Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay - Donald Trump’s Second Term and the Expectations of Change

Episode Date: November 8, 2024

Van and Rachel break out a bottle of tequila and break down how and why Donald Trump won the presidency again (4:22), before discussing reactions to the results (25:23) and what it means to fight in the years ahead (43:19). Hosts: Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay Producers: Donnie Beacham Jr. and Ashleigh Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yo, yo, yo, thought warriors. What is up? Harlearning is on. It is I, Van Lathen, Jr. And it's me, Rachel and Lindsay. Yeah, guys. Fuck that shit. Yo, yo, yo, yo, you, Fawyers!

What is up? Harleurian is on. It is I, Van Lathen, Jr. And it's me, Rachel and Lindsay. I think that's how they thought we would come on the podcast. Ready for this. Okay, man, for those. listening van is

strapping up by putting on the gloves. I don't know where these came from. I don't know why. I feel like you've looked like you're going into battle. I, on the other hand, I'm going to ban.

What? Why you bring the gloves? I brought the gloves because it's time to get fucking with it, man. Look. All right. Okay, let's pour up first. We are going to pour up. We are drinking. We are drinking. We are drinking. It's 9.38 in the morning.

And we're drinking. We're drinking. Donnie, Ashley, are you there? Well, that sounds good. Okay, yeah. We're going to have a little tequila. This is called Rachel's breakfast right here. A little tequila.

I like the who nanny has a cup. Who nanny? Who nanny has a cup? No, Hoot nanny does not have a cup. That's for Hout nanny. I got you a little, because I know you like them. fruity drinks. Yeah.

Like you like yours to have a lot of flavor. So I brought you an orange cream soda to mix it with. Okay, a little, a little bit of the poppy soda, probiotic. Be healthy. This is a natural flavor tequila. Who makes this tequila right here? 21 Cs is actually really good. Okay.

Oh, okay. Wow. Okay, look. We got brownie with us. We got Hoon Nanny with us. We got our animal friends with us. Who Nanny got a little cup right here. Look, everybody.

Rachel, you orange cream. Let's do it together. Donnie, Ashley, y'all got a libation or what? Yeah, I got some water. We're going to take a little drink. We're going to get into the podcast, okay? Oh, oh, refreshing. Refreshing.

We're drinking tequila today. That's what I call orange juice. Yep. We're drinking tequila today. Shout out to all of our Latino friends. Wow. We support you. Even if you don't support us.

Support yourselves. It's a joke. Don't get mad at us. Don't get mad at us. It's just the numbers were shocking. The numbers were shocking. We still drink tequila. We'll be there.

You know? We as black people, we laugh through the pain, right? Like, let's set that stage. Like, we're laughing. We make jokes. We know it's a very serious matter. Like, we feel all of y'all, and we'll get into it. But, yeah.

Okay. So let's go ahead and get into it in case you guys didn't realize. Well, I put my glove on over my ring. Watch what I do. Watch how I make this even fly. This is it going to worry about. This is for y'all. Because y'all might think that, oh, my God, watch this.

Oh, look at this. Watch. Let me show you how I'm going to make this shit even a flyer. Fly out with the attire. I'm going to put the glove on, right? Watch this. Watch this shit. This is like some Nick Cannon type of shit right here.

Shout out Nick. This is the type of shit. It is giving a little Nick Cannon. This is the type of shit that Nick does. Nick is like a fly-ass knitting. It's one thing you can't say about Nick. Nick Fly's shit. Look at this.

Come on my Nick Cannon shit. Oh, Daddy. That's barely fitting on there. I don't know if that works. We're going to go for it today. Ring over the glove. Nick Cannon Michael Jackson type shit. Boom.

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Tap this ad to learn more about Trimfaya, including important safety information. The last time we talked to you guys, the next president, the 47th president of the United States, was up in the air. It was in question. We had an election special. We talked to Bacari Sellers.

We talked to Alan Lickman. They fucking lied to us. Have you talked to Baccari? Not yet. Okay? Love you, Baccarre. Wait, did you watch, let me just say, did you watch Alan Lickman? Alan had a meltdown.

He, yeah, fool? I was going to say it like that. I felt so bad for him. I mean, I feel worse for us, us. But I was like, man, he is distraught. His son was trying to, like, calm him down, trying to reel him back in. He was spiraling.

Alan is looking around like, yo, what the fuck is happening? Like, what's going on? I'll tell you what happened. What? And we tried to insinuate this without directly speaking to it when we had him on the show

and we are appreciative of him coming on the show. Love Alan Lippman. There's no key for a black woman. Wow. And that's really what it can. That's all I kept thinking is this is it's not unprecedented. It's not unprecedented because somebody came in with three months left till the election.

It's not unprecedented because the Democrats turned on the person, the incumbent. It's not unprecedented because you have a convicted felon running for office. It's not, it's not unprecedented because that person is a racist. It's unprecedented because it is a black woman who is running for office. And that is something that no key can account for. Wow. Well, to Rachel's point, Kamala Harris lost.

She lost her bid to be the 47th president of the United States and the prolonged, fraught, who will win, who won't win, thing that we expected to go into Thursday and to Friday did not happen. It was pretty obvious. Getting on into the evening Tuesday night, especially by Wednesday morning that Donald Trump had won the presidency

in emphatic fashion. He won the presidency. He won Pennsylvania. He dominated in the swing states. He won Michigan. He swept the blue wall and it was a dominant performance

from the Republicans. And that is an intellectual view of what happened on Tuesday. They showed out. People got out and they won. Harris called Donald Trump to concede the loss, the election loss. She gave a concession speech on Wednesday night at Howard University. And this is some of what she had to say. To the young people who are watching, it is okay to feel sad and disappointed. But please know it's going to be okay. On the campaign, I would often say, when we fight, we win.

But here's the thing. Here's the thing. Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn't mean we won't win. That doesn't mean we won't win. The important thing is don't ever give up. Don't ever give up. Don't ever stop trying to make the world a better place.

You have power. You have power. And don't you ever listen when anyone tells you something is impossible because it has never been done before. Powerful words from the VP right there, Rach. I mean, full of class, full of grace. I know a lot of people tried to, you know, come at her for not addressing the crowd the night of the election

because so many supporters went home sad and, you know, we're expecting to hear from her. but I can't imagine having done it in that moment either. And to be fair, some of the votes were, you know, still being tall. It was still a glimmer of hope. Glimmer. But when she did come out and she addressed the nation, she did it in a Kamala Harris way, that, you know, you have to be proud of the race that she won.

I mean, that's me wishing what happened of the race that she. Do you know when that happened again? Do you know when this happened? What? This happened. I watched what you just did. I watched this happen in 2005. Do you remember this?

2005. Do you remember the Rose Bowl of 2005? Oh, what about it? Okay. So. I mean, obviously, I remember. The Rose Bowl of 2005, Vince Young, scampers into the end zone. Scampers.

Great place, scampered. And after that, they're talking to Matt Liner. and Donnie, play the audio of what Matt Linerd said. I mean, that's tough, you know, but we'll move on. And it's a great win, a great hard fought, you know, loss, I guess, but, you know, whatever. We still think I think we're a better football team that they just made the place in the end. He just, USC was riding whatever high they were on. He thought that they won.

And then he walks off and he goes, I still think we're the better football team. You know what's funny about that? To make your point even further, I remember coming in, it was the first time I had ever been to L.A. Oh, my God. Give me that cup. You can't handle it.

