power you have. You're still just a monkey to me, 244 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, And to me, desiring just 245 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 1: to be around wealth you you you at the cost 246 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: of the community you come from. It don't even the 247 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,559 Speaker 1: check don't even clear, like it don't even it's not 248 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: even just pragmatically, it's not gonna work, you know what 249 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:57,839 Speaker 1: I'm saying. But but ultimately, like you said, I know 250 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:03,199 Speaker 1: I benefited so much from like just in my own 251 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: growth of seeing like there was a guy I grew 252 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: up with who was like May's one of my grooms men. 253 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,559 Speaker 2: Like I mean like. 254 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: Like we're like I'm talking like baths together, grew up with. 255 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: You know, I went the art and humanities. He went 256 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: into finance. You know what I'm saying. And I'm like, 257 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,480 Speaker 1: this is you know what I'm saying, and like he is, 258 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:23,959 Speaker 1: like that's my best friend. 259 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:24,600 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. 260 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,360 Speaker 1: We set tax brackets above me, you know what I'm saying. 261 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:32,320 Speaker 1: But the idea of somehow or another our friendship ending 262 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: over that just seems so not our culture, you know 263 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,280 Speaker 1: what I'm saying. So I love that, like you're reflecting that, 264 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: like you said, like I'm still going back to still 265 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: going to Big Mont, one of my DA's house for Thanksgiving, 266 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,079 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. Like you know, like I 267 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: don't understand I don't live a luxury where I can 268 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,239 Speaker 1: only exist in my tax. 269 00:13:54,960 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 3: Practice, and I wouldn't want to me. It's even it 270 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 3: goes even a step further than that where it's like 271 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,600 Speaker 3: and I don't want to right, Like, I think it 272 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:10,200 Speaker 3: is our responsibility to stay attached to the context in 273 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 3: which we come from, right. And that's not falling in 274 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:17,439 Speaker 3: love with with difficult circumstance, right, but it's it's it's 275 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 3: acknowledging that. 276 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 4: Those are that's that's that's that's family, that's that's friends. Right, 277 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 4: that's me. So that's who I. 278 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 3: Like for real, just just say here it act like 279 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 3: that isn't me. We wouldn't we wouldn't be having an 280 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 3: authentic discussion about about who I am as a person. 281 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 3: So like when I walk into these rooms, I went 282 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 3: to Georgetown for undergrad right, So I mean I went 283 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 3: to a I went to a university that that uh, 284 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 3: I mean there are some folks there like openly where 285 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 3: they show up and the project is like, yo, I'm 286 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 3: going to try to get as far away from any 287 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 3: and everything connected to from you know, to like where 288 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 3: I come from. And I again, I just push back 289 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 3: on that, and like, you know, the most beautiful parts 290 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 3: of who you are are are the context in which 291 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 3: you you have come from and figured out how to 292 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 3: achieve here. Getting rid of that, yes, to me, actually 293 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 3: takes away the advantage that you have in the game 294 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 3: like that, that is, that is the advantage that you 295 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 3: have to play with and and and we should talk 296 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 3: about it like that and not talk about it as 297 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 3: some you know, some sort of negative or earth or 298 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 3: something that is uh that's holding you back. 299 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, you've, you've you've in a lot of ways articulated 300 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: the cornerstone thesis of this show of like hood politics. 301 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 2: Like you know, it's it's a play on words. 302 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:12,640 Speaker 1: You know, obviously there is in fact hood politics for 303 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 1: like if you are in the streets, there are ways 304 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: you're supposed to politic with each other. I'm saying, so 305 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 1: like there's that, you know. But but the concept that 306 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: I'm saying is when you look at geo politics or 307 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:29,960 Speaker 1: even national politics, the things for which you understand from 308 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: growing up in the environments that we grow up in 309 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: actually is the like you said, it's the greatest like tool, 310 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: it's the great it's your it's my cheat code, you know, 311 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: this is my you know, Rosetta stone. The fact that 312 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,560 Speaker 1: like I come from this so like I understand how 313 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: to you know, obviously there's this is a generalization, but 314 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,280 Speaker 1: like I actually I understand how to grassroots organize. I 315 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 1: understand how to get people to pull up. I understand 316 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: how to like you know, speak a language. You know 317 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,240 Speaker 1: what I'm saying, Like like a lot of these they 318 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: don't know how to get people to pull out like you, Michael, 319 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 1: because you ain't. 320 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 2: You ain't throw no kickbacks like you. 321 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 1: I'll give you. 322 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 3: I'll give you a business example to that point. I 323 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 3: will give you a real example. So we've raised we 324 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 3: raised like thirty million dollars over the ten years we've 325 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 3: been in business. So we raised a lot of Yeah, 326 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,399 Speaker 3: but we have never we've never been sitting right like 327 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:24,399 Speaker 3: after raised on a whole bunch of cash. Like we 328 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 3: would raise money and then we would immediately go build 329 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 3: another location. Like I remember after we built the first one, 330 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:32,920 Speaker 3: I was talking to this investor and he was like, yo, 331 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 3: like what's your burn rate? Like how much cash do 332 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:35,920 Speaker 3: you have until you run? And I was like, Doug, 333 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 3: today's Monday. If I don't make money by Friday, we're 334 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,360 Speaker 3: going to be closed. Like it like this ain't this 335 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,480 Speaker 3: is not this isn't one of these stories, you know, 336 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 3: one of these articles that you read. Okay, so fast forward, 337 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 3: COVID hits and all of those companies that had raised 338 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 3: money and just been able to kind of sit there 339 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:57,719 Speaker 3: and figure out their business plan. They're unraveling, right. They 340 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 3: don't know how to exist in an environment where things 341 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 3: are uncertain, where you don't know. But because we knew 342 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:08,399 Speaker 3: how to actually operate this business and unders like, we 343 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,920 Speaker 3: had to get intimately familiar with how this business actually 344 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 3: runs on a regular basis. When the worst thing that 345 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,640 Speaker 3: can happen to