Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay - The Future of the WNBA and Another Interesting Acho Take
Episode Date: April 5, 2024Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay discuss the Iowa vs. LSU game and the possible future for the WNBA (17:12). Then, they react to Emmanuel Acho’s take on Angel Reese (38:41). Finally, they discuss the I...sraeli airstrike that killed World Central Kitchen aid workers (1:08:19). Hosts: Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay Producer: Ashleigh Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Your thought warriors.
What is up?
Our learning is on.
No, it's wrong.
Rachel's crying.
It is our hand of the audience.
And it's being Rachel Lindel.
Okay.
All right.
Hold on.
What's going on, Rach.
What's wrong?
But, too, you know how, like, when somebody you care about says, hey, what's wrong?
And then all of a sudden, like, the tears just start coming.
Yeah.
That's just, that's, that's, man asked me, well, um, or how am I?
I, I don't know what you say.
How am I what's wrong, whatever before the podcast started it?
And it just made me, I don't know, maybe I just needed to cry.
I don't know.
I'm just like in a mood.
I'm tired, Van, I'm tired.
I understand.
I feel like, uh, I'm going through like a psychological warfare and suffering in silence at the same time.
You know, trying to be, trying to walk through life with grace and be considerate of people when that same consideration isn't given back.
So I'm just tired.
I'm just tired.
I'm having a day.
Do you know, when someone tells me that they're suffering in silence, it's almost impossible to pay attention to the suffering part.
But the silence part is the part.
is the part that I normally hone in on.
Not a lot you can do to alleviate someone's suffering most of the time.
But I always wonder about the silence.
Why do you feel the silence is such a part of it right now?
Because I'm trying to take the high road.
I'm trying to navigate this, all of this in a way that with respect,
and, you know, like, keep my dignity and not be something I'm not stooped down to a certain level,
but it's really hard when you're the only one doing it.
It's really hard.
I just, like, need to get through this season of my life.
I understand.
You know, I don't know much about the high road.
You do.
No, I don't.
I really don't.
You know why?
because I just take the best road
and I've assembled my life in a way
that the best road is sometimes high.
It's actually almost always high.
The best road is almost always high.
But when it's not, it's not.
And that's okay, I guess, for you.
You know what?
For the most part, it is for me too.
But it's just so much more complicated than that.
And listen, I said I am right now.
I don't know if I'm going to stay this way the entire time.
I think that's the struggle.
That's the struggle.
Yeah, it's a struggle for everyone,
especially people who care about themselves
and who care about moving through life with grace and class
and dignity as you do.
And I understand that.
That's right.
Yeah, you know, it's just you don't want to,
let me not say you don't want to.
we're going to talk about black ladies later on.
But I think sometimes, I think a lot of the black women in my life,
they think that there is a reward for carrying baggage and wait for someone else.
And I haven't seen those women rewarded for that.
And the first thing that my father ever taught me, black man to black son, was lighten your load.
Get everything off you that you can't carry so that you can't carry the things that you have to.
And it just seemed like a message that was just a different message from my mom,
which my mom's was just like carry it with somebody.
else can't.
So I don't know.
I'm not going to, we don't have to get too much into it.
Just remember, at some point, some people,
whoever they might be and wherever they might go and
they're going to have to carry their own shit.
And that's not anything wrong.
I'm just being honest.
There's not anything wrong on your part or just people are going to have to
carry their own shit.
We all have to.
I'm carrying a lot of shit right now.
Mm-hmm.
You know, people got to carry their own shit, man.
Yeah, they do.
This is probably why, this is probably why,
this is probably why,
why distress and the pork is taking the toll on you that it is right now.
You know, I've,
I looked at pork.
You don't really concern.
I looked up for pork and the immune system.
I looked this up.
What did you discover?
Pork is actually rich in salient.
The best sources of this essential mineral are animal-derived foods such as meat, seafood, and dairy products.
An important mineral abundant in pork.
Zinc is essential for a healthy brain and immune system.
Guys, you have unlocked something here, okay?
All you people shaming me for my person.
pork intake all the while I'm smarter than the rest of y'all. Everybody take zinc. Everybody
knows how good zinc is. Now, granted, my health isn't reflecting that, but that's probably because
I keep running away and escaping from my reality on flights and in different environments. That's
probably more of the issue than it is on my pork intake. Okay. Well, this is the last thing I'll say
about it because there's a, there's a different. Is there a butt?
There's a butt here. Okay.
So this is important.
Now this guy is a neuropathic doctor, so it's different.
Let's see.
It says pork is biologically similar to human meat.
Wow.
That is one of the reasons why they're able to do pig heart transplants, valve transplants,
because the tissues are compatible with little risk of rejection by our immune systems.
The problems with human consuming pork is that it elicits an immune response.
We're able to see this with dark.
Arc field microscopy.
If a patient has recently eaten pork, we will see the white blood cells in full force very
reactive.
What the immune system does, it helps us to decipher proteins from self, from proteins
from non-self.
Therefore, if you eat pork on a regular basis, you will challenge your immune system.
And over time, it may have a difficult time being able to adequately decipher self
from Nodself, we can set you up for an autoimmune picture.
This is all different types of situations about port.
Listen, I'm still sick.
I'm on the mend, I think.
Thank you for all the thought warriors who reached out,
gave me some tips on how to improve my immune system.
I did go to the doctor on Monday.
She said it was an upper respiratory slash sinus infection.
She said I was teetering on walking pneumonia.
So I am, my cough is a little better.
That is better.
It's definitely better.
I'm still congested, but I have been resting since Monday.
So, you know, I'm on the mend.
Slowly, but I'm on the mint.
I caused the scene today on the Acela train coming from New York to Philadelphia.
What does he mean you cause the scene?
So, you know, everyone wants to laugh at it, but I have real deal anxiety.
So I get anxious in different places.
I don't take the train a lot.
So I've taken the train before, but not.
these types of trains.
The trains that I took going back and forth to L.A.
To New Orleans, you get off one time on the train.
Okay.
I took the train from L.A. to New Orleans a couple of times when I'm still afraid to fly.
Okay.
You get on the train, you get off the train.
Having to get off the train on a stop where the train is going to keep going is very nerve-wracking to me.
That's true.
I get that.
So the train was stopping in Philadelphia.
I'm here for WrestleMania.
The train was stopping in Philadelphia.
And I didn't really know how much time I had to get all my stuff.
I can already see it.
And so the train says, next stop, Philadelphia.
I'm like, okay, should I start getting my stuff together now?
And I was like, no, I didn't.
And then it stopped.
And I had a lot of stuff because I've been.
on the road for a while.
And I'm trying to get all of my stuff,
and then all of a sudden,
panic just fucking sets in.
And I started ripping the stuff
and falling on people.
I actually lost,
you know, that your AirPods maxes.
One of the things from my AirPods maxes,
one of the little cushions popped off,
but I was too scared to turn around
and go back for it.
So I just left it up.
You think I'm bullshit.
Look.
You really must have been, like,
in a complete frenzy.
The fact that,
I was too scared to stop and try to go back and actually get it and popped off while all of this stuff was happening.
And I just left that bitch.
