Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 759 | Book-Banning Brigade Comes for Roald Dahl

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort.

Starting point is 00:00:19 We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day Show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Roald Dahl's children's books are being edited to be less offensive. Makeup influencer Jeffrey Starr is being applauded by conservatives. And Don Lemon says Nikki Haley is past her prime at the ripe old age of 51. You know, because the president that we currently have is so vivacious.

Starting point is 00:00:57 and sharp. This episode is brought to you by our friends at GoodRanchers. Go to GoodRanchers.com. Use promo code Alley at checkout for a discount. That's good ranchers.com code Alley. Hey guys, welcome to relatable. Happy Wednesday. Hope everyone's having a wonderful week. My sunburn and I, we're still here. It's getting better. Also, wow, if you're watching this on YouTube, my hair is kind of wild today. Yeah, sunburn's still here. It's still on my face, too. My face is in its like leather era right now. So you probably can't really tell under the light and the makeup, but it's like starting to like crack and peel and things like that. Wear your sunscreen people. Wear your sunscreen. If you need to know more about my sunburn and my

Starting point is 00:01:47 PSA about sunscreen, you can listen to yesterday's episode. All right, we're going to talk about some, I mean, fun things to talk about. I don't know if they are necessarily fun. They're a little bit more lighthearted, even though they are serious because we're talking about our culture taking a free fall into utter stupidity. But it can, it can be a little. bit lighter, feel a little better to talk about these things rather than talk about things like nuclear war, right? And that's what we had to discuss yesterday. So we're going to talk about some of these culture war issues and react to some clips that have been circulating on Twitter and just look at what in the world this says about our culture and then, of course, try to speak clarity

Starting point is 00:02:23 into the chaos. Okay, first we're going to talk about this rolled dull story, which I just find his name to be really difficult to say for some reason. I think it's because of where the Els are located in his name. And even though I read his short stories growing up, I don't know if I've ever actually really said his name out loud. So I had to confirm how to say his name before I started this. So it's rolled dull. But I might have a hard time. I might just shorten it to R.D or something like that. Because it's just a, it's difficult. It's difficult to pronounce, especially for a children's author. It's a little bit ironic. Children have a hard time saying their L's. So anyway, he was a British novelist. He was a short story writer. He was a

Starting point is 00:03:01 poet. He was a screenwriter. You're probably familiar with some of his most popular works. James and the Giant Peach. Matilda, Charlie in the Chocolate Factory. Fantastic, Mr. Fox. He wrote not just the book, but also the script. And then he wrote the script for Chitty Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Now, Chitty Chitty bang bang, I think I get that confused in my head with bed knobs and broomsticks. I don't know why. I can't really remember the plot of either of them, but I know that I watched them both when I was little. So he's kind of known for dark comedy, unexpected indians. Like if you think about Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, like, it's a little weird. It's a little weird that the girl turns into a blueberry. It's a little sad that the one kid gets sucked up into the

Starting point is 00:03:47 chocolate tube. Like, it's a little bit depressing. And actually, that's why I didn't love watching the old Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I remember thinking, like, it gets really sad that Grandpa Joe and the grandparents have been sitting in this bed for like 20 years. And oh, all of a sudden you get a golden ticket and Grandpa Joe, he's no longer, he's no longer paralyzed. He can run around because he is the prospect of money. Grandpa Joe is very selfish. So there are all kinds of things like this in Roll Doll's works that are a little bit, a little bit depressing, like a little bit dark and yet clever and funny and creative.

Starting point is 00:04:24 Same with James and the Giant Peach. This was an animated movie that I did not want to watch growing up because it depressed me. Matilda, I did like Matilda, even though also depressing, what is it called? The Chokie. And I hated the scene. I hated the scene in Matilda. I probably should not have watched this movie growing up. I wouldn't recommend allowing your kids to watch it.

Starting point is 00:04:46 I don't think I would let my kids watch it. But the part where they make the fat kid, and actually that has something to do with what we're about to talk about, eat the whole chocolate cake in front of the entire student body? I just remember thinking that was so sad. That's like a form of torture and humiliation. So anyway, those are the kind of themes that you see in Roald Dahl's book. So they're not without some, I guess, some controversy, at least as far as parents maybe not wanting to promote all of his books to their very young children because of some of their dark themes. But that's not why he is at the center of controversy in the education system today. The reason why his books

Starting point is 00:05:29 are now being called to be removed or be sanitized and edited is because they say words like fat. Yes, they say words like fat, and so it's too offensive. So this is according to the Guardian, Roald Doll books rewritten. They're being rewritten to remove language deemed offensive. Rolled Doll's children's books are being rewritten to remove language deemed offensive by the publisher Puffin. Puffin has hired sensitivity readers. Oh, that's so fun. tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars, you're in debt hundreds of thousands of dollars

Starting point is 00:06:07 because you got your English degree at some liberal arts college only to become a sensitivity reader for Buffett, I'm so sorry, to rewrite chunks of the author's text to make sure the books can continue to be enjoyed by all today, resulting in extensive changes across Dahl's work. Edits have been made to descriptions of characters' physical appearances. The word fat has been cut from every new edition of relevant books while the word ugly has also been cold. Guys, these are objective descriptions of things. And I understand, like, they're derogatory. But, okay, what if you were writing a story about how bullying is bad?

