WEBVTT - Civic Cipher 122521 What is a Culture Vulture (Part B) 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:05.680 And now go my mic back like that. 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:12.000 Time just strikes from head borders behind him and the 0:00:12.160 --> 0:00:12.960 line side. 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:15.280 In the border. If you just tune in Minnesofic Sacer, 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:16.599 I mean host Ramdas's jock. 0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:21.000 I am your host. Also Rams called me a Q 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:23.680 So that's what I'm gonna go with because I really 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:25.759 really appreciates this. 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.240 Indeed, and a lot more to stick around, so be 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:31.120 sure to do just that. We're going to be discussing 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.280 on what a culture vulture is as well as Santa 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:38.120 Claus for our way Black History fact. But first we 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:40.600 are going to discuss how to become a better ally. 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:46.159 So if you haven't heard the name Ro Roguel, I 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:50.120 believe that's how I pronounce it Aguilera Mideros. He is 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:53.000 the truck driver who was sentenced to one hundred and 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:57.160 ten year present term because his breaks failed. He ended 0:00:57.240 --> 0:00:59.720 up creating an accident that killed I believe it was 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:02.160 for people. I'll just read this. I got this from 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.880 beet dot com. Again. This is a Cuban truck driver. 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.520 But we're standing in solidarity here and give you some 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.120 ways to support him. This twenty six year old truck 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:14.559 driver was found guilty on December sixteenth, of twenty seven 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.319 counts of vehicular manslaughter after the breaks that this truck 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:20.959 failed killed four people in Denver and twenty nineteen. The 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:23.880 sentence has been met with overwhelming disagreement from all sides, 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:27.800 including the victims' families, mostly because it was an accident, 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:31.640 but also it was the maximum penalty he could have received. 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:36.600 A lot of folks pointing out how other people in 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:41.520 that predicament got away with probation or you know, small 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:46.080 jail time, that sort of thing, and he's getting prison 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:51.280 like even bigger than football numbers, prison time like more 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.560 than mass shooters get, you know, And this shows I 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:59.240 think how the sentencing system is so open to interpretation 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:03.880 that at least like this anyway, In addition to the 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:07.880 truckers protesting and standing in solidarity with him, protesting and 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:11.720 boycott in Colorado, you can sign a petition on change 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:15.560 dot org and add your voice to the list of 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:18.920 folks that are trying to get his sentence commuted. So 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:21.760 once again, his name is ro Gale rog E l 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:25.520 Aguilera Mederos and you can check that out on change 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:28.200 dot org. Before we move on, I just want to 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:31.640 read this. He left an emotional address to the judge. 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:34.040 He says, quote, I was working hard for a better 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:37.400 future for my family. Please don't be angry with me 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:41.840 for saying I was not out robbing a bank or store. 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:43.720 I was not out shooting up crowds or a school. 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:45.760 I was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:48.480 I was working and I lost my break. Truck drivers 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:50.840 know this hard moment. When you lose your break, there's 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.919 nothing you can do. I'm begging for forgiveness. I've never 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:57.000 thought about hurting anybody in my entire life. I think 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:58.720 those words are important. So if you want to help 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:02.120 out and become a better ally, you can do that 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:06.040 once again. Change that org Roguel Aguilera Mideros, all right. 0:03:07.120 --> 0:03:10.000 That even the judge in that case thought that that 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:15.040 sentence was irregular and just way too much. 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:18.360 Sure, so hopefully we get that sorted out because that 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:22.880 really does seem harsh for an accident. All right, So 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.040 what is a culture vulture? Well, let's talk about it. 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:31.160 So in researching this, you know, we Q and I 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:33.680 have this idea that we were going to talk about 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.640 a couple of conceptual things before the year was over. 