a business called the gathering spot, when 346 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 3: people couldn't gather. When that happened, that actually was something 347 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:23,679 Speaker 3: I heard on the news, Like an anchor was like, 348 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:25,640 Speaker 3: don't gather, and I was like, oh yo, this is 349 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,439 Speaker 3: that's our brand. Yeah, that's the whole I was like, ye, 350 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 3: say any other word. But because we had learned how 351 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 3: to go through the hardest parts of entrepreneurship, I would 352 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,720 Speaker 3: argue that's how we got through got through COVID. Respectfully, 353 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 3: a lot of other people they just they hadn't had 354 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 3: to live like that before. And for me it was like, 355 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 3: I mean, this is not ideal, but that wasn't either. Yeah, yeah. 356 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:59,000 Speaker 3: I mean I didn't pay myself anything for two years 357 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,880 Speaker 3: when we started, like not a dollar, So you can't 358 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 3: scare me with. 359 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 2: With oh, so yeah, so we're gonna be poor. Okay. 360 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 3: It was like, yeah, I've I know what that is. 361 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 4: So yes, again, this isn't ideal. 362 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 3: I'm not sitting here, you know, celebrating the fact that 363 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:19,960 Speaker 3: the business is closed. 364 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:24,200 Speaker 4: But I know something about how I'm about to navigate 365 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:25,679 Speaker 4: this time. And I'm not. 366 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:28,920 Speaker 3: Sure that you know how to move in this set 367 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:30,920 Speaker 3: of circumstances. And I think we're in one of those 368 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 3: moments right now. I think I think this season is 369 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 3: it's not COVID everybody inside the house, but it's it's 370 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 3: it's a tighten the belt season and we're we're seeing 371 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 3: really quickly who has the constitution to be able to 372 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 3: do that or not? 373 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 2: Who got the juice man. 374 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 1: That's which leads me to this next things I kind 375 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: of want to talk about you talk about with specifically 376 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: some of the niche is y'all worked on in being 377 00:19:56,760 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: able to, like to your point, like understand in the moment, 378 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: read the moment. 379 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:03,120 Speaker 2: I think one thing. 380 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:07,359 Speaker 1: That I value for myself in the same example, what 381 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 1: you're saying like, in whatever position or place I'm in, 382 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:14,880 Speaker 1: like one is like I'm gonna know when it's time 383 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 1: to slide, you know what it's time to be Like, 384 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:18,880 Speaker 1: all right, I think we should like this. 385 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:20,720 Speaker 2: This is not the situation. You feel me. 386 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: So I could read a room, but I could also 387 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: because of the same thing, like the way that you know, 388 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: our constitution is just to kind of go the person 389 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: I'm talking to you, Okay, so you're not really in charge. 390 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 2: You're I'm saying, like, are you doing a lot of this? 391 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 2: You feel me? 392 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 1: And I'm like, nah, that okay, that's that's actually who 393 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: we need to high at. You feel me and then 394 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,720 Speaker 1: and being able to slide over there, you know, jib 395 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:46,439 Speaker 1: jab jib. You know, dude, we got to do to 396 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 1: get into a position to where oh man. It's just 397 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: a silly example, but like a friend of mine was 398 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:55,320 Speaker 1: telling me about, you know, he runs his open mic 399 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,600 Speaker 1: out in the Inland Empire area called Sam Bernardino, which 400 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,639 Speaker 1: is like still pretty still pretty active, you know what 401 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,160 Speaker 1: I'm saying. So he was having this situation where people were, 402 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,320 Speaker 1: you know, the local local you know, goons were like 403 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:11,199 Speaker 1: every time you have an event, he was they were 404 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:12,000 Speaker 1: breaking into cars. 405 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. It was breaking the cars, 406 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 2: stealing stuff whatever like catelic caper. It is what it is. Right. 407 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: The thing is, since we're from here, well, I know 408 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:23,880 Speaker 1: who to call, Like so he knew exactly who to call, 409 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,879 Speaker 1: you know, like it which wasn't the police obviously you 410 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:28,400 Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, But like, I know. 411 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 2: Who to call. 412 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:30,439 Speaker 1: So he called him, sat him down, and he was 413 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:32,560 Speaker 1: just like, all right, Homy, what do you what do 414 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:33,240 Speaker 1: you need from us? 415 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:34,520 Speaker 2: Do you got do you haven't? 416 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 1: Do you have little artists that need to you hat 417 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: little hommies in there that want to like record music, 418 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:39,480 Speaker 1: that want to put on shows. 419 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:41,679 Speaker 2: He was like, actually, man, my little nephew, you know. 420 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:43,960 Speaker 1: So he was like, all right, cool, We'll give him 421 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 1: a slot he can pull to the studio. We'll record 422 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,880 Speaker 1: like five songs on him, send him on his way. 423 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,720 Speaker 1: And when I tell you, they never had another car 424 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:58,239 Speaker 1: breaking again. And it's because I'm really here, Like, this 425 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:00,840 Speaker 1: isn't a this isn't a top down approach. You know 426 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,119 Speaker 1: what I'm saying, This is us. I'm doing this for 427 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 1: our community. You, sir, yohood Yo said, everybody, you are 428 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: part of is our community also, So here's the way 429 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 1: we're gonna work this. 430 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,680 Speaker 2: I got something for you. I need to be able 431 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 2: to have people come. 432 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,360 Speaker 1: I need to be able to feel like they could 433 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: park in front of the venue, Like I feel like 434 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 1: that's a and the og was like, you know, yeah, 435 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:25,920 Speaker 1: we got you. You know what I'm saying, that's simple, man. 436 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 3: I think you just tapped into something that is a 437 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:32,040 Speaker 3: lost art, which is as there's a lot of times 438 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 3: right where we need to be trying to search for like, 439 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,159 Speaker 3: and I don't sound cliche about this, but like what 440 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:39,119 Speaker 3: is a win win, Like, like, yes, how do you 441 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 3: get what you need? 442 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 2: Yes? 443 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 4: How do I get what I need? 444 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 3: And we both probably gonna leave this discussion feeling not 445 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 3: fully happy with what we just got out of it, right, 446 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 3: but at the end of the day, like if we 447 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 3: both can kind of. 448 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 4: Get mostly there, yeah, we're good, this would be this. 449 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:03,120 Speaker 3: We'll count this as a as a w So many 450 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,120 Speaker 3: people man don't play don't play the game that way 451 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:08,919 Speaker 3: in this thing and that it is scary for me 452 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 3: because there's so much more right when you have that 453 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 3: approach of just even trying to to think about it. 454 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:16,920 Speaker 3: I'll give you an example, get in our worst we 455 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:18,960 Speaker 3: have event space folks in me all the time and 456 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,679 Speaker 3: are like, hey, you know, I'm just trying to do X, 457 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:23,199 Speaker 3: Y and Z. 458 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 4: You know, can you can you give me the space? 