WEBVTT - Civic Cipher 121821 Finding the Humor in the Black Experience (Part A) 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.200 Welcome to another episode of Civic Cipher. I'm your host, 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:03.920 Rams's job. 0:00:03.920 --> 0:00:07.360 I go by the name q Ward. Rams just called 0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:09.520 me to and my mom, so I'm just kind of 0:00:09.560 --> 0:00:10.239 stuck with it. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:15.640 Yes, indeed, and we are back up in you one 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:17.520 more game. A great show lined up for you today, 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:20.119 so be sure to stick around. We are going to 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.520 hopefully have a little fun this show. I wanted it 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:27.440 to kind of settle, but there was a stand up 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:31.960 comedian who had a special come to Netflix, and he 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:36.120 brought up some really interesting points, some themes that we 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:38.720 talk about here on the show, but to have someone 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:42.960 else say them it was just kind of like reassuring 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.639 to know that these things are being talked about outside of, 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:50.240 you know, more serious platforms. And then also for folks 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:51.640 who may have seen it, or even may not have 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.680 seen it, it gives us an opportunity to just, you know, 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:58.320 give you some perspective into what life might be like 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:03.160 for your brother's and sisters of African descent. In addition 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:06.480 to that, we are also going to be talking about 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:14.440 Kim Potter and the trial that she's dealing with right now. 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:18.319 She is the officer that you know, we talked about 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:21.440 on the show before she was trying to apprehend the 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:26.000 suspect to his fleeing, and she says that she meant 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:30.400 to grab her taser and instead grabbed her gun and 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.679 into the young man's life. And so now her trial 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.200 is underway, and I have some thoughts on that that 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:41.360 a lot of people might not like, but you know, 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:44.040 we do have to talk about these things and hopefully 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:46.120 we're going to get through them, and of course a 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:48.080 lot of other things to stick around for as well. 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:52.760 So yeah, so just stay tuned. A lot coming your way. 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:57.080 But first we're going to talk about this Michael Chay. 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:00.520 So first off, have you seen at uh. 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:03.160 Oh wait. First off, we're. 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:05.560 Gonna do Abny Excellence. I'm getting ahead of myself here, 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:09.000 so got excited. Yeah, man, so Ebny Excellence. I do 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:13.639 want to shout out Meghan the Stallion because she graduated 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:18.640 from college this week and she used the hashtag Meghan 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:23.040 the Graduate. You know something funny, that's dope. Megan the 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:25.440 Graduate is dope. Yeah, but I don't know why she 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:29.280 doesn't call herself Megan the Mayor because Megan the Stallions 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:31.840 are male horses and mayors are women horses. 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:34.160 But you know, that's beyond what we're talking about here. 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.280 All that from us, and by us, I mean men 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:38.959 like men refer to women. 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:41.640 As a stallion. Okay, that's fair, that is true. 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:44.680 But anyway, Yeah, she graduated, She walked across the stage. 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:46.480 I got a chance to see the video, loved it. 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.920 And she graduated from Texas Southern University or Bachelor of 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:56.440 Sciences Health in Health Administration. And she told People magazine 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:58.240 last year that she wanted to complete her degree in 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:00.480 part to honor the memory of her late mother, who 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.120 died in twenty nineteen. She also discussed her goal of 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.680 becoming a hospital administrator, So shout out to her for that. 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:11.920 This also allowed me to bring up another point, and 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:15.799 this is another part of ebony excellence, and that's that 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:19.880 among African Americans, between two thousand and nine and twenty ten, 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:23.560 statistics show that black women accounted for sixty eight percent 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:26.920 of associates degrees, sixty six percent of bachelor's degrees, and 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:29.760 seventy one percent of master's degrees, sixty five percent of 0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:34.200 doctorate degrees awarded to black students. So women are doing 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:37.240 Black women are doing a lot better than black men. 