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:39.400 We don't want to just talk about current events we 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:43.680 want to talk about. We want to make bigger splashes 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:46.280 with this program and with this opportunity and with the 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.560 listenership that you are providing us, you know, the listener 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:56.240 and we recognize that being a black show that is 0:03:56.320 --> 0:04:00.560 consumed by mostly non black people, we have an opportunity 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:06.600 to make things, give things a bit more feeling. And so, 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:09.920 in looking and trying to figure out how to define 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.080 culture vulture, what I what I discovered is that that 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:18.719 term exists outside of a black world. Who to thunk? 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:25.680 You know? The Oxford Dictionary has a definition for it, 0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:28.039 and then of course we have our own definition. So 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:31.200 I kind of put this together. So allow me to read. 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:35.280 According to Urban Dictionary, a quote culture culture is someone 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:38.520 who steals traits, language, and or fashion from another ethnic 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:40.960 or social group in order to create their own identity. 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:45.040 And believe me, it goes beyond traits, language, and fashion. 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.080 You know, it goes into speech, It goes into so 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:51.279 many little things that are even hard to kind of pinpoint, 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:54.560 but you know it when you see it. Right. However, 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.240 according to Cambridge Dictionary, it means someone who is very 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:01.520 interested in music, art, theater, and and the like, especially 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:04.279 to an excessive degree. Right, So if you've heard this 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:08.479 term culture culture and never associated it with Black folks 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:15.800 or you know, Native folks especially, or you know Asian people, 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:21.599 you know that sort of thing, then we would like 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:26.080 to reintroduce this term to you with you know, perhaps 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:30.160 a little bit more perspective, a little bit wider view. 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:40.160 So some of the things that I believe are examples 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:49.480 of or born out of society kind of adopting. Adopting 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:52.680 is me putting it generously, but adopting parts of a 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:58.640 culture and normalizing it for the masses. And then you 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:03.920 ultimately end up in individuals having friction in the workplace, 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:06.800 on the street, or whatever as a result of that. 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.160 You know, you might be a culture vulture thinking you 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:13.960 saw Kim Kardashian do something. Because Kim Kardashian is not black, 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:16.039 you didn't think you got it from black people. But 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.120 if you trace it back to where Kim Kardashian got 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:20.120 it from, then you realize that it came from black people. 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:22.360 And so if you encounter a black person when you're 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:26.320 at the mall who accuses you of, you know, doing 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:29.039 these sorts of things, We're going to help make that 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:32.880 connection for you here and right here we have an 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:44.520 example body sculpting. Right, So historically Black women have always 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:52.240 been known to have curvaceous figures, right, just kind of 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:55.120 built differently. That's not to say that we're not human. 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:57.840 You know, there's people from all different types of the 0:06:57.839 --> 0:06:59.840 world that will build differently. There's some groups of folks 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:03.920 really tall. You know, if you go to you know, Samoa, 0:07:04.200 --> 0:07:06.400 you're going to find one type of person. If you 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.400 go to you know, northern Africa, you're going to find 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:12.240 a different type of person. You know, all human, you know, 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:15.680 but different types of people. And so Black women for 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:18.960 the most part, have historically been known to be more curvaceous. 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:25.240 Bring about you know, music videos where that figure is celebrated, 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:28.320 you know, in the in the nineties and the two thousands, 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:31.920 and then you know, society at large kind of adopts 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:36.280 this as kind of an additional beauty standard. You know, 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:38.560 it's it's a valid beauty standard. You know, may not 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:41.360 love the skin, but the you know, the shape that works. Now, 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:45.400 all of a sudden, then you see this boom and 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:48.480 body sculpting. Of course, that coupled with the advancements and 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:53.080 technology and medicine and cosmetic surgeries. This is a possibility. 