459 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:27,240 Speaker 4: Look it up right? 460 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:31,640 Speaker 3: And I'm like, well, there's there's no such thing as 461 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:35,680 Speaker 3: a free event for real world, like like somebody's got 462 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 3: to open the doors, somebody like there is that food everything. Yep, 463 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 3: there's no such thing as a free event. So I 464 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 3: know from your seat, it's like, oh, you know, we 465 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:44,200 Speaker 3: don't need much like we don't need food. 466 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:45,400 Speaker 4: We don't just need a room. 467 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,280 Speaker 3: And it's like, yeah, even a room like has an 468 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:51,160 Speaker 3: expect I'm not saying I won't do it, but if 469 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:53,880 Speaker 3: there's a way for you to think about how how 470 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:54,960 Speaker 3: this could work. 471 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 2: How is this benefiting? 472 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 3: Again, I'm not trying to be but you know, so 473 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 3: transactional about it. But like I I do genuinely before 474 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:03,440 Speaker 3: I do anything, like, Okay, what would a win look 475 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,719 Speaker 3: like for this person? What could I what could I 476 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,639 Speaker 3: throw in that would make them feel better about whatever 477 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:10,960 Speaker 3: it is that we're doing. If it's studios, sometimes the 478 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 3: thing doesn't even cost you any money, I'll give you. 479 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 3: I'll give you a couple of hours of studio time. 480 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,760 Speaker 3: That is that make you feel great in my world, 481 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,399 Speaker 3: if I can get my community to the event that 482 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 3: you're talking about, yeah great now Now now I'm in 483 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 3: the math, I can be like, all right, if I 484 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:27,919 Speaker 3: can invite my folks to it, and then you've got 485 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 3: your folks like totally. 486 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:32,720 Speaker 2: But it's dignity, man, It's like it's a lost art case. 487 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:37,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, it communicates dignity, it communicates honor, it communicates value. 488 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, Like, if I sit down 489 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,600 Speaker 1: at this thing, it's like broad value you. I value 490 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: what you put together. You feel me in like, and 491 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:47,200 Speaker 1: I want to be a net positive And I just like, yeah, 492 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 1: to your point, it's just like this seems so just intuitive, 493 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,680 Speaker 1: Like it just seems so like instinct man, Like yeah, 494 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:55,200 Speaker 1: you know. 495 00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 3: We were losing some of that stuff with and I 496 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 3: hate to sound old and like one of the people 497 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:02,600 Speaker 3: that blames the internet. And you know, these kids and look, 498 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 3: I mean every generation looks at the prior one of 499 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:05,399 Speaker 3: the course like what. 500 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:06,159 Speaker 4: These kids doing. 501 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,359 Speaker 3: But but I think the thing that is different about 502 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,959 Speaker 3: this new generation is that they have grown up perceiving 503 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 3: people online so much that the actual having to get 504 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 3: to know people right, like having to navigate in real life, 505 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 3: some of those softer skills that we had to have 506 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 3: because there wasn't another option. Yeah, I'm starting to see 507 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:30,920 Speaker 3: some of them them go away. 508 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 4: Now. 509 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 3: Are there great things that are happening because of internet 510 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,520 Speaker 3: culture accent? Absolutely, we can share messages all over the 511 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,119 Speaker 3: world quickly all that. So it's not me saying that 512 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 3: it's a bad thing, but it is me saying, yo, 513 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,439 Speaker 3: please don't forget about the fact that, like, sometimes the 514 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,399 Speaker 3: most successful thing that you can do in order to, 515 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:51,000 Speaker 3: like in my world, like grow a network. I get 516 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 3: that question on the time, like how do I build 517 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:56,879 Speaker 3: a network? Ask people how they're doing? If you want to, 518 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,920 Speaker 3: if you want to meet people, ask them how they're doing, 519 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 3: check in on them. Tell a person randomly I'm rooting 520 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 3: for you. You will be surprised how many folks, if 521 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:09,119 Speaker 3: you're just that person in their life that's how they 522 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:11,760 Speaker 3: think about you, will hit you back and be like, hey, 523 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 3: actually been meaning to whatever? 524 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:16,879 Speaker 2: Yeah, Oh yeah, actually I've been thinking about you. Yeah, 525 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:17,920 Speaker 2: And that's out of here. 526 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,040 Speaker 3: And that's and that's how things start to roll. So 527 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,639 Speaker 3: I mean, again, I don't want to sound sound simple 528 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 3: about it, but I don't think that some of these 529 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 3: things are hard. We just don't do them in the 530 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 3: same way that we used. 531 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:28,120 Speaker 2: To go for sure. 532 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: I want to get to some of the initiatives you've 533 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 1: been working on, so the Hunter Home Initiative, DC safe 534 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: House Man and specifically I think for the moment that 535 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 1: we're happening right now. 536 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:47,120 Speaker 2: With with Ice. Yeah. 537 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: But but first of all, like you know, I know 538 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,840 Speaker 1: you've been involved in like May oil campaigns and such 539 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:53,240 Speaker 1: like that. Can you tell me a little bit about 540 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,080 Speaker 1: some of the or not me, but because I know 541 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, But like tell the squad, 542 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: like some of the initiatives job and work and as 543 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:03,200 Speaker 1: some successes, some stuff that fell flat. I think that's 544 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,000 Speaker 1: an important part too, with like with a lot of 545 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:08,640 Speaker 1: advocacy and politics. It's like some of the stuff don't work. 546 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,640 Speaker 1: I'm saying, like a great idea, it may work. 547 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,560 Speaker 3: I mean, look at this is we be here all day. 548 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 3: We have always taken really seriously that it is our 549 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 3: responsibility to show up and to try to stand in 550 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 3: the gap. So a bunch of different efforts are ready. 