I was like, I got to get to Philadelphia.
You have to.
My shit is all over.
I'm hitting people in the head.
I'm going, sorry, sorry, sorry.
And I get off there.
And when I get off the train, the fucking train says.
sat there for like another three fucking minutes.
Like it literally was there for another three to five minutes before it left.
I don't know how much.
I wonder what's the amount of time that they give you to get off the train when the train's
going on to another destination.
I don't think it's a set time.
But I do think you are as the best to start when they're like next stop.
You're like, okay, like let me let me get situated.
You'll see people start standing up.
Start because, you know, it's like a rush, like a subway.
Not as many people, but everybody's rushing.
So you start, that should have been your cue when you saw other people standing up and moving around.
I don't know why it didn't register.
But, you know, if the worst thing is, is that you popped off the cushion, so be it.
You made it to Philadelphia safely.
You're calm, you're cool, you're collected.
You're just missing a cushion.
Yeah.
Missing some cushion.
How much time when a train?
No.
stops.
It varies.
They say they normally stop at stations for three minutes.
Yeah, but if that many people are trying to come off and on,
actually three minutes is kind of a long time.
It is.
When you think about it.
I was freaking out.
I was grabbing my stuff.
I felt like I felt like the train was about to start moving.
And I already got on the wrong train going to Philadelphia.
And where did you end up?
So I booked the Acela train, the high-speed train.
Yes, yes, it's great.
I've done it.
Right.
I was trying to ask people when I got to the New York train station, it's like, where do I get on this train?
Like, whatever, whatever.
The guy was like, go over here, we'll call you 15 minutes before it's time train.
Because it's super quick.
So there was a train that was going to Pittsburgh and it stopped in Philadelphia.
So I got on that train.
and the guy was coming around to check the train tickets
and he checked my ticket and he was super duper fucking frustrated.
He was like,
this is not the Acela train.
Okay?
This is not that train.
You got to get off in Newark.
I was like, what?
He's like, you got to get off.
Get off in Newark.
And I was like, God damn.
Okay, brother, I'm sorry.
He was like, listen, he was very nice but firm,
like a principal or a dad, stepdad.
Well, not a regular dad.
step dad. I step dad, regular dad, dad, who stepped up, whatever. And so he, he was like,
your train is late. It's late. And so he was like, you're going to stand there. You're going to
get off the train with me. I'm going to take you to somebody and you're going to stand where I tell
you to stand. And then when your train comes, you're going to get on that train. I was like,
yes. And he did this like a child. I got off the train. He introduced me to another, I guess
conductor. I don't know what you call him, train gentleman. And he was like,
This guy got on the wrong train.
And they looked at each other like, God damn.
Another.
Another motherfucker that got on the wrong train.
What the hell?
And then he was like, he needs the 2155, the seller to Philly.
Can you help him out?
And he was like, yes.
He was like, this guy is your guy.
Goodbye.
Got back on the train, train pulled off.
The dude brought me over to the thing.
He was like, stand here.
This is your car.
You'll get on the train.
You'll get off in Philly.
Philadelphia. That's in Pennsylvania. I'm like, all right, nigga, you're doing too much now. So I stood
there and I waited for the train. And then I think they inspired a lot of anxiety within me as well
that I couldn't miss this chance to get off in Philly. Because then if I missed a chance to get off in Philly,
I'm in another town. Then I got to book enough. It was, I was having nightmare scenarios in my head.
That's all I'm saying. Okay. In your defense, if you never have done the train and it's
specifically that one.
It is tricky because there's a new,
newer side of the station where that is
that you go there.
It's like new. It's all fresh.
The Morning Hand station in New York, yeah.
And like, unlike a plane
where you have to wait, you know, for a lot longer,
you're waiting forever for the thing to change
to tell you the number and you feel like you have to rush to the number
to wait for your train to get on.
And if you don't know, no one's nice enough to give you direction
it can be tricky.
So in your defense,
I understand that.
I'm glad you found your way.
I definitely did.
Was the man black or white
who was like reprimanding you?
They were black.
Or not?
Oh, thank you.
They were black.
And they were black
and they were giving me tough love,
I feel like.
You know what I mean?
Well, now you know.
Now you know.
You're going to be a pro.
You'll be helping the next person.
I'll tell them.
I'll be like, hey, hey.
Get on the right train, nigger.
It's not the right train.
Did you have that hat on?
I did.
See, that's the other thing.
You look like you know what you're doing.
You look like you mean business.
And they probably all assume that.
And they were disappointed.
All right.
We'll see what happens.
I'm the fucking master of travel.
Wally Mania tonight in goddamn Philly.
Cannot,
shout to Wally. Shout to Cats.
WrestleMania weekend.
We full on babies.
This motherfucker fucking Van Lathan.
We're doing our thing.
Now look, that's enough of the pleasantries.
It's time to get into it.
We're going to start in the world of sports.
This should be fun.
On the other side of this break, Angel Reese,
the most watched women's basketball game of all time,
and the fallout ensues with a familiar face.
After this break.
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Did you watch Iowa versus LSU?
I did.
I did watch it.
It was a fantastic.
Cave man's holding up the belt.
guess he doesn't travel without it.
What belt is that again?
This is the big
gold belt.
This is Rick
fucking Flair.
This is Stain.
This is the WCW.
This is
wrestling. This is what it's
all about, Rachel.
This right here is about the gold.
It's about the strap.
It's about laying it on the line
and making sure
everybody knows who is the B-E-S-T best.
That's what I do.
That's what I do when I get on the mic.
That's what I do when I get on the court.
That's what I do when I get on King Charles with Charles Barkley and Gail King.
That's what I do.
That's what we do.
That's what higher learning does.
That's what you do.
All right.
Are you done?
Save it for tonight.
You got tonight.
You got tomorrow.
When's WrestleMania?
Two days from now.
You got WrestleMania in two days.
Save it.
Sorry.
I apologize.
Come back to us.
All right.
What did I think of the game?
The game was, no, I was very sick.
So in a whole honesty, I did fall asleep half of the third quarter due to my sickness and my antibiotics.
However, I watched it.
That game started off fast, entertaining.
I was all in.
I was so excited watching it.
I felt fully invested like I either went to Iowa or LSU.
It was just, there was so much excitement and hype around the game.
I was all into it.
I thought it was amazing.
I thought, I mean, I don't want to talk about anybody's particular play,
but I just thought both teams played well.
Iowa got off to the fast start.
LSU caught up, and then it was kind of back and forth until it wasn't.
But it was a really fun game to watch.
And not to knock the game after, but there was such a, it was a good game too,
but there was such a difference in that game versus the second game.
it just showed how incredible Iowa versus LSU was.
And I was almost disappointed that we got it in the elite eight
because I was like, oh, I wish I would have loved
to have seen this in the Final Four or, you know,
the championship again.
The game itself, to me, the importance of the game
can't be overstated.
It's one of the most important sporting events
in history.
Yes.
in history
in history
one of the most important
important sporting events ever
it
that game itself
exposed so many lies
and commonly held beliefs
about athletics
about women's athletics
and about the way we consume
things
that it's difficult to
overstate the importance.
