Cleared Hot - Powered By BRCC - Full Auto Friday - Round 37

Episode Date: January 22, 2021

Rapid-fire Q and A from the listeners! I do my best to limit each answer to five minutes and to choose a variety of topics:  1. Former SOF members using their previous careers to "climb the ladder" in their next jobs 2. How do I tell my girlfriend I'm uncomfortable at her parent's house 3. I'm 23 and the love of my life left me, what do I do 4. I have too many hobbies, how do I balance everything 5. My friend has lost his mind in conspiracy theories, what do I do Enjoy

What's going on, everybody? You guys want to do some Q&A? Because I want to do some Friday Q&A. But before that, this episode of Full Auto Friday is brought to you by Christensen Arms. And if you haven't heard of them, well, shame on you. Their claim to fame is that they are the original creators of the carbon fiber rifle barrel. And they are the makers of the lightest and most accurate rifles in the industry. What I recommend you do is check out Christensenarms.com. C-H-R-I-S-T-E-N-S-E-N-E-N-R-E-N-R-E-N-R-E-N-R-E-N-R-E-N-R-E-N-R-E-N-O-M-M-E-N-E-O-M-E-M-E-R-E-E-O-M-E-E-R-E-E-O-E-W-E-E-E-E-W-E-E-E-E-E-E-O-E-E-E-E-O-E-E-E-E-O-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-O-E-E-E-E-L-E-E-L-E-L-E-L-L-L-L-E Maybe you're looking for a rimfire rifle or a bolt action rifle or a modern sporting rifle or maybe a modern precision rifle. Maybe if you're looking for a pistol, I don't know what you're looking for, but what you should do is go check it out. They sent me two of their MPRs. One of them was in NPR, meaning modern precision rifle. One of them was chambered in 308, which I hunted with this year. Another one chambered in 300 Wembeck, also hunted with that.

By far, the lightest rifle that I have ever carried into the field. field, and that is including the suppressor and including the glass that was on each one of those rifles. They have a variety of options. Again, Christensenarms.com. Go to the website, check it out, and if you're interested, well, find a place that sells the rifle that speaks to you. Personally, when I go to their website, there's, I don't know, six or seven that are speaking to me right now. But that's a story for a different day. Let's get into the Q and A for the day. Let us begin. Followed Friday, number 37. To the smoke, I'm looking at danger close now.

Here we are, ladies and gentlemen, we find ourselves again. On a Friday, with a few questions selected, I'm going to do my best to hold myself to my personal rule that nobody else is actually trying to hold me to of five minutes per topic. And I do this because otherwise I would ramble likely incessantly for a very long period of time. And I did my best to choose five different slash dissimilar topics. Without further ado, let us begin. Question number one, what are your thoughts on former special operations folks using their title to help them climb the ladder in whatever business or endeavor they are taking on in the next chapter of their life, especially for the younger guys that maybe didn't spend an entire 20 years at the command,

or did not see combat to the extent of some of their counterparts. Does that make them any less of a Navy SEAL, Marine Raider, Green Beret, Army Ranger, etc? I see a lot of older plank owners, and plank owner for people listening would be like when a new team is created. I was around when SEAL Team 7 was created, although I wasn't there. If you were attached to that command on its inception, you are a plank owner of that command. So back to the question. I see a lot of older plank owners in these communities that are still active, shoot down guys that got out and start a new business with former whatever in their bio. Is it wrong to use your former qualifications and leverage them in the capital market?

My answer broadly, first, before I get specific, would be no. I don't think that there is anything wrong with you using your former job title, which is all that it actually is or was is a job title and your qualifications and experience in your post-military post-service life. I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all. What I would say is there's something wrong, though, to use the words in your question itself. Special operations folks using their title to help them climb the ladder. That I have an issue with. If the person is qualified and they have experience and they're able to do the job that needs to be done, by all means.

