Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay - Joe Biden’s Latest Problematic Comments, Plus the First Mailbag Friday

Episode Date: August 7, 2020

Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay discuss 'The Oprah Conversation' and Ted Cruz’s comments about it (10:25) as well as Joe Biden’s comments comparing the Black and Latino communities (26:49) before having their first Mailbag Friday with questions from the Thought Warriors (44:00). They also compliment the women of the WNBA for speaking out on social justice (1:09:18) and share their Unexpected Allies of the Week (1:22:56). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yo, yo, yo, thought warriors. Welcome to higher learning. I'm Van Lathen. And I'm Rachel Lindsay. Okay. Let's just get it out there in the open. Let's just put it out there. You might notice that there are different tones here.

So please, Van, I'll give you the floor to start it out. Well, here's the deal. We are starting this podcast. three and a half hours later than we normally start the podcast. Okay. Now, I'll take responsibility for the first hour. Right. I asked in advance, I might note that if we could push it back an hour because I had a prior engagement.

I was sitting on a panel promoting the ringer and higher learning podcast. Right. And I then pushed it back even more because I had a medical scare. All right, which I'll get into. And then when I got home, a computer wouldn't work. So now I'm doing this on Kaleek's computer. So, like, for me, can I talk about the medical scare real quick? Can I talk about the medical scare?

Please. I'm just, I'm, okay. Are you okay? I'm okay. I'm okay. Start there. All right. So Thought Warriors, I want you to bear with me real quick because we're about to

cross the threshold into, like, of how good of friends we really are. Okay. Okay. All right. Rachel, you ready for this? I'm ready because thought worries, I have no idea what the medical emergency is. Okay. Turns out it wasn't really an emergency, but it felt like one, okay, and I will talk about it now. So a couple of mornings ago, I wake up, right? I wake up and I'm like, hmm, it's like a dull aching sensation in my genitalia area.

Okay. Yes, we are getting open. We're talking about the figs, not the carrot. Okay. Okay. My figs are achy. I got achy figs. All right. My lower back is hurting.

I don't think anything of it. I'm like, yo, it's cool. I'm all right. Whatever. I'm running. I'm boxing. I'm doing all of this stuff. It goes on for a couple of days.

And like at some point, I'm thinking, yo, there's really like a sensation there. It feels achy. It feels weird. I don't know what's going on. And today, I'm running around doing my thing and I'm on a run. And I see a guy that's on his bike.

And he's biking really fast. And I go, damn. On the run, full of sweat, I go, damn. That nigger, like Lance Armstrong, how fast is you? And then I went, wait. Lance Armstrong. What? No, man.

I go to Google. This is a true story. I go to Google. I know where you're going with this. And I look up signs of testicular cancer. That's what we're late for. And then it says, and then it says, dull sensation, tenderness in your figs,

and the pain that can sometimes radiate to your lower back. I right then call a urologist. Right then. right then. And they said, you know what? Come on in. 3.30. 3.30 is the only time they can come.

They say, if we don't do it at 3.30, then we got to wait a couple of weeks. I was like, I got to go do it right now. Doctor, I don't know what's going on with me. So I rush over there. I then pee into the cup. The doctor, all while maintaining a great bedside manner, he massages the fig.

He examines the sturdiness of the figs, and he says, you're okay. And I'm like, so I don't have testicular cancer. He goes, no, you don't. And so then I rush back here to try to do the podcast. You're going to say something now. Well, I'm listening to the story. And so I said, let me refer to the original message that you sent. Okay.

Because, fan, I was very concerned for you. And we all were here on the team. Hey guys, this is Van. Hey guys, I have medical shit going on. Need to see the doctor at 3.30 today. Pretty urgent, period. I'm like, oh my God, you know, with COVID going on, 2020 in general, I'm thinking something actually happened to you and it needed immediate medical attention. I did not know that you were a hypochondriac.

Wow. And we were dealing with symptoms. I hear had been sitting with a. pain in my lower back buttocks area where the muscle, the nerve, it's my sciatic nerve. It's like the muscle is hurt that's running through that or the nerve, yeah, the nerve runs through that muscle. I'm in an immense amount of pain, right? Took a muscle relaxer two days ago, haven't been right since.

Right. Did I call a doctor? No. No. You didn't, yeah. But you all know what else you don't have? Balls. But you know what?

So that's something that you don't have to worry about. You don't have to worry about that. It's what triggered. dull aching. Like, you don't have to worry about it. I have to go check it out. I'm 40 years old. I'm 40 years old.

I started to tell the doctor, hey, why don't you go ahead and stick your finger up there while you're at it? But he says, I'm not that kind of doctor. When I'm trying to figure out, I don't want, it's not, I don't want it to happen to me. You know what I mean?

If you had told the story, if you had told the story and said you woke up, you were filling it and you were like, it's been going on for days, I got to see a doctor. But the fact that you were on a full-blown run, running miles with a sweatbag. With a sweatbag with a sweatbag.

With a sweatbag, in the middle of summer, and what triggered you is seeing a man riding on a bicycle and you thought about Lance Armstrong. That's what made the podcast three and a half hours late. But here's a deal, though. That's how God works. God is the one who sends a rock. Don't try to silence me with God.

No, I'm saying. God, that's like God works. God is the one who would send that guy riding the bike. And then you look at him and you go, Lance Armstrong. By the way, I watched that Lance Armstrong documentary. Lance Armstrong waited until he sneezed blood. Guys. Let's refer to the documentary.

Les Armstrong was riding a bike. His balls were hurting for months. He waited until he sneezed blood to go see a doctor. Do you remember how that documentary started off? How? Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how I feel right now.

Tell everybody the truth, fan, that you were just trying to have a front row seat to the versus battle. I wasn't trying to do that. I wasn't trying to do that. I really, I can show you. the tower urologies. As a matter of fact, I actually,

I made a different, I made two, well, I called one place and made an appointment. They couldn't see me until Tuesday. So then I called another place. So you could go on Tuesday.

No, but another place they could take me to day. You think I was going to be able to sleep on this for like five days? No, it wasn't going to happen. I had to go check it out. Well,

what did he tell you what was wrong? What's, what? He said nothing. He said the balls are okay. So now like, stress. Stress.

He said it was stress. He did say I had a tight growing muscle that maybe I have tension down there I'm stressed out and it's tight you know what I mean

you're probably running too much you're probably running too much you run in the morning you run in night I can tell you've been triggered you posted a picture that said I'm fat then you posted

you told everybody the story you post that story it simply said I'm fat period you know I post a story I'll tell you why I post a story

that said I'm fat this is why I post a story Like, I like food, but not like you like food, Rachel. You like food like a regular person who's achieved things in life. I don't like food like that. When I saw those chocolate chip cookies that I posted, I don't want to just eat the chocolate chip cookies. I want to run away with them.

I want to sit. I'm serious. I want to sit in a dark room where nobody bothers me. And all I have is like a half gallon of milk and those chocolate chip cookies. I want to hoard them. Like when people come to me, I want to get away. You know what I mean?

Like, it's not a healthy thing. And I'm wondering, when or when, well, God, take this demon from me. Like, take this burden. Take this burden from me, man. It's all about self-control. Listen, you've overcome it. I saw your post on Instagram.

I read your story. You know what I mean? Like, you've come a long way. you've overcome it. It's okay to admit that you love food. Love food too much. In a real way, though, I would like to say that I am very thankful and apologetic to the whole team here.

Jackson, I've been waiting for this. Not to Jordan because she turned her back on us. So I am sorry that I was late. And then I'm sorry I couldn't get my computer to work. But we are back. We are on. And to you specifically as well, because you are very in demand. you posted yet another ad on your Instagram.

So I know you posted another ad. It was a couple of days ago. You posted the ad. I saw it. People were waiting for me to get at you. They were waiting. I posted that I have a new show that got a season two. Did you see that?

MTV Ghosted. I was waiting on the congratulations for that. Thanks. Oh, I actually read it as an ad. So I didn't even read the caption. But congratulations on that. Ghosted. MTV ghosted.