551 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,240 Speaker 3: Going back to COVID, I remember I brought our team 552 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:28,800 Speaker 3: into a room and I was like, look, I don't 553 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:29,439 Speaker 3: know what this is. 554 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:30,919 Speaker 4: You don't know what this is either. We're about to 555 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:32,120 Speaker 4: all go experience. 556 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 3: This together, but we know why we do this, right, So, 557 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 3: we had a daily call every day that was called 558 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,080 Speaker 3: Stay Encouraged, where people got on and just set an 559 00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 3: encouraging messages of people. I made a essentially a deal 560 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 3: with the membership where I said, look, if you continue 561 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:49,720 Speaker 3: to pay your membership dues, we will allow you to 562 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 3: vote on organizations in the community that might not make 563 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,439 Speaker 3: it through the storm, and we will redeploy those dues 564 00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 3: right back to members of the community that that need So, 565 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 3: I mean, that's that's years ago now, but fast forward 566 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 3: right Safe House DC. We've opened the doors of the 567 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,840 Speaker 3: club open to anybody that needs space to organize, because 568 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 3: that oftentimes is the hardest thing to fined. 569 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 4: Right. Yeah. 570 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:17,679 Speaker 3: We had an effort that we're still doing called three 571 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:19,639 Speaker 3: hundred Strong. That's trying to respond to the fact that 572 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,240 Speaker 3: three hundred thousand plus I think it's closer to a 573 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:24,680 Speaker 3: half a million black women have lost their jobs since 574 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,400 Speaker 3: the start of the Trump administration. No Ice is an 575 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,439 Speaker 3: effort to try to raise some money to go to 576 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:39,240 Speaker 3: immigrants rights groups that are fighting against what we're seeing with. 577 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 4: With ice. 578 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 3: Invading communities across the country. So look, it really at 579 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 3: every turn that we where we can show up right, 580 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 3: and we and we have the posture of it's like, 581 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 3: what is the most helpful thing that we could do 582 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 3: right now, right if if folks don't have a place 583 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,520 Speaker 3: to organize, we have space, so we can do that. 584 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:04,160 Speaker 3: Years ago, I went to a school to start a 585 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:06,719 Speaker 3: literacy effort. I wanted members of the community to go 586 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:09,520 Speaker 3: and read to the students after school, and a teacher 587 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 3: pulled me to the side and she was like, hey, look, 588 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,000 Speaker 3: this is a cool idea and everything, but these kids 589 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 3: are hungry, Like they eat lunch and then they don't 590 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 3: eat lunch again to the next day. So I was like, okay, well, 591 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 3: I operate restaurants on average. People don't know this. Restaurants 592 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 3: throw away a significant percentage of their food every single day. 593 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 4: Yep. 594 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 3: So for like the next four years, we brought dinner 595 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:36,360 Speaker 3: to every single student at that school every single day, right, And. 596 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,840 Speaker 1: So reactually, yeah, that's what I mean by the like 597 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: off the camera stuff. 598 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 2: It's thinks like that there's nothing. 599 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,840 Speaker 3: There's actually very little record of that effort, but it 600 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 3: went on. If you would have pulled up at the 601 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 3: gathering spot in Atlanta around three thirty four o'clock at 602 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:56,000 Speaker 3: our back door, a teacher from the school would would 603 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 3: come over and we would load their car up with 604 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 3: real dinner. I'm talking about, like like the same dinners 605 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 3: we were making for everybody else, and we would bring 606 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 3: those those dinners to the school, and we brought dinner 607 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 3: to every single and it grew to a point where 608 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 3: it was like it wasn't just the kids at the school, 609 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:12,280 Speaker 3: it was their siblings that lived in the neighborhood. 610 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 2: And no. 611 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 3: I actually remember there was a brand that reached out 612 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 3: to us that had gotten a word that we were 613 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,200 Speaker 3: doing it. This is probably like two years in and 614 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 3: they were like this is great, you know, and they 615 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:27,320 Speaker 3: wanted to document it. And I was like, look, this 616 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,200 Speaker 3: isn't work. These kids don't know where this food comes from. 617 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:32,640 Speaker 3: It doesn't matter where it comes from. Yeah, they know 618 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:34,360 Speaker 3: that after school there's dinner. 619 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:35,960 Speaker 2: Yep. And if you. 620 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 3: Want to be a part of it's after school and 621 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,320 Speaker 3: there's dinner. I got you. Let's build If you do 622 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 3: not and you want this to be a pr move. 623 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 3: I don't have that for you. And they ended up 624 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:48,960 Speaker 3: not going with us on the they didn't they didn't 625 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 3: supply anything for the project, and like, no, that's on 626 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,400 Speaker 3: my chest here. I just feel like our responsibility is 627 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 3: to try to do what we can with the resources 628 00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,720 Speaker 3: that are in front of us. And you know, I'm 629 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:04,560 Speaker 3: host thing thousands of events every year, which means I 630 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 3: have a lot of wasted food. I mean I just yeah, 631 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 3: this period, I just like I have food that like 632 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,880 Speaker 3: goes uneaten. So I'm like, all right, we should never 633 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 3: allow that to when in I'm in a city. I'm 634 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 3: in Atlanta, I mean, I'm in LA I'm in I'm 635 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,880 Speaker 3: in DC. We should never allow where we know that 636 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:26,560 Speaker 3: there are folks down the street that need it to 637 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 3: not have access to to resources that we have. And 638 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 3: you said that stuff that hasn't worked, Like it's not 639 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:36,520 Speaker 3: even that I don't want to tell you because but 640 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:39,640 Speaker 3: as an entrepreneur, I really don't play the game that way, 641 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:42,080 Speaker 3: like like we move on. So, yeah, there have been 642 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,200 Speaker 3: things that we've dropped out there that like haven't people 643 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,320 Speaker 3: didn't All sorts of drives and like we're trying to 644 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:52,840 Speaker 3: raise money all types of stuff that people haven't necessarily 645 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,640 Speaker 3: done it in the way that we expected. 646 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,200 Speaker 4: Yeah, that's a part of the process though, I mean exactly. 647 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 1: I mean like I'm you know, I'll come from music first, 648 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:03,840 Speaker 1: so like I'm like, yeah, this song didn't make the album. 649 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 2: Like it's just it's that simple. It's like not a 650 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:08,280 Speaker 2: a flop. It just didn't make the album. 