do all of those things. But if they only want people to do things for them because of the title of their old job, or they expect special treatment because of fill in the blank, green beret, whatever they feel, they frame it however they feel might get the best reaction or elicit the reaction they want out of other people, then yes, I have an absolute issue with that. It's great that that's what you used to do, but don't think for a second that that is going to carry you for the rest of your life. But the experience, the knowledge, the qualifications, the work ethic, the integrity, the teamwork, the communication, all of those things can drive you forward to places you may not even think is possible. So those are great, relying on your

title, not the best strategy. And my advice to people, and I've said this often, and I hope people hear me, is veterans should not be given special treatment of any kind. It is a unique occupation. It will expose you to experiences that most people don't have. And I say this as a veteran. It doesn't make you special. Again, it might give you a different optic on the world. It might give you a different perspective. But it doesn't make you special. And this ties into the second part of your question with older guys who are perhaps less supportive and enthusiastic. of younger guys. What I will say is some of the biggest haters that I have experienced with my life moving forward from the SEAL teams are from those who are still in the SEAL teams.

And I've had conversations with people who used to be Green Berets or Rangers or Raiders to use the examples that you provided. And almost all of them have said exactly the same thing. Almost the biggest pushback that they have ever experienced actually comes from the cohort of people that they used to serve with. And I don't have a great explanation as to why that is the case. The simplest one would be jealousy. You are out on your own, doing something on your own. and those individuals, the ones who are going to try to hobble you, they don't want to see you succeed. I wish there was a prettier way that I could paint that picture.

But that's the conversations that I have had with my friends across that spectrum of special operations. And they all basically say the same thing. You know, the biggest haters that they have encountered are the ones that they often used to work with. And to answer your question on, does it make somebody or anybody less of a sense? or Raider or Greenbury or Ranger, if they haven't spent 20 years in the military or they didn't see combat to the extent of some of their peers. My answer is absolutely not. If you're using

combat or the amount of time that you spent in the military as your only metric for whether or not you were a good fill in the blank, you're setting yourself up for failure. And the reason for that is combat might be occurring now at a larger scale than it ever has for a sustained period of time in the United States. But before 2001, there was a massive gap, specifically in the SEAL teams, from the late 70s in Vietnam, all the way up until 9-11. How can I say that I am a better seal than the people who put me through training taught me the lessons learned that they had gained throughout a career, having zero combat experience for most of them. Why does it make me a better seal? Because I just happened to serve in a time period where the United States was the recipient

of attack and responded with, you know, the global war on terror. We can have a conversation about the inception of that or whether or not, you know, the aim was correct or the heart of our country was in the right place. That's a conversation for a different day. Specifically what I'm talking about, and I've seen this often, are people ranking themselves against their peers because they've killed X number of people, because they've been on X number of combat objectives. And I don't think it's as important as most people think that it is. The people who put me through training, I still look up to you to this day. And none of them saw combat. Sorry, the world did not allow them the opportunity to do so. I'm not a better seal because I saw combat.

And there's another aspect of this that I will go into as well. And I think I've talked about this before. If combat and time in the military is your only metric for whether or not you were better than your peers, if I give somebody the choice between you can have somebody who is a seal for, say, 15 years. So they didn't make it to 20, which is retirement. That's how long you have to spend in the military before you can retire with your pension. but let's say 15 years, but went to a variety of schools, worked their way through the enlisted leadership structure, starting off at an E1 and climb their way all the way up to E7, E8, or E9, so a senior leader. They went back and they became part of a training cadre or a training cell, and they came back in and they were working on developing tactics, techniques, and procedures and equipment that really leveled the seal community into the future. So you have that one individual. No combat

didn't do 20 years versus an individual that did 25 years, 10 combat deployments, and is a raging, functioning alcoholic, has filed for bankruptcy multiple times, is on their third or fourth marriage, has a distant relationship with their kids, struggles to maintain a relationship with anybody outside of that community, but they're really good on target. Which one of those people is the better seal. My answer would be the former, not the latter. And perhaps people will disagree with me, but to me, the amount of time you spent in the military, the amount of combat that you saw, it's not the metric. You know, the metric at the end of the day is the man who is doing that job. And I know I'm probably not allowed to say the word man, but I'm specifically talking about,

at least in the seal community, although it is open to women to attempt the selection process, currently right now, there are only men serving, which is why I use that term. To me, it's more about the man doing the job as opposed to what that man was able to do. I take the person with no combat experience who could make the SEAL teams, the SEAL community 1% better over the person who is only good on target and is a ticking time bomb. The former is a better seal to me than the latter. Perhaps people will disagree, but that is how I feel about it. And hopefully, I'd help answer your question. The next two questions are slightly relationship-based.