Sure.
Actually, I want you to send it over to the group text about what that game actually out drew.
I think it was more than any NBA game last, last, last, last year.
Like 12.8, 12.8, 12.9 million people.
Million people in a game where nobody was going to dunk, where nobody was going to catch an alley-up,
all the things that people say
make the men
that makes the men's game
so much more compelling than the women's game
all the 12.3 million viewers
according to ESPN 12.3
the list of sporting events
that it drew more people than
the goddamn shit ton of people.
So what I'm saying is we've talked
even here, even on here about
and I've talked
to be honest with you. I've talked
on here about
some of the hurdles that women's basketball has in getting praise, coverage, and adulation,
commiserate with the men's game.
Everyone says it's a different game.
We carry by it differently, all of these things.
And look, the games are different in terms of the way they play.
But what sports really is about, what competition really is about,
the women's game has that and it's building it even more.
That was a high leverage, ultra-dramatic sporting event.
And it was that not because anybody was going to dunk,
not because anybody was going to catch an alley,
not because they were playing above the rim,
it was that because of the competition and the stories.
That's what makes sports,
Great. And so the more those stories are evident in the women's game, the more flare they play with, the more style they play with. And this is getting more so every single day. They're great game. The more we're invested. The more we know, the more will care. And you'll see that the ratings will increase, the buy-ins will increase, the media coverage will increase, the endorsements will increase, and then the pay will increase. It's very important that
that game as a proof of concept exists in the sports lexicon.
I'm not just saying this because it was LSU.
I'm saying this because LSU, the team plays with an edge.
Caitlin Clark plays with an edge.
These ladies are competing.
It's do or die for them.
And it's always been this way, always been this way in women's basketball.
But the fans could feel it.
They could feel it.
They were invested.
And they will be invested.
And it's a huge, gigantic chance.
I'm very proud of my lady Tigers.
We were not the same team that we were last year.
But to win the championship last year and make a run to the elite eight,
when the young lady gets on a heater like that,
you'd have to play perfectly to beat her.
We certainly did not play perfectly.
We actually did play up to our potential at all.
And there was some weird coaching and letting one person cook you like that
and not doing anything different the entire game.
All of the basketball stuff aside,
I think that if you are a fan of women's basketball or sports, period,
and you want to see people represented and you want to see people take their place on the stage,
on the same stage as people who have gotten more resources to them traditionally.
I think you have to say, God damn it, that was an amazing night for sports.
That was an amazing night for culture.
That was an amazing night that we all shared.
Everybody was on that game.
Like, it was the seventh fucking game of the NBA finals.
I loved it.
I like what you said about the stories.
in the importance that the media plays in this because from that national championship game last year
until this elite eight game and i mean and even beyond the stories are continuing as they're
moving into the final four the way the media has covered it and even centered themselves around it
i'll take espn for example with what they're doing with what they're calling the big three
with Elle leading the way and Chenay.
Is it Andrea?
Hold on, I want to get that right.
Andrea?
Even the way the media is centering themselves around it
with the big three,
the way Elle's covering it,
the attention that they're giving them with Chenet,
Andrea,
the way that's all, ESPN's putting it all over their socials.
The way those storylines, like I said,
started from there, from back then to now,
has made people pay attention to it.
You couldn't ignore it, right?
Even if you said, I don't want to put respect
on women's basketball.
I don't want to, are you giving me the thumbs down?
I did nothing.
Van, why does it always happen on your screen?
I'm sorry, because I got the update.
I did nothing.
I did nothing.
I said nothing.
I'm not moving.
I'm listening to your point
and you're making a very salient point.
But you gave me a thumbs down.
You gave me a thumbs down.
I did the fucking computer.
That's a misogy.
It was a white man's hand.
Yeah.
Is that a man you watch?
Oh, Jesus Christ.
Oh, daddy.
Oh, she got them.
But my point is that the media made you pay attention to what was happening in women's basketball.
And I think that that shows the importance, the role that they play in all of this.
It's not just us talking about it as viewers.
If it's on, if it's in front of us, if we're reading these stories, if we're watching it,
we are going to be more interested.
It's what happens all the time.
TV shows, movies, commercials, products.
If you give it to us and you tell, because it's not been making this up,
there are very interesting storylines surrounding these very talented players,
then we're going to want to consume it.
So I hope to continue to see these media outlets cover women's basketball,
women's sports in general, that aren't getting the attention they deserve,
because it's very exciting to watch, as we all did, all 12.3 million of us,
on Monday. I think it's twofold.
One, I do
think that the media did a better job
of packaging this
rivalry in this game.
But the reason why they were able to do it
is because I think that there's
as much as an evolution as
there's been in the women's game.
There has been an incredible evolution in the women's
game, which was going to happen.
There's also been
an evolution in the culture
of women's basketball to
where I personally,
think some of the societal norms that are being destroyed off the court are having a positive
effect on the women's on the court.
So I think none of these things exist without the other.
The view of women in society, the agency that women feel in society, the strength that they feel in society,
not having to hide who they are, being able to be seen to take what they want, to be assertive,
and to express themselves as individuals, that exists in this level of basketball player,
and it's encouraged in this level of basketball player, even in the men's game, to be honest with you,
in a way that it wasn't before.
so the personalities that we're getting
in these young ladies in college
has to do with how they feel like
they should show up in the world.
Yes and no.
Yes.
Sorry, you already finished.
No, it's fine. Go ahead.
Well, no.
When you talk about their personalities
and how they should show up in the world,
as a kid who grew up playing basketball,
I idolized the women
when they started in the W.
NBA. Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, Cheryl Swoop, Cynthia Cooper,
Ruthie Bolton. I was all in on these women, and they carried themselves the exact same way.
They were incredible. It wasn't that they weren't getting the attention, and there wasn't the
height around them. Yes, I do agree with you. There are certain things that have happened off the
court that has given, I wouldn't say it's given them a different personality or a confidence,
but just allow the viewers to maybe have that as they're consuming it.
But with the women, it's always been there.
I actually disagree.
And let me tell you why.
I,
I too have followed the women's game forever.
At LSU,
our lady tigers have always been a big deal to us.
Simone Augustus,
files, all of these things.
Always been a big deal to us, right?
Down in the SEC, if you're talking about
Chameka Holtz-Claw,
Tamika Catchings, all of these people.
It's always been the big deal.
Pat Summit, what you had in women's basketball
before, in my opinion, and you still,
and it's kind of like this in college sports a little bit,
are teams where the coaches were the stars of these games.
Now, in the WNBA, it is different, right?
And the WNBA, it is different.
Okay.
The WNBA was started after the ladies, one of the best women's basketball teams of all time, went and won the gold medal.
I think it was in 96.
They won the gold medal?
Yeah, WNBA started in 96.
Yeah.
And around that same time, it wasn't started because of that, but around that same time is when, you know,
Rebecca Lobo and Lisa Leslie and all of these people, you start to see some stars that people knew.
So I'm saying that.
What I'm saying is, of all the women that we're talking about, be it Lobo, be it Leslie, be it Candace Parker later, you start to see it change a little bit with Diana Tarazi.