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:57.360 And so you find people who are not known to 0:07:57.440 --> 0:08:02.880 have a certain type of shape naturally now having this shape, 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:06.680 and then black people in this example looking at those 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:10.360 people and saying, hey, you know, in the past, we 0:08:10.360 --> 0:08:13.120 would get ridiculed for looking like this. We would get 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.480 made fun of, we would be denied opportunities, we would 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:18.520 be told, you know, we look ghetto, We would you 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:21.880 know whatever. But when you do it, you know, all 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:24.200 of a sudden, it's fine. You haven't paid the price 0:08:24.480 --> 0:08:27.680 for this. You haven't felt the pain of what it 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:33.160 feels like to not be a victim of your genetics 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:38.040 in a world that decided that before you were even born, right, 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.320 you were just born. Saw some stuff, saw like okay, 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:43.600 guys like this. Okay, well I don't look like this, 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:45.000 so let me go pay a little bit of money. 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:48.240 Now I look like that. Cool, everything's good, everybody's happy. 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:52.839 And again we're talking about a disconnect here. So body 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:55.520 sculpting is one such thing, but it goes beyond that. 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.319 Hairstyles is a very easy one. Now I want to 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:02.040 talk about this. You I have a lot of hair, 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:03.839 you know, you know it's a radio show. So you 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:06.200 guys can't see me. But you know, Q keeps his 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:08.800 hair a little bit shorter than I do. I have 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:13.160 it reaches for the sky over here. So I'm really 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:18.679 into hairs as a as a statement. I believe that's 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.600 a great way to describe it. You know, I don't 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:22.960 really do anything with my hair has let it do 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:24.560 what it does, but it makes a statement if you 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:30.760 were able to ever see me. I know, same class, 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.320 doctor Westernberg, class that I was in. I know that 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:41.079 in some tribes in Africa, braids were used two identify 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:48.680 different tribes, different statuses in the village, you know, different 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.120 status within your family. You know, the way you would 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:54.160 braid your hair. We're talking about like what would be 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:56.839 considered cornrows. I don't want to call them French braids 0:09:56.880 --> 0:10:00.880 because those braids have been around since there were humans, 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:02.840 long before France existed. 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:11.600 But but yeah, these these sorts of things historically have 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:20.200 been associated with black hair, right afros, you know, short fades. 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:22.040 You know, things like this. You know this is we 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.760 don't have a lot of mainstream hairstyles at the work. 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:28.520 You know, Obama in the White House kind of normalized 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:32.800 you know, an edge up. You know, in mainstream America, 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:35.959 where that wasn't the case before. You know, go back 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:39.200 and look at you know, some other great leaders you 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:41.840 know that come from an earlier time. That wasn't a thing. 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:45.480 You know, there was no edge up because you just 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.160 had to let your natural hairline be. Look at pictures 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:50.360 of MLK, look at pictures of Jesse Jackson, look at 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:52.160 look at all these pictures and no edge ups there. 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:57.280 Obama was the person that did that. So when someone 0:10:57.320 --> 0:10:59.880 else comes along and says, hey, that looks cool. Drake 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:02.439 a heart in his hair, I think I'm going to 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:06.080 do that too, you know, and you know you see 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.320 Drake do it, but you got to recognize that Drake 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:10.760 is black, or even if he's half black, we call 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:16.199 that black. You know that, and and you call that black. 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:18.000 That's where it came from. That one drop rule. If 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:19.679 you don't know what I'm talking about, please google it. 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:21.920 If you have one drop of black blood in your body, 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:23.880 that makes you black. That is a rule imposed on 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:28.160 black people by white people in this country. I didn't 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:32.360 make that up. But Drake was not the first person 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:37.160 to part his heir. That is something that goes all 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:39.360 the way back. You know, we used to partner here 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:41.720 in the eighties. You know, it was a cool look 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:43.320 we had to part and the tail in the back 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:45.079 and all that sort of stuff. I know, you remember that. Q. 