651 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:10,520 Speaker 1: So because it just it just didn't make the album, 652 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:12,120 Speaker 1: like you know, it is what it is. 653 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 3: We got to stop measuring things in and like, yeah, 654 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 3: it either with triple platinum or like it was not valuable, right, 655 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,080 Speaker 3: I mean, I think the same thing again, go back 656 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 3: to internet culture. It's like, yo, if you know I 657 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 3: put a post up in it it didn't perform. It's like, yo, 658 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,760 Speaker 3: if you put something out that was meaningful to you, yeah, 659 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:35,959 Speaker 3: and to any group of people, to one person. 660 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 4: And again I. 661 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,920 Speaker 3: Almost sound cliche, but like that's all you really that 662 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:41,720 Speaker 3: you can you can hope for right at the end 663 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:43,680 Speaker 3: of the day, like that did one person hear this 664 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,720 Speaker 3: and be like wow, like I can show up. 665 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:49,200 Speaker 4: There's one more thing I gotta tell you though, that's 666 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 4: in all. 667 00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 2: Of this word. 668 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 3: One thing that we have abandoned as a community that 669 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,040 Speaker 3: we have to get back to. And what makes TGS 670 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 3: special is that I am funded by my community. I 671 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,760 Speaker 3: can do all the work that I just mentioned because 672 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,960 Speaker 3: the only stakeholders that I am worried about are the 673 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:12,720 Speaker 3: group of people that call TGS home. Unfortunately, we are 674 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,720 Speaker 3: in a moment where a lot of the advocacy based 675 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:19,720 Speaker 3: organizations that we have have shifted their model away from 676 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:23,400 Speaker 3: being primarily funded by the community to being funded by 677 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 3: other stakeholders that are now telling them what to do. 678 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:29,720 Speaker 3: So if you're looking around wondering like, hey, where did 679 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,880 Speaker 3: this or go? Where did that org go? What happened 680 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 3: is that their model changed and you aren't the person 681 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:40,400 Speaker 3: that's funding them anymore in the way that historically you 682 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 3: would have. And so the ask and all of that 683 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 3: is that we have to do a better job of 684 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:53,640 Speaker 3: being the primary stakeholders and resources for the organizations that 685 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:57,120 Speaker 3: we need. I just have to ask nobody to get 686 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:01,600 Speaker 3: those kids I didn't like. There was no I looked 687 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 3: the teacher in the face and said, Okay, we'll do 688 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:04,479 Speaker 3: something about that. 689 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,400 Speaker 4: And the only group of people that I was worried. 690 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:10,719 Speaker 3: About being offended by that decision were the members of 691 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,160 Speaker 3: the community, and I felt like we would be on 692 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:48,920 Speaker 3: the same page there, but that does not exist. But 693 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,440 Speaker 3: you go back to like you mentioned, like, you know, 694 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:55,439 Speaker 3: being the kid of panthers, Like why the panthers could 695 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:57,799 Speaker 3: say and do and move how they wanted to move 696 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:02,000 Speaker 3: is that they weren't calling up anybody being like, hey, 697 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:04,759 Speaker 3: is it is it okay? If we if we go? 698 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:08,839 Speaker 3: And no, it was there was there was a level 699 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:13,480 Speaker 3: of self sufficiency that it doesn't exist in the way 700 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 3: that we needed to right now. 701 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:15,600 Speaker 2: I love that. 702 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:15,879 Speaker 4: Man. 703 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,600 Speaker 1: You can't just be the Easter ray. You know, I'm 704 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:21,880 Speaker 1: cheering for everybody black, Like, well, are. 705 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:24,799 Speaker 2: You cheering for everybody? You know what I'm saying, like, yeah, 706 00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:28,439 Speaker 2: have we You may be right, That's the thing though. 707 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:31,520 Speaker 3: You may be, but when your funding source isn't right 708 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:33,279 Speaker 3: like you, you may be all in. 709 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,320 Speaker 4: But when your funding sources like, hey. 710 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:39,799 Speaker 3: We're not really doing d I this year, so we 711 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:42,399 Speaker 3: need you to we need you to kind of change Yeah, 712 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:46,000 Speaker 3: change that. Yeah, you start looking at your bank account 713 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,400 Speaker 3: and or like, well I don't really want to do that. 714 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:52,640 Speaker 3: But the grant that we've been getting every year, just 715 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:56,440 Speaker 3: saying Biden, yeah, it took us four years. The right, Yeah, 716 00:35:56,520 --> 00:36:01,160 Speaker 3: they just said change the language, and so yeah, again, 717 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 3: I don't want to be dooming a bum about this. 718 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:06,160 Speaker 3: I think the the ask, the instruction, the request is 719 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:09,719 Speaker 3: if there is an organization that you know and love 720 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:13,560 Speaker 3: and respect, try to resource them as best you can 721 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 3: so that they are not dependent upon anybody else's voice, 722 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:19,960 Speaker 3: but the people that are primarily funding them. 723 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:21,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what I mean. 724 00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:23,560 Speaker 1: That's why I'm like, well, if I'm cheering for everybody black, 725 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:26,360 Speaker 1: then I'm a I'm gonna get my membership. 726 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:28,360 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying, Like in the in the 727 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:28,920 Speaker 2: to the. 728 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,520 Speaker 1: Extent that you can, you know what I love about 729 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:34,040 Speaker 1: what you're saying if you can, Yeah, what I love 730 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:37,080 Speaker 1: about what you're saying is like, you know, I A 731 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:39,239 Speaker 1: lot of times I use the example of like the 732 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:42,279 Speaker 1: ice cream truck to where I'm like, when we all 733 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:46,320 Speaker 1: hear that that bell come in and we're just playing outside, 734 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:50,640 Speaker 1: which is obviously a lost art, somebody's got money in 735 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:54,839 Speaker 1: they pocket, you know what I'm saying, So somebody's got it. 736 00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:58,400 Speaker 1: I ain't look, I'm gonna look at you real crazy. 737 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:01,680 Speaker 1: If you stayed on the curve, well, we was all like, 738 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:05,040 Speaker 1: why are you come on? Like you know what I'm saying, Like, bro, 739 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:09,840 Speaker 1: like yes, because I know tomorrow you gonna have a 740 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:10,760 Speaker 1: dollar in your pocket. 741 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:11,759 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. 