And that's about, what is that about again? Do it people that they pass away? and then they're like you guys are communing with them in the next life? Not quite. Okay. It's more of you're dating somebody or it's a family member or a friend and then all of a sudden they just disappear. They just ghost on you. They just ghost on you.

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Get some answers. Bucking with that. Now, the podcast must begin. And we're starting off with a lot of money. Oprah Winfrey. I am very proud of Oprah Winfrey. Are you? Are you?

I'm proud of Oprah. Why? Because, man, Oprah Winfrey has finally made enough money to where she decides she wants to address white people. I imagine Oprah in 1986 going, you know what? When I've made, I'm not going to say shit. but when I've made like $3 billion, I'm a tell America what I really think about them.

And I appreciate that from her. So Oprah was on her Apple show. I think your friend was on there, too. Wasn't he on there? Well, can we just talk about this for a second? Yes, she was on her Apple show. It is called The Oprah Conversation. Sound familiar?

It was in a, she had the white background, and she's talking about race. Are you saying she jacked Emmanuel? He was a part of it. I'm just saying. Just a viewer observation. It's called the Oprah conversation. You're accusing Oprah Winfrey of Jacking?

Wait, wait, wait, wait. I will not have you put those words in my mouth. All I'm saying is when I saw it, I said, wow, that looks very familiar. He has uncomfortable conversations. White background discusses race, has these detailed conversations about race and presents it in a way where, you know,

a lot of people can accept it and hear it. She created the Oprah conversation. Similar background. Similar conversation. conversation. But she had a manual there. So, you know, then it washes it away and it's all good. That's what you do.

So during this conversation, Oprah called out to people, to white people, to basically embrace their inherent privilege in America. I'm going to read exactly what Oprah said so that I don't then, because people are getting at me and say, Van, don't misquote people. People don't misquote anyone. We don't mean to misquote anyone. here on higher learning. This is what Oprah actually said. There are white people that are not as powerful as the system of white people, the caste system that's been put in place. But they still, no matter where they are on the rung or the ladder of success, have their whiteness. You still

have your whiteness. That's what the term white privilege is. It means that whiteness still gives you an advantage no matter what. This statement was criticized by a lot of people, but most specifically by Ted Cruz, one of the number one fans of bangbros.com. He loves that website down there in Miami. I remember you guys he was liking stuff from there back there. I like it too.

Ted Cruz says Oprah lectures the rest of us, what utter racist BS. And that is the thing. The question becomes, in some way, because Oprah is a multi-billionaire, does a certain amount of money mean that you have opted out of the discussion or you are disqualified, more to the point of the discussion,

from talking about institutional racism and systemic racism here in America? Absolutely not. Because no matter how much money Oprah has, she is still black. And that's exactly what she was saying when she made that statement. And I too applaud Oprah

because I know that black people can be indifferent when it comes to Oprah just from certain things. And I appreciate that she was, no matter how this conversation came to be, I appreciate that she's having it. Because a lot of times, you do see people who make it

and then don't want to reach back and help. And I appreciate that Oprah is having these conversations and she's talking about the people who look like her, but don't have the wealth that she has. And what bothered me with what Ted Cruz said or a lot of these other conservatives said that went crazy on Twitter

just really harping on Oprah what she said is that Oprah is an exception and she's not the rule. And there was a very interesting statistic that said there's 1,15 billionaires in the United States. Six of them are black.

Okay? That's 1%. So Oprah, you can't look at Oprah and say, well, Oprah, you made it. So why isn't everybody else making it? Oprah is simply saying, because I look the way that I am, I am not afforded the same privileges.

If I being a black person walk into a room with a white person next to me, there are going to be certain preconceived notions and certain stereotypes that are placed on me simply because of the color of my skin that are not going to be placed on my white counterpart. And that is a privilege that white people will always have, and that's simply what she was saying.

She's not knocking the white race. She is not trying to put herself on the level of black people who don't have her wealth. She is simply saying that there is a privilege that is afforded to white people because of the color of their skin that black people will never have in this country because of centuries of oppression that we have faced. Period. And I just, it's such a simple concept to me. When you shake that tree, that racist tree, you start to see who falls out. And there were plenty of conservatives that

were falling out of that tree based on the comments that Oprah made. It's ridiculous because it's just something that's very obvious to me, very simple. There's no need to attack Oprah. Okay. So I'm going to remind you guys of something. Back in 2013, Oprah told a story of a time that she was in Zurich, that she was in, she was actually given an apology by the Swiss government. She was in a store in Switzerland, in Zurich. And she wanted to buy a handbag. Now, Oprah, who's one of the richest women in the world, we just established that. She's a billionaire.

She went to grab the handbag and asked the attendant there to show her the handbag. and the attendant said to Oprah that the handbag was too expensive for her. Now, the Oprah Winfrey show is not shown in Zurich. All right? So they don't really know as much about who Oprah Winfrey is. Oprah looked at that and interpreted that back and forth, that experience with that person

as them having made a snap judgment about her because of the color of her skin. Absolutely. So this is why I'm saying this. You're completely right when you say that the exception is not the rule. You are absolutely right about that, right? What we are fighting for or what we are trying to promote here in America is a change in concrete systems that promotes equal opportunity,

racial justice, and the prospect, the promise, the hope of achievement for, a larger swath of our community. That does not mean that you're not going to have people that pierce through and get to where they're trying to go. That is indicative of how excellent black people are. You're going to have some people that make it, whether they make it from being able to talk to celebrities, whether they make it for being able to rap or sing, or where they make it for being able to start BET like Bob Johnson, or whether they make it for being able to

having a cold ass jump shot. Some people are going to make it. But what we want is capitalization. on the average black life that live in these different communities, right? And the way you capitalize on those lives is to have structures that promote their free ability to move, think, and achieve in America. You have to build structures. Nothing about Oprah's wealth or Michael Jordan's wealth, a Bob Johnson's wealth, a Robert Smith's wealth, disqualifies them for being able to speak about white supremacy

or white privilege. Nothing. As a matter of fact, I mean, that's tantamount to saying that a slave that escaped slavery can't talk about how hard it was to get out of the plantation. You know what I mean? There's still a system that exists for everybody else. All right?

And Oprah is simply saying she's witnessed that system. And personally, she's beating it, but she wants people to understand it so that we can all do better at beating it. As a matter of fact, when you talk to black people and use the exception as the rule, you're doing a gigantic disservice

to the discourse that's needed in this country for us to get to a better place. You know what I mean? Like, it's a weird thing to do, and it's something that specifically seems to have been done, seems to get done to black people. It's like, we're the ones that go,

oh, you guys got Prince of Michael Jackson, shut the fuck up. It's just a weird, weird thing to me. Ted Cruz is completely out of line. But it happens so often. It's almost as if, well, you got your one, so shut up. But why can we only have one?

There's so many of you that are able to achieve great things. We get one, and that's the one you want to point to. Like, see, they made it. So everybody should be able to get, you know, the same level that to the same level that they get. And that's not fair because, like you said, you're not understanding. You're not getting this whole thing. You're not getting what we're saying. You're not getting what we're fighting for.

You're not understanding the systems that are in place. If you look at the one person who made it and say, well, one did, they all should. Do you not realize what it took for that one person to get there to make it? Right. Yeah. It's interesting. Like, even President Obama, right? President Obama who is probably,

we've talked about this before, President Obama who is probably the most accomplished president academically of any of the guys that we've had. Maybe with the, you know, Bill Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar and all that stuff. But when you look at Barack Obama, you look at a guy who is editor of the Law Review, you look at a guy, University of Chicago professor, all of these things, exceptional across the board,

the highest pinnacle of American exceptionalism, especially from a guy who, came from a single parent household, came from nothing, then went and did his thing, right? The president before him was a C student. He was president because his ancestors were on the Mayflower. Okay? So two guys become president, right?