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:48.320 Yeah, it goes back before the eighties as well. 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:50.840 There you go. But I mean I was born in 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.960 the eighties, so I can, yeah my timeline. Yeah absolutely. 0:11:57.400 --> 0:11:59.240 But you know it's not just that, you know language, 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:02.640 of course. You know, I was watching a cartoon with 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:08.200 my son and it's called Adventure Time. You know, we're 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:11.200 just hanging out at home. You know, it's holiday time 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:14.640 around these parts, and he's not in school, so we're 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:17.040 just hanging out, father and son watching his cartoons. And 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:21.560 you know, I hear these terms on this cartoon, this 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:24.200 kid show, you know, and it's meant to be funny, 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:26.080 and you know, when it is funny, it's funny. This 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:30.760 is not we're trying to do, is show how a 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:33.960 person could be a culture vulture. It's not saying to 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:36.920 pay homage or recognize that other cultures exist. Those are 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:40.320 two different things, you know. But you know, you see 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:44.920 examples of language that is normal in a house like mine, 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:47.840 it's normal in a house like cues, but it's very 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:52.120 much it stands out in a cartoon. Everyone knows that 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:55.920 that is a hip hop term, that this cartoon character 0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:58.240 is a white kid in a cartoon and a dog 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:01.200 is using He used a couple of them in every 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:04.480 episode because it was funny, right, But you see how 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:10.080 language can make its way into other circles, you know, 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:11.920 and if you take too much of it, then you 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:17.680 start to look like, hey man, do you have are 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:21.440 you like? Did you get this? Honestly, you know, I've 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:23.680 had to have these conversations. One of my best friends, 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:26.520 you know, my best friend ever in the course of 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:29.880 my life, is a white man. Now I've known him 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:34.000 since he was a baby, but he grew up with me. Right, 0:13:34.080 --> 0:13:36.000 I'm four years older than him. He was three. I 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:38.120 was seven when we met. His name is Bootleg keV. 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.000 You know, you're listening to hip hop stations, so you 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:45.880 might know the name. And Bootleg keV is often accused 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:49.120 of being a culture vulture, right, but his big brother 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:52.160 was black listen to Wu Tang and Snoop Dogg and 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:53.679 all that sort of stuff, and so that's what he 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:56.240 grew up with. He also grew up with his dad 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:59.040 and his mom, but he wanted to be like his 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:01.560 big brother and I'm not saying we grew up like 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:03.240 I saw him a couple of Now, we grew up, 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:06.679 grew up together. My mom did not want me around gangs, 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:10.520 and the least gang looking person was this tiny little 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:13.800 white boy four years younger than me. We could play 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:15.920 with toys and play video games, and she knew I 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:19.400 was safe, and his mom knew that. My mom took 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:23.200 me to church, so I was safe. I was older, intelligent, 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:25.040 you know, those sorts of things. So we had each 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:28.840 other growing up. So again, a person that gets it honestly, right, 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:31.360 But I want to go back to the definition here, 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.840 someone who steals traits, language, and fashion from another ethnic 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:41.800 or social group in order to create their own identity. Right. So, 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.440 if your identity revolves around a culture that's not your own, 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:51.320 now you're in the territory of a culture vulture. But 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:56.320 I want to add something here, especially if you make 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:57.120 money from it. 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:03.360 Yeah, bingo is what if it was a graphic on 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:06.240 the screen, right then that would have been it? 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:07.080 Sure? 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:07.760 Sure? 