So let's take a moment for a second and discuss how much I am not an expert when it comes to relationships. I was thinking about this question because I knew I was going to sit down and answer it. And the next question, and I want to point out, I will joke. I've done an episode with Mike Glover and I've done one with Brian Bishop. And I'll joke and say, hey, we're going to do a podcast episode. dedicated to relationships. And what I'm doing when I say that is actually kind of mocking myself and making fun of myself because I am so far from being an expert on relationship matters.

I look back on my life. I actually haven't had that many relationships, probably less than half a dozen through the course of my life. I got married early. And for people who listen to the podcast, they are aware that I am working my way through a divorce. So an expert, I am not. Please take what I think and what I say about experts with a grand assault because of those things. To the question, my girlfriend and I have been together for almost three years, living together for two. She's great and her parents are great. The problem I have is she was raised on a small one-lane road in the middle of cornfields and is very in all caps close to her neighbors, and I can't stand them.

To put it plainly, most of them think what happened at the Capitol was a positive thing. Every time we go to visit her family, she insists it will be her family only, but it never fails. One by one, the entire street starts to filter in. To put a cherry on top, I'm black. She's white. And last visit, a few of her neighbors asked if I've seen the movie Get Out. If you haven't seen it, please look it up and you'll get why that's a bit of a red flag for me. So I guess my question is, should I make more of an effort with her neighbors when we visit?

her. Hold on. Should I make more of an effort with her neighbors when we visit? Her and I have talked about this, but her parents have a very open-door policy, so it's hard for her to stop, let alone predict who's coming over and when. If it were up to me, I wouldn't go at all, but I'm not sure how to tell her that. Okay, let's get into this. Again, I'm not an expert. Take it with a grain. is what I would suggest or the way that I see this. If other people and their behavior makes you or anybody else uncomfortable, if it's unacceptable behavior, that is their responsibility for their behavior. If you willingly keep putting yourself into a position where you are exposed to that behavior, that is your responsibility. So there's two branches to this.

You know, most of them think what happened to the Capitol was a positive thing. That's relatively broad. Maybe you mean the people that were there who did not go into the Capitol building. Maybe you only mean the people that went into the Capitol building. What I'll say about that is it just sounds like that you are not aligned with your thinking when it's comes to that topic, right? That's the best assessment that I can make given the fact that it is broad. And that's okay. My thing is you should be able to go and talk to people who have different opinions than you do, emphasis on being talked to be able to have a conversation and maybe end that

conversation in disagreement, but nobody leaves the table pissed off or vindictive or, you know, hopefully feeling like you don't want to engage with those people anymore. But it sounds like you might be getting to that point. So the conversations aren't going very well. And you know that. So again, that's where I'm going to kind of land. If you continuously put yourself back on that situation, I'm going to put that a little bit more on you.

Them acting like what you would consider to be an asshole. I'm going to put that more on them. I would have a very open and honest conversation with your girlfriend. You ended with I'm not sure how to tell her. that you wouldn't go at all if it was up to you. Perhaps in super plain English, sit her down and just say, hey, this is the experience that I'm having when I go to your parents' house. If it was up to me, I wouldn't go. This is why. And I don't feel comfortable putting myself into that situation. Because once you put yourself into that situation, right, you don't really have control

over what happens around you. But you do have control over whether or not you put yourself there. So that's one side of it. I would also, based on you saying that her parents are great and that she has a great relationship with them, I would involve them in the conversation as well. If they're truly great people and you explain to them how the situation is making you feel, what I would do if I looked at this as somebody who were coming to me and saying, hey, I'm dating your daughter. She has the utmost respect for you guys. I have the utmost respect for you guys. You guys are great. But I I need to be honest with you. This is what it's making me feel like when I come over to your house. And you're not saying these things with like a value judgment. You're not saying them in a demeaning manner. It's just an explanation of this situation and how it is making you feel. And I would say, you know, I would like to continue to come over, but I need to set some boundaries so I feel more comfortable. If they're truly great people, what they are going to do is take ownership and control over the environment that is occurring inside of their house.