One guy walks into it, never really having achieved anything real in his life. If you know the story of George Bush, and obviously he looks like Mahatma Gandhi compared to the guy in the White House right now, But if you know that, but he still is a war criminal and left us in the water in New Orleans, don't give me, don't get me fucking start on that. But if you know the history of George Bush, you know a guy who really never succeeded at anything. A guy who was handed America basically based off branding. So when you talk about privilege, that's what privilege looks like.

And then when you even look at President Trump, a guy whose father went and got it, handed him a gigantic head start. And all he's done was volley around bankruptcies until he failed. into being president. We'll stop having this conversation when a black man or woman fails their way into the president. Exactly. I mean,

I'll even give you into the perspective of the bachelor, bachelorette. Oh, yeah. When I became the bachelor... That's what I like. Well, I'm just saying when I became the bachelorette,

a lot of people were like looking at my resume and were like, well, of course that that's what it had to take for somebody black to become the bachelorette. Oh, she's a new. attorney. Oh, her father's a federal judge. Oh, she went to this school and she went to law school. Oh,

she comes from this. Oh, well, of course. Like, she makes sense on paper. And you stack me up to other contestants on the show and they don't have that same resume yet it's not a problem for them to become the next lead or, you know, to get chosen by the lead or whatever. And it's, and I use that example to say that that's what happens a lot of times to black people. You have to check all what, stop. Stop. Stop it, Van. stop it. No, I want you to finish your point. I'm using it as an example to say that a lot of times to get to a certain place,

black people have to be damn near perfect to get there. You have to work twice as hard for half as much. You have to fit into a certain box to achieve something is what I'm saying. Like you said, you can't fell your way to the top when you have the color skin that we do. You have to be perfect.

You have to make them comfortable. I want to take the time to do something right now. I want to take the time to appreciate you. No, no, no, you're done. Your face said it all. No, no, no. You wasted my time. You're disrespected by example.

No, no, it's not, no what? I'm not disrespecting your example. I'm saying something that's real. Your example, I didn't even know that it was true, but it is true, right? I didn't even know that, right? I didn't even know. Like, I don't know. Like, when I see The Bachelor, I see Jesse Palmer, really couldn't cut it in the NFL,

but was good in college. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know. I don't know what they look for, right? But what I like about you is you're multifaceted in that you just made a completely relevant societal point, very succinctly, and shaded the fuck out of every other bachelorette ever. You like, like, that is, that takes a lot of skill. You're good at this. Like, you just said, you know what?

You're not shading. everybody listened to this and tell me whether or not that was in shape. You just got your shit off on them. You just got your shit off on them. Like the last Bachelorette didn't even have a job. That's what I'm saying.

So I'm like, let a black person. No, let a black person. Do you think that if I didn't have a job, there are plenty of black contestants that came before me. Do you think that they would have been able to get it? No, everybody talked about this when I got it. Like, okay, of course they picked her because she checks off this box, this box,

in this box. I'm just saying, do you think that if I wasn't employed or if I didn't have my resume that I would have been the first black bachelorette? No, I really don't. But I've gone through this my entire life too. They use an excellent standard with black people to divorce

America's consciousness away from the concept of institutional racism. They say, if anybody can be excellent, then everybody should be excellent. That's actually not the way society works. The way society works. The way society works is most people need resources to support and buoy them throughout this life. If that's not the case, then we don't actually need civilization.

Then everybody grabs swords and guns and go get it how you live, right? But if we're going to have a civilization that is supposed to be governing us equitably and justly, then what we need to make sure of is that there are systems that reinforce that. Nobody's asking for a hand out, at least I'm not. What we're asking for is equality. That's it. Like equality or even the, I won't even say equality because asking the system for equality is too much now.

What I'm asking for is enough latitude. I'm going to go assert enough latitude that I make sure that nobody can stand in the way of me or my community. So remember, everything that's been done to black people, Jim Crow, slavery, redlining, voter suppression, all of that stuff. It was all on purpose, guys. None of it was an accident. Right.

Just reconcile it. It was all on purpose. That's it. So we got to undo it on purpose. And Oprah from her ivory tower, she probably gave that podcast. from a super yacht. Good for her. Good for her.

Don't get it, Oprah. Go, like, like, do, and Ted Cruz, who are you? Nobody. Some man, some senator from the state of Texas. Some guy.

All right. Now, speaking of black people, the man that is vying for the presidency, the Democratic nominee, Joseph Biden, has some thoughts

on black people. This is what Joe Biden thinks about black people. Hold on. Let me not say it like that and get myself in trouble. This is not what Joe Biden thinks about black people. Joe Biden, as a presidential candidate, let me be very pragmatic and, you know, let me be fair.

Joe Biden made some what people think to be disrespectful comments in an interview that he did about black people. in comparing them to the Latino community, this is what Joe Biden had to say. Yes, and by the way, what you all know, but most people don't know, unlike the African-American community

with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes about different things. Huh. Okay, let me decompress real quick, because I don't want to kick Joe Biden's ass on this. But I got to kick Joe Biden.

Biden's ass on this. I'm struggling. Guys, I want to bring you into the mind. This is why we need Simone on. I got to bring you someone. Like, there have been arguments that have been going on all day with me and friends of mine about how you address this. So I'm going to preface this with something. Okay. I understand the importance of removing Donald Trump from office.

Donald Trump represents a threat, not just our communities here in America. but to the world community and the peace and prosperity of everybody on this globe. It's that serious. Donald Trump represents a return to fascism. Not actually a fascism that really hasn't ever really been able to fully gain power here in America, but it's been very, very close to it in parts of the South. No, bullshit. There was out and out fascism during the civil rights era in the way black Americans were trying to assert their freedom

and the way the state was trying to take their freedoms away. But Donald Trump represents a wholesale return to that in so many different ways, and they are so incompetent that unforeseen situations like COVID-19, any one of them could wipe us out at any time with that level of incompetence in the White House. I understand the stakes. It's very important that he loses this election so we can try to get back on a track to some sort of normalcy here in the country. Having said that, hearing that from Vice-Sah, President Biden is a fucking kicking a teeth.

And the reason why is that when you say these other communities have so much diversity and there's very little diversity in the black community, that idea of black people as a monolith, black people as like this huge one level of thinking and like a bunch of lemmings, that's a trope that has been used to reinforce white supremacy. Niggas are all the same. They all do the same shit. They're all criminals. They're all rapists.

They're all lazy. We don't want to be all anything. We represent many different areas of thought and action and life experience in this country. And it's weird that you can understand that about the amazing Latin X community here. but you seem to fundamentally, fundamentally not get it about black people. And they even be having that conversation on that fucking stage shows that there's such a gulf between us and him that it's very, very troubling. And that's as nice as I can be about that.

But if it was anybody else and if we were in any other situation, my response to that, would be like, yo, fuck that guy. Yeah. Because we've been here one too many times with him. Right? We've been here with this now. We've been here when the, if you don't vote for me, you ain't black thing. Then even before that, we were here in the 90s and the 80s when he was part of legislation

that caused the biggest mass incarceration crisis of this generation. And we haven't even gotten a full-throated response from vice. President Biden for that. So I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do. It's like my goddamn head is going to be smart on it. Well, I know what we're supposed to do. Like this is, we talked about this before on the podcast. People are not excited about Joe Biden.

They're running away from Trump. And the fear is, is that before COVID, before Black Lives Matter movement, before all these things have been happening in 2020, February, the country was for Trump. So the economy, if all that gets back to a. a level playing field, they're going to go right back to Trump. They're not excited for Biden. They're not running towards him to see him sitting in as our next president. They are running away from the terror that is Donald Trump.

That's the scary thing because at any moment, if things start to get better in this country, they will go right back to Trump. I agree with you in the sense that if this was an isolated thing, maybe I could look past it and excuse it. but this is one of many things that has span over a number of decades when it comes to Joe Biden. And when I heard this, I thought you have such a level of not understanding black people or the community. From the things that you have done, you don't get us and you're honestly not trying to get us. And you honestly feel like you don't have to get us because of what you did say with, if you don't vote for me, you ain't black.