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.960 And even then, you know, because I recognize that, you know, 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:13.800 there's a lot of people who are just fans of 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:15.640 the culture that make money from it. And this you know, 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:19.840 there's white folks that go to you know, Southeast Asia 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:22.240 and you know, deep into China and to bet and 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:25.760 they find, you know, their nirvana and they find you 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:27.080 know what I mean, And then they have to make 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:29.000 a life, so they make beads or they write books 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:31.560 of their travels and you know, whatever it is they do, 0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:34.680 and they make money off of other folks culture effectively. Right, 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:37.000 there's folks that bring that back here and they start 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:39.640 meditation camps and you know, all that sort of stuff, 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:41.640 and they make money off of another culture. Right, I 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:45.280 get that, But a lot of those folks are not 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.960 referred to as culture cultures. Some are, you know, and 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.440 and this is not you know, this is not You 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:56.480 run the risk of getting called that and having people 0:15:57.240 --> 0:15:59.840 take a stand against whatever it is you're doing. Any 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.640 time you do this, people tend to be very protective 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:06.960 of their cultures, their ideas, their ancestors, you know, their 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:10.000 legacy and their posterity. That's just a fact. It's a 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:13.600 fundamental part of who we are. We realize that our 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:16.720 lives are finite, and all we have is what we 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:19.280 were born with, and all we leave behind is, you know, 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:22.120 our stories, and so we like to be the author 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:26.920 of our own stories, right and outside. People who don't 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:35.120 really get it fully and they're not subject to the tomorrows. 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:38.120 They can leave the tomorrows if they so choose. Their 0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:41.720 children don't have to walk this path ours do. Right, 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:45.640 people tend to really think like, hey man, you might 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:48.640 be playing with fire there. But I will say this 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:54.160 for those folks who do borrow quote unquote from other 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:58.560 cultures and make money from them. One thing that you 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:03.720 find with folks who are less often referred to as 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:12.480 culture vultures, is that those people tend to give lots 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:18.760 of credit to the source. They recognize that they are 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:24.120 not the divine, the most connected, the best of you know. 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:28.719 They recognize that I am not that person. I am 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:31.720 a fan of that person. That person's name is blah 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:34.440 blah blah, or you can find that person over here. 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:37.480 I'm doing what I do, and whatever success I have, 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:40.320 it's because I've dedicated my life to it. But I 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:43.000 cannot dedicate my children's lives to it in the way 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:47.080 that this person has to. You know, I recognize that 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:49.679 my past doesn't come from it. I had to find it, 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:53.240 and at best, there is no legacy that I inherited 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:57.280 here at best I had to learn starting at this 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:01.159 point to present day, and that is the sum total 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:04.480 of my connection. And I'm grateful to be able to 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:09.280 live and to participate and to benefit fiscally and fully 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:14.200 dedicate my life to this, you know whatever. But basically 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:18.080 falling on the sword, saying before anyone else can say 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:23.320 it effectively, I am a culture vulture. I mean no offense. 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:28.600 And here's where you find the actual source material. And 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:32.120 the reason I know this is because some years ago 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:36.600 I got really into meditation and living in Arizona. It's 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:39.479 not like there's a lot of Buddhist temples here, you know, 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:41.440 It's just not that kind of a place. I've been 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:45.600 to countries where there are there actually is Buddhism is 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:50.240 practiced widely. Arizona is not such a place. Right, So 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:52.800 when I go into the Buddhist temples, what do I see? 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:57.360 People that live in Arizona Mostly white folks, right, And 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:04.919 it felt very authentic until I heard them address that 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:08.320 elephant in the room. I heard them fall on that sword, 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:12.919 and that made it better. Right, I'm not just this 0:19:12.960 --> 0:19:16.320 way for black people. I'm this way for people, you know, 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:20.399 whoever you are. You know, if I feel like somebody 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:23.840 is doing something offensive to what I would consider my brother, 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:26.680 my Asian brother. I would not allow that. I would 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:28.920 not allow a man to take advantage of a woman. 