742 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:13,919 Speaker 1: And I'm like it just and if not, we're gonna 743 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:16,120 Speaker 1: share this pack of my later. It's like we gon' 744 00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:19,680 Speaker 1: there's no one. Everyone eats, everyone eats. 745 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:23,600 Speaker 3: And it adds up right, Like yeah, sometimes just the 746 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:27,759 Speaker 3: compounding effect, like what happens when when dollars in the 747 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:30,480 Speaker 3: aggregate are put together, Like when you just when you 748 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:35,400 Speaker 3: put money together, it's really amazing how how far you 749 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:38,680 Speaker 3: can go when a small group of people decide to 750 00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:42,840 Speaker 3: do anything, like go look at any successful GoFundMe for 751 00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:46,200 Speaker 3: anything in our community. You look at the ten dollars, 752 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:51,080 Speaker 3: fifteen dollars dollars about it. It never is like it 753 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:54,840 Speaker 3: very rarely, at least in my world. Do I see 754 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:59,080 Speaker 3: all of our ten thousand dollars goal sex six thousand 755 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:02,440 Speaker 3: came from. It's a bunch of twenty dollars. So we 756 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:04,839 Speaker 3: have to think in that same way. Look, no, you 757 00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:07,440 Speaker 3: don't have fifty percent of what we're trying to raise, 758 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:12,880 Speaker 3: but you have one percent. Yeah, and that one percent 759 00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:17,200 Speaker 3: is actually meaningful, right, Like we one hundred percent needed 760 00:38:17,239 --> 00:38:19,480 Speaker 3: right now, like we are in a moment right now 761 00:38:20,239 --> 00:38:26,040 Speaker 3: where we have to be thinking reality. And I love 762 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:31,839 Speaker 3: the name of this platform right because just even reacquainting 763 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:35,800 Speaker 3: ourselves with politics. I'm very yes, I'm very politically involved. 764 00:38:36,239 --> 00:38:39,160 Speaker 4: We have. We've been at TGS for a while. 765 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:42,719 Speaker 3: You have seen everyone from the former president of the 766 00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:44,920 Speaker 3: United States, former vice president of the United States to 767 00:38:45,239 --> 00:38:50,239 Speaker 3: many many cabinet secretaries, many many United States senators, but 768 00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:52,800 Speaker 3: also people running for school board and for city council 769 00:38:53,400 --> 00:38:58,440 Speaker 3: spend time at TGS. And I do that because I 770 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:03,080 Speaker 3: think sometimes we are tricked into believing that engagement in 771 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:06,879 Speaker 3: politics is like some other person's sport, some other community's game. 772 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:10,000 Speaker 4: And I will just. 773 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:12,719 Speaker 3: Say to anybody that's listening to this conversation, if you 774 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:16,200 Speaker 3: are in the camp of I don't do politics, I 775 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:19,640 Speaker 3: have really bad news for politics is doing you, yep, 776 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:25,280 Speaker 3: every single day, and we have to embrace that. Like again, 777 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:29,000 Speaker 3: even if you're saying you opted out that there's no 778 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:32,600 Speaker 3: such thing, like no such thing, for everything we're doing 779 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:36,239 Speaker 3: right now is tied in some way, shape or form 780 00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:40,600 Speaker 3: to government. From the electricity that's power all of it, 781 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:44,040 Speaker 3: the equipment to the to where where we live. 782 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:47,359 Speaker 4: All of it. Yeah, there's the politics. 783 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:51,960 Speaker 1: There's the visual example of like if somebody's pushing you know, 784 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:57,799 Speaker 1: a cup off the play or off the table. Uh, 785 00:39:57,880 --> 00:40:00,759 Speaker 1: you can if you push back at it, maybe it 786 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:05,200 Speaker 1: won't fall. You could help it, and it's gonna fall faster. 787 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:07,600 Speaker 1: But if you do nothing, it's still going to fall 788 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:10,640 Speaker 1: off the table. You're participating, you know what I'm saying. So, 789 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:14,520 Speaker 1: like there's no such thing as doing nothing. Which brings 790 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,840 Speaker 1: me to this last thing I want to ask, which 791 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:24,080 Speaker 1: let me give a caveat about it. The vast majority 792 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:26,319 Speaker 1: because of my location and like I said, I grew up, 793 00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:31,160 Speaker 1: the vast majority of our listeners are Latino. So I 794 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:33,520 Speaker 1: mean my wife is first gen you know, like I said, 795 00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:34,839 Speaker 1: I grew up in this part. You know what I'm saying, 796 00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:37,440 Speaker 1: Like I speak flowing Spanish whatever. So like you know, 797 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:40,960 Speaker 1: when it comes to issues of immigration, ice and stuff 798 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:43,319 Speaker 1: like that, Like as far as this, as far as 799 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:45,480 Speaker 1: we're at, it's kind of a no brainer. 800 00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:47,680 Speaker 2: Like you know what I'm saying in the sense that. 801 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:52,400 Speaker 1: The argument we've always been making as black people is 802 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:54,880 Speaker 1: that whatever they're gonna do to us, they gonna. 803 00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:55,600 Speaker 2: Do to you. 804 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:58,279 Speaker 1: You know, you ain't no like it's gonna It might 805 00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:02,080 Speaker 1: look a little different, but it's happening to you. That 806 00:41:02,239 --> 00:41:06,120 Speaker 1: being said, after feeling like, you know what I'm saying, 807 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:11,040 Speaker 1: like I'm using gross, gross generalities here, screaming from the margins, 808 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:13,480 Speaker 1: like I'm telling you they coming for you next. I'm 809 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,200 Speaker 1: telling you they shooting us in the streets. I'm telling 810 00:41:16,239 --> 00:41:19,759 Speaker 1: you they coming for you next. You know, And but 811 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:22,640 Speaker 1: I shouldn't even have to say that, because what's happening 812 00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:25,360 Speaker 1: is just evil, you know what I'm saying. Anyway, you know, 813 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:31,040 Speaker 1: there was a sort of cultural fatigue around like now. 814 00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:31,399 Speaker 2: You see there. 815 00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:33,400 Speaker 1: We've been we tried to tell you this was coming, 816 00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:37,840 Speaker 1: you know, and there was a you know, discussions around 817 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:40,759 Speaker 1: sort of the black community, especially with Ice, which was frustrating. 818 00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:43,439 Speaker 1: I'm putting my cards on the table. Was frustrating, being 819 00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:47,960 Speaker 1: like this is not our fight. And I'm like, I 820 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:49,879 Speaker 1: like I said, cards on the table. That's the most 821 00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:52,799 Speaker 1: absurd statement I've ever heard, you know what I'm saying. 822 00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:57,399 Speaker 1: But I understand the fatigue, you know what I'm saying 823 00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:01,320 Speaker 1: of feeling like I've been we've been trying to say 824 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:07,240 Speaker 1: this is coming, and there's a perception among certain aspects 825 00:42:07,239 --> 00:42:10,520 Speaker 1: of the black community that like, we did not get 826 00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:14,880 Speaker 1: the support we needed, and now that it's happening to others, 827 00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:18,959 Speaker 1: don't look to us to help you again. 828 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:19,880 Speaker 2: Cards on the table. 829 00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:25,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I'm yeah, look, yeah, yeah, help help, 830 00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:26,680 Speaker 1: help help. 831 00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:28,280 Speaker 2: That aren't my words. 832 00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:30,600 Speaker 3: You know, I get I get what people are saying, 833 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:32,759 Speaker 3: But if I'm being honest with you, I think that 834 00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:36,280 Speaker 3: people are being very shortsighted and depending on what version 835 00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:40,600 Speaker 3: of this we're talking about, fairly juvenile. Look, I'm engaged 836 00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:43,560 Speaker 3: in politics and talk about these issues because I've got 837 00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:48,080 Speaker 3: two little kids. Kids are five and three. So the 838 00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:50,960 Speaker 3: idea that I can be fatigued to a place where 839 00:42:51,040 --> 00:42:53,560 Speaker 3: I'm going to just not participate in the in the 840 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:58,680 Speaker 3: conversation and then leave them to go figure out whatever happens. 841 00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:01,040 Speaker 4: Next, Yeah, I just don't feel like I have that luxury. 