If they're not aware of it and they don't know that it's going on, it's going to be really hard for them or really, it should be hard for you to expect them to change. If they're made aware of it and they don't want to change that, then perhaps they're not as great as you may think. And again, I'm viewing this from the perception of one of my own kids coming to me and saying, hey dad, like this is what's going on. Your friends here are making this difficult for my significant other. we want to continue to be able to come over here and it's like, okay, I can totally receive that information, think about it for a little bit, digest, and either modify my open door policy a little bit or go have a conversation with the people that are creating the issue. Those are the options that I would give you. But it starts with open and honest communication. Talk with your

girlfriend first. Talk with your girlfriend's parents. And then decide how much you're willing to tolerate. If it's something that you, you know, it's a mild irritation and it's not going to substantially strain your relationship with the parents or with your girlfriend, you know, maybe consider still going. But if it's something that you just don't feel the need to tolerate and you've tried to communicate with these people before and it just the same thing keeps happening, I would draw a boundary in the sand and then stick to that boundary and you'll be a healthier person for it. And the open communication, hopefully it will make your relationship with your significant other

and her parents even better as well. Second question on relationships. I am 23 and recently have had a relationship that felt like it was perfect to fall apart to the point where someone I thought might be with me for the rest of my life is now gone for what seems like will also be for the rest of my life. I'm actively trying to tell myself daily that it was for the better than that this is simply an opportunity to grow into a better person. Yet some days, it feels like I've lost everything that I've ever loved. I've been setting new goals, physically pushing myself harder than ever, trying to focus on how to make my future better, but the pain of losing her seems like something that might never go away. I know you've been navigating your way through a divorce when I think of it from the perspective that I'm young,

didn't have any children with this person, and had a relatively short relationship to compare to a person like yourself and many others that have been through what you're going through. I frankly, feel like a pussy. That being said, the emotional pain and mental stress of the whole situation still get the better part of me almost on a daily basis. Brian Bishop's advice would also be greatly appreciated. Well, guess what? Brian's not here today, so you're stuck with me. First thing, sucks. I'm sorry that you had a relationship that ended. I've heard of relationships that, you know, and truly amicably. And it's like, hey, you know, we decided that this isn't going to work out.

And on to the next or on to the better. And then, you know, then there's the horror stories. And probably most people land somewhere in between. I think you've identified, though, just about everything that I was likely going to say to you. So you're 23 years old. I try to look back. That's 20 years ago for me. I look back on myself when I was 23 years old and things that I thought were going to last forever.

you know, well, actually, I'll even go a step beyond that. What I used to think forever was is not what I think forever is now. My perspective of the world, my perspective of time, my perspective of what was important, and probably most importantly, but perspective of who I was as a person is so drastically different now than I'm in my early 40s. I was an idiot in my early 20s. And that's okay because I think everybody has to work through that idiotic phase. Having said that, that doesn't make the pain of what you're going through any less.

But you've identified already that is an opportunity for you to grow into a better person. And you're challenging yourself. You're setting your goals. You're physically pushing yourself harder than ever. And then, though, emotionally it still comes back and crushes you. The answer, well, not the answer. But what I'm going to say to you, it may not be what you want to hear, but it's okay. allow that to happen.