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:41.360 And then the other part of this is that by 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:44.160 both race and gender. The study also shows that black 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:46.840 women are enrolled in college at a higher percentage rate 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:49.400 than any other group, including white women, Asian women, and 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:52.080 white men. So shout out to MEGANE. Stallion, but also 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:56.720 shout out to black women for really, you know, making 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:59.160 their education a priority. Can't make this up, man, This 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:00.640 is an also thing to see. 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:03.800 So black women leading the world and everything positive. 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.360 It seems he's that's what we need. We need more 0:04:06.360 --> 0:04:06.560 of that. 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:12.040 So oh yeah, and real quick, I do want to 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:15.360 let you know I was using Huffington Post and Essence 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:19.640 Magazine to source that material there, all right, So now, 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:22.440 Michael ch Shame the Devil. 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.320 Have you seen this at all? Q? I have. 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:29.719 I've seen it twice. A bit more subdued than his 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:34.400 last special, but I think it's because he was tackling 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:40.960 some even more serious topics. His last special, Black Lives Matter, 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:41.520 had just. 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:43.640 Lit fire. 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:48.400 And I remember watching that special because he said, and 0:04:48.680 --> 0:04:53.800 just you know, it's controversial for black lives to matter? 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:54.560 Isn't that crazy? 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:57.240 And he just kept saying it over and over again 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:00.359 because it should have as ridiculous as you may have 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:02.080 thought it was for him, to say it over and 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.240 over again. It should have been ridiculous for it the 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:05.960 need to be said in the first place. 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:10.960 I remember him saying, He's like, really semantics, and it 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:15.080 just shows just how juvenile that whole response, that all 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.240 lives matter response is to that. But you know, as 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:26.080 it turns out, like Dave Chappelle, this guy is willing 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:29.479 to go in that direction, and you know, handle that 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:29.960 dead on. 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:30.640 Now. 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:34.000 I don't want to tell his jokes, you know, for 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:36.080 those who haven't seen it, I really want you to 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:38.720 go and watch it, and if you haven't seen it. 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.599 Watch Both Specialist if you have time, sure, sure, But if. 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:45.200 You haven't seen it, I can't promise. I will just 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:47.040 say spoiler alert. You know, I'm going to try not 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:49.200 to tell the jokes, but I do want to kind 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:51.839 of make the points. You know, this is, you know, 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:56.040 a national, global platform, you know, and again with him 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:58.480 bringing up some points that we talk about on the show, 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:01.279 it just is meaningful for us to revisit them. So 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:05.400 one of the things that he said, he says, I 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:17.160 feel American until I'm around something very American, and I 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:21.200 know that you know what that means, but you may 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:23.680 not know how that feels right. 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:26.160 So it's interesting. 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:30.919 You know, there's something that I say all the time 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:34.800 because you know, people approach me and a lot of 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:39.960 you know, we're critical of a lot of institutions in 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:42.240 this country, especially on the show. We're very critical of 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:46.000 the way policing is done, the way voting is handled, 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:49.040 especially in poor communities, black and brown communities, et cetera. 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:56.520 And a lot of folks a convenient way of inconvenient 0:06:56.520 --> 0:07:00.440 for us, but a convenient way for them to attack 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:06.120 our various positions is to call us anti American, like 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:08.159 we don't love this country. If we don't love this country, 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:10.320 we can just leave or something like that. It's it's 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:17.040 very dismissive and it doesn't really engage, right, And you know, 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:19.920 I always thought that that was a flaw. That's flawed logic. 