842 00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:04,400 Speaker 3: And I'm not saying that it's pleasant again, Like, this 843 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,640 Speaker 3: is not one of those things where I'm like, oh, 844 00:43:06,719 --> 00:43:08,239 Speaker 3: you know, I like, I just I love the fact 845 00:43:08,239 --> 00:43:09,239 Speaker 3: that we're having this fight. 846 00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:11,800 Speaker 4: But we're talking about my life. 847 00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:16,080 Speaker 3: We're talking we're talking about like, so I can't have 848 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:19,480 Speaker 3: that type of relationship with my existence to where it. 849 00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:24,600 Speaker 3: You know, I can opt in sometimes to to actually 850 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:28,319 Speaker 3: having some energy applied, and then other times like I'm 851 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:32,440 Speaker 3: talking about my my, my, my life. Right, And as 852 00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:35,360 Speaker 3: black folks, I remember I was in this class in 853 00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:40,000 Speaker 3: undergrad and I got into it with a white student 854 00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:43,960 Speaker 3: because part of what white folks are able to do 855 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,400 Speaker 3: as it relates to racism is that they can they 856 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:48,440 Speaker 3: can flow in and out of the discussion, right if 857 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:51,440 Speaker 3: if you know, they feel like it, they can come in. 858 00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:53,440 Speaker 3: If they don't feel like it, It's easy just to be like, 859 00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:56,439 Speaker 3: I don't know what they're talking about over there. Well, 860 00:43:57,680 --> 00:44:01,040 Speaker 3: I would hope given that men people would probably hear 861 00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:03,239 Speaker 3: what I just said and be like, well, that's unacceptable. Well, 862 00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:07,520 Speaker 3: it's also unacceptable to allow a government to take the 863 00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:15,240 Speaker 3: perspective that we're going to antagonize, brutalize, and overall acts 864 00:44:15,719 --> 00:44:19,080 Speaker 3: in a way that is not representative of the values 865 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:21,680 Speaker 3: that you say you have. I'm actually not giving you 866 00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:26,000 Speaker 3: new values. These are the values that you said that existor. Yeah, 867 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:29,520 Speaker 3: so so No, I can't afford to just sit here 868 00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:34,799 Speaker 3: and allow my country, the place that I live, to 869 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:38,640 Speaker 3: take a posture and have a perspective that is counter 870 00:44:38,760 --> 00:44:40,880 Speaker 3: to the place that I want to live, so I 871 00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:43,399 Speaker 3: have an obligation to fight and. 872 00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:46,160 Speaker 4: Okay. 873 00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:48,520 Speaker 3: So that's on the more kind of moral heart side 874 00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:52,440 Speaker 3: of this. On the on the more quantitative just like 875 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:56,040 Speaker 3: headside of this, if you are black in America and 876 00:44:56,160 --> 00:45:00,399 Speaker 3: think that immigration issues only apply to other communities, one, 877 00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:06,040 Speaker 3: you're wrong mathematically, Yeah, Like there's there's there's a ton 878 00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:09,360 Speaker 3: of immigration, right that comes from a ton of countries 879 00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:12,080 Speaker 3: from around the world, and many of them look exactly 880 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:12,480 Speaker 3: like you. 881 00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:15,560 Speaker 1: So like math, and it's not like there's black people 882 00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:17,320 Speaker 1: and there's no black people in Central America? 883 00:45:17,360 --> 00:45:19,120 Speaker 2: Like what is what is your talk? Math? 884 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:20,759 Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what you're talking about. 885 00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:23,319 Speaker 3: But then I think even further math on top of 886 00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:25,480 Speaker 3: all of this is and I don't know why we 887 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:29,439 Speaker 3: don't we don't employ this argument more often. This nation 888 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:34,680 Speaker 3: cannot be what it wants to be without the very 889 00:45:34,719 --> 00:45:39,080 Speaker 3: people that we are talking about trying to remove. Yeah, 890 00:45:39,120 --> 00:45:41,560 Speaker 3: like we actually and I'm not talking about long term, 891 00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:42,440 Speaker 3: I'm talking about. 892 00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:46,560 Speaker 1: Like like right now today, Yeah, like today. 893 00:45:46,239 --> 00:45:48,080 Speaker 4: Whatever day you're listening to this. 894 00:45:48,080 --> 00:45:52,839 Speaker 3: This nation needs all of the people that we are 895 00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:58,080 Speaker 3: so ridiculously talking about, not me, but them. Talking about 896 00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:04,040 Speaker 3: in a way that suggests that they should not be 897 00:46:04,160 --> 00:46:08,799 Speaker 3: here when again, our economy, yeah, at all levels of 898 00:46:08,840 --> 00:46:13,239 Speaker 3: our economy, right, and and not from a labor perspective, 899 00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:16,120 Speaker 3: but from a from a consumption, from a consumer perspective, 900 00:46:17,080 --> 00:46:22,000 Speaker 3: cannot meet its mandate without the very populations that we 901 00:46:22,040 --> 00:46:24,600 Speaker 3: are antagonized. So like, even if we take all the 902 00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:26,440 Speaker 3: heart out of it, right, I mean it gets to 903 00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:32,120 Speaker 3: just white folks are not having enough children in America. 904 00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:36,040 Speaker 4: There's not enough to be able to grow this economy. 905 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:38,480 Speaker 4: That is not my opinion, that is math facts, right. 906 00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:43,439 Speaker 3: So the only way to grow our GDP, the only 907 00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:46,319 Speaker 3: way honestly to fill the jobs that we have available, 908 00:46:46,840 --> 00:46:49,960 Speaker 3: has been through immigration. If you do not believe me, 909 00:46:50,239 --> 00:46:52,759 Speaker 3: please like go fact check that all day long. I 910 00:46:52,800 --> 00:46:54,960 Speaker 3: promise you what I just said is a true statement. 911 00:46:55,840 --> 00:47:00,160 Speaker 3: America can not grow without many, many, many men, many 912 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:01,600 Speaker 3: people coming here. 913 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:05,400 Speaker 1: Since the First World War, like that has been like 914 00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:09,440 Speaker 1: this is one hundred year of data. 915 00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:13,879 Speaker 3: Yes, we have built our economy around consumption. We don't 916 00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:19,080 Speaker 3: make anything anymore, so we are consumer based economy. That 917 00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:22,880 Speaker 3: is how we survived. Again, like for anybody that please 918 00:47:23,360 --> 00:47:27,759 Speaker 3: go like go look this. The United States survives off 919 00:47:27,800 --> 00:47:32,480 Speaker 3: of consumption. We have allowed countries from all over the 920 00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:34,400 Speaker 3: rest of the world to go make all the stuff 921 00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:34,960 Speaker 3: that we're buying. 922 00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:37,120 Speaker 4: That is how we survive. 923 00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:40,880 Speaker 3: The only way for an economy that is built on 924 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:44,720 Speaker 3: consumption to survive is to consume further. 925 00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:49,600 Speaker 1: So we made a consorted effort, which I was gonna 926 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:52,160 Speaker 1: do at one point, like a history thing. Whereas like 927 00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:56,239 Speaker 1: we made a decision to say, we're gonna stop doing manufacturing. 928 00:47:56,360 --> 00:47:58,680 Speaker 1: We're going to get into businesses, and we wanted we're 929 00:47:58,680 --> 00:48:02,800 Speaker 1: going to teach our children how to invest, how to consume, 930 00:48:03,360 --> 00:48:04,760 Speaker 1: and how to run the business. 931 00:48:04,800 --> 00:48:07,240 Speaker 2: Not how to make the product, but the run the business. 932 00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:09,719 Speaker 1: We decided that, like we said, that's what we're gonna do, 933 00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:10,480 Speaker 1: and here we. 934 00:48:10,440 --> 00:48:14,160 Speaker 3: Are and now, and please do not allow anyone to 935 00:48:14,239 --> 00:48:16,520 Speaker 3: trick you into believing that we are going to be 936 00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:19,799 Speaker 3: able to reverse that that effort back. And like like 937 00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:22,160 Speaker 3: when you Republicans like, well, we're gonna go build jobs 938 00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:23,960 Speaker 3: and where are they at? 939 00:48:24,120 --> 00:48:26,759 Speaker 2: But like what you're giving them the AI number one 940 00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:27,560 Speaker 2: but number. 941 00:48:27,320 --> 00:48:30,719 Speaker 3: Two, Yeah, but they're not industry is not coming back 942 00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:34,080 Speaker 3: to the We're not even skilled enough anymore as a 943 00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:37,440 Speaker 3: country to even do the jobs that we that we 944 00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:39,760 Speaker 3: we we have allowed to go every elsewhere. 