All you need is just a little bit more to help wash it down. Yeah. Go ahead. It was my first time in L.A. I came in for the game, and I remember watching the media. And it was as if

a coronation. Yeah, before it even started. It was like USC is playing them. The greatest play, the greatest team of all time. Yeah, like Texas doesn't stand a chance. They're not the underdog. They're worse than the underdog. Like, they're just here because USC has to play somebody.

Yeah. That's how it felt watching. And I remember me and my cousin were like, this is outrageous. I've never seen anything like this. They so thought they had in the bag, all the hype was behind them, the popularity. It's L.A. You had the superstars on their sideline. we had Matthew McConaughey,

but we didn't have what they had. It was a whole machine behind them, including the media. And at the end of the day, they lost. Yeah. It feels familiar. But I, you called me yesterday in the morning.

I was still in bed. Yeah. I, as I've said multiple times this podcast, I was not here in 2016. I did not get the feeling that people had, the shock, the whatever emotion you might have been feeling. And we know it's different now

on 2024, because we know what a Trump presidency looks like. We hear him speak to in a completely different way now as he's about to take over in 2025. So I came in two weeks later. So the only thing I thought was like, wow, this is surreal. So to watch it all go down, to pay

attention on social media, to talk to friends, it was just an overwhelming feeling. And when you call me, I was still in the bed. And I told you, I'm trying to process all my emotion today, because when I come on the podcast. I don't want to point fingers at specific people that I'm, you know, feel like

handle things wrong. I don't want to blame. I don't want to be emotion. I want to speak to emotion. And it's disheartening. It's what it's disappointing. It's what Kamala Harris said. Like I feel all of that as I watch it. And it's disappointing not because of Trump. I expect all these things from Trump. It's disappointing because of the American people and how they voted. We're trying to have a really important conversation. But do you see how I kept it moving? Brownie is fucking tearing up the studio.

Stop, stop, stop. You should, we should have to take your couple ways. He just needed to readjust. He wanted to hear what we were saying. But it's disappointing because it's clear based on how people voted and looking at the polls and the percentages of who voted for what, the type of the type of a mayor. that people want it. And I guess I'm just, like, disappointed with humanity.

And although I shouldn't be surprised, it's just the reinforcement of what they value. And what they value doesn't include me. You look at Trump, and you can go down a laundry list of things of what it is that he represents. Rapists, convicted felon, misogyn, sexist, homophobic, trans, all these things. and ultimately the preservation of a white society. But people who voted for those things or voted for him and those things that he represents, it's almost as if he can be that, that, that, and that,

as long as he's not a black woman. That's what it felt like with that vote. We'll vote for him as long as he's not a black woman. He can represent all these things. And the mental gymnastics that I feel like people went through to justify their vote, I think is also something that will never cease to amaze me. These are people that can convince themselves of anything in order to preserve their place in society. And you can go down the list of it, the women who voted for Trump. You went, some of you went into these ballot boxes or served your ballots, or mailed in your ballots, and you voted to preserve your reproductive rights.

rights, but then voted against everybody else when you voted for Trump. You voted for yourself, but you voted against it. Everything that Trump has done when speaking to women has shown you that he doesn't value you in any way. And that's evident in his words, his actions, his policies, and even his court convictions. He was found liable of raping a woman in a court of law. It doesn't matter. He constantly degrades women. Doesn't matter. And I'm going to say this and it sounds crude, but you voting for Trump is literally still letting him grab you by the pussy. That's what it feels like. And I'll never understand how women can bet against their interest in that way. Christians, I do not understand how you can stand up in a pulpit and preach to others,

do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and then support a person who is full of hate. Jesus would never align himself with somebody like Trump, and his policies are not reflected in any way in the teachings of the Bible. I'm so sick of that argument. And I think that if you voted for him as a Christian, you are just as down and dirty as him, and you are only Christian entitled. Sorry, that's just how I feel. For the Christians who are aligning, who are saying Trump is, like this is something that's ordained by Jesus. I've seen some of that. For the working class people who voted for him, I just don't understand how you didn't see that Kamala Harris had a whole policy, a new way forward that would have totally benefited you.

And if you didn't believe that, economists have reported that her policy would improve your working class life. And Trump's previously did not. And what he wants to do moving forward won't. Latinos, he's called Mexicans murderers and rapist. In Puerto Rico alone, how he spoke about providing relief after Hurricane Maria, throwing toilet tissue or paper towels at them, talking about their leadership, wondering if he could sell Puerto Rico away. It shows how he values you as an identity, as a race.

And the men who voted, I don't understand how you can look at your mother's, your daughters, your sister, your friend, any person that's a woman in your life and know that you voted for somebody who is totally against them. And then when I think about all this, and sorry, I'm the one going on a rant now. Oh, you're cooking to me.

I think about all these things. And I think about how, what Kamala Harris stands for, her resume, the policies that she implemented. I don't think that there is anything better that she could have done to try to win this election. She inherited this campaign in the 11th hour. Every criticism against her she addressed. When people complained they didn't know her, what did she do? Went on interview after interview,

podcast after podcast, talking to people explaining who she is, showing who she is as a person and not just as a politician. When it was reported that black men weren't believing in her, she put together a plan to directly show how they could benefit and feel supported by her under her administration. When people talked about their disappointment in the economy, what did she do? She put a policy together a new way forward to show you how she hears you, and she wants to put things in place to benefit you as a working class to diminish the disparity that currently exists in our society and that was expanded under a Trump administration.

What she couldn't change are the preconceived notions about her blackness, her multicultural background and just being a woman. All the negative connotations attached to the very things that identify her were always going to be something that she had to battle. You've heard black people say you have to work twice as hard for half as much. And I feel like with Kamala Harris, she had to face the impossible and be perfect in every single way, even including in her identity. And then the other thing I feel like that was impossible, an impossible thing for her that she had to combat was the fear that had been implanted in the hearts and minds by Republicans to so many Americans. The fear that had been brewing in our society before she even accepted the nomination. That fear of implanting or the fear, implanting the fear that immigrants are rapists and murderous that are going to.

going to come after you, the fear that your families and children are in danger, the fear of the majority, minority, the fear of being told the truth about the history of this country and the fear of a progressive tomorrow. Those are all things that she had to combat. And I think that the odds were against her. I think she ran an amazing race to the best that she could. And so many people believed in her and fought and supported what she stood for because what she stood for was right. It was was on the right side of history. But at the end of the day, for all the things that I named, that's what she was up against. And it once again shows what her place and what our place is in this society. Well said. Well said. Did you know about one in three people with plaques

psoriasis may also develop psoriotic arthritis, which causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling? Does this sound like you? Listen to what it sounds like to be. a million miles away. Trimphaya, Gucelcomab. Taken by injection is a prescription medicine for adults with moderate to severe plaques psoriasis, who may benefit from taking injections or pills

or phototherapy, and for adults with active psoriotic arthritis. Serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections and liver problems may occur. Before a treatment, your doctor should check you for infections in tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or if you need a vaccine.

Imagine being. a million miles away. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Trimfaya. Tap this ad to learn more about Trimfaya, including important safety information. This episode is brought to you by WeatherTech. Everyone knows winter is the MVP and make it a mess.

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Visit weathertech.com today. I won't litigate any of the specific things that you said. I'll talk about kind of why I think this. I'll talk about why I'm not freaking out. First of all, I don't really freak out anymore. You don't. I had a long time in my life of freaking out. out. I used to freak out. I used to be a big freaker outer.