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.520 It's a flawed argument, and it never holds up when 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:27.280 it's direct, like directly in my face. You know, on 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:29.400 social media or whatever. Of course, people can get off 0:07:29.440 --> 0:07:31.880 whatever they want and you really have to rope someone 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:35.640 into it, into a conversation that they're never prepared to have. 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:39.760 I promise you that not with me at least. But 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:43.120 you know, we do love this country. You know, I 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:45.920 think I'll speak for most of us when I say that. 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:48.360 You know, I'd probably even venture to say I speak 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:52.000 for the vast majority. You know, I can't say all 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:55.640 of anyone, you know, but you know, the country itself 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:58.800 is not bad, you know, the country. 0:07:58.800 --> 0:07:59.720 This is a rich country. 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:04.120 This is a country that has made some notable progress 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:06.000 in a lot of areas. And of course, you know 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:08.760 there's a lot long way to go. But for everyone 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.360 to just be comfortable, Oh, we elected a black president, 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:15.920 you know, that isn't the finish line. You know, there's 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:23.120 some really measurable, tangible, statistical things that we are really 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:27.240 trying to accomplish, you know, Barack Obama, we love that, 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:29.240 But that was almost symbolic in. 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:35.600 Nature, right, and it's still the exception to exactly the rule, exactly. 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:39.400 Look at every other president in our history before and 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:42.160 since more of the same. 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:53.040 Absolutely. So I equate this to my child and my children. 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:59.520 You know, we'll pick one. I have two boys, either 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:04.160 one of them my child, right. I love my child, 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:08.680 I love this country. I want my child to be better, 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:11.400 no matter what he's doing, no matter how good you 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.440 think my child is, I want my child to be 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:17.120 better I want my child to always strive to be better, 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:19.240 and even if he's the best that he can be, 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.720 to still push himself to be even better than that. Right, 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:27.360 I think that's something that can coexist with love. 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:28.000 Right. 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:32.000 And granted I would not criticize my child because my 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.880 child is not an adult. But when I think of 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:38.120 the United States of America, I think of it as 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:43.840 a mature enough country to withstand some criticism. Right, doesn't 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:48.600 mean I don't love the country. So you know, when 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:51.800 Michael Cha says this, I feel American until I'm around 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:57.480 something very American. What he's talking about is, how about 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:01.960 the flag? Right on holiday? When we see that flag, 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:05.280 it matters, you know what I mean, Like especially like 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:07.640 you know, uh national holidays, when we go to the 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:08.280 post office, you. 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:08.920 See the flag. 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:12.120 You know, maybe a fire department or you know a school. 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:14.360 You know, you see that flag waving. I pledge allegiance 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:15.720 to the like this is a part of all of it. 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.800 We all grew up here, right, we see these war movies. 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:22.400 We want the USA to win still, the good guys 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:24.640 and always will be. This is our country. We were 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:25.720 born here, We'll die here. 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:26.000 Right. 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:35.120 It's not until you find that almost seemingly out of 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:39.199 place flag where it starts to feel like, uh, oh, 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:43.880 I'm around something very American. I'll give you an example. 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:48.720 If I'm driving down the road and I see a truck, 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:52.680 it's a truck. It belongs on the road with me. 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:56.120 If I'm driving down the road and I see a 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:58.920 truck with a flag hanging out of the back of it, 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:04.319 I feel like this person is racist. That might sound 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.640 like an insane leap, you know. I know that if 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.480 you're listening to my voice, you might feel like, oh, 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:13.160 this is just somebody who's super patriotic, or obviously this 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:14.600 is a Republican person. 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:16.040 That's that's their deal or whatever. 