She's been around for a long, long time.
You start to see it change a little bit with even players like Liz Cambridge and people like that, people that really have like some sauce and stuff.
It just starts to evolve and it starts to change.
Now, when I see the way the ladies even express themselves on the court
and what it is that they're wearing, like in how each person,
when you think about Angel, Angel's got the one leg,
angels got the whole thing, she is the Bayou Barbie, it's the whole thing.
I'm saying all of this stuff, it's social media helps it.
All of these things help to me to promote the personalities
and the individuality of the women's players
so that we can get into them a little bit more.
Back in the day when Tennessee played Yukon,
it was Gino, Gino Oriima versus Pat Summit.
You know, Pat Summit was the big star.
Oriima was the big star.
Like, these people around here,
and I'm not saying it doesn't exist like that now.
And I'm not saying it doesn't exist like that in the men's game
because it obviously also exists like that in the men's game too.
even in college football.
Coaches are big, big stars, whatever.
But I'm saying the players themselves now in a women's game,
even the ones that we're not talking about right now,
Juju Watkins, players like that,
we're invested in them in a different way.
We've been following Juju since high school.
Since high school.
And I think a lot about that reflects what's changing society.
I see what you're saying.
They've always been saucy.
Don Staley was a little saucy guard.
Boom, boom.
Hit you with that.
Ooh, I.
Beep, bye.
even back in the day.
They always been saucy,
but I think the outspokenness,
the style,
the point of view,
I think to me,
what you've seen in this tournament
is that the women's game
is more compelling
because the women
are more compelling than the men are.
And they did that for themselves.
And they made it happen to themselves.
They definitely did it for themselves.
That's for sure.
Sure. That part I'll agree.
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So Angel Reese announced that she's declaring for the 2024 WNBA draft.
Now, there was something in Baton Rouge that hoped that she would come back to LSU.
I was not one of them.
She's one national championship.
She's done a lot.
Go ahead and take it to the next level.
And she said this much.
She said, one national championship.
I got SEC player of the year.
I've been in All-American.
My ultimate goal is to be pro and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play ever.
I feel like I'm ready.
So the WNBA, hopefully, is going to see its magic bird moment with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese coming into the WNBA and absolutely change in the way we watch and consume that sport.
Now, that would be a huge big deal.
Now, after the loss to Iowa, speaking about Angel Reese, Angel Reese talked about what her career in college has meant.
I don't really get to stand up for myself.
I mean, I have great teammates.
I have a great support system.
I got my hometown.
I got my family that stands up for me.
I don't really get to speak out on things just because I just try to ignore.
And I just try to stand strong.
Like, I've been through so much.
I've seen so much.
I've been attacked so many times.
Debt threats.
I've been sexualized.
I've been threatened.
I've been so many things.
And I've stood strong every single time.
And I just try to stand strong for my teammates
because I don't want them to see me down and, like, not be there for them.
So I just want to always just know, like, I'm still a human, like, all this has happened since I won the national championship,
and I said the other day I haven't had peace since then.
And it sucks, but I still wouldn't change.
I wouldn't change anything, and I would still sit here and say, like, I'm unapologetically me.
I'm going to always leave that mark and be who I am and stand on that.
And hopefully the little girls that look up to me, and hopefully I give them to me.
type of inspiration that, no, hopefully it's not this hard and all the things that come at you,
but keep being who you are, keep waking up every day, keep being motivated, staying who you
are, staying 10 toes, don't back down, and just be confident.
Raids your thoughts?
Well, she was asked what her career meant.
So she was asked the question.
She didn't just, you know, like go on a spiel.
A reporter asked her about her career, what it meant to her, what this moment.
all that. I don't know the exact question, but something in regards to that.
I thought it was great that in this moment, she took the opportunity to completely be herself.
It was almost as if, you know, she has been, I don't remember the phrase that she used when she was talking,
but she said something along the lines of like, oh, she said, I haven't been happy since the national championship.
would have never known that
throughout this year of watching her play.
And it was almost as if she finally put words
to that feeling that she's been carrying
since she won a national championship.
And so to hear her
put words to that
and put emotion behind that,
I thought was a very, not just vulnerable moment,
but a courageous moment.
Knowing that every word
and action that she does
is going to be heavily scrutinized,
she still decided to use her words again, to unapologetically be herself and to tell you exactly
what it is, that not what she's feeling just in this moment, but what she's been feeling the
entire year. And then she didn't even take the moment to make it just about herself.
She also talked about her love for her teammates. And I felt like in that moment, you were able to,
if you never understood her before, you were able to understand the person, not the player,
that Angel Reese is. And I don't know how you could see it in any.
other way.
Right.
Can't be honest with you.
It's pretty paint by numbers.
Not much there to talk about.
What I say about it is like, that's the end of her college career.
Exactly.
And so the ends of her college career, I've watched so much college sports.
Like so much of it.
It doesn't matter who it is.
At the end of the college career, you people talk about the sacrifices they made,
how hard it was, what it meant the whole nine.
That's the people that you love.
That's the people that you hate.
That's all of it.
And all of that for Angel Reese is her experience.
I think that people sometimes get into, well, this is how you should feel and this is how I would feel if I was there.
You're not there.
You've never done it.
You haven't been through.
Yeah.
So when I saw it, I was like, oh, okay.
Like, oh, there's a vulnerable side from Angel Reese.
she is talking about that.
She's moving on.
The emotions that are coming out of her right there have to do with the fact that, yes, they lost,
but also that this is the last game that she was going to play in college.
And we knew that it was the last, she knew that it was the last game.
We didn't know it.
She knew.
We didn't know, but she knew.
Okay.
Now, people had thoughts.
And one of the people who had thoughts was old Emmanuel Acho over there.
on speak over on Fox. Shout out to Joy Taylor. And Emmanuel Ocho talked about his feelings
about Andrew Reese and what she had to say. Ashley, give it to us. I'm about to give a gender
neutral, racially indifferent take. Now, if you want to say, well, Acho, K to your take based
upon gender, Acho, K to your take based upon race, I will understand that. But I'm about to
of a gender neutral, racially indifferent take. Angel Reese, you can't beat a big, bad wolf,
but then kind of cry like courage the cowardly dog. Because if you want to at grown, which she has,
if you want to get paid like you grown, which you are, if you want to talk to grown folks
like you grown, which you did post game when you told a coach for an opposing team, watch your
mouth. If you want to tell people get your money up, then postgame when you take an L, you just got
to take it on the chin.
Nobody mourns when the villain catches a L.
And Angel Reese, you have self-proclaimed to be the villain.
Shout out to you, because you are the second best basketball player on the court, and it was not close.
Outside of Caitlin Clark, it was you.
17 and 20.
Dog, showed up.
Biggest game, second biggest game of your career.
Absolute dog.
But you can't, under any circumstance, go to the podium and now try to ask for individuals to give you sympathy.
No one has sympathy for the villain.
You painted the bull's eye on your back.
Why are you surprised when people shoot at you?
So if you want to act grown, if you want to pose grown, if you want to talk grown,
if you want to talk to grown folks, grown, then you got to take the L like you groan.