945 00:48:40,400 --> 00:48:43,720 Speaker 2: We even got that. We don't even have the paved 946 00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:44,600 Speaker 2: highway for it. 947 00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:48,000 Speaker 1: Like did people talking about building a building a factory. 948 00:48:48,040 --> 00:48:52,320 Speaker 2: I'm like, the street pavement can't handle it. You had 949 00:48:52,440 --> 00:48:54,279 Speaker 2: tanks in DC. 950 00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:56,680 Speaker 1: For your little parade that cracked because the streets can't 951 00:48:56,680 --> 00:48:57,040 Speaker 1: handle it. 952 00:48:57,120 --> 00:48:57,480 Speaker 3: What is we? 953 00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:01,439 Speaker 4: What are we talking about? Guys? Like again, I think 954 00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:01,920 Speaker 4: a lot. 955 00:49:01,719 --> 00:49:06,239 Speaker 3: Of times in in uh, in circles that are that 956 00:49:06,280 --> 00:49:08,839 Speaker 3: are focused on on progress, right, we talk a lot 957 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:11,640 Speaker 3: about a lot from the heart, right as we should, 958 00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:14,440 Speaker 3: like we care about this stuff and it comes from 959 00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:14,839 Speaker 3: our heart. 960 00:49:15,239 --> 00:49:15,560 Speaker 2: Yes. 961 00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:19,480 Speaker 3: We too often, though, do not step back and be like, hey, look, okay, 962 00:49:20,400 --> 00:49:24,600 Speaker 3: even if say you disagree with all that, Yeah, the 963 00:49:24,680 --> 00:49:27,360 Speaker 3: math doesn't support this this position, right. 964 00:49:27,239 --> 00:49:29,240 Speaker 2: Like yeah, you've got to love you about the brand. 965 00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:30,480 Speaker 4: Yeah, No, you. 966 00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:33,200 Speaker 3: Don't have to think this is not about us, Like, yeah, 967 00:49:34,040 --> 00:49:35,440 Speaker 3: you don't have to believe. 968 00:49:35,120 --> 00:49:37,160 Speaker 4: That we all need to be together. 969 00:49:38,800 --> 00:49:40,920 Speaker 3: What you need to believe in understand though, is that 970 00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:45,600 Speaker 3: if I go black folks, if black folks stop. 971 00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:49,200 Speaker 4: Spending, it would crush the economy. 972 00:49:49,440 --> 00:49:49,680 Speaker 2: Done. 973 00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:54,799 Speaker 3: Yeah, And that same statement applies to most of everybody else, right, 974 00:49:54,920 --> 00:49:57,839 Speaker 3: So I'm just like, I don't I don't get why 975 00:49:57,920 --> 00:50:02,560 Speaker 3: we were we don't check that power. Again, this is 976 00:50:02,560 --> 00:50:06,239 Speaker 3: an economy built off the consumption. If you stop consuming, 977 00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:10,560 Speaker 3: it's not it's not hard math, right like bars, if 978 00:50:10,600 --> 00:50:14,920 Speaker 3: you stop consuming that the fastest way to get any 979 00:50:14,920 --> 00:50:18,200 Speaker 3: attention in America is just spending. 980 00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:22,600 Speaker 4: You don't you don't even have to fully stop if 981 00:50:22,600 --> 00:50:26,600 Speaker 4: there's a small pullback in spending, if you just yeah, 982 00:50:26,640 --> 00:50:31,280 Speaker 4: if you go from ten to five, people were like whoa, hey, hey. 983 00:50:31,640 --> 00:50:33,279 Speaker 2: Now hey talk to what's going on? 984 00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:34,120 Speaker 4: What's going on? 985 00:50:35,440 --> 00:50:37,400 Speaker 3: And we're sitting here like, oh, you know, what are 986 00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:42,239 Speaker 3: we what are we going to to do? I'm not 987 00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:44,920 Speaker 3: confused about it at all. I Mean it's just like 988 00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:51,120 Speaker 3: we we have to to do some politics, yep. And 989 00:50:51,719 --> 00:50:53,120 Speaker 3: there's even a whole thing in that. I mean, like 990 00:50:53,160 --> 00:50:55,480 Speaker 3: our whole order operations and politics is upside down. We 991 00:50:55,480 --> 00:50:57,920 Speaker 3: go to politicians will be like, what are you doing? 992 00:50:59,120 --> 00:51:00,919 Speaker 3: That's not how other can you of these play this game? 993 00:51:01,440 --> 00:51:04,200 Speaker 3: They donate to these campaigns and they say this is 994 00:51:04,239 --> 00:51:04,839 Speaker 3: what you're going. 995 00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:06,200 Speaker 2: To go do thisess what you're gonna do for me? 996 00:51:06,360 --> 00:51:06,600 Speaker 4: Yep? 997 00:51:07,320 --> 00:51:09,719 Speaker 3: Like and then they bring them back into the room 998 00:51:09,760 --> 00:51:12,600 Speaker 3: and are like, hey, did you do that thing that. 999 00:51:12,840 --> 00:51:15,680 Speaker 2: I ain't do the thing I asked you to do? Yep, 1000 00:51:16,719 --> 00:51:17,960 Speaker 2: you gotta go, all right. 1001 00:51:17,960 --> 00:51:22,319 Speaker 3: We gave him an opportunity, yeah, Bill, Bill, Yeah, get 1002 00:51:22,400 --> 00:51:24,680 Speaker 3: him out of here, Like we sent you up there 1003 00:51:24,719 --> 00:51:27,400 Speaker 3: with very specific instructions. You didn't do those things. 1004 00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:28,800 Speaker 4: Again. 1005 00:51:28,920 --> 00:51:30,359 Speaker 3: A lot of times we get caught on the other 1006 00:51:30,360 --> 00:51:32,840 Speaker 3: side of this and are like, well, I want to 1007 00:51:32,920 --> 00:51:38,080 Speaker 3: know what you're gonna already lost, Hey, homie, yeah, we're 1008 00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:42,480 Speaker 3: already Like politicians, politicians don't like old people. Dog politicians 1009 00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:45,960 Speaker 3: like old people because they vote. Yes, that's it. It's not, 1010 00:51:46,520 --> 00:51:49,759 Speaker 3: it's not they don't have some some extra affinity to 1011 00:51:49,920 --> 00:51:51,799 Speaker 3: old folk. I'm just I'll give that example as just 1012 00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:54,719 Speaker 3: as any. There's a number of them. But like politicians 1013 00:51:54,800 --> 00:51:57,360 Speaker 3: like old folks because old folks vote, because they post vote. 1014 00:51:57,920 --> 00:52:01,680 Speaker 3: It's it's it's it's resources, it's that's where. And if 1015 00:52:01,719 --> 00:52:04,879 Speaker 3: you don't vote and you don't participate, no, I ain't 1016 00:52:04,880 --> 00:52:05,800 Speaker 3: got to talk to you. 1017 00:52:06,360 --> 00:52:09,560 Speaker 1: Like you said, like you don't sign my check, you 1018 00:52:09,560 --> 00:52:10,720 Speaker 1: don't marinate my chicken. 1019 00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:12,560 Speaker 2: No, I don't need to worry about what you're thinking 1020 00:52:12,600 --> 00:52:15,640 Speaker 2: at all. Ryan. I want to thank you. We we're 1021 00:52:15,680 --> 00:52:17,440 Speaker 2: at an hour, bro, like I feel like I've been 1022 00:52:17,480 --> 00:52:19,560 Speaker 2: talking forever with you, homeboy. 1023 00:52:20,600 --> 00:52:25,040 Speaker 1: Please if you can just give me give me the websites, 1024 00:52:25,239 --> 00:52:26,759 Speaker 1: like how can they tap in with you? I can 1025 00:52:26,800 --> 00:52:30,760 Speaker 1: follow the movement, join you know, the gathering group. Please 1026 00:52:30,840 --> 00:52:32,840 Speaker 1: drop it in right now and then I'm gonna let 1027 00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:33,080 Speaker 1: you go. 1028 00:52:34,320 --> 00:52:39,560 Speaker 3: Easy to find on on all platforms, Gathering Spot dot club. 1029 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:42,759 Speaker 3: We're on every social media platform. I'm at Spot on 1030 00:52:42,840 --> 00:52:46,480 Speaker 3: our w and please like, like, yes, join the club, 1031 00:52:47,560 --> 00:52:50,120 Speaker 3: but engage with us if you need space, if you. 1032 00:52:50,080 --> 00:52:53,360 Speaker 4: Need a place to be able to do some work. 1033 00:52:53,719 --> 00:52:58,520 Speaker 3: Right, the place was built legitimately, like like, I'm so 1034 00:52:58,600 --> 00:53:00,719 Speaker 3: glad I have these emails from back today, but the 1035 00:53:00,719 --> 00:53:05,200 Speaker 3: place was built exactly for that purpose, right, So look 1036 00:53:05,239 --> 00:53:08,799 Speaker 3: at us as a community asset and and. 1037 00:53:08,800 --> 00:53:11,080 Speaker 4: Please don't don't be a stranger man. 1038 00:53:11,680 --> 00:53:27,080 Speaker 2: Thank you, bro. All right, y'all heard it? All right? 1039 00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:29,680 Speaker 1: Now, don't you hit stop on this pod. You better 1040 00:53:29,719 --> 00:53:31,799 Speaker 1: listen to these credits. I need you to finish this 1041 00:53:31,920 --> 00:53:35,719 Speaker 1: thing so I can get the download numbers. Okay, so 1042 00:53:35,960 --> 00:53:39,960 Speaker 1: don't stop it yet, but listen. This was recorded in 1043 00:53:40,600 --> 00:53:44,480 Speaker 1: East Lost Boyle Heights by your Boy propaganda, tap in 1044 00:53:44,520 --> 00:53:47,200 Speaker 1: with me at prop hip hop dot com. If you're 1045 00:53:47,239 --> 00:53:50,560 Speaker 1: in the Coldbrew coffee we got Terraform Coldbrew. You can 1046 00:53:50,600 --> 00:53:54,200 Speaker 1: go there dot com and use promo code hood get 1047 00:53:54,200 --> 00:53:58,240 Speaker 1: twenty percent off get yourself some coffee. This was mixed, edited, 1048 00:53:58,360 --> 00:54:02,120 Speaker 1: and mastered by your boy Matt Awsowski Killing the Beat Softly. 1049 00:54:02,200 --> 00:54:05,800 Speaker 1: Check out his website Mattowsowski dot com. I'm a spelling 1050 00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:09,799 Speaker 1: for you because I know M A T T O 1051 00:54:10,280 --> 00:54:15,920 Speaker 1: S O W s ki dot com Matdowsowski dot com. 1052 00:54:16,080 --> 00:54:17,799 Speaker 1: He got more music and stuff like that on there, 1053 00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:21,360 Speaker 1: so gonna check out. The heat Politics is a member 1054 00:54:21,400 --> 00:54:25,799 Speaker 1: of cool Zone Media, Executive produced by Sophie Lichterman, part 1055 00:54:25,840 --> 00:54:30,400 Speaker 1: of the iHeartMedia podcast network. Your theme music and scoring 1056 00:54:30,520 --> 00:54:33,359 Speaker 1: is also by the one and nobly Matt Awsowski. Still 1057 00:54:33,440 --> 00:54:36,919 Speaker 1: killing the beat softly, So listen, don't let nobody lie 1058 00:54:36,960 --> 00:54:39,920 Speaker 1: to you. If you understand urban living, you understand politics. 1059 00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:42,759 Speaker 1: These people is not smarter than you. We'll see y'all 1060 00:54:42,800 --> 00:54:57,400 Speaker 1: next week.