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:19.320 But for me, it's almost like my mind goes to 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:22.200 the worst possible place, like this person would rather me 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:28.160 not live here, because if I wave the flag, I 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:32.280 know that I'm being patriotic. This is my country. This 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:34.720 is our country. We love it, we celebrate. 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:36.360 It's you know, I think it's semantic that you just 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:38.920 I'm gonna get to it. I didn't even do on purpose. 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:41.920 This is our country. It's different than this. 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:44.920 This is my country right and over there it's only 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:49.240 this is my country, right or when they say this 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:55.320 is our country. It's they're our exclusive anyone else not right, 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:58.800 It's not we, it's we. Yeah, yeah, I can't see me. 0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:02.600 But there was a difference in those weeks. In those weeks, yes, indeed, 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:09.960 so an interesting way of saying that I feel American 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:12.439 until I'm around something very American. But I think it's 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:20.440 very true. It it just feels different. And I do 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:24.439 want to share this. Dr Westernberg, who's a sometimes contributor 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.480 to the show. Here, uh, doctor Camilla Westernburg, who works 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:31.760 with the NAACP, comes up all the time. She took 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:35.560 me to meet Jesse Jackson a few months ago. And 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:42.000 you know, this was a very democratic, very blue organization 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.560 putting on this event, and you know all the people 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:52.240 that obviously subscribed to similar political ideologies and beliefs. But 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:55.880 they were passing out flags and I'm wondering, like, why 0:12:55.960 --> 0:12:59.520 is everyone passing out these flags? And then doctor Westernburg 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:02.160 told me some Then she said, this is our country too, 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:07.240 and we cannot let them take the flag. We cannot 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.360 let them give the flag a different meaning from what 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:13.640 it actually means. This flag represents us too. And so 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:16.520 ever since then, the same flag she gave me, it 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:20.079 hangs out in front of my house along with everyone 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:22.520 is welcome no matter what language you speak. Sign I 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:24.160 have like a yard sign that says that, and then 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.960 I have a huge Black Lives banner Black Lives Matter 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:30.800 banner in my garage. So all those things can coexist. 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:34.680 But I just to his point, I feel American until 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:36.800 I'm around something very American. I thought that was such 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:41.000 a potent bar that I wanted to address that. So 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.520 moving on, there's something else he says, you know, in 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:48.360 this special he asks, you know, the way it comes 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:54.280 up is like when you're talking to a non black person, 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.400 perhaps most notably a white person, and you say to them, 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:01.560 do you love America? Very easily they can say yes, 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:07.400 I love America, right, But you know, and the joke was, 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:09.560 when you ask the same question to a black person, 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.880 do you love America? The black person's response will be like, well, 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:14.200 I love Brooklyn. 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:18.240 You know, yeah, like Carlem is dope. 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:23.040 So that's another thing that's very telling. Right. 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:27.400 So Q and I have been very fortunate. We've traveled 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.440 to all the states. In fact, my fiftieth state, I'm 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:34.840 going to Alaska in January, so I'll knock them all out. 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.920 But there's no one who's been to more states than me, 0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:41.120 because I've been to all of them, and I know 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:46.280 that feeling because I've driven through Bucks, North Tennessee. You know, 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.120 I had to stop at the waffle house. I've shared 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.560 the story. You know, we've been pulled over in Mississippi. 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:52.760 That's a story we've shared many times. 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:55.200 Yes, And. 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:00.240 If you look back on it, the craziest thing is, 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:02.600 I mean we both know this. We drove through Alabama, 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:08.720 we drove through Mississippi. There's no way to see all 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:10.960 of them, all of them, but those two in particular. 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:13.120 You know this because we talked about it. 