Freak out. Freak out. So I used to be a big freaker outer. My daddy used to say, that boy, always worrying about something. I picked up a new worry all the time. It's like, you know, someone would drop something and I would worry. It was watching Robocop. And it was a commercial on TV in Robocop. And the lady in the commercial was going, she went, they say that even 10 minutes is too much in the California sun now that we've lost the ozone layer. And it was a commercial for this tanning cream. And she had this stuff glunked all over her body because that's the way you had to tan now because there was

no ozone layer. Freaked out. Freaked out. Had to learn as much as I could about the ozone layer. Had to go and confiscate all the CO2 around the house, toss it away. I had to become an activist. for nuclear proliferation when I was 11 years old and go around nuclear war. Freaked out about so many different things. I use up all my freak out. I don't freak out anymore. I just don't freak out.

I freak out about small things. Like I look in the mirror and I'm like, nigga, you old. Look at your hair. It's happening. God damn, unc. And then that'll make me freak out. I don't freak out in these situations anymore

because it's important to get activated. Sure. Another reason why I'm not freaking out here. the way America was already this way. Sure. There's a thing that I think about, right? When someone has a disease that befalls them, I'll just use the big disease, like cancer,

when someone goes in for a cancer diagnosis, I always think to myself, and this is how my brain works, is how long did this person walk around actually with cancer, not knowing that they had it? I think about that too. You know what I mean? So there's a moment where your body,

where this foreign entity has taken over your body and you don't know that it's taken over your body. You don't know that it's taken hold of your breasts or your lymph nodes or your pancreas or whatever. And you're playing basketball and going to the movies and all of that. And then one day it manifests in a symptom and now your life changes. But you have already been sick. You've already been sick.

You just didn't know that you were sick. The Wynn Tuesday was so emphatic that a miracle was like that last month. it was like that the month before. It was like that the month before that. So what you got on Tuesday was a diagnosis. And now that you've got the diagnosis, you should understand what you're up against.

I wrote about it. Couldn't sleep on Tuesday night. I got up. It was very good. Thank you. I wrote about the fact one day fell off my bike, cut my knee up, and my dad said bleeding is a blessing.

You know that. you're hurt when you're bleeding. Sometimes you're hurting, you don't know it. Now you know. In this situation, I don't think that anything was made, I don't think that there was anything novel that came on a Tuesday, like anything that we didn't have deep down any knowledge that we couldn't access. But I do think that now we know just how far the country has swung right.

And that should crystallize for everyone, exactly what's expected of them. The expectations have changed now. I expect you to be knowledgeable about policy. I expect you to be connected to community. I expect you to care about your DA, to care about your sheriff, to care about the judges.

I voted for a lot of things on Tuesday. I voted for fantastic black female judges that were ex-public defenders that want to end mass incarceration in Los Angeles County. I voted for those women. Same. Right? I voted for all different types of housing measures that would address some of the rent control issues in Los Angeles. I didn't work out.

I expect people to be knowledgeable about that because I expect people to look down the barrel of the American political gun. and be daring about their future and who they are. And I expect that anyone that had a laissez-faire attitude about it prior to this will understand just how far right where the country is moving. Right? And so I'm here to let you know I'm unafraid. I had my time being a scared nigger. That time is over.

Now, what I do is I look at where I'm at, analyze where I'm at, and I try to activate myself and the people around me. I want to speak to some things, some things too. But they're different things. You summed it up pretty well. I want to speak to how people are reacting to the wind. Like, I've heard a lot of people say that, you know, they're upset that some people are unfollowing people. They're upset that some people are criticizing people for their vote. They're upset that some people are disappointed in the people that they share their community with voting against their personal rights and their interests.

They're mad about that. Like, that's lame. It's lame to unfollow somebody because they're a Trump voter. It's lame to be mad at someone or be upset with someone because they joined a political movement that's at cross purposes with who you are or what you are. are. I'm not going to tell anybody how they should act or be around the Trump supporters or the conservatives in their life. That's a personal decision. Your vote is a personal decision and also how you react to somebody's vote is a personal decision. Do whatever you want. I don't care who you talk to, who you don't talk to, who you unfollow. Who you don't unfollow. I will say this,

though, you surely can't be talking to black people, right? When you're talking about people that are, that act away or live or move in a way in a society with people that they disagree with, you can't be talking to us. You can't be talking to the people who have a legacy of making a community with their slavers and the ancestors of their slavers. You can't be talking to the people that got hoses and dogs turned on them by the mailman and the postman and the judge and the police and the Chamber of Commerce Chief and all that. You can't be talking to those people, right?

You can't be talking to the people that integrated into a society and then made community with people who couldn't access the very basic tenets of their humanity. You must not be talking with us. We're experts in living with people who disagree with us, not with our political takes, with us being alive. Because I want people to understand something. I heard conservatives say that if I get on a plane and a pilot is black, then I don't think that pilot is qualified. That is not politics. That's religion.

That's religion, right? If your belief is that a black person can't possibly be qualified for the job that they're doing based upon nothing that you've seen, nothing that you've observed, just an idea that somebody else gave to you like communion, that's religion. So it doesn't matter what Trump could do. It doesn't matter what Trump has done. The reality is there's a part of this country that still looks at Kamala Harris and says there's no way she could be qualified to do that. Correct.

No way she could be qualified to do it. Right? You don't investigate her qualifications. You don't look at where she's come from. She can't be qualified to do it. If she is there, if she is in that position, it's got to be some DEI or some agenda in order to put a black person up there because they can't possibly fly this plane. So when I'm talking to people and people are saying, hey, it's lame or weird or bad

or fucked up that these people don't want to have ice cream socials with the side that wants to erase their history, take control of their bodies, or minimize them in the workplace. I was like, you can't be talking to us. Sure. Because we've already done that. And we continue to do it every single day.

We work in the places with the people that go, maybe Trayvon Martin went too far. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Like we work in the places with the people that go, why don't you just comply? Like, we work with them. We hang out with them.

Like, we already know them. We do that. Like, we've been done that. So don't chastise us about any of this. If we look at the numbers and we decide we're not fucking with y'all. We're not fucking with y'all. If we want to do that, if we want to at one point,

as black people say, as a community of black people, If we want to say, you fucked me, now it's fuck you, we've earned that right. Over hundreds of years, we've earned that right to be like, you know what? If it's fuck me, then it's fuck you. We've earned that right. I'm not telling people they have to go out and do that. Sure, sure. But I'm telling you right now, if you want to look at somebody and be like, I'm not fucking with you no more.

I'm fucking with myself and it's about me and my people and what we need to do. I went on an unfollowing spirit. You want to, if you've done that, your ancestors have earned you the right to give a fuck about you. Yeah. They have telling you, I personally believe that things are better when we all come up and when we all look over each other's shoulders. But I know one thing that not many people agree with me. And that's a personal decision that I make, that I am making as far as far as. as that's concerned.

I was born into a Republican country. I was born in 1980. Clinton came along and then in my 20s it was a Republican country again. I survived it then. I'll survive it now. The question that I'm asking people and I want them to all do a self-scout here, the question that I'm asking people

is what do you feel is the most effective way to stem the tide of what we're looking at. Yeah. The Senate has gone Republican. That means that Trump is unchallenged in the judiciary to be able to affect the federal courts. He'll get all his judges. As we record this right now,

we don't know what the status of the House. of the House will be. We can look it up, but we don't know what the status of the House will be. If the House turns out to be in the favor of the Democrats, then you at least have one check against complete capture by the entire government of the right. You're shaking your head. It just doesn't look good.