It's as if you have taken advantage of our vote and who we are. and you don't have to try with us. Because what you didn't say is that the speech was given at the NABJ, it was a virtual discussion, right? So that's National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He was speaking to Black and Brown people when he made these comments, which makes it even worse.

You either are very unaware of your audience or you just don't even care. Now, I know that Simone Sanders, who is black, is pretty much the lead campaign manager. Well, she's like up there, like up there coms, like the head of his comms. And she did try to explain what he was saying. But the problem is, he's since apologized. I didn't know he's apologized. But I will say that after she gave a statement about explaining what he said, he then went on to say, quote, we can build a new administration that reflects the

full diversity of our nation, the full diversity of the Latino communities. Now, when I mean full diversity, unlike the African-American community, many other communities, you're from everywhere, from Europe, from the tip of South Africa, all the way to our border in Mexico and in the Caribbean, and different backgrounds, different ethnicities, but all Latinos. The fact that he was saying that as he's addressing him, so he's trying to appeal, this is what I do understand, you're trying to appeal to Latinos, right? That was what you were trying to do in that speech. But in doing that, you neglected African-Americans. You, you neglected African-Americans. You, you collected black people when you did that. And for him to say that, oh, when I say diversity,

I mean that you're from everywhere. So are black people. How are you missing that point? That's what I mean by he doesn't understand us. You're talking about Latinos and then being diverse because they come from everywhere, but so do black people. They're not just African American. They're not just ancestors of enslaved people. Black people live in this country and they come from all over. So I just am worried that he doesn't get black people. and is it that he doesn't understand us or is it that he doesn't even care to understand us? There's a difference.

And I think that's the fear because if it's the latter that you don't care to understand us, then I have every fear that you have. Let's parse through that for a second. Number one, if he is in fact talking about black Americans that are the descendants of slaves, then it is true that we're pretty much all from the same place here.

Okay. In that statement. In that statement, but if you're including people that come that have immigrated from the Caribbean, who are both, by the way, who still the descendants of slavery, of African slavery. But if you're talking about people who've come from the Caribbean or people that have come from the continent of Africa, places like that, then obviously if you're using that broad term to mean black, then, yeah, we do come from everywhere. My so much, my problem, this is my issue with that. If you want to talk about how that there is cultural diversity,

a specific cultural diversity in the Latino community, right? Meaning, you have Cubans and Puerto Ricans and Dominicans and Mexicans that are all, that all speak the same language, but have vast differences in their food and their music and their worship. worship, you know, there's differences all over the place. And each specific group has a specific set of needs based upon how and why they came to America. That's fantastic. That's fine. I don't begrudge you that. Right. There's a whole group of Cubans in South Florida that are incredibly conservative, right?

They might vote differently than Dominicans in New York City over indictment. And so it's not the same group, right? And if you want to talk to them to the Latinx population and address those differences and try to find a way to bridge those gaps and address all of those needs, have that conversation. I think it would be compelling to hear it. I would be interested to hear what some of my Latin ex brothers and sisters think about all of that, right? Because they too often get grouped in as Latinos, right? but why on earth is there the need to juxtapose them with us?

Yes. Like what's the point of that? Twice. What's the point of saying, well, black people who have this, blah, la, all right,

we're going, we're going to give out free Popeye's chicken sandwiches. They'll be taken care of. Y'all, on the other hand, we got a lot more work to do because y'all from everywhere. I don't understand what the fucking point of that doing. it's belittling.

And if this were a one-off, it would be one thing. But like you said, it seems like it's a symptom of a larger disease sometimes. Man, name this vice president so we can have, so we can vote for this sister. And by the way. Oh, didn't you hear about that, though? That's why they're going after Bass because she has said that she has no desire to run for president. Interesting. I read that.

Now, I don't know if that is official, but that's why she has jumped up because she has expressed desires to not run for president. I think the VP pick is Kamala Harris. Do you really? I really do. I think that you, that's shady,

shady palm tree, palm tree, palm tree, palm tree. Don't you give me another name. Hashtag palm tree. Shady palm tree on the beach and the shade. I say really because I don't see, I mean, I don't think she's in the top four that they've narrowed.

down to, but her name isn't circulating like others are at this point. I think it'll be her. I think it'll be her. Also, by the way, I'm not telling anyone to lose any enthusiasm for removing Trump from office. I'm really not. I need you guys to go out in droves and I need you to vote. I need you to understand the danger that is at the doorstep of America. The election is literally, literally for the future of the country, maybe the world.

I'm serious. That's how dangerous I believe the administration to be. I cannot in good conscience not address these things, though. We have to be able to talk about them. Now, hopefully, we're going to have somebody from the Biden camp on this podcast to sell to the thought warriors about why we shouldn't just vote for Joe Biden, but why we should be enthusiastic. Working on it. And on fire and excited to do it.

The reason I think that it's so important to talk about this is because, okay, he becomes our next president. Well, you need to be well aware of how our next president thinks. You need to know what to put pressure on him about and you need to make sure that you are represented and you understand what he thinks about your own community. Just because they're a president doesn't mean you just stop. It doesn't mean that you criticize, not criticize them. You need to understand that they are doing things that fight for you, that have initiatives that benefit your community.

And I don't have a problem talking critically about Joe Biden at all because I think our stance is very, it's very known. We're against Trump. We're voting for Biden, but that doesn't mean that Biden gets a pass. We're not going to excuse everything that he does.

Do you believe, tough questions asked on higher learning? Do you believe in any part of your body that there's a possibility that Vice President Biden is a racist? No. I don't think he's a racist. I think there's a difference between ignorance and being a racist.

Do I think he's ignorant? 100%. I don't think he's a racist either. I'm not going to say he's a racist. But, you know, we're, it's hard. Like, if you're not black, if you ain't black, you know, it's hard for you, not hard, but I think it's harder for them to understand certain things that they say and they do and how it affects a black.

or people of color community. So I said that's where I lean towards ignorance. I do not think he's a racist. Honestly, Van, if I thought he was a racist, I couldn't vote for him. Couldn't vote for him. And that's very true. I think what ends up happening is it gets more and more difficult for us to,

as people who want to move people to the polls, it gets difficult to sell them on the idea that he's the right candidate, the deeper and deeper we get into these things. but I can, but we have to find a way. This is a lesson because how did we get here? You don't like Trump and you don't like Biden. So how did we get here? Were you active prior to this?

That's the lesson learned in this. Okay, so you didn't like who we got. Heard the same thing four years ago when it was Hillary and it was Trump. And my thing is, is you need to be more involved. Don't wait until election year. Start getting involved and educating yourself on this. So you can put people in this position who you want to. see actually run the country. I think this is just a lesson

learn. I'll tell you like this, to anyone who's waffling on who to vote for in this particular instance, anytime you're thinking about staying home, right, you're not going to vote. Just pull up the coronavirus statistics from that day. And look at how many dead from that day. And ask yourself, had we had a different administration if there'd have been even one less

person that died? Would there have been 10 less people that have died? Would there have been 30 less people, 40 less people, 50 less people, a hundred less people? And I want you to think about those numbers, right? Because we think about deaths as very sanitized numbers and numbers that are just part of a worldwide tallying of a moment in time. Every single one of those lives is somebody's entire world. The only reason why we can talk about the end of the world or the world going is because our worlds are still dynamic. They're still happening. But every single life that you look at somebody's world ending, that's it. Benito, done, gone, over. Those are the stakes of the presidency. And ask yourself in good conscience with a different administration, with people who believe science, people who obey doctors, not even obey, but follow doctors.

doctors orders. People who really look at things in terms of the life of an ordinary American rather than what's good for the economy in their rich buddies. Would they have acted differently? Would we be better off? And if that doesn't get you to the polls, nothing will. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing will. Now, oh, we got a new segment. What? We got a new segment. We got a new segment. It's called, it's Mailback Thursdays. Woo! 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 to keep companies of all sizes connected with internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, mobile services, plus 24-7 US-based support. Millions of business owners already trust Spectrum Business. So visit Spectrum.com slash business to learn more.