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:17.680 There's no way to say that those places weren't absolutely gorgeous, 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:21.960 Oh my god, just the majesty of the lay of 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:22.480 the land. 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.200 Just a beautiful place. But if you were to ask 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.240 do I like them Alabama? Are you? You know what 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:28.600 I mean? 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:33.080 And it's because you know, I think, to Michael Chase point, 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:34.880 certain parts of this country. 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:38.120 Don't feel very welcoming. 0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:42.400 It feels like you're going to have a tougher time, 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:45.680 you know, like those sundown towns. You know that's still 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:47.760 a real thing, you know, in a lot of places, 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:52.040 and if you don't know where to go. It's just 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:54.400 like any any place for folks who do do any traveling. 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:57.480 If you don't know where to go, or or that 0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:01.080 more specifically, where not to go, things can be very scary. Well, 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:05.280 it's not just a someone might rob me if you're 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:07.200 black and in the wrong part of town. You know, 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:09.880 it's more like the good old boys might pull up 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:13.560 in their trucks and lynch me and everyone will have 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:15.600 a good laugh about it. And then that that fear 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:18.200 is very real. So when he says, well, I like Brooklyn, 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:22.640 you know, I think he's pointing out that very thing. 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:27.280 And for those that maybe that joke didn't really land, 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:32.440 maybe that gives a bit more context. Now to add 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:33.840 to that, I thought this is funny. He said, if 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:36.520 there was a black American flag, there'd be like eleven stars, 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:37.440 and they'd be. 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:39.760 For certain cities. They wouldn't even be for states. I 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:40.720 thought that was so cool. 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:47.320 But the uh, you know, back to this flag thing, 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:49.200 there was a bar that he that he dropped in 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:51.560 this in this stand up special, he says that you know, 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:56.600 you you might find more Puerto Rican flags in a 0:16:56.640 --> 0:17:03.480 black neighborhood than American flags, and the like, I know, 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:05.399 Puerto Ricans shout out at the ogo. 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:06.200 You know what I mean. 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:10.440 I was raised by Puerto Ricans, and I'm part of 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:13.479 my ancestry is Cuba. My grandmother's from the island of Cuba. 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:19.919 So that pride is a very different type of pride 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:23.720 than what we now know to be that American pride. 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:25.800 Like I grew up with that flag, never had any 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:28.000 part of my life did that flag intimidate me until 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:31.440 about maybe we'll call it twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen. Then 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:34.680 it started to mean something a little different, right, No, 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:41.360 twenty sixteen, right and there where it started to take 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:43.919 on a whole new meeting where it didn't represent me 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:46.639 or US, or it didn't feel like a happy symbol 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.320 or something that everyone could be on board with. It 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:53.359 felt like it was being co opted away from the 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:59.760 US that lives here. To them, that really feels like 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.560 they have claim to the actual land and no one 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:07.440 else does. And so to his point that there's more 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:10.639 Puerto Rican flags in a black neighborhood than American flags, 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:14.360 I don't think that that really is indicative of anti 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:21.119 American sentiment as much as it is indicative of you know, 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:23.840 that flag with its history and the current way it's 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:27.919 being deployed almost in an it almost feels like an attack, 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:32.080 you know, on anyone whose skin is not you know, 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.960 anyone who doesn't trace their ancestry through the Caucasus Mountain range, 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:42.760 i e. Caucasian folks. It feels like there's perhaps a 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:45.840 bit of a disconnect there, and not because we want that, 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:48.480 but because that has been what has been imposed. 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:50.440 There's the Puerto Rican flag. It's all love. 