Okay. So we're, as we stand right now, we are at 207 Republicans, 194 Democrats. They need 2.18 to have majority. So we're waiting for 34 more To be called That'll be important They're 11 away to get it there That'll be important

However, if in fact Trump does get All three Which Baccari said is the worst case scenario when you asked Worst case scenario. If in fact Trump does get all three Then you have two years of carnage

And then you'll have the opportunity in another couple of years to turn that around. And that's when we start identifying where we can win. Don't look at how you lost and why you lost. Don't be so connected to your loss that you don't get the understanding of how you can win. Yeah. And there are going to be a lot of things that the Democrats, to be honest with you, have to come to terms with.

they're going to have to re-evaluate messaging. They're going to have to re-evaluate whether or not some of the minute cultural war battles that we fight on the left, whether or not those things resonate with a wider electorate. We're going to have to be more intentional about the way that we communicate with each other internally and on the outside of things. We're going to have to understand that a rightward shift in the American electorate means that there might be a different way that you have to go about winning elections.

Trump is Trump is two for four in these elections, right? He won two, he lost. It's two for three. It's two for three. It's two for three.

Now the tequila's getting to me. The one guy that has beat Trump... Yeah. The one guy that has beat Trump is the only guy that's older and whiter than he is. That tells you something about America. For sure. That tells you about the fact that this country was born and put in the hands

of old straight white men and there is a belief amongst the majority of this country and this includes a lot of you black men there's a belief in white daddy I'm serious man I know you are I'm not I'm just there's a belief

it is so true there's a belief in white daddy it is so true that is real I mean I see it all the time okay you ever see Shepard Shaft, the movie Shaft? I'm familiar with it. Okay, not the original Shaft, the Shaft with Sam Jackson.

I haven't seen any of them, but I'm familiar. So two things about Shaft with Sam Jackson, and I'll stop this right after this. One is that in that movie, Shaft is like the most accurate, like, marksman ever. I don't know if you ever seen the movie. Shaft, hit shot, headshot, headshot, headshot, headshot, headshot, just killing it. Every time Shaft Cocker's Pistol, you're dead. All right, in that movie, I just watched the movie.

I was like, damn, does Shaft going miss? Go back and watch Shaft with Samuel Jackson. Okay. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Everybody did. Nigger shooting that shaft. Shaf, dodging bullets. You know, he come back, boom, you're dead.

It's funny to me. But there's a character in that movie called People's Hernandez. Okay. People's Hernandez is brilliantly played by one of our finest actors, Jeffrey Wright. Christian Bill is the main antagonist in the movie. But People Hernandez is, to me, representative. of the male of color Trump voter. There's a scene inside of the jail

where Christian Bell's character who's in there because he killed a black man over some dispute. I think was Omar Epps in a restaurant. Hit him in the head with a fucking parking post and he killed him. And Shaft is chasing this guy, right? People's who, in a monologue inside the jail,

talks about the fact that he has respect all over the boroughs. he's got money he's got power he's got influence but what he doesn't have is the thing that Christian Bell has which is entree

into the part of American life that makes you popular and meaningful he is obsessed with Christian Bell's character who is an Aspen skiing American aristocrat A white boy who doesn't take no foreign answer, who kills whoever he wants to kill, who does whatever he wants to do, who isn't afraid of anyone.

He's obsessed with that. He wants to be connected with that. Sure. Because that's what matters in America. You would think to yourself, shit, if people's got everybody in the Bronx and Brooklyn and Staten Island, if everybody look up at peoples as the man, that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what people think of you, on the Upper West Side

or at the Cornell Club and all of those places. You don't want to be free. You want to be white. You don't want to be free. You don't want freedom on your terms. You don't want the NAACP Award. You don't want the Soul Train Award.

You don't want everybody in life to appreciate you no matter what. You want to be patted on your head by your white daddy and told that you're okay. And you want to hug him. You want to be him. The same reason why he was in all of these rap songs for all of these years is because that's what they wanted to be. That's what you feel is important.

That's good. Do your thing. But understand you'll never be that. Yeah. Before they give it to y'all niggas, they'll burn it the fuck down. Yeah. Like, they'll completely rip its guts out before they look at you and say that you're one of them. the only thing you can be at best for someone like Donald Trump is a pretty pet.

I'm not saying that the Democrats or any specific political party have any use for you beyond that. I'm not saying that. What I'm telling you is the white strong man looks at you as a monkey in a cage. and it doesn't matter how much you dance. Like you see Donald Trump parading these guys out here, you see these rappers on stage, you see these different people doing all of this stuff.

He sits back in. I'm telling you, if you want to have a conversation about, I'm not telling you that on the other, what I'm saying, though, is that type of guy who wanted to give the death penalty to the Central Park.

part five, who refuses to apologize for it. That type of guy who acted like he didn't know who David Duke was. Who discriminated with housing policies against black and brown. Ran over. I have a song. I have a new song. What does that come? So I think the song is good.

So I went to the, I live in a heavily Jewish area of, of L.A. Yeah. Let's some more. live in a heavily Jewish area of L.A., right? Mm-hmm. And I was, I needed something out of the store. Yes, there you go. Pour it up.

I needed something out of the store yesterday. So I went into the store. Put the poppy in there. You hammering a motherfucker with the tequila. God damn, Rach. The orange cream soda, though, makes it go down. It does. Yeah.

We've done with the bottle of us. Yeah, it's over. We've drank the tequila. Look at us. We pardoned, man. We scream it. But like, we have, we're passionate. We deserve this.

Like, we're passionate. We deserve it. I got to give the song to the people. I already sang it for Hoot Nanny, my beloved Hoot Nanny. So. Fans said he don't freak out anymore, but y'all missed his freak out when he couldn't find Hoot Nanny before. restarted this podcast. So my moved to Hoot Nanny. I wouldn't touch him. The people have spoken,

so I'm fine. I'm accepting it. I thought somebody had done something to Hoot Nanny, but he does have a leg injury that he didn't have before. I'm wondering if you fucked over him. If I, if I come in here and I see Hoot Nanny with another injury, I'm taking Hoot Nanny home. I'm got to Hootenny. Um, so, uh, I went into the store. I'm looking around and then a song popped in my head. Do do do do do do I'm hoping the signs on the stuff will let me know All this shit is kosher

All this shit is kosher All this food is kosher I'm hoping the sign in the store might let me know All this food is kosher All this food is kosher You get it? You ever heard all of the stars? I know exactly what song you're doing. Tell me what you're going to do to me

All this Masa is nothing new to me. That's all you got? Nah, I wrote a whole song. Like, what was the purpose of this? I wrote a whole song. To let everybody know you live in a Jewish community and you have a song that reflects. I'm letting people know that while they're upset, I'm still, the wheels in my brain are still turning. Okay.

Like, I got a, I'm coming up with hits and different songs and different ideas every single day. I had a whole idea for a fucking video. I had a whole idea. We'd be in there with the Haseeds, you know what I'm saying? I'll just give a universal apology and just also let everyone know, despite Van making it seem like I am the one who is constantly attached to alcohol. It was his idea to drink today on the podcast, not mine, and you can tell who can handle it and who cannot.

Can I just say something, though, to what you said? On my timeline, this is going back a little bit. He is sweating. Van is sweating. It smells like tequila in here. You are sweating. Oh! But let me just say this, in all seriousness, in all seriousness,

to your point about we got to keep the fight going. I had to get off social media a bit because it became overwhelming. But I saw a lot, I want to talk to my black women out here. I saw a lot of defeat. I saw a lot of just, you know, sadness, disappointment, disheartened, tired, exhausted, and you are justified in feeling that way completely. I feel it too and I would never take it away from you. But I saw a lot of you throw your hands up in the air and say, I'm done.