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Woo! Mailback Thursdays. Okay. All right. So here's a deal. Do you have the questions? I have the questions right here on the thing. We have gotten all your questions together, some of the best questions.

We've answered questions here on higher learning before. But we're going to do that specifically now every Thursday at this particular point in the podcast. We're going to answer questions from you, the thought wars. All right. Now, our first question is going to come from, it's actually the last question, but I put it first because I like the name. Tess. I always like that name. Tess. Really? Tess. Yeah, I like that name. Tess. It was in a movie. I can't remember which movie. It was like Tess. Tess. I've never actually met a Tess. But what movie was it from when she was named Tess in the movie? Is it Oceans 11? Is it Cree? It's Oceans 11. Is she Tess in Oceans 11? Julie Roberts is Test and Ocean's 11. Oh, then it's Ocean's 11 then. What did I say, Creed?

You said it was Creed. The Susan Creed definitely not named Test. Tess. All right, so Tess Killingberger, who says? Her name is Tessa Thompson. I know I'm not crazy, though. The real... Oh, the actress's name is Tessa Thompson.

I know I'm crazy. All right. This is from Tess Killingberger when you're out in the real world, quotes. And you hear a random. ignorant comment or opinion from someone you don't know, do you speak about it or do you let it go because it's not worth it? Rachel?

I'm trying, this is a very great question. I'm trying to think has this ever... Has this ever happened to me? I can't think of a specific example, but it honestly would depend on the situation. If I was in line at Starbucks and I heard somebody behind me make an ignorant comment, I would turn right around and say something to them

without a doubt. I think it would depend on how of close proximity they were to me. If I heard it across the room, I probably wouldn't be like, it's not even worth it. But if you were right next to me, and it affects, no, period. It didn't matter if it affects me or not. I would say something because I am what's

called confrontational. Right. Yeah. I mean, not even going to lie. I've always been that way. Maybe that's why I'm a litigator. I look for a moment and I seize it. So without a doubt, I don't care who you are. If you're right next to me and you say something crazy,

I'm going to take it as an opportunity to say something to you and hopefully teach you a thing or two. Good answer. I am a narcissist. So I believe... Surprise. Right, right. So I believe that I can change your mind.

So if I can hear you, it's on. Wait, you would walk across the room. We going to get busy. I would. Like, we going to get busy. Think about it. When Yeesh said that shit, he was all the way on the other side of the road. But didn't he ask the, didn't he say, like, turn to everybody?

And you were like, hey, hey, which I think is the funniest thing. Right. Like, if I can hear you, I'm going to get busy. Now, Tess, here's the thing about this, test. All right. when you are approaching someone, this is where a little bit of, I call it intellectual charisma comes in.

There's a way to start in a discourse with somebody that lets them know that both of you're not trying to intellectually dominate them and that you are concerned that they are wrongheaded on something. See, whenever I hear an idea that I doesn't think jibes with freedom, justice, and equality, or anything else,

I'm actually concerned for that person that they're going about that in the wrong way and that's what moves my spirit into having the conversation. It's not like, hey, MAGA, hey, fuck you! No. Most of the times it starts off with a question. I heard you guys talking about that.

Do you mind if me asking you, what makes you support President Trump? First thing you do, ask somebody why it is they feel the way that they feel. validate them by letting them speak their mind. Validate them. I'm interested to know

why you feel that way. Then you give why you feel a certain way. Now guess what you're having? A conversation test. You're having a conversation. You're assuming that they respond in a nice way. If they don't respond in a nice way, then it's splack, splack, splack, now you get these hands.

How often do you do this? How often do you have these? Because this sounds like you do this on the regular. All the time. Okay, Tess, I don't have time for this. We were asked. Absolutely not.

Hey, we were at, we were at a party. Bill Simmons can attend to this. Listen, listen, we're at a party. We were at a party. Ask Bill Simmons this. If you're listening to this, tweet Bill Simmons and ask Bill Simmons if this is true. We're at a party. All right.

In Hollywood. A very prominent producer. very prominent producer made a statement at this party. It was me, Bill, a couple of other people were standing in this group. Great party, by the way. Shout out to Will House. But, like, they said that out of Derek Jeter, Lawrence Taylor, and Carmelo Anthony,

that in New York, Lawrence Taylor, was the most famous of those three people in terms of athletes. in the little group that we were in, for whatever reason, people went along with that because of who this guy was. I went, you're fucking out of your mind

if you think that Lawrence Taylor is more famous than Derek Jeter. And we can talk about it. Let's go. I want to do it. Let's parse through it. Let's do the whole thing right now, back and forth.

Let's have it out. Because I don't want you to go and say that somewhere else and look like a damn idiot. There's no world in no state. Shout out to LT. Love you. Where Lawrence Taylor is more famous than Derogita. Derrida, fucking Dave Mariah Carey.

Get out of here. You don't know what you're talking about. So, like, and we have the, and it's never going to stop. Every time, I'm going to do that. Every time. Yeah, I test, I don't have that much time or energy. Test do it. No, Tess, pick your battles.

As they say, pick your battles. Tess. Don't fight every single one of them. Test, you better let these motherfuckers know what's up. All right. Second one, this is from Barry Regan. Doesn't even sound like a real name. Shout out to Barry.

Sounds like a comic book name. Barry, I fuck with you. Heavy. What books and or authors have been formative in the development of your voice? What should the thought warriors be reading? Yikes. Rach, what do you read? You're definitely more of a reader than I am.

So I, like, grew up. When I grew up, I hated to read. Okay. And then I went to law school. Jesus Christ, right. And I hated to read. Like, I had to read in a different type of way. So then I read a lot of fiction.

So I'm trying to get back into reading. So I'm going to let you answer this question first. Okay. Because there's not really read. Like, I think of mentors in real life than I can more of books that have shaped my thinking. But go ahead. Yeah. So the, right now, what I'm not?

I'm reading. Obviously, the basis of my sort of view of society comes from James Baldwin. I'm actually reading a book from James Baldwin right now. See, you know, see what I'm saying? Then why don't you just say that? Like, why are you trying to act like, why like, why are you like, what is what is with you? Like, like, why is you just? Because I feel like you're going to give a better answer. Like, I am, I'm not. What is this? Because here's the thing. He asked what authors and books are you reading that have kind of shaped your mindset. I'm reading a James Baldwin book. I'm reading notes of a native son right now.

Like a collected essays. But I, you probably already read it and five other James Baldwin books. I'm like trying to get better when it comes to reading. Right. So that's like, go ahead. You should,

like, see, you just say, I'm reading, I'm reading, I'm reading Baldwin right now, Baldwin, one of the foremost. I'm reading notes of a native son right now.

Yes. Right. All right. So Baldwin, if you're looking for an experience of a brilliant writer who is able to parse apart what it means the experience of being black, gay, persecuted in America, someone that really lived it, there's nobody better than James Baldwin. You get right down in there.

And that's if you want to connect with the soul of that era and the soul of someone who is going through what it's like to be told that you're not beautiful. James, like his life in many ways was a crowning achievement of blackness. His blackness was not just revolutionary. It was weaponized, but with compassion and with a zeal for life. James Baldwin, amazing. That's why I started reading that. Right now I'm reading books by Pineal Joseph,

who is the foremost scholar on the black liberation movement. Penile Joseph, I'm right now reading The Sword and the Shield. I'm looking at the book on my bookcase right now. The Sword and the Shield, the Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. That's a fantastic book. That book will teach you. some hard truths about Dr. King.

It just opposes their lives and tells how one guy was the sword, the other guy was the shield. What else I got up here? I got the life of Stokely, Carl Michael. I got waiting till the midnight hour by Penil Joseph. I got the Wrenner by Arsard of the Worth by Franz Fannin. I got Asada by Asada Shakur. And I have the faithful triangle by another guy that I really revere, Noam Chomsky.