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:55.200 The context is far more intimidating now, and that's intentional, right, 0:18:55.880 --> 0:19:00.800 and that inclusive verse exclusive. It's very pronoun you know 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:02.640 what I mean, Like it's meant to feel that way, 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:05.800 and we and it. They get their point across exactly 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:07.960 very well without even having to say anything. It makes 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:10.399 it strange. Like you said, a pickup truck with a 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:14.639 massive American flag flying from it says something to us 0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:16.280 loud and clear. 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:17.119 That's very different. 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:21.359 Yeah, So you know, to his point, he says that, 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:27.119 you know, the flag reminds white folks of American history, 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:29.840 you know what I mean, and it should, but the 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:33.199 same flag also reminds black folks of American history. And 0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:35.640 the way he says it was like, oh, you got it. 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:40.840 You know, so another point he makes, uh, just kind 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:45.560 of connected. But he says that, you know, listening to 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:48.159 the National Anthem feels kind of like listening to R. 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:48.560 Kelly. 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:51.080 Now forgive me that hilarious. I gotta tell this joke. 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:53.000 He said, it feels like listening to R. 0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:53.439 Kelly. 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:56.320 Now it still feels good. It's just hard to not 0:19:56.400 --> 0:20:00.360 think about that other thing, right, and what bar? 0:20:01.400 --> 0:20:02.480 What a bar? You know. 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:07.360 Obviously, twenty twenty grew a lot of us up, you know, educated, 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:09.520 a lot of us, brought a lot of history out, 0:20:10.080 --> 0:20:12.240 let a lot of us know where we stood, you know. 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:14.959 And we can trace this back to Kaepernick. And even 0:20:15.040 --> 0:20:18.280 the reason that Kaepernick decided to kneel was because there 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:21.240 was a string of police shootings and no accountability. These 0:20:21.280 --> 0:20:24.040 lives are just expendable. And you can trace that trend 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:33.200 back to before Trayvon Martin, because remember Trayvon Martin was 0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:36.639 when people said enough is enough, and that was in 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:40.040 twenty twelve. Yeah, well that's when Black Lives Matter as 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:44.600 a movement began and the hashtag first appeared. So you 0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:49.160 were talking ten years strong since it since it got 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:51.760 to the point where enough was enough and Trayvon Martin 0:20:52.760 --> 0:20:56.320 was murdered in Florida by what's that guy's name? It 0:20:56.320 --> 0:21:01.440 doesn't matter, and so oh yeah, you know, and then 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:04.199 all the context and all the you know, everything that 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:06.600 has come up over over the past decade. You know, 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:09.800 a lot of children have grown up with this as 0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:12.199 the backdrop for their childhood. You know, a lot of 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:14.920 adults now feel like, oh my gosh, this is something 0:21:14.920 --> 0:21:16.200 I really have to deal with, And a lot of 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:18.840 other people are like, hey, man, you know what, I've 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:20.680 ducked it for my whole life. I can duck it 0:21:20.720 --> 0:21:22.879 the rest of my life, you know. But the fact 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:28.000 is is that the national anthem being divisive. 0:21:30.080 --> 0:21:30.840 It's not like. 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:37.760 I don't feel you know, I have conversation black conversations. 0:21:37.800 --> 0:21:39.399 I live a black life, I have a black family, 0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:42.000 you know these sorts of things. I'm definitely plugged into 0:21:42.000 --> 0:21:44.280 the black we'll call it collective consciousness. 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:46.160 I have to be in order to do this show. 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:46.639 We both do. 0:21:48.560 --> 0:21:56.600 There is no strong feeling against the national anthem. The 0:21:57.000 --> 0:22:01.080 strongest feeling has been, hey, look, this is something that occurs, 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:02.840 this is something that is visible. 0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:04.760 If we're going to protest. 0:22:04.600 --> 0:22:06.520 This is something that we can do because this is 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:08.679 our way of charging the country to do better. 0:22:09.119 --> 0:22:14.920 And that was so gracious. Right, there's actual anti US 0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:21.919 lyrics still and we still stand with our hands in 0:22:21.920 --> 0:22:25.320 our hearts, like it's really there's a lot of credit 0:22:25.359 --> 0:22:27.080 that we don't get that we should. 0:22:27.040 --> 0:22:34.160 Sure, sure, absolutely, And this isn't really in the same vein, 0:22:34.200 --> 0:22:37.120 but I thought it was really potent and I did 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:42.040 want to share this as well. There's a bar that 0:22:42.080 --> 0:22:45.240 he gives in this special and he says he's talking 0:22:45.280 --> 0:22:51.400 about depression, and he says that, you know, depression implies 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:55.639 that your life is so good that you shouldn't feel sad, 0:22:55.760 --> 0:22:58.960 Like sadness is not a thing that you should experience, right, 0:22:59.240 --> 0:23:02.320 And he's making it for anybody that battles depression. This 0:23:02.400 --> 0:23:05.840 is this is made in jest, and he's trying to 0:23:05.880 --> 0:23:08.120