Deal with, you know, if you're going to have an emotional breakdown about this or you're going to have a day that's low, that's okay. I have those as well, just based off of what I am going through. And then I'll have days that are high, but most of my days are kind of a little bit high and a little bit low, a little bit high and a little bit low. And I have to navigate my way through that. And that is okay. True growth as a person, I believe, emotionally and physically, it does not come through things that are easy. and it does not come through things that are comfortable. So I know that this might suck for you right now as it does in these situations,

but there is light at the end of the tunnel. You will look back on potentially this relationship and potentially this person and be very thankful that it ended the way that it did. You could learn from this, you can grow from this. And in growing from this, you might have the realization that although it might have felt it should have lasted forever, it might be better off that it didn't. Again, I'm a younger, I'm a younger, I'm an older person now, I'm 43. The advice I would give myself if I went back into my 20s would be to wait a little bit longer before I got married. I have 100% absolutely

believe in marriage. And I say that, working my way through a divorce. I think the most important two aspects of that, though, is one, find the right person. And two, be the right person yourself to enter into that. I wasn't ready when I was 23 years old. I got married when I was 24. The advice, like I said, that I would give is give it some time. So I know that this feels like it's in your face right now, but if you give it some time, it'll creep incrementally away from you. And like I said, you may look back in a short period of time or maybe in the years down the road and have a pretty thankful realization that it ended the way that it did. I would tell you to dive in on the things you're already doing. Set those goals, push yourself, try to become the best

version of you that you can possibly be. And then be the best version of you and the community or circles of people that you are with. And I assure you that you will find somebody that is a match for you. And since you've been working on yourself, you're going to be the right person to match for them. And that, I think, is the key to long-term relationships. So that is the end of what I will call the segment relationship advice from an idiot, the idiot known as Andy. Question four. A huge fan of the show makes my drive to work to and from work. Oh, wow, I get you on both sides.

A hell of a lot better. I guess I'm just looking for your take on balance. I'm a man of many hobbies. I have a full-time job, recently fell in love with Jiu-Jitsu, just got my second stripes. That means he's a white belt, two stripes. I bet you that's six months in be my estimate, plus or minus six months. throw in competitive shooting, volunteer firefighting, blah, blah, blah. My girlfriend is super supportive of everything, but she doesn't share the busy body mindset that I do.

Sometimes I worry that it causes a strain on our relationship, but I don't feel like I'm stretched too thin. What's your advice on keeping a good balance between hobbies and occupations that you love, a relationship, and a time to unwind? Keep up the great work, and thank you for everything you've done and continue to do. Well, for one, you're welcome. Two, I haven't done shit. But let's get back to your question. Time to unwind. Hopefully, you can find a time to unwind paired with your hobby.

I wouldn't, well, maybe not your occupation, but hopefully you can find hobbies outside of your occupation where you can multitask. You enjoy them, but also it gives you the ability to unwind. And maybe that's a physical release or an emotional release because it's different from your, your, you're, work life. That is what I have found. And first off, before I go any farther, you're talking about me and a couple of the friends that I have. I personally right now need another hobby like I need another hole in my head. I have outdoor activities here in Montana. There's a damn near an activity for every season. You're on the lake in the summer. You're in the mountains hunting in the fall. Then the snow hits the ground. You have all of the snow sports, whether you're a ski or a board or a snowshoer or

or why can I think of snowmobile. There's something for everybody. But I also like to shoot guns. And I also like to skydive. But I also want a base jump. But I also have a speed wing. And I also want to make knives. And I also want to do jujitsu.

I understand exactly what you're saying in this. And for me, it came down to I had to balance out or list out the hobbies that I had. and then my actual expectations and what I got out of those hobbies. Base jumping and skydiving is a good example because those are two that I haven't quit, but I've had to put on the back burner for a couple of reasons. One being geography. Where I live, there's not easy access to a drop zone. Without access to a drop zone, I don't have the ability to stay current, let alone under canopy

or in a wingsuit. If I'm not current under canopy, I have no business base jumping. And I specifically have no business base jumping in a wing suit. So even though that activity or sport is so incredibly rewarding to me, I don't have enough space in my schedule that I can do them at a level that is safe. So I had to prioritize. What do I get out of those things versus, you know, what is the risk and time investment of trying to pursue those things? The time investment for me to continue those things now is to travel, find locations where I can do them, and then make sure. that my currency continues. You know, I'm sitting here doing a podcast, right? That takes time as well, too.

So I basically, I wrote down and people are probably tired of hearing me say things like write these stuff, write these things down. But I find incredible value in the written word, so I will write down my hobbies. And I will look at it objectively, what is the time allotment that I need? And also with that, how, what do I want to do with this hobby? I snowboard, but do I I want to be able to go to a trick park and pull, you know, somersaults and all that stuff. No, I don't. So I just want it to be enjoyable for me. So I only need to do it enough that I can get the benefit of that activity.