I give up. And the only thing I would say is who wins when it comes to that? Who wins when you not only feel defeated, but you allow that defeat to take over you? We can't be that way. Allow yourself to feel every single emotion that you are feeling right now. That is important. Do what you need to do to heal. Take that mental health break because we have to come back stronger than ever.

I want to give everybody the time and the space to do that, but we cannot give up. Maybe you shift what your fight is for, but we can't stop fighting for us, right? Maybe we don't spread ourselves so thin, where we feel like we got to take on everybody's fight and pick everybody up like we've been doing for such a long time. We can't stop fighting for us at the end of the day. We just can't. And I just wanted to make sure that about anything, I addressed that because I saw so much of it. And it made me sad because to see somebody who looks like you, who represents who you are, be defeated in such a way. and that defeat stands on the shoulders of white supremacy

in addition to other things, but it stands on the historic nature of this country. I get it. It hurts deeply. You know what you are in this country, but it hurts deeply to be reminded of that in such a vivid way that will go down in history. But we can't give up.

Let me ask you this. What does it mean to you to fight? We're saying this word a lot. We're like, we've got to keep fighting. We've got to keep. What does it mean to do? to you to find what is fighting means? To be very honest with you, I'm still processing it. And I said that to you when you called me when you were like, people need us. And we have to get on this

podcast. And I feel like I'm doing a good job of not getting emotional. But you were like, they need to hear from us. And I said to you, I said, Van, I don't know how to take a step forward in the right direction. That's what I said to you. I still don't. But what I will say, two days, as we're recording this, after the election, I will say that what I do know is that I cannot allow myself to be defeated. I can't give up. I don't know what direction it'll take me, but whatever direction I go in, I know that I will continue the fight for us.

That I know. And maybe it's local elections. Maybe it's the hope of seeing two black women voted to the Senate. Hey! Like, let's acknowledge those victories. Fantastic. But I just know that whatever it is, I can't stop. All right, let me tell you, I give me an example of something.

The first thing about fighting is knowing how you have to fight. Knowing the fight that you can fight and the fight that you're good. I feel like my fight is going to be a little selfish. Okay, well, that's fine. So I box a lot, right? I box. That's a question. Why, you know, why is it?

Why do I get hated on? I box. I box. You do box. A box. I get in there and I fight. Some time ago, we got a great heavyweight. Got a great heavyweight.

Ray Gilmore, he's fighting. He's at your gym? Yeah, but he's fantastic. I mean, he's like a different type of fighter. Okay. Like, he's like one of these once in a generation fires. You're like, oh my God, man. I hope this kid can keep his head on straight because he's really got a future.

Ray fucking Gilmore. As a matter of fact, if you're in L.A. and you want to go to see Ray Gilmore fight at the Commerce Casino. He'll be having his debut fight this weekend. Okay. I'll be there. Where's the Commerce? The Commerce Casino is down there amongst our brethren Latinos.

It's in Downey, I think. Anyway, we'll go out there to see Ray. Sparring with Ray, sparring with other fighters. What you start realizing is how you have to fight. Now if you're fighting against someone that you have athletic advantages over, you can impose those athletic advantages until you break that person down

if you have that advantage. But if you don't, sometimes you have to fight in a way that's humbling to you. Sometimes you have to pick at people. Sometimes you have to fight in a way that is a mixture of mental and physical. Sometimes you have to invite somebody's dominance over you. You have to fight off your back foot. Move back. Draw them in. Make them punch.

So they punch themselves out. Counterpunch. And then just when they are used to you being a counter punch, then you impose yourself. Sometimes the fight means that you have to be more in your head than in your heart. Sometimes the fight means it's not about ferocity. It's not about inspiration, sometimes you have to think about the way that you can be the most effective. So when we're talking about fighting, I want everyone to think about how they can be an asset to their own freedom. And what's the best way to do that? It's a question I can't answer for people. But the reality of the question is that I need people to care about aspects of government and policy that affect their lives.

When someone talks about immigration and says, all of these people are flooding over the border and no one is doing anything about it, I need people to understand what remained in Mexico is, what an asylum judge is, what the asylum process is, how the asylum process itself lends itself to the immigration issues that we're talking about right now.

I need people to understand. the executive orders that Donald Trump was able to implement because of COVID that stem the tide of immigration. I need people to understand the differences between legal immigration, protected status and illegal immigration. I need people to understand all of that. And guess what I need to do? I need to do a better job on this very podcast of explaining that to people.

I need to make sure that when we are doing this podcast, that when the need to talk about Christian rock and blueface happens. Because sometimes we're going to talk about them on the podcast. I need to understand that part of the failure of the last four years is a failure that rests on people like myself. People that have the obligation that can still touch people, that have the obligation to explain and talk to people that can explain these issues in a way that carries water with people.

Yeah. And that sometimes our preparation here on the podcast, our guest selection here on the podcast, are, hmm, our seriousness here on the podcast. And anywhere with anyone, our intentionality here on the podcast, anywhere with anyone that has a platform, that that's a part of this. And that we're responsible for how we dissemination. information and people are responsible for what they know and for what they don't know. So when I say fight, the first thing I'm telling people is to be prepared to fight,

to have a sharp sword. And that's a mental sword. That's a physical sword. Be prepared. Be knowledgeable. Be invested. That's it. Don't wait for someone to come down from on high and imbue you with the strength to go

out there and advocate for your rights. It's not going to work. What's going to happen is during that time, the people that we're talking about as uneducated, they're not uneducated. They're not. They are educated. They're educated in things that aren't true. They know a lot of stuff.

If you ask a Trump voter or when we say low information voters, we're talking about low information based upon a standard of truth. But we never talk about the information that they do have. Yeah. The information that they're getting from people that tells them that Kamala Harris is a DEI hire. The information from people that tells them that immigrants are running rampant across the country from C-the-Shining Sea and killing Americans willy-nilly, that Haitians are eating dogs and cats. What they have is belief. It's a religion.

So what I'm telling you is in a society, while we can excoriate those things, we can talk about the fact that those things aren't true. But we also have to talk about what is true. We have to know what the protected status of the Haitian immigrants in Ohio is. We have to be able to look at someone and challenge them on that stuff. And that's a little bit of the heavy lifting. Being an American citizen, Rachel, it's a fucking job. Being an American citizen, an informed American citizen that advocates for their own rights and freedoms, that in it of itself is a responsibility and a job. And we have to take that seriously because when we sleep, they step on us, Rachel.

Okay. You're not wrong. And I want you to know that my alcohol kicked in in that rant. Okay. That's why I started smiling. Right. I fell sorry I feel during that ramp. This is what I will say.

You're not wrong. The thing is, is how do you package that? Okay, because I'll look at Vice President Kamala Harris, for example. She is extremely knowledgeable. She had the protocols and the policies in place, and it still wasn't packaged correctly for those people to receive it. So my pushback to you is, okay, talking about the fight.