Noam Chomsky, if you want to reexamine American power and how the media and geopolitics and all of those things are one in the same read books by Chomsky who also preaches solidarity as a means to combat demagogues like Donald Trump. Chomsky, great. All of those guys, fantastic

that I just named. That's just what I can think about of the top of my head. Oh, just off the top of my head, that's what I can think about. You see why I didn't want to answer the question? Let me ask you this, though, because I think this could help readers,

readers, listeners and me. how do you go about choosing the books that you want to read? Like those books that you just name. How do you pick those? Well, it's weird. I'll watch something and then I'll realize that I don't know that I can't really understand what it is that I'm watching because I don't know enough about the subtext of it.

So then I'll have to read to kind of supplement the knowledge there. Now, I have a deep need to understand the 60s and the Black Power movement because I have to understand how it was that they were able to accomplish what they were able to accomplish. It was nothing short of amazing what Stokely and Ella Baker and John Lewis, rest in peace, and Malcolm and Martin and Megger Evers and Fannie Lou Hamer and all of these. these people were able to accomplish during that time. But I also need to know why it stopped. I think that's important. I think history, I think in terms of history, when we look at, you know, the Civil War, any of those things, we look into all the political machinations that led up to them,

what happened in the middle, and then the end of it. And I think black people need a more comprehensive understanding. People in period need a comprehensive understanding of why the momentum. of the 60s and the black power era wasn't able to continue beyond that. Forces from both within and without that went through that. I think just is very important for me to get that

so that we can maintain the momentum of the time that we're in right now. You feel me, dog? You feel me? Oh. Oh, this is from Olivia Taylor. I just want to check in on your mental health and ask how you're doing.

You're both holding a lot, to say the least. thanks for everything you do. Oh, not even a quite, well, like a compliment and a question. That's really sweet, Olivia. You know, Olivia, like everybody, good days, bad days, just do try to do things to release some of the stress and tension that I have. I have a very bad habit of rather than dealing with how I'm feeling, I just put my energy into other things.

And for me, that's normally work until I eventually experience. explode. So I really try to own what it is that I'm feeling and how I'm feeling. You know, I do therapy every week. And yoga and meditation are very big for me as well. Journaling is something I want to get better at. I don't normally do that. But when I do, I feel great.

Yeah, like it's, I'm a very impatient person in journaling. I don't have the patience to journal, to be honest. Yeah. But thank you for asking, Olivia, doing well overall. Same thing. Same thing. I say, take my walks, take my runs. I love walking.

I just love to walk. You need a dog. Listen to stuff. I need a dog. Why? I don't want to walk with the dog. I want to walk in my own. It makes walking better.

Can't wait until we come to L.A. You can take copper on your walk. I mean, man, copper going to be my dog, man. That's going to be my little nigger. Like, me and copper are going to be, me and copper are going to be running. running these streets, man. But yeah, just walked, but also slow things down a little bit. These books really help.

Like, I bet you reading Baldwin, I bet that's something that's really kind of centered you in the times that you make him. Amazing. You know what I mean? You hear about people. Sorry, I don't mean to take away, but like, you hear about people. You might watch documentary or something, but to read their words is a totally different experience.

So I'm really loving James right now. So we got two Olivia's that ask questions. This is the last question for the name. Olivia Parker. This question is also kind of in response to a show that Zway, is her name Zway? It's Zway. I watch the show all the time.

I've just never heard the sister's name say before. She writes for Jesus and Mero, and she does a fantastic Instagram live show. She's literally one of the most talented people that's on Earth right now. I love her so much. This is a question is also kind of a response to a show that Zway hosts every week where she interviews her friends, celebrities, and other influences on the internet. many who are white and claim to be allies of the black community, a big friend of Higher Learning and Zway Show baited.

I was wondering if you guys think there's value in having conversations with people who are allowed, have hurtful opinions that can include being racist, homophobic, etc. As it might educate them and others who follow them, or if that is not valuable because it may be given their ignorant or violent ideas more of a platform. Well, I mean, I guess this kind of goes with the first thing about us being, confrontational, me being confrontational and you being a narcissist. Clearly we both like to have these type of conversations. I think that you can only benefit from having these discussions. If you live in a place where you're fearful of I don't want to talk to someone who has

alternate or racist or what are controversial opinions that differ from mine, then you live in your space and they live in theirs and nothing ever gets done. I just think that it's healthy to have these conversations. And I think that, if you want people to understand your side of it, if you want people to grow and to learn, then you have to have to have these difficult or uncomfortable conversations with people. Yeah. Like, does the person matter?

No, I'm not even thinking about them necessarily. I'm more so thinking about the conversation because I get, well, let me, let me put it this way. She's saying having these talks on a platform, or just in general, right? She's giving a reference. I think she's saying on a platform. I think that's what she's talking about.

So if I'm doing it on a platform, I'm not necessarily concerned with convincing the person as I am to the audience who is going to hear it, which is why, unlike you, I'm not willing to go out of my way to any person I hear

make an ignorant comment unless they're in close proximity to me. Because that means I'm concerned about the person. I'm more concerned. If I have a platform, if I have a platform and I have an opportunity to reach people,

then I'm going to, to have this conversation because maybe I will reach one who will reach another, who will reach another, and it goes on. Also, I think having the conversation sets an example. I think you said a good example of when you're willing to have those conversations as well. Like you said, do it in a healthy way. You're not combative. You're not yelling. You're not cursing at each other. You're asking a question. You're challenging them. Then you're giving them facts and knowledge with that. I think it sets a really, really good example to whatever audience is listening. That's a great answer. I struggle with this.

Really? Yeah, I do because the conversation with the person in the Starbucks, right, nobody's watching, nobody's around. We don't really have an audience. And if it is, it's only a handful of people. And what we're doing can benefit and enrich everybody that's listening. So nobody is putting on airs. Nobody is saying stuff just to rile up their base.

Nobody is saying stuff just to go viral. Nobody is performing. It's just two people talking. And that is to me where you can actually make enrolle to somebody. Like to invite David Duke on to higher learning or to invite, you know, other people with those type of views. I always struggle with it because there's a part of me that goes, I'm not changing this person's mind. I am not going to break through of the 30 or 40 or 50 years, sometimes even five or 10 years of racism that they have and white supremacy that they have

or homophobia that they have or whatever that they have. The only thing that I'm doing is putting a billboard on it. So sometimes I struggle with that. I lean towards what you're saying, which means, yo, you have the conversation. You can show people while the merit of your ideas is superior. That matters. But I don't know, man. sometimes is sometimes I really struggle with that question like what's the level that's too wild for you to have a conversation with?

But see, that's why I think the audience is what matters because I'm not going to go to a random person and speak and just waste my energy on you and the couple of people that may be around. I'm not going to do that. But if I have an opportunity, especially if I feel like I know I can make a difference, then I am going to sit down and have that conversation with David Duke. David Duke is who he is and you know that. You're not giving him a platform. I think of it as I'm giving myself an opportunity to present my side. And hopefully it has an impact on someone who maybe didn't think this way before they came into this conversation. Like would you want to have Candace Owens on higher learning?

No. Wait a minute. No. Now she's the one. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute. I'd rather talk to David Duke. Oh, wow. the shade tree.

And he can be dressed in his full garb too. Just bring it out. Bring it out the closet and everything. I don't want to talk to her. Wait, wait. You would rather talk to David Duke in the full Grand Wizard of the KKK.

Yes, I would. Costume. That's all of a conversation with Candace Owen. What? Because it gets personal with Candace. Shady Lindsay. That's the issue. It would get personal with me for Candace

because I'm looking at another black woman saying these things, and I'm a black woman. So I fear of what my approach would be to her because I'm taking it personal, what she's saying. David Duke is a white man. You know what I mean? Former Grand Wizard of the KKK, it's almost like I know what I'm getting. When I hear Candace speak or I watch her, I get mad in a way that more than I do if I saw David Duke dressed in his garb, his racist garb, because I'm mad that the sister is out here spewing. this hate against her own race. I look at her and it's not just she's saying things that go against what I believe.