Because what frustrated me is when you want to be the villain, but you want to hope for sympathy like a hero.
Before we get into Emmanuel Acho's smite me a culprit that he did a second ago on Twitter,
I want to know what you think about that.
People were very, very, very upset.
Taylor Rooks, too personal.
Shout out to their podcast.
Quote tweeted them and talked about it.
Matt Barnes, I saw really a rallying of prominent black figures in media and sports media
to discuss what they feel like was his take on Angel Reese.
and Joy Taylor delivered an incredible rebuttal
there on the show to that.
Put your thoughts on that, Rachel.
Well, when he said this, he also posted it on Twitter,
and I just have to say that because of the tweet
of what the quote that he used,
Ashley, can you put that back up?
Because of what he said when he reposted this video.
So he said it.
it, he reposted it, and then he defended his comments on Twitter. So when he posted this video,
this clip of him on Twitter, which shows, you know, he's proud of it, pretty much doubling down on it,
he said, Black women have historically been the most marginalized group in America,
but I'm going to give a gender neutral and racially indifferent take on Angel Reese. Okay. Everybody
knows that I know Acho. And a lot of people, of course, tagging me in and saying, hey, this is your friend. Isn't this you? Like messaging me about it, which I'm sure you did too. Because now that you've established yourself in a certain way when it comes to opinions on Emmanuel Acho, everybody wants to hear what you have to say there, probably including a manual on this. Wait, side note, did he reach out to you?
Didn't. Okay. Curious. Because we know later he posted a video about people he reached out to, and I was wondering if he reached out to.
Okay. I was having this conversation with someone about this take of Emmanuel Acho.
And we were talking about whether or not you can separate Emmanuel Acho as a person from this comment.
At this point, I don't think that you can.
Emmanuel Acho is a repeat offender to the point where whenever he seems to be given the opportunity,
to speak on behalf of, I'll just say black women, he does so in this manner. Now, it's really
disappointing to me as somebody who's known him because a lot of the manual's notoriety outside of
the sports world is because of uncomfortable conversations with a black man. And I think I've said
it on this podcast before that when that idea came about, it was something he talked to me about
and originally he wanted to do it together. I didn't do it. He did it on his own. And I say
this because I was there when he was brainstorming it and I was there and I heard his intention
behind it. And I really thought it was beautiful. Like when he started off his first video,
why he wanted to do it, you know, what he was observing in the world and why he felt like he could
give a response or a take that he hadn't quite seen yet. And I was like, go for it.
to see, to go from that in the beginning to where we are now,
I'm confused and I'm really trying to understand what's happening.
As uncomfortable conversations with a black man has taken off
and given him this attention in a way that I don't think he,
I know he didn't expect when he started it,
and an opportunity for him to monetize it in a way that I know he didn't expect for this to happen,
there seems to have been this huge shift in my opinion
and how he talks about black people.
And as I said, black women.
And I don't know if he is trying to pander to a specific audience
or if he's doing this because he wants to seek attention
however he can get it or if it's some kind of mixture at both.
But at this point, this is who Emmanuel Acho is.
And I don't care if he backs it up with the second tweet.
I don't care if he's talked to five prominent black people
who have respectfully given their opinion.
You continue to do this despite the backlash and people telling you how wrong it is because this isn't the first time it happens.
And yet you still do it.
And him coming out and tweeting it again and then like I said, defending himself in the comments,
even then him going on Twitter and saying that he has defended Angel Reese before and he puts out there these receipts that he's showing all the times he's defended her,
which I think were like twice,
it felt to me like a,
see, I have black friends two comment.
He defends his comments,
it does.
He defends his comments also
by saying that he's this analyst
and that it's his job to give an analysis,
but his analysis is ineffective
because as multiple people have already pointed out,
you can't talk about black women
and have a gender neutral
and racially indifferent take.
You don't get to preface your analysis
by stating that we're historically
the most black women or historically the most
disrespect to people in this country or marginalized
people in this country and then proceed
to disrespect black women in your
take. It's like you're
proving the original point. You don't get to quote
Malcolm X and then
show that you have this lack
of understanding of how black women
have to navigate this world.
It really was infuriating to me
to see it and it was also frustrating to
watch it as a black woman.
I started off this podcast
crying. And one of the things that I said, not over this shit, but one of the things that I said
was that I feel like I'm suffering in silence. And to expand on that, I feel like I have to always be
strong, which we say is the plight of a black woman. Black or black women, black women often
suffer in silence. And they're expected to keep it together and they're expected to be strong.
And here is Angel Reese literally answering a question that she,
was asked. And she answers it in the most vulnerable way and bravely expresses herself with her words
and her emotions. And then you take that away from her and say, uh-uh, you're not allowed to do that.
For an, with an analysis that absolutely makes no sense when you have been following Angel Reese's
career and you've seen how she has been treated and dragged through the media and you harp on it.
and then with your take, permit other people to do the same thing.
It's the equivalent of what people say with Candace Owens.
She gives people who want to tear down black people the opportunity to be racist,
to be free to say whatever they want to because they say,
uh-uh, Candice Owens feels this way.
That's exactly what Emmanuel Acha was doing in the sports world with black women.
Shit.
See, you are controlling.
You are controlling.
I'm not doing it at all.
I'm not controlling it at all.
I'm not.
All right.
I'm going to attempt to be, that was so well put and so powerful.
I'm going to attempt to be concise.
I'm not to fail, but I'm going to attempt to.
So two things jumped out at me about this.
Number one, the analysis itself is wrong.
So let's just parse the part of the analysis real quick.
The analysis itself is wrong.
First of all, the idea that your persona is more important than humanity is something that we've unlearned a long, long time ago.
We learned that presidents cry.
We learn that big, strong athletes cry.
they break down.
We've learned all of this, right?
So that your persona should dictate how you respond to something is wrong.
And it almost demonstrates that you've had your head in the sand with some of the ways that we've evolved and moved past.
Some of the ways that we look at and identify what's healthy for people.
Like, for example, the first thing he said was, oh, not the first thing.
One of the things he said was nobody cries when the villain dies.
And I just thought about myself, that's not true.
You see Black Panther?
Right.
Yes.
Yes.
Right.
So like I'm thinking to myself, the way we look at things now is we look at people through how their actions connect to their motivations.
Why were you doing something?
How did you do this?
Even when you went wrong, why?
And is there something that can be salvaged and saved?
We'll even have to do that with Angel Reese
because we're talking about college basketball.
But when you're talking about who deserves sympathy
and who deserves the opportunity to be vulnerable,
even when you're talking about who the heroes and villains are,
you should ask yourself, who decides who the heroes and villains are?
Who decided that Angel Reese was a villain?
Was it Angel Reese?
No.
Nope.
Or was casting Angel Reese
as the villain
a reaction
to the way America views
women like Angel Reese.
Men like myself, women like you.
Right?
Is Angel Reese the villain
for the same reason
that Serena Williams
is painted a lot of times
by these same people as the villain
as the big gigantic threat?