We equip ourselves with the knowledge and the right information to combat this. information. Yes, to combat the miss and disinformation that has infiltrated the majority who decided to vote for Donald Trump. All right? So we're equipped with that. How do you know they'll receive it? That's the problem. It's who, you know, it is because it's, I get it, but what I'm telling you is that, how do you package it correctly? Because if we're going to, if we're going to do a knock at the dims, right, a lot of it is how, was there message? We've talked about it multiple times on this podcast. We got caught up in the hoopla and the excitement and the turn of the changing of the order,

the changing of the order from Biden to Kamala Harris. But we rejected what we used to talk about, which was how bad the Democrats are at the messaging. So let's just say we're all equipped correctly. We've got our armor and we're ready to go for battle and we have all of that information. but how do we make them receive it? Okay. Because the messenger for a lot of these people is the problem. So how do you come back?

We're not going to like this. And some of the audience is not going to like this. And some people are going to disagree and I get it. Part of it is that part of that is through debate. And I know you guys hate it. I know you guys hate it. I just don't hate it. I don't believe that that's effective, as you think.

I watched Dean Withers. I watched Destiny who has some bad ideas. I watched all of these people, but Destiny, you know, I don't agree with Destiny all the time. I put it like this. But I watched Dean Withers. I watched Destiny. I watched the Black Lady that was up against,

you know what, I want to give her her props. Can somebody find the name of the Black Lady that went up against Ben Shapiro? Like, I watched them right in front of people. right in front of people, confront their ideas, right in front of them. And I see how powerful that is. I see how powerful it is to be right in front of the bad idea and to confront that bad idea with fact, with feeling, and with intellect. And to me, that is always important.

It's always important for someone to say something and for you to be, well, that's actually not the case. It's also important to force somebody to be responsible for what it is that they're saying. Because what I mean by that is this. There are a bunch of people that are going to talk to you, right? And they're going to say something to you. And then when you challenge them on it,

they'll change the way that they say it. They'll change. They don't want you to think of them in a certain way. And what I'm saying is forcing somebody to be responsible for what they say, meaning, okay, you have. a fundamental belief that black people for some reason can't be qualified to hold certain positions in America because those black people are only in those positions because of DEI.

You feel that way. I need you to say that. And I need people to hear that. I need people to hear you say that. I once had a, I've never talked about this before. exclusive. Exclusive. Years and years ago.

Maybe I have talked about it. Years and years ago, I had a conversation with someone. And this is the way the conversation started. Who? Say it. I can't. Say it.

I can't. I can't. Because it's, you know, my sister gets on me a lot of times about sometimes telling stories and aren't my story to tell. And I was in this room because somebody else had brought me into this room. So I can't really, it would be. All right. Right.

And this person asked me a question. And I respond to the question. And they go, huh. I'm like, what? He was like, that was an incredibly articulate answer. He goes, it wasn't concise, which I never, which I never am. But it was articulate. And it was very well, very well said.

And I'm like, yeah, I don't know, I'm good at talking. And then this guy looks and he goes, can we have a conversation? And I'm like, yeah, we're doing that now. He goes, it's surprising that you could do that. And I look over at my friend and I'm like, because I know what's coming. And these are two people who have this conversation all the time. I'm like, why?

And he goes, we've had this, you know, me and this guy have had this conversation back and forth. I'm going to assume this is brilliant idiots. No, it's not brilliant idiots. So, like, me and this guy have this conversation all the time. It's like, you know, you guys seem to be outliers in a way. Like, he's talking about me and my friend. He's like, because all the time I've been instructing and teaching here,

I find that particularly my black students, have, and this is at a very, you know, this is at a place where people are smart, particularly my black students have problems articulating themselves or synthesizing information in a way that's ever compelling to me. But he can do it and you can do it. And he goes, that's undergirded by the fact that

people of West African descent tend to have lower IQs across, and I'm like, hmm. Can't wait to talk off mic about this. I'm like, hmm, and I'm sitting there. I'm thinking to myself, because this is a much younger van. He's a mid-20s van. And after he says that, his voice starts to become like Charlie Brown's mom. Because I'm like, I'm looking.

And like, my brain is like doing calculations. I'm like, yo, if I sock the shit out of him right now, he won't be able to respond. Like, I look at him right now. He's brittle. Like, his shit will look. explode, I could get over him and talk that South Baton Rouge shit like real easy. Like I could fucking blow his shit up.

I can mess this whole office up. I can fuck shit up right now. And I'm looking at it. And his mouth is moving. He's sitting there with his privilege. This fucking smirk. He's found a pet nigger. Right?

He's gone into the jungle. And he's surprised that one of the monkeys hides his food under a leaf. He's like, oh my God, this must be studied. And I made a decision right there to have that conversation.

Okay. And in my life, I've always wondered whether or not it was the right conversation, whether or not it was the right decision. I made a decision right there to have that conversation. I made a decision right there

to have the conversation about what I think systemically holds black kids back from achievement in public school about IQs themselves and how they're measured and what that takes into consideration about the Nobel Prize and different

laureates, Nobel laureates and where and why they come from where they come from. And I endeavored into the conversation and I sat there and I talked for a long time and it wasn't for him. It was for me. it was for me to to prove to myself

that I believe the things about myself and about my people to the point that I can express those values and those visions and those realities and truths under duress. I wasn't trying to prove to anybody else that I believed in black people

or in their intellect. I wasn't even trying to prove it to myself. I was showing to me under duress that I had the ability to stand in a place that I probably shouldn't have had to been and to have a conversation. And I always wonder whether or not that was masturbatory for me,

whether it was deferential to him, or whether or not is something I just did specifically for sport. But let me tell you what I do believe. What I do believe is that everything, what I know is that everything that I think about my people, about this country is based upon not just my life observations

and who I've been, but about reading, research, and connection. So I don't have any problem in any situation telling people where they're fucking wrong. Yeah. And so that's important to me. And I think part of combating all of this is the want and the need

to, slice people the fuck up about things that they think that are not true. Yeah. I think you did the right thing in talking to him. And what I will say, too, is one of the most alarming things of what you just said, and I can't wait to get more information off, Mike, is that this is a man who's in a position of power. And an extreme position of power.

Who has... I'm sorry. Make that again. Mind you. over here is not breaking the sweat. A man who is in a position of power, who presides over students, and particularly black students,

and is already walking in with these preconceived notions of what black is before they've turned in an exam, written a paper, raised their hand to express their thought. that is what he's walking in with, which is why he was so shocked at what you presented because he already had you pegged on who you are from the moment you walked into the room. And that is just an example of what black people go through, period, whether it's collegiate, scholarly, professionally, personally, people have preconceived notions on who a person

is before you speak, before you say anything about who you are. I feel like for me, and then I want to move on because I know we've been doing a lot, even though I feel like this has been an eventful podcast. I learned that lesson very young, and I think I've said this before, through the example of my father, but really both my parents, who are first generation collegiate students, who my dad went to University of Texas and graduated law. and could not get a job in Dallas, Texas. Nobody would hire him as a black lawyer in the late 70s.

Not one person, fully qualified, could go toe to toe with anybody, but because of their preconceived notions like this man when he walked into a room, because obviously he has a white name. So when he walked in, they were like, now wait a minute now, We thought we were getting a different Sam.

Who are you, Sam, Lindsay? We thought we were getting a different Sam. I learned lessons very young at what my parents went through, and then particularly the trajectory of my father who could not get a job and was about to hang up his own shingle and work for himself until they said they're hiring blacks at the city. And my dad worked his way up from being an assistant city attorney to being the city attorney to being a federal judge.