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:31.120 I would not you know, it's not just a black 0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:34.040 and white world that I live in, right. But I 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:37.560 really appreciated that, and I felt it hard after that 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:41.080 to think of those people as being culture vultures, even 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:43.920 though obviously the donations went to them and sustained their 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:47.480 lifestyle and helped fund their business and their building and 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:50.280 you know, get their books sold and so forth. They 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:54.360 really pointed back to the source material. A couple more 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:59.000 things that I need you to know is that culture 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:04.040 vultures can come from any culture, and they can be 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:06.960 to any culture. Right, So it's not just a black 0:20:07.000 --> 0:20:08.879 and white thing, So you have to be mindful of it. 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:10.280 And I want to read off a couple of these 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:13.680 other things, some of which might resonate with you. So 0:20:13.720 --> 0:20:19.840 it's not just hairstyles, language, it's also dress, music, faith, 0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:24.439 et cetera. Any parts of the culture. You know, it 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:27.040 can be. You know, if you wear your hair and locks, 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:29.640 you might know them as dreadlocks. We don't call them 0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:34.120 that anymore. Or if you have like Chinese symbols tattooed 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:37.199 on your body or tribal symbols tattooed on your body. 0:20:37.560 --> 0:20:39.680 You know, you have to ask yourself the question, what 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:46.000 tribe are you from? Right, It's a fair question, and 0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:48.800 then you start peeling with it. It's not to say don't 0:20:48.880 --> 0:20:50.600 have it. It's not to say don't do it, but 0:20:50.800 --> 0:20:53.560 ask yourself the question because a lot of these things, 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:56.240 these are concepts of we're really talking about intent here. 0:20:57.359 --> 0:21:01.119 You know, I make mistakes. I have made mistakes, and 0:21:01.160 --> 0:21:06.600 all the travels that I've done, I recognize that sometimes 0:21:06.680 --> 0:21:09.199 I overstep. I walk on the carpet with my shoes on. 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:13.520 I should have known better. I'm so sorry. Right, But 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:16.080 there's also again, you know, we're talking about that sense 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:22.600 of entitlement that comes with being American, especially with white Americans. 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:24.040 It's a real thing. 0:21:25.359 --> 0:21:25.560 You know. 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:27.680 You can call it privilege, you can call them entitlement. 0:21:27.720 --> 0:21:30.040 You can call it Karen energy or Kevin energy, or 0:21:30.080 --> 0:21:33.840 whatever the male equivalent is. I don't like using Kevin 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:37.560 as a term because shout out to Bootleg keV. You 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:42.280 know what I mean. But and again, those are conversations 0:21:42.280 --> 0:21:45.600 that he and I have, you know, where he's like, 0:21:45.640 --> 0:21:47.480 hey man, so you know some people are saying this, 0:21:47.560 --> 0:21:49.520 what do I do about it? He comes, he confers, 0:21:49.960 --> 0:21:52.280 and I can't speak for all black people, but I 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:55.040 can let him know what I would do in those circumstances, 0:21:55.040 --> 0:21:56.960 and you know, he takes that advice and he does 0:21:57.000 --> 0:21:59.480 his best, and that's the best anyone can hope for. Now, 0:21:59.520 --> 0:22:01.560 I don't want to talk too much more about this 0:22:01.840 --> 0:22:03.720 because I want to get your reaction and your thoughts 0:22:03.720 --> 0:22:05.720 on the cue. So we got about thirty seconds, but 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:07.800 any thoughts before we move. 0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:15.320 On in thirty seconds, iry, I just say this, there's 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:19.520 a lot of nuance to everything that you've covered, and 0:22:19.600 --> 0:22:22.000 I think the most important things that you pointed out 0:22:22.119 --> 0:22:26.840 is that those who profit from without pointing back to 0:22:27.240 --> 0:22:31.880 or paying homage to, are the ones that typically have 0:22:31.960 --> 0:22:38.200 to wear this label. Yeah, it's not drastically more complicated 0:22:38.240 --> 0:22:40.560 than that those who go out of their way to 0:22:40.720 --> 0:22:46.320 point to where this whatever this is comes from. You know, 0:22:46.480 --> 0:22:49.120 how did I get here? Why do I speak this way? 0:22:49.240 --> 0:22:52.920 Why do I dress this way? What type of influences 0:22:52.920 --> 0:22:55.240 caused this version of me to come to be? Because 0:22:55.280 --> 0:22:57.200 I wasn't born into this. I didn't like you said, 0:22:57.200 --> 0:23:01.359 I didn't get it, honestly, people who do that part 0:23:01.440 --> 0:23:04.639 properly typically avoid that label. 0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:13.760 Well said, well, I appreciate that much insight. And so 0:23:13.800 --> 0:23:17.320 we're not quite done with that just yet. So let's 0:23:17.320 --> 0:23:22.760 get into our way black history fact. So yeah, we're 0:23:22.760 --> 0:23:28.399 talking about Santa Claus this week, and the source for 0:23:30.119 --> 0:23:35.720 today's read comes from Black Enterprise and Wikipedia. Combine these two, 0:23:36.080 --> 0:23:39.800 so I'll just read it. Santa Claus, also known as 0:23:39.840 --> 0:23:44.320 Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Chris Krinkle, or simply 0:23:44.400 --> 0:23:49.600 as Santa, is a legendary character originated in Eastern Christian 0:23:49.720 --> 0:23:52.000 culture who is said to bring children gifts on Christmas 0:23:52.040 --> 0:23:56.000 Eve of toys and candy or coal or nothing, depending 0:23:56.040 --> 0:23:58.800 on whether they are naughty or nice. He said to 0:23:58.800 --> 0:24:01.520