Therefore, when Serena Williams
is having issues,
with her pregnancy. Therefore, when Serena Williams is having issues with people treating her poorly,
we're supposed to look at her as some sort of athletic wrecking ball and not as the human being,
the wife and mother that she is. Because what she's demonstrated and how she's acted means that
she's indestructible. Yeah. And so if you're going to be indestructible here, you've got to be
indestructible all the time. It's funny. All of this stuff. When Mike Tyson starts to cry,
everybody holds their breath.
Yeah.
Don't matter what it's about.
And every other interview, Mike cries.
And when Mike cries, everybody goes, oh, my God.
Think about the trauma that this man must have gone through
for this big, strong, huge, wrecking ball of a human being
that show that type of emotion.
If you bring up Custamato, Mike Tyson will cry.
If you bring up his children, Mike Tyson will cry.
It's the same guy that told somebody one time, hey, I'll eat your kids, told a woman one time I don't talk to women unless I'm fornicating with them.
I'm not trying to fuck over Mike.
What I'm saying is that Mike was cast as the villain.
But anytime Mike shows any vulnerability, everyone holds their breath.
That's because Mike is a man.
It's very true.
Mike is a man.
So when Mike Tyson or any of these other people, he mentioned Richard Sherman, he mentioned Draymond Green, if you think
that Richard Sherman and Draymond Green
haven't gotten up there
and told people how difficult
it is to be Richard Sherman
and Draymond Green
you're a liar.
Yeah.
Dremont Green, I'm treated unfairly
because I'm Draymond Green.
People treat me unfairly because of my passion.
People treat me unfairly because it is.
People treat me unfairly because of that.
Draymond Green gets up there and says,
I get looked at differently
because of who I am
and how I come off on the court,
when really I'm a father,
when really I'm a son,
when really I'm this and really I'm that.
Exactly.
Nobody plays the victim more than a prominent male athlete.
So the analysis itself is wrong.
The analysis itself of because you've been putting this position
on the basketball court and because you might have even played into it,
right, on the basketball court,
then that means
that we can't ever see you sweat.
We can't ever see you show us something else.
We can't ever see you talk about
the realities of your life
and how you live it.
You gotta be that way all the time.
Even when she said I was sexualized,
I saw people that said, oh, my God,
she talks about she was sexualized.
She posed in a bikini
and did all of this other stuff.
Andrew Reese's talking about,
talking about the fact that they took AI images of her and put them in pornography.
Right, right, right.
You guys are talking about something different.
You're talking about how you're doing your man shit.
You're talking about how you sexualize a woman just because a woman walks into an event
in a romper and you think it's okay to grab her ass.
She doesn't think it's okay.
You think it's okay.
Yeah.
You're sexualizing her.
She's wearing shit that she thinks.
is cute and showing off a body that she feels like is a part of her that she worked for.
Nobody asked her to put her in a port sync.
Nobody asked her to put her in AI.
Nobody asked her to do that.
Nobody has to do all of that.
That's probably appalling to her.
But now it's the way you see it.
So the analysis in it of itself is shallow.
It's not very smart.
And this is not me trying to dis.
It's just me saying when I heard that, I'm like, well, that's not actually true.
Just jumping out on my mind.
I think of all kinds of people, and I think about people that acted like villains that weren't cast in a role.
Grayson Allen, when he was in college, was going fucking crazy.
Oh, my God.
kicking people in their nuts, doing all kinds of shit.
And I'm like, yo, is anybody going to talk about the fact that this motherfucker is a lunatic?
And it's not like it wasn't discussed that this is the second or third time for Grayson Allen or whatever.
But it was discussed lightly.
It was discussed in the way that you discuss it with a guy.
that looks like Grace and Allen looks.
Mm-hmm.
Like Marcus Smart got to some shit when he was in college,
cost him his whole shit.
It's like, what are we going to suspend Marcus Smart do the whole night?
I'm just being honest.
I don't know how you guys want me to look at it.
But that ended up itself, the analysis in it of itself,
that you can't come back now and show us that you're a human being
because you're a wolf.
Think about that.
You're a wolf so you can't be a person.
You can't be a person because you are an animal.
you are an animal so you can't be a human.
I don't know if sometimes Emmanuel Acho
considers these things
and the way they look.
First of all, it's not true.
We don't cry for the villain.
My dude depends on the villain.
And depends on who's deciding
who are villains
and who are heroes.
Yeah.
Like Dame Dash,
one of the wisest guys around,
if you don't feel like the way he talked,
Dame Dash is like,
shit, to some people, Batman is the villain.
That's true.
Depends who you are.
Depends who you are.
Right.
So put that to the side.
Secondly, here's the thing.
And this is what's happened to Emmanuel Acho.
And it's very clear.
It happens to a lot of people.
You have to guard against it happening.
When the out of boys start to mean more than I love you, brother,
you got a problem.
I'm just being for real.
When the out of boys start to mean more to you than,
my brother.
It's an issue.
Because you will start to seek them.
You will start to make sure that what you said,
he only goes viral
when he's attacking black people.
Come on.
Come on.
Sounds familiar.
So what I would say is,
forget about,
because I don't think the guy,
I don't think he is,
I do make a distinction between him and some of these other people.
I do.
I do.
I do make a distinction between him and some of the other people that I would say are...
Like in sports?
Let's say in sports.
There are worse people.
There are worse people in sports that have worse takes.
When I say worse, I don't even mean to judge worse or better.
What I mean is I don't think there are some people out there that are being intentionally corrosive
and destructive,
I think what you're having right here
is somebody
who is getting high off the condensed milk.
And I just think
he's snorting the condensed milk.
Look, you know I'm better than I do.
So if I'm wrong, I'm wrong.
I have not talked to him specifically about this.
I'm just saying he's not stupid.
I think we all know that.
I don't know if that.
Okay, so he's not, he's not stupid,
but I don't think like,
I think sometimes when I just listen to the analysis, he's not stupid.
He's not stupid because I don't think, I think very few people are actually stupid.
But when I listen to the analysis itself, it's not that compelling.
I don't think that there is much below the surface.
The way that you look at it, I don't see any sort of, and I'm not saying I'm Tana has a Tonei Hickson, Coates.
But what I'm saying is I don't see very much there that makes me go, wow.
All he essentially said was, don't do all that, then cry.
It's not, I mean, it's not, it's not, it's not, and that's not, I mean, we're talking, that's not, that's nothing.
There's nothing there.
Like, there's no actual, we'll dig into that.
We don't talk about that.
There's nothing to pass apart.
It's like, oh, don't do that now.
I mean, you know, this is shit that we, it's, there's nothing there.
Look.
Go ahead.
No, I was just going to say, I would say that he gets, you know, you know this.
When you're on TV or in whatever industry it may be or whatever genre is you're talking about,
you feel the pressure, especially when you're on every day to have a hot take, right?
You want a moment.
And sometimes people get caught up in those moments and they say the wrong thing.
It doesn't make sense.
They offend somebody, whatever it may be.
When I first started talking about this particular topic,
said he's a repeat offender.
So the reason I say he's not stupid, obviously,
I feel like there is some, I know what I'm doing.
Maybe he doesn't think that it will be as bad as it turns out to be.
I mean, that video alone has had like 15 million views.