It's a self-hate and she looks like me. It's more, it's personal to me. And I don't even think I could have an educated conversation with her because I think this is when I would just start popping off and saying things. I would be shady Lindsay. And that's why I don't want to have a conversation with her. Well, that's-

I don't want to do it. Wait, wait, that's fascinating though. So let's stay here for a second. No, let's not. No, no, seriously. It's interesting to think because I want, I oftentimes get, I'm oftentimes more, and this is a conversation we already have, I'm oftentimes more upset with black people who spew hate against black people than I am with white people who spew hate against white people. And I think that that's a common feeling amongst black people. Is that productive, though?

Shouldn't those be the people that we are? willing to talk to because they're from inside of the community. It's almost like when you get to that point, you can't be saved. I just, they're the most dangerous kind of person because when you see a David Duke, you almost, not that you, you don't expect him to necessarily be a grand wizard, but he's a white male, so you're not necessarily as shocked as you are when you see somebody who's black speaking out against black people. It's, um, they're dangerous.

they're dangerous and they give amnition to people who don't look like us, white people who are against us to say, well, same way they did with Oprah. Well, Oprah did it. So why aren't you? Well, Candace said it. So it must be true. And I just, I feel like once they go that route, we're never going to save Candace. She's gone. She's never coming back to us unless she can figure out how to capitalize on black people and be on this side.

We're not going to get her back. she has literally sold her set she sold her soul for clickbait like I would the black conservatives um she's a little bit different because she's a firebrand

they don't even claim her like that black conservatives the black conservatives like I'm always interested like Larry Elder that's he's different he's not as bad as her he's not as bad as her

it's kind of the same shit man it's kind of the same shit I might I don't mind talking to them Larry I would talk to. Candice, you're out. No. You're out. All right.

Guys, that is the end of Miliback Thursdays. By the way, we should keep a tally on the enemies that Rachel has made since we have started this podcast. Who else would you say besides Candace? Great. Oh, shit. Let's run them down. Azale your banks, not fucking with her. I don't make an enemy out of her.

Called her out. I just called her out. I have no problem with Azalea. Called out Azalea Banks. Who else? Drea. I said what I said. I said what I said. Drea.

So who else? So really the whole bachelor nation. The whole bachelor nation. And now Candace Owens. And there are more too. We're going to find this out. Like Rachel has a whole, like you're like the bride from fucking. can kill Bill. You have like a whole group of people that you just, I like it though.

Fuck it. Fuck it. I don't think anybody. I don't have, just because I call somebody out on their problematic behavior does not mean I have a problem with them, right? Like, Drea, she said something that was, that needed to be addressed. I have no problems with her. I had an issue with what she said. Candace, yes, I have a problem with her. That I'll give you. What else? We got another question? Is that it? That's it. That's it. That's it. That's it. That's a, that's mailback is over. No more enemies to make. Thank you guys for participating.

Olivia, Olivia and Tess and Barry. All right. So I want to take the time to do something real quick. I want to give a shout-out to the women of the WNBA. And I'm going to confront something right now. And every time I do this, maybe I'll be able to exercise it a little bit more. The WNBA is way ahead of the NBA in terms of being activist for social

justice. You've had women like Maya Moore who've actually given up their careers to go and be on the ground floor of this. You have Natasha Cloud who decided to not play this year in order to dedicate this season, her time, her energy into fighting for social justice. And shout out to Converse for playing Natasha Cloud's entire South. while she does this. And even back in the day,

when all of this stuff was first bubbling and getting started, you had women from various teams. I remember they did it up there in Minnesota. Be active and very, very resolute and brave in combating this and bringing light to some of these different issues. The WNBA doesn't get the credit that they deserve

for just how aggressive and just how in lockstep they are with social change and so many parts of Americans, so many Americans, should I say, want to see. And part of that is due directly to misogyny. Part of that is due to the fact that when women say things,

no matter how loudly and proudly that they say them, they are oftentimes seen as less important and less impactful than when men do. Yes. Entire WNBA says and does something, what happens, LeBron going to speak.

When Kevin Durant. And by the way, I'm not taking anything away from those guys because if there's anyone who supports the ladies in the WNBA, it's the men in the NBA. Okay? But what I am saying is we have to confront this. And I get that LeBron James is a bigger star than Maya Moore and the NBA is a bigger league and the players have more this and the players have more that. But we're not talking about shoe contracts and endorsement deals here.

Right. We're talking about the fight for lives. and when people are doing this, the celebrity aspect of who they are should matter less than the bravery of what it is that they are doing. And far too often, the women of the WNBA have not been recognized,

rewarded, or respected for the bravery that they've displayed. And that was on display again just recently. Okay? Senator Kelly Loughler, She is the co-owner, co-owner of the Atlanta Dream. All right. She has been incredibly problematic at odds with Black Lives Matter.

She's referred to Black Lives Matter as, first of all, I need to know exactly what she said. Did she say? She just wrote a letter to the president of the WNBA criticizing Black Lives Matter, mainly because she believes, she believes in Black Lives. lives and that they do matter, but she doesn't believe in the movement and what they stand for because they say things that are against, quote, the nuclear family. Right. You know, they love to say that. Right.

Okay. So she is in an election right now down there in Georgia. And she is up against Reverend Raphael Warnock. Okay. He is running for U.S. Senate against... Kelly Loughlin. Kelly Loughler, just in case you guys didn't know, is also one of the senators that very, very coincidentally,

dumped their stock just before the economy went in the Ashita as if she knew that something was going to happen. So they're a little inside her training. Go to jail click, click handcuffs. But yes, so she is running against a guy named Reverend Raphael Warnock and the ladies of the WNBA, who are fed up with her anti-Black Lives Matter, her trying to take the legs off of the movement,

all wore shorts that said vote Warnock. Now, why that's important to me is their biggest voice is when they're on the court, right? That's when they have the biggest platform. They use that platform to wear these shirts. Kelly Loughler has criticized this as cancel culture run out of control. Kudos to the women of the W&B.

It was beautiful. And I thought it was done in a very strategic way. You know, it wasn't that it was this big, grand gesture. They put on these shirts, they wore them, and it made a huge statement. And they knew exactly what it was they were doing. Listen, Senator Kelly Loeffler, let it also be known that she has never run for her seat. She was gifted this seat by the governor. Giving it to her by Brian Kemp.

Yeah. Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia. Almost said Atlanta. governor of Georgia. She was given a seat. So this is her first time running. She's scared. And she's being very contradictory in the things that she's saying in regards to what the

WNBA players are doing versus what she's doing. Because one of the things that she's been very critical, she's basically telling the players to shut up and dribble without saying shut up and dribble. She's accusing them of being too political and not concentrating on the game of basketball, right? Which simultaneously, you're using these plays. players as a political pawn for your own race right now. Like for you running for sent for the seat, you're using what they're doing to play into an audience and saying Black Lives Matter movement

is against the nuclear family and Black Lives Matter movement is not for the people. It's not for Black Lives Matter. It's taken a life of its own. It's very interesting what she's saying. And she's also using these trigger words like cancel culture. It's almost as if she doesn't understand what cancel culture is. These players are simply exercising their right. And by them saying that they're voting for Warnock with their t-shirts, that's not cancel culture. That's the democracy that we live in.

They're just basically saying vote in this upcoming election. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. I think the players and the WNPA is actually calling for her to be outed as a team owner for the remarks that she's made for her lack of support of, Black Lives Matter, knowing that she is the team owner of a team that is majority black. And we've seen Donald Sterling. Of course, there were other incidences surrounding that. But he was ousted for his racist remarks.

And I would say that Kelly Loughler's a right in line with being racist for her support of not supporting her athletes of a team that she owns. She has gone as far as to writing a letter to the president of the WNBA. That's how far she's taking it. She's politicizing this entire thing so she can win her seat again. I think that what she's doing is disgusting and I think that what WNBA players are doing is absolutely beautiful. And I applaud them for it. And I love the way that they're exercising their right and what they believe in and what they're fighting for simply by wearing these shirts and everything else they're doing. They've been outspoken in the media as well after their games, what they're doing on the court, all to support Black Lives Matter and everything that's happening.