Jiu-Jitsu. What do I want to do with Jiu-Jitsu? Do I want to be a world champion and compete every day? I do not. What do I get out of it? Emotional and physical health. Exercise. It's that for me is that time to unwind.

And that might sound off because you're not really unwinding. working very hard, but it allows my mind to unwind. What's my time investment in that per day? Usually it's about two hours, but it's close to the podcast studio. So I can combine some things. I can have an economy of effort and time. Again, skydiving, base jumping. What do I get out of that? Do I have the time and ability to dedicate myself to that? I don't. And I have no desire to try a world record jump again. I have no desire to really push the envelope when it comes to wingsuit base jumping. Do I still want a wingsuit base jump? Yes, I absolutely do. But I want to do it safely, and I want to do it on my terms. So for now, it's on the burner. So that I would say

is step one. Write out the stuff that you want to do, write out how much time you have, and then I would openly communicate with your spouse. It may not seem like there is a strain on the relationship, but I would open that line of communication, and I would ensure that it remains open And if she voices to you that it is creating a strain, my advice to you is to listen. Listen and then take action upon it. And action, meaning take another look at that list and see if you could pair something down. So not only are you listening, you're hearing what your significant other is saying, and then taking action to make sure that you're both headed in the right direction.

Another thing you can think of doing is trying to involve her in some of those hobbies or occupations. I know everybody to include myself, I value time alone sometimes. But, man, all of the things that I do from, well, Jitza, you need somebody else. Podcasting is, I think, much better when you're sitting here talking to somebody else. Snowboarding, skydiving, base jumping, so much cooler to share that with somebody that you love and respect. Man or woman, to somebody that you appreciate being with. It's cool to share that experience, and it can be a bonding experience. So get on the black and white.

Literally go black and white. Write out what you want to do, what you actually have time to do, and then open those lines of communications. Last question for the day. Last question for the day. My question, or rather questions for Follow Friday is regarding my best friend. He is someone that by all stretches would be considered normal. He is successful at his job. He is married.

And overall, a good person. and would do anything to help a person out. In talking with him recently, I have found that he is deep, deep down the rabbit hole of conspiracies. He's always been a little bit eccentric, but some of the things he talks to me about is way beyond anything that could be considered acceptable. He is saying things like people are harvesting blood from babies and elites and drinking it. Secret FEMA concentration camps under Walmarts. The cop that killed George Floyd was a clone. secret bases in Antarctica and so on. As far as I know, he only talks about this to me and his wife

sometimes. I have tried to tell him that he needs to get off the internet and social media. I tried to tell him how I gave up social media and inflammatory news this past Thanksgiving and how I focus on worrying and seeing the world that is actually around me and how that has helped me with some of my viewpoints and feelings, but he will not hear any of it. I am am concerned that he is going to work himself into an unrecoverable mental state that ruins his life and also the fact that him and his wife are talking about having kids soon. Any thoughts or advice on how I should deal with this? Who? Well, what I would say is it sounds like you might already have an ally in this. The first thing I would do is I would talk to his wife. I would probably

open the conversation with, what the fuck, man? What's going on with your husband? He's crazy. Now, I wouldn't necessarily say it exactly like that, but I might get a little bit colorful with it. And in all seriousness, you know, touch base with his wife, if you feel comfortable doing so and you don't think it would stress the relationship with your buddy. And you know what, even if it would stress the relationship with your buddy in the long term, if you think it would help him find a little bit more mental health, then it might be worth the risk. But I would sit down and I would get her impression of how he is behaving, his mental health.