And he was constantly questioned about his expertise, his knowledge, his worth as he went along the way when he was more qualified than anybody coming up at him. And I saw it in real time and I learned it at a very, very young age. So I say all that to say, you did the right thing in having that conversation. But it is another example of what we're up against despite who we are and what we've accomplished. Now, I want to turn the page, though, as we in this podcast,

we got to talk about moving forward. We have to talk about moving forward. I want to say one thing real quick. I'm looking at a picture of your dad, young, right here, a young man. I wanted to see what he looked like. Because I'm looking at a picture of your dad, young. Rachel, this nigga got big-ass forehead, man.

This is where it comes from. Okay, this is how you know, the disrespect. Me going on a full monologue about my father, about all that he's accomplished. And you want to stick to the forehead. I want to say something. I want to say something. And I want to say something.

Sam Lindsay, you're a king. I want to say something real quick. Because I don't know if I ever talked about this on the podcast. Foreheads? No, no, no, no, no, no. I want to say something about the judge. I don't know if I ever talked about this. So this came in July 4th, 2021.

You know what happened that day? Yeah. All right. So I'm drunk. so I'm about to get a little emotional. So it says, Van, this is Judge Lindsay.

Rachel just informed me of the passing of your father. I'm deeply saddened to hear this news and extend to you my sincere condolences. I hope that the good and pleasant memories you have of him give you some relief during the grief you are experiencing. God bless you and your family.

I didn't get a chance to, like, respond to, like, your dad. That time, I had to, like, respond to him, like, after that. but even though I talk about this forehead I'm like I never I'm getting emotional I tried to hold it in

I tried to hold it in I tried to hold it even though like literally I didn't respond to your father's text until like a couple years later wait a couple years

wait give that space a couple of years later give the date no you gave the date it's May 28th of this year Three years later. I said, hey, I never got a chance to tell you how much this meant to me.

You're an incredible impressive man, Mr. Lindsay. And losing my father made me think I'd lost all the impressive men in my life. I needed this message when you sent it. Thank you. And he never responded because he was probably mad. No, he's not bad. But wait, what made you wake up almost three years later and say, I need to go back and look at this message?

Because I don't even know how you remembered that he messaged you three years ago. What happened was that because that's not all about the four-hairs what I'm trying to say. It's like, but you know what's funny, though? Is when I put in Judge Lindsay Young, all these pictures of you when, like, when... Let me see it?

Like this picture of you right here. See? And then there's a picture of him and then this is the main picture right there. But he's young. He got to be in his 40s in this picture, right? In his 40s? Probably.

This 40s and 50s, but. Shout out to him. I never got a chance to thank him for it. And when I did, he didn't respond. He was probably like, I took time out of my day to tell his nigga condolences. My dad is so not like me. He would never be like that. But when I look at y'all, it's like, I just look at them.

You see the resemblance? Just look like them, man. Let's talk about what's next. Okay. As people have watched us go through every emotion through drinking on this podcast. Donnie's hot. We ain't heard from Donnie. Donnie, where you at?

Donnie's hot. Nah, man, it's been a crazy week. I'm tired more than anything. I'm feeling drained. That's because he does Bakari's podcast, so he's had to do a lot of cleanup. I'm telling him this Bacari's, man. He's has to do a lot of cleanup. Hey, man, we need to get Baccarri on this bitch.

You lied to us, Baccarri. People DM me talking about this didn't age well. This didn't age well. So many people were right. me about that. Because you you're lying to us, nigger,

I ain't believe in none of you niggas ever again. None of you niggas, man. No, we're not pointing fingers because God knows

all my pink fingers are pointing your mess, what? I'm not pointing any fingers. I don't want to go there. Nah,

fuck, what was he supposed to say? Now, I don't know about this shit. Well, you said to him, would you tell us? He's, he,

Let me tell you some. Bakari was not featured in a Trump ad. That's all I'm going to say. Don't bleep it out. That's all I'm going to say. Come on. Come on. People can take shit.

Fuck with shit. Okay. Let's move the fuck on. Like, my fucking brother. I said it. Yeah, let's move. That's the obvious. Things can be taken, you know what I'm saying, out of context and whatever.

Yeah, but you don't get to. to come in at the 11th hour trying to be boots on the ground when everything that you were doing before was... This episode is brought to you by Spectrum Business. Fast, reliable Internet means everything for your business. And even this podcast, that's why I trust Spectrum Business. They keep companies of all sizes connected with Internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, mobile services, plus 24-7 U.S.-based support. Millions of business owners already trust Spectrum.

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All right, let's move on. So what's next? Like, Trump is elected. It's a thing. We're not storming the Capitol. We are not trying to go to court and have all these multiple lawsuits to change things.

We are accepting things the way that they are and that he is our 47th president. So they're not stopping. A lot of people have been very outspoken on what is. is to come or what that we can expect. What are we saying? Donnie, play the Stephen A. Smith clip that I sent you.

No. You wanted to switch it from my friend to your friend. Nope. From your friend to my friend. Stephen A. Simmons is my gosh. We have never, ever seen a comeback of this magnitude. On this particular day, no matter how much we might not like it,

we all got to stand down and give props to the four. 47th president of the United States. Okay. Okay. Mind you, he did that. If you're not watching, he did that with a smile. Okay, so what I'm saying is this.

First of all, fuck with Stephen A. Smith. I don't think that Stephen A. Smith is just your guy. He's my guy. Oh. Yeah, me and Stephen A. You know what I'm saying? I'm so happy I could introduce the two of you. Yeah, because some niggas that you introduced me to ain't worth a fuck.

But... Brian. Actually, you got a bad track record. But, okay, so this is what I'll say. That's the first thing. Number one, you don't have to give no props. No props. There's no, you don't have to give props.

That's the first thing. When you win, they say you didn't deserve it. They say you're a DEI hire. You don't deserve to be there. When you get what you're supposed to get, when you get that job, when you get that promotion, when you start that business, when you get that loan, they tell you that you didn't deserve it.

But when they win, what you do is you turn around and give props. Because imbued inside of us as black people, we are the most American of people. We believe in America so much more than anybody else because it's all we have to believe in. Like, we believe in capitalism. We believe that the money will save us. We believe in democracy.

We believe that the votes will save us. The rest of the country believes in the concept of power and domination. And it don't matter what you do. When you win, they'll tell you why. They'll tell you either you won because the game was rigged, or they'll tell you you won because somebody fucking had pity on you. But when they win, what we do is because we are imbued with this sense of fairness, right? With this sense of meritocracy because it's been played so well on us.

When they win, we go, hey, man, we got to give it up to you. We got to do the thing. You don't have to give Trump any props. Correct. You don't have to give Trump any props for lying his way to the White House. for you don't have to give Trump any props for fear-mongering his way to the White House. You don't have to give Trump any props

for looking at different people and saying that black people in Ohio are eating cats. You don't have to give Trump props for lying about migrants. You don't have to give Trump props for any of that. You don't have to.

You don't have to. You don't. So that's the first thing. You don't have to give anybody props. What you have to do is take stock of the reality that you're living in and then decide how you are going to adjust that reality to benefit yourself, your freedom,

the sovereignty of the women in your community, the people that you share your community with, and the old folks that you want to have, they're insolent. That's what your responsibility is. It's not your responsibility to go, hey, democracy one. And now everybody got to do that, hey, whatever, whatever. It's not your responsibility to do any yet. You have the right, the American right,

not to question the election in terms of whether or not it was a free and fair election. Guys, it was. But you have the right to say, I don't think the right idea is won. Sure. I don't. At the end of the fever links game, fucking Breonna Stewart traveled and then a phantom file was called. All.

Liberty Links. What did I say? Fever. I apologize. Shout to Caitlin Clark. But at the end of the Liberty Links game, you have the right to look at that game and be like, that shouldn't have happened. So that's your right. You don't have to regress to the mean.