The thing is, is people don't watch the WNBA games like that, so they're not getting the same amount of attention. So probably too far, in my opinion, to take Kelly Loughler's team because she doesn't support Black Glass Man. Still America. Don't you think it goes deeper than that, though? What Donald Sterling said was different.

I'm not saying that. Donald Sterling said, don't bring no niggas to the game. No, I get that. But I guess what I agree. What Donald Sterling did is worse. I guess what I'm saying is it's not that she's just saying, I don't believe in Black Lives Matter. She's taking measures. She's politicizing these athletes.

She is the owner of this team and these players don't feel like she has their back. You know, I guess it's just a conflict of interest where I could see like maybe you should step down because you're not supporting your players. You're not behind them. She didn't just make a statement. She's taking bigger measures than that. So I can understand why they don't want her to own the team. So I will stand corrected. I'm not saying she did what.

what Donald Sterling did. It's just a level of making your players feel like they're not wanted. They're not comfortable and you don't have their back. My thing is, number one, not all of these players, if any of them, live in Georgia. So they're not going to be able to even vote for Warnock or Kelly Loughler. What they're doing is simply doing what every American has the right to do, which is give their opinion on politics. Kelly Loughler, I have bad news for you.

You are not a comedian. you are not a goddamn rapper, you're not a television host or a podcaster. You are a senator, which means every so often the people in your state have the constitutional right to cancel you.

Every so often you are up for cancel. You're a TV show. They can review you and cancel you every once in a while. Cancel culture, you're a part of it. You're a part of it because you're an elected official. People get to say, no more Kelly Loughlin.

And they get to say that for whatever reason. Guess what, Kelly Loughler? If someone finds you on a boat and you're out there with somebody who is not your spouse, people then come back and say, no more. if they find out that you on Sunday nights go to Anton LeVay's Church of Satan Drink the blood of a lamb

Which by the way, if you guys want to do that On you, I'm not tripping, do your thing All right I saw devil's advocate Was a good movie Not tripping, don't put no hexas on a nigger I'm just using it as an example of something that people in Georgia

I've never seen it Just keep going Like something that people in Georgia probably wouldn't like. If they want to do that, if they catch you doing that, guess what? They have a right to the next time they vote, go, no church Satan, buy. All you politicians, you have signed up to be canceled. You got to be renewed. So don't talk about no goddamn cancel culture.

if you do shit that people don't like, they have a right to get new people in there. I don't understand what's going on. We live in a bizarre world. It's not cancel culture. It's not cancel culture. Where a politician goes, hey, somebody actually stumping for the other guy is cancel culture.

Is Kelly Loughler dumb? No, she's using words that they use. It's like trigger words. Like, oh, if I say cancel culture, that's what my audience likes to hear. Oh, no, don't cancel her. Like, she's using trigger words. Just like saying nuclear family, that's something other Republicans do or all right do when they're criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement. They're trigger words.

That's all that is. She's playing into her audience. We see Donald Trump use them all the time. It says the same things over and over. Can we address the nuclear family thing again one time? I'm going to talk about this one more time, imbeciles. And I'm not talking to you guys who are listening because we love you guys. You guys are great.

But I had this conversation earlier with somebody else. And a Starbucks. This is what Black Lives Matter is saying about the nuclear family. When they say we reject the idea of the Western nuclear family, they're saying they reject the idea that the only way is the Western nuclear family. And let me tell you why they're rejecting it. It is very specific and implicit. The people for Black Lossamara don't give a fuck if you live in a home with mommy and daddy, baby makes three.

They don't care about that. What they're saying is that the idea of the Western nuclear family is somewhat restrictive in a community where it hasn't really been existing for a while now. And as we aspire to be that, we lose the fact that we should be raising our communities, our children in more of a village type of way. They say specifically in there, we will watch your kids while you go out to protest.

That is the best way for us to bring the resources, the human resources that we have together, is to do it together. It has nothing to do with the fact. They're not saying, hey, we want to destroy the nuclear family. They reject that the nuclear family is the only way. They don't hate the nuclear family. They're not trying to undo the nuclear family.

What they're doing is saying that they want a differing view of community parentage and working together so that we can get some of these problems fixed. And so that not people don't feel like they're, locked into one standard of how to raise their children and be there to support each other. So stop it. All right. Now we have unexpected ally of the week. Do you have unexpected ally of the week?

I do. It's a little morbid. Okay, hold on. Let me find it. Do you have one? I do. Oh. Would you have a ready?

Did you have a ready? Yeah. Would you have me to go first? Go ahead. My unexpected ally of the week was very easy this week because I, I, I, I am a full-on batcher. Batch is beautiful. My unexpected ally of the week is Claire Crawley.

I'm a full 100% batch. Why, Claire? Because she fell in love with a Negro, as I'm to be understood, right? She fell in love with a black, as they say down south. Yes, he is a black. She fell in love with one of those blacks, okay, as they say down south. So have a great life.

So she fell in love with, and then because she fell in love with a brother, a sister got a shot at the title. Claire Crawley went double black this week. She fell in love with a brother, boom. So she out there, bang, Patty Hurst, in the chocolate. All right?

And then because of that, a sister got the look. Double Black, Claire Crawley, unexpected ally of the week. Shout out to Tasha. That was great. Shout out to Claire. Love Claire, too.

We should have her come on since you made her an ally of the week. Claire's great. Claire's great. Okay, my unexpected ally of the week is a little, it's a little dark, but it also sends a message, okay?

Okay. My unexpected ally of the week is from the family of David W. Nagy. Now, David W. Nagy passed away in July, on July 22nd, 2020. He's from Texas, a little bit outside of Texas, but his family had the obituary in the paper, and this is what they wrote. They took the time to send a message. They said, Mr. Nagy, well, I'll skip down. Family members believe that Mr. Nagy's death was needless.

They blame his death and the deaths of all other innocent people on Trump. Abbott and all the other politicians who did not take this pandemic seriously and who were more concerned with their popularity and votes than lives. Also to blame are the many ignorant, self-centered, and selfish people who refuse to follow the advice of medical professionals believing their right not to wear a mask was more important than killing innocent people. I said it was dark, but I do appreciate the fact that they took the opportunity to use this as a message. they lost a loved one to COVID. And I think it's a message out there that we all need to be taking this virus seriously. It is not a joke.

People are out there dying and we need to be responsible. If you're not going to do it for yourself, do it for other people. Rest in peace, David W. Nagy. My God, those amazingly brave people. Yeah. That's the best one yet, Rach. Was it?

That's the best one yet. They, I couldn't even imagine. God bless them. God bless David. All right. Shady Rache, it is now 11 o'clock on the East Coast. And wow. And you're still up.

You're still doing it. But we're out. It's over. This was the most what? I just want to say one more thing. I just want to acknowledge what happened in Beirut. We didn't talk about that. That has happened since our last podcast.

Just thoughts, prayers go out to everyone who's been affected by this tragedy. and there are a lot of online resources where you can donate. I'll make sure to put some up on my Instagram so you guys can know where to donate to all the people who've been affected by this tragedy. Yeah, and a tragedy that I have to admit, the reason why, well, one reason why I haven't really discussed it, because I really want to know what happened.

I do too. But nevertheless, whether I know what happened or not know what happened, well, very well said. Thoughts and prayers. And what a unbelievably frightening piece of video.

My God. I didn't believe it when I saw it at first. So yeah, we definitely want to at higher learning take the time to acknowledge. All right. Now, as always, we leave on a fun note, guys. Like two different stories to get you jammed up for your weekend.

Thank you, Rach. It was important. You guys go out there and have a good weekend. Don't worry. Stay the thinking caps off. I am Van Lathen. I'm Rachel Lindsay. Rachel Lindsay, the angel of death.

We'll see you next week on higher learning.