Because some of the stuff you're talking about is, I don't know, how do you describe this? It's tinfoil hat shit. Secret FEMA concentration camps under Walmarts, clones, secret bases in Antarctica. I could actually kind of buy that one a little bit. But I can understand what you're saying. This rabbit hole, it's a,

To me, it's, I would say it's a combination of two things. Well, maybe more than two things, but the ones that rise to the top for me would be being bombarded by information that you've already identified, whether they consider it to be a traditional news source or a social media source. But I would likely suspect that he might be paying attention to very specific sources of information that are talking only about these things. So he might literally be brainwashing himself by only looking for this type of information. He's doing the opposite of being objective or critically thinking. He is now, for whatever reason, seeking out this information. And I've seen this in people that I used to work with. When they go deep, holy shit, you just see dirt flying out of the hole because they're deeper and deeper and deeper into these rabbit holes.

And it's scary because I don't personally understand. understand how you get attached to any of the things that you have mentioned and still consider yourself to be a stain human being. But having said that, I only understand how my own brain works and I don't want to judge how anybody else's brain work. But I do worry about mental health. So there's a level of probably personal siaps that's going on here. This person is now seeking out this information. Step one, talk with his wife. Step two, I would go and at least give it one more opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with this individual. And maybe along the lines of like, hey, it's an intervention, an intervention for your own well-being, for your own mental health.

And we're doing it from a position of love, not a position of judgment. Don't go to somebody like, hey, man, you're a fucking idiot because you believe these things. I would say, hey, dude, do you have a few minutes to talk? Because I care about you. I love you as a friend. You make my life better. but I am super concerned with some of the things that you are starting to spend an inordinate amount of your time thinking about researching and then talking about. You know, I don't, the road, those little breadcrumbs, they're not leading to anywhere good. Well, they're not leading to where I would consider to be a sound place of mental health. And you might find yourself at a point where this person is unwilling to change how they think,

they're unwilling to change their interaction with information sources. And then you're going to be at a place where you're going to have to make a decision. Do you want to invest in this person or is your life going to be better off if you allow this person to exist in their own bubble and you use them with caution? The only person that's probably going to change this person's mind is himself. And that's not an easy road. I don't actually think you can change anybody's mind, really. I think you can provide them information that will allow them to change their mind for themselves. And I don't have a great answer when it comes to conspiracy theories.

Because like I said, I don't understand them. I don't understand how you can wrap your head that deeply around things that to me. quite frankly to me, they sound ridiculous. But again, that's just me. This were a super close friend of mine. I would do everything I could to try to help them. If they were still continuously resistant to that, I would have to choose. Do I want this person in my life, or is my life better not interfacing and dealing with this person because of how they are? It's a tough decision to make, but I'll say it again, you know, you don't need to light yourself on fire, to keep somebody else warm.

Okay? You do not need to ruin your life or ruin your experience with this person because they are so entrenched in this. You have the option. You, if you know this person is like this and you continue to interact with them, that is on you.

This person choosing to continue to pursue these thought processes, the conspiracy theories, that is on them, right? So there's two different spheres of responsibility here. You really only have control over yours. But before I really cut ties with any friend, if this was me, I would do everything I could. At least give it one last go. Again, come from a position of love, not from a position of judgment. Give it your best, but then don't pour gasoline and light yourself on fire just because your friend shivering to death.

Okay? That is on them. And on that note, let's go enjoy a little. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Thanks for taking the time to tune in, whether you're listening, on an audio-only platform or you're watching on YouTube, I appreciate that you take the time every week to tune in. People ask me a lot, what can they do to help me spread the word?

And the answer is actually embedded in the question. The biggest thing you guys can do to help me if you enjoy the podcast and you think it would be helpful to others is subscribe and share it with other people. And if you have the time, go on to Apple Podcasts and leave me a rating and a review. If you think the podcast sucks, tell me it sucks and leave a zero star review or the lowest stars possible. If you have a question, comment or suggestion, you can go to clearedhotpodcast.com. And there is a contact me button right there, which will land in my inbox. And the last thing, people are interested in helping out what you can do is fly the old flag.

And by that I don't mean an actual flag because they don't have any of those. I'm talking about t-shirts or sweatshirts or hats or hats. whatever it may be. Again, cleardotpodcast.com, click on the shop tab and hopefully something in there looks like it would be an item you would like to wear around town. And then you can tell people what it is when they ask you. But that is it. The biggest thing I can say is thank you. I truly appreciate it. Until next time. See you.