I don't think he thought it would be as bad.
That makes him hot.
To who?
The addibles.
Oh, no.
That, like, that's a win for him.
Because let me tell you some of you guys.
Okay.
then that proves my point even further.
As I said, he knows what he's doing.
That's what I'm saying.
I'm not saying he doesn't know what he's doing.
I guess what I'm saying is
there is
I'm not in any way defending him.
Like I actually find it
it's kind of boring.
It's, it's.
Because it's low-hanging fruit?
I actually think I thought that he was something
that he's actually not.
So it's it's it's so yeah if you are a prominent black man
you will always always always
get what you need from the media by attacking black women.
Right now anybody that wants to get hurt.
Anybody wants to get seen.
Anybody that wants to attack black women.
They'll do it for you.
The outrage will do it.
The big up and they'll do it.
There's this
this overlap of a VIN diagram between outrage and shit.
He is kind of right.
That always makes attacking black women the best way for you to get attention.
Always.
This Venn diagram.
So that'll happen, right?
So that's his thing.
The only thing I'm saying is like the one thing I do question,
and this is the last thing I'll say about.
it.
It's watching Django, right?
And you watch Django, it's your Django, right?
And there's a point in
Django that I always think about.
Django's written by white people.
It's from the white gays, the whole nine.
There's one point that I think is
sort of profound in the movie.
They're all sitting around the table,
the scene towards the end of the movie
where everything is about to fall apart.
Jango is there, and Shultz is there,
and Calvin Kennedy
is there and Stephen is there and everybody's there.
And Django turns,
and Calvin Candy turns Broomhilda around
and he shows her back.
And he says,
look at her back.
You want to see her back?
These niggers are tough.
These niggers are tough.
Django as a black man
has to stand there and watch
or a white man
show his wife
show her scars to the world
he has to watch
a white person show
her scars to the world
he's powerless
in that moment because he has to go
along with it and hope that in the end of the day
he'll be strong enough to get what he wants
he has to watch
as
she
as she gets
exposed what she's been through
gets exposed. And when I first
watched the scene, I watched it through
that lens. The lens
of how it would feel
watching
a black woman that I love
have to bear her scars to the world.
And I was powerless to do anything from it.
That's not the person
that you should be watching
that scene through.
You should be watching that fucking
scene through the way she
feels.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
It's her trauma that's being exposed.
It's her whip, her wips, her scars, her back that's being exposed.
As another black man over her left shoulder goes along with it and a white man delights in it.
It's her that you should be looking at.
It's her that you should be fixated on.
It took me like my third time going, damn, that sucks for Django.
That sucks for Django.
That's going to make Django even more heroic.
That's going to make Django even kill more.
A batter-ass motherfucker.
That's going to me, I'm watching it, and he's centered.
It's her thing.
I say all that to say this.
Get the fuck out of your own way.
Forget about your take.
Forget about your view, your flawed, and not terribly intellectually exciting view of that.
view of that entire thing
and emotionally
sort of low IQ take on it.
And that's just
my
sanitized
actual
thoughts on it. Forget about that.
She's showing her back.
You're seeing her scars.
She's showing her back.
What you think about that,
nigger? Are you okay
with, I'm just being honest. Are you okay?
with the way people have treated her?
You think that's cool?
Are you okay with the way
she's been sexualized?
You think that's cool?
Are you okay with the media treatment?
Because if you're okay with it,
just come out and say,
hey, everything she got she deserved.
He pretty much did.
Yeah.
Well, and now we're going to get your ass a little bit.
Because you're not supposed to think that.
Especially not when you're telling us
you're in rooms for us.
He said on this podcast,
and I'm getting mad.
He said it on.
this podcast that he was in rooms
representing us because
we were to pit up
and scar to do it.
So then you get in a room where you represent us
and you caring about an adder boy from
motherfuckers in the comments and Matthew McCona
hey, it's whack, let's move on.
That's why he's having different
uncomfortable conversations now.
Like, it's, it's enough.
It's enough.
We spent too long on it.
His apology is up.
there. I know a lot of people that he talked to. I know a lot of people
reached out. He talked to some people
that I, that I, uh,
that I respect a great deal.
And he wanted everybody. And he wanted everybody. And he wanted everybody to know that.
He wanted everybody. He wanted everybody to know all the people.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That apology.
Not, it's not apology. Sorry, the statement, the response.
It was also much, it's very much so a dig. I'm like, like to everybody else.
To art to the take.
Play it. Play it. Actually. Play it. Play it.
Play it before we got out here.
Play it.
I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who has respectfully reprimanded me
and offered brilliant opinions on the Angel Reese conversation.
I do not believe there is any one way to think about things.
But thank you to the Ryan Clarks, the Essence Atkinses, the Bosema St. John's, the Trellas,
the different individuals who is publicly and privately.
Just giving me good wisdom, good feedback, good discernment.
I understand. I understand. I understand. I understand. I think life is all about understanding.
And so I just want to applaud those publicly, you watching and those privately who have respectfully, the operative word there being respectfully, who have respectfully reprimanded me.
Matt Barnes, incredibly, incredibly, incredibly wise words.
So I think all
That's enough.
Just just just cut it off.
Cut off.
That's fine.
It's so yeah.
A lot of people talk to them.
Wish no ill on them.
Wish no ill on anyone that has a different opinion of me.
But just, you know, come on, man.
Just stop.
Just stop.
No, no.
Just stop.
Nobody's wishing any ill on you.
Just stop.
Stop speak.
Don't do it.
Don't do it anymore.
That's it.
It'll happen again.
All right.
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We have to talk about what happened
with the World Central Kitchen.
You guys are not aware of this.
The World Central Kitchen
is
an organization that was founded by
Jose Andres. It's a very popular chef, very famous chef.
And
feeds people in humanitarian crises
all over the world.
and they were doing work in Gaza.
Some of them were killed.
Seven-A workers were killed during the IDF attack in Central Gaza Monday night.
They were traveling in a three-vehicle caravan that was branded with their logo on it.
On the top.
Jose Andres says that the A workers were systemically targeted,
car by car.
He says the following.
This was not a bad luck situation where oops we dropped the bomb in the wrong place, Andre said.
This was over 1.5, 1.8 kilometers with a very defined humanitarian convoy that had signs in the top of the roof,
very colorful logo that we are obviously very proud of.
It's very clear who we are and what we do.
I've watched a little bit from the reactions.
from some of the brass over there in Israel.
And even the Israeli brass admit
that what WC. K does,
that they are some of the good guys, as they would say,
because they think that some of the people
that are offering aid are bad guys.
They think that Lenra's bad guys.
They think that some of the people are bad guys.
They think they are Hamas affiliated, all that stuff.
But none of those claims have been lobbied
against this particular group.
And they were murdered.
Anyway.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the airstrikes were unintentional
and that Israel is thoroughly investigating the incident.
President Biden said in a statement Tuesday that he was outraged and heartbroken
by the deaths of the aid workers and said that he had spoken with Andre's over the phone
to deliver his condolences that did not stop us
from shipping more shit over there.
Today?
which we have continued to do, despite rebukes,
both private and increasingly public.