A fever is what you have right now. A fever is what I have right now. You don't have to at all. You don't have to do that. So, like, moving forward, what I want you guys to do, man, more than anything, God damn, I want y'all to believe in each other, man. I want you to know that I'm fucking here for you. You don't have to agree with me all the time.

You don't have to agree with people I know. You don't have to agree with, but I give a fuck about what happens to you. I fucking care about what happens to you, and I need you guys to believe in yourselves. Yeah, we got to get past the, we have to announce our acceptance of something. We've got to let that go.

That is so embedded deeply. and that so we don't have to get deeply. We don't get deep into that because you kind of talk to that about the deference we give to the man. But I do want to know, because I feel like this will come up in our future podcast, now that Trump is our president. Not yet. He's not yet. He's the president in January. Now that Trump will be our next president.

We know that there are so many things that he has promised and said along the campaign trail. We know what he has, you know, apparently he can win in the war within wars within a day. We know that he wants to get rid of certain government entities. We know that he wants to close up our borders. There's certain things. We'll bring on somebody to really get into the depths of Project 2025, which we've never, we haven't done on our podcast because I don't think we have fully accepted that that was going to be a reality. Big people on the right are coming out and just basically saying that. they fuck with Project 2025 and they're happy now.

It's going to be implemented. Exactly. So I was just going to say. I love to drink. Now that that is a possible reality on this podcast, we're going to have to deep dive into it. We don't have to do today. But we're going to have to deep dive into it. We're going to have to bring on experts to talk about it because people within the Trump current campaign and future administration are already speaking to Project 2025 and talk.

and talking about what they plan on doing for our American society. So that is where we are, guys. Let me tell you guys something, man, before we go. And I'm going to say something that's going to offend a lot of people on the podcast. What's new? Enough with the soft shit. I'm not like even a lot. I'm like, you know, Tatego's, enough with the soft shit.

Right? I was walking through the neighborhood one time real quick, real quick. So like, my sister was outside one time, and these dudes were saying stuff to my sister. And I come outside. And they were like people like, I just bullshit, right? I don't know if they really meant her any harm. Ebony don't need no help. Let me tell you somebody that don't need no help.

Ebony don't need no help. Ebony, if Ebony can't come off the porch and beat your ass, Ebony always got like four niggas on standby that we fuck you up. I don't know why Ebony should be in control of the country. Because if Ebony can't get to you, she know a nigger that for some reason

will pick up his sword like a fucking knight in Game of Thrones and fuck somebody up. Can I just say Ebony is so, 10 toes down for you and for this podcast. There is a post that is going viral that literally quotes and conflates what you said and what I said about Trump and why he can get away with anything. And the only credit is a black podcaster said this.

Yeah, but one, it's plural. Oh, black podcasters. Well, the last part is what I said. But it took what you said and what I said. and conflates it into a paragraph. Yeah. And it's going viral. And Ebony said, give credit what credit is due.

Even Miss Tina Knowles posted it. Now she took it down. She took it down because of probably the hate that she was receiving. Tina, come on Tina. She didn't credit it. And I saw in the comments, people were like, give family than the credit. And I say give higher learning the credit. Yes, but Ebony, my point in saying all that was Ebony, nothing went past

Ebony. Ebony said, give them the credit. We love Ebony. Ebony, like she don't, Ebony, Ebony can take care of her shit, right? She'd be fucking over me. And getting at me.

Just holds you accountable. But I tell you something right now, man. Nobody in this world, if you got to protect her, like Ebony Layton, you got to fucking protect her, man. She'll protect everyone, even if she, you know,

my fucking nerves of the shit. Okay. So these guys are coming at Ebene. She probably only been, know this story. These guys are coming at Ebony. I come outside. I didn't even say nothing. I was just... How old are you? It's 15, 14. They earlier, they didn't need my help. I just walk outside to see what's going on and these two guys see me.

And they're saying whatever they're saying, I'm a big kid. They wasn't scared. It's bad ruge. That side shit don't matter. They get on their bikes and they drive away, whatever. Not because I came out there, but just because whatever, it was over. They were saying what they were saying. and it's gone now. Ebony and then was Ebony and Regina, her friend was joking with them or whatever. Like a month later, I'm getting off the bus. I'm walking back home.

And I pass up the Circle K on Gardier and GSRI and I see these niggas. And I know we about the fight. Okay. We about the fight. I can't not fight. Like, it's a fight. I'm going to have a fight.

It's not that I can't talk my way out of it. It's nothing. It's not like I'm not scared. It's two of them. One of me, I'm passing up. It's like it's yesterday. I'm looking at them. I'm like, shit, here we go.

And they look at me and then one of them touches their other friend. Right? And they go, there he is. And I'm like, what's happening? Let's go. And the only thing I can do is take my book bag off. it was you against four it was me against two

oh the only thing I can do is take my book bag off you I'm just like I take my book back off like this we I know that these niggas feel like I came and tried to test them in front of the girls

that they was harassing or flirting with or whatever and I know that they that they looking around like dead at nigger go I take my book bag off I'm not about to run. I'm not about to say,

yo man, I was just playing. I'm not about to tongue rassel with you. We got to thump each other right now. You're not going to let me off the hook, and I'm not curing out for you. I'm not turning my tail for you. I'm not going to walk around my neighborhood, scared for you.

I'm not going to go out. Nobody is around. There's no one around. No one would have saw me be a coward. No one would have saw them. We could have let it go, but we're not there. We can't let it go.

For whatever putrid, toxic masculine reason, we can't let it go. The only way to figure it the fuck out is a fucking fight. Okay. That's how we figuring it to fuck out. Take your fucking book bag off. Realize you can't run from it. You can't hire from it. You didn't walk past these niggas at the circle K, not niggas.

You didn't walk past these ops at the Circle K. They're not going to let it go. You not going to let it go. Take your book bag off. Stand right there. Don't fucking move. And even if it's two on one, fight. And when you fight, realize what a win is.

The most important thing in a fight is, is letting the other person know you're in a fight. Yeah. My daddy, rest in peace. Did a lot of fucked up shit, a lot of kids. But he did give a lot of good lessons. And one lesson that he gave was this. When you were in a fight with someone,

the most important thing to do is to make that person realize they don't want to fight you again. Yeah. Rip a shirt. Cause blood. Fuck them up. Let them know you're not the person to fuck with.

Right now, half the country thinks you're an easy mark that is easy to fuck over you that is easy to take your rights that is easy to minimize and marginalize and put you to the side it shouldn't be they need to get dusted up

you need scraped knees you need black eyes you need ripped shirts all fucking metaphorically and politically I'm not telling you to go out there and actually do anything physical to your neighbors. It's a good metaphor.

What you need to do is understand that they've seen you getting off the bus. You've seen them and you can't run. You have to fight. Dry your tears. Put your fucking gloves on. Let's get two. It's going to be a long four years.

I mean, that's the way to end it. Well said. Close us out. Guys, we know you feel you're upset. You feel every single emotion. I know I've gone through those emotions with you, as has Van. But we can't let it in there.

We have to keep going as Van just expressed. Go ahead. Tell them, take their thinking. Fight like you, Bronny James. Well, that's... What? Okay. Take your thinking caps off, but don't stop thinking.

I'm Van. And I'm Rachel and Lindsay. Bye, guys. Did you lose the fight? Oh, they fuck me up. Fade us out, Dottie, fade us out. Fade us out immediately. They fuck me up.