Wait, they've shipped since this strike?
Are you talking about before?
Just to be clear.
They've shipped before, although I'm...
Not since the strike.
I don't think they've shipped since the strikes.
I don't think so either, but I just want to be sure.
I'm actually very, very, very astute to point that out.
The question is, will we stop arming Israel as the war becomes increasingly unpopular
and the human toll of it becomes increasingly disgusting to Americans all over the world,
people all over the world, and Americans here?
Let me tell you what you hear in my voice real quick.
This is disgusting.
I encourage everyone to find yourself.
I've been criticized.
I'm not going to bring Rachel into it.
I've been criticized on the podcast for a lot of the ways I've talked about what's going on in Gaza.
And I think the criticisms are warranted.
I'm going to be completely honest.
The situation is so fraught.
And the situation is so important to so many people
that you do your best to try to understand the history,
understand the contemporary fear,
understand everybody's opinions,
their parents' opinions, their grandparents' opinions,
and why people feel the way that they do.
There's a certain level of power that you wield
that demands accountability.
it demands responsibility.
It demands compassion and empathy.
And Israel is not acting with that
in any stretch of the imagination.
They're acting with aggression,
with the bloodlust.
They're acting as destructors, disruptors,
orphaners, maimers, murderers, and killers.
And there's no way.
around it. The world has a responsibility, and that responsibility is to rein in the idea. I am not
going to ignore what happened on October 7. My humanity won't allow me to. My humanity won't allow me
me, no matter how much I read, no matter how much I know, my humanity won't allow me to
look at things that happen to
innocent non-combatants
as they had it coming.
But
my intellectual
view of the world
tells me
that innocence
is not
a term that gets used in a vacuum.
Right.
That a 14-year-old black kid
isn't as innocent
as a 14-year-old white kid.
That a 35-year-old black kid.
black man isn't as innocent as a 35-year-old white man.
That society decides what's innocent.
Society decides what's collateral damage.
And there is no intellectually honest way to look at what's happening right now
and not be aghast with the massacre that's happening there.
And that's it.
That's that.
There's no way around it.
I encourage people to continue to be,
continue to be hard on people who have microphones
and continue to hold their feet to the fire.
I don't know what to say.
They're murdering people.
They're murdering people.
People who are not even giving attention to.
And these people were trying to feed people, man.
So seven people lost their lives,
trying to do work,
having a humanitarian response to a crisis that's happening.
Much sacrifice goes into that.
And as it's been reported, even though Israel is trying to deny it,
there's a famine going on.
People are starving.
They're suffering.
And what the work that they do is just one of many organizations
that is out there trying to help,
trying to offer some relief to Palestinian
lives. And as a result of this strike, which those vans are marked at the top with their
logo on it, which is why you had Jose say what he said, because they're marked. I'm trying
not to speculate. Because of what they, because of this strike, the, because of the strike,
the World Central Kitchen has pulled their work from the front lines.
and so have other humanitarian organizations,
which means now
Palestinian lives.
And rightfully so.
And rightfully so.
And all of them have been killed.
No, no, that's what I'm saying.
That's what I'm saying. That's why I said the lives that we don't even talk about.
At least 196 humanitarian workers have been killed in Palestinian territories.
And we aren't talking about it.
These people who are sacrificing their lives to help others who are hurting,
suffering, starving.
And because of this strike,
the work that these people,
the selfless work that these people do,
that is being pulled away
and other humanitarian groups
are doing the same thing
because they are fearful
of what Israel's doing.
And I am so sick and tired
of hearing about,
we're going to investigate this.
If we hear about another investigation
that is happening,
we keep hearing about all these investigations
when the IDF does something wrong.
Oh, it was an accident.
Oh, they didn't mean to.
And nothing seems to happen except we continue to give aid.
If we realize as a country that we have some sort of leverage with these weapons,
why are we not using it?
Why are we not using it?
I don't want to hear about another phone call that President Joe Biden has with
Bibi Nanjahou.
I don't want to hear about it.
I don't want to hear about how he's concerned.
I don't want to hear about how he's warning.
what are you going to do?
Because the IDF seems to be able to proceed
with business as usual
when it comes to this war.
And all we say is
we allow them,
that we let them say,
we're going to investigate
until the next innocent life is lost.
I actually just put something in the chat.
I thought I had seen this,
that the United States approved more bombs to Israel
on the day of the World Central Kitchen Strikes.
so I'm not sure that's just bad timing or if I don't think that anything would change.
I think that the status quo will remain the same.
I think that I just want everyone who cares and who I just want everyone to consider the moment
and I'll do that too.
I'm reading as much as I can.
I'm as deep into it as I can be.
I'm trying my best to hold space
for everything and everyone.
I swear to God, I swear on my dad I am.
Yeah.
I swear I am.
I'm trying my best to hold space for everyone.
You guys, I hear you guys, I hear everyone.
I hear it.
It's just wrong.
It's just wrong, man.
It's just wrong.
It's too much.
It's ambiguous.
It's like we'll stop killing when we say.
We'll know when to stop killing.
It's like every life means something and we hate when one end is like,
and we're not even talking about what's left.
Right.
Upwards of 30,000 dead.
We talked about that,
but we're not talking about the infrastructure,
famine.
Like you discussed, just like what's left?
Where do people go?
How do you recover from this?
And every effort that seems to be given towards them seems to be taken away.
Now they have no humanitarian aid.
All right.
Well, we might have to recommit ourselves to this issue.
And I'm giving the audience my word that in the next two weeks we'll bring on,
not even the next two weeks,
next week.
Next fucking show,
as if there's time to waste.
We will bring on somebody
that is Palestinian
so that we can get
both emotional
and a geopolitical
breakdown of where things stand right now.
We'll reignite this.
But
you consider everything
and you just have
to look at like what actually's happening,
what actually's going on.
And it's your money.
It's my money. It's all money.
So, yeah.
I can't not care. All right.
I don't know if there's anything else.
This has been, we've been just been, you know,
you know what the fuck, man?
What is?
Nigger has bow wow done something?
We need, we need Ray J.
Now more than ever.
This might be the first time we agree on.
So it comes to Ray.
Jay.
We need Ray J now more than ever.
We didn't even get into what's happening in Iran right now.
Some of the strikes that are going on and the whole nine.
It's,
it's,
we need the Bryson Tiller is freestyle and I'm looking at all of this stuff.
You know what,
man,
fuck it.
Is WrestleMania weekend?
Yeah,
yeah.
This is going to drop.
Beefs reignited.
People are going to be pissed off.
We got to say what the fuck we got to say,
man.
You guys want to see me dance to,
I was dancing to too high.
We saw it early and that's probably what ignited my tears.
If you want to be, you want to be honest.
I wasn't, we don't even hear anything.
You're just moving, you're just, you're just moving to no sound.
We don't hear anything.
Ashley, can you hear that?
Nope.
Wow.
You know what, just Ashley put some music over it.
Let help them out.
Take us out.
let's just go
let's just fucking go
tell you thing
caps off
but do not stop learning
I'm Van Lathan
Judey
I'm Rachel Lynn Lindsay
bye guys