Starting point is 00:06:50 What if you were trying to write about an antagonist? And the antagonist is the one going around calling people fat and ugly. Like, are you saying we can't have that theme? So this actually, I think, is going to confuse not just, you know, objective descriptors of what things are fat. And some things, by the way, are objectively ugly. So not only does it confuse that, but it could actually confuse depictions of right and wrong and good and bad. Like, isn't that part of reading? Isn't that part of the journey of reading comprehension that kids are able to figure out, like,

Starting point is 00:07:30 who's the good guy, who's the bad guy, what's a nice thing to say, what's a mean thing to say? It's like they think that kids have no comprehension, that people have no comprehension or no discernment whatsoever to be able to pick up on, like, okay, what would be nice for me to say in a normal interaction with someone or what are things that I shouldn't say? Like, they're just going to repeat and internalize everything they read. Look, there are plenty of books that I read that I'm sure weren't representative of me or were maybe insensitive to some things. I believe heck, as like a conservative Christian, most of the things that we consume are insensitive to us and what we believe. Some of that stuff, I'll just choose not to read because I don't want to read it

Starting point is 00:08:12 or not necessarily because I'm offended by it, but because it's not necessarily edifying. And then other things I will choose to read because it's a good book. I get something out of it or I enjoy it. And so I can take some of it. I can push some of it away. Or I am just trying to expand and exercise my mind with the writing that I am reading or the storytelling that I am consuming. And I'm not necessarily drawing a moral lesson from it. I'm not applying the morality and ethics that I see in this book to my life. Like if I read a book that said, you know, people that don't wear sunscreen are really freaking stupid and they should never be let outside again.

Starting point is 00:08:55 I mean, that would be really silly. But what if that's like a character in a book who's saying? that and that is a part of the story. Am I supposed to say, you know what? Sensitivity Reader graduated from Columbia to do this job. Can you please come edit my book? I mean, honestly, how far does this go? Like, some people are fat. Some things are ugly. Are these adjectives that we are not allowed to say? Like, do we not see how this is so Orwellian? Like, wasn't this part of Winston's job in 1984 to try to reconstruct the language, to try to minimize the language. So you minimize people's understanding of reality and minimize the range of consciousness. So people don't even have

Starting point is 00:09:41 the words to describe the things that they see anymore. It's just wild. Okay, I haven't even gotten through. I haven't even gotten through this article yet because I have so much to say. So they remove the word fat. They remove the word ugly. Augustus Gloop. Augustus Gloop. Okay. So the guy who was drinking the chocolate and Charlie in the chocolate factory and gets sucked up the tube is now described as enormous because that's better. If you walk up to someone and you say, you know what? I know your whole life. You have been called fat.

Starting point is 00:10:17 Not anymore, buddy. You're enormous. Do you, is that better? I'm so sorry. I can't believe that this is real. in the Twits, Mrs. Toit is no longer ugly and beastly, just beastly. Hundreds of changes were made to the original text in some passages not written by doll. This is not a joke, okay?

Starting point is 00:10:41 This is not a parody. Hundreds of changes were made to the original text. Some passages not written by doll have been added. But the role doll story company said, it's not unusual to review the language during a new print run. And any changes were small. and carefully considered. It's unusual to take out the word fat and the word ugly. Like, it's okay for those words to be included in things and for me to then have the opportunity to talk to my kids and to say, you know, that's not something that we call people.

Starting point is 00:11:16 You know, that's, you know, an objective description or whatever it is. But you can have those conversations with your kids or you can choose to not have your kids read something. But when we get in the business of editing books because they might be slightly offensive to one portion of the population, we saw this with Dr. Seuss a couple of years ago. We saw Dr. Seuss being taken off the shelves in school libraries. We were told that Dr. Seuss could be offensive because some of his books perpetuate racial stereotypes about Japanese people, maybe about black people. People were saying that cat in the hat was actually, like the main character was actually modeled after some stereotype of a black woman, which I don't think any toddler, any young person

Starting point is 00:11:58 reading cat in a hat would ever deduce or ever think or ever apply to their perspective on black people. And so, I mean, this is where it's going. We are spiraling into ultra sensitivity to where I think, especially when it comes to Dr. Seuss, you were doing a disservice to kids. I mean, Dr. Seuss, as a person as an author, his works, has probably done more to help kids learn how to read. not just read to themselves, but read out loud than any other author that has ever existed. And when we have the problem right now of a majority of fourth graders are reading at a kindergarten level or below, I don't think the biggest issue that we're facing is how insensitive Dr. Seuss was or Roaldol was.

Starting point is 00:12:45 Like if this is a book that a young person wants to read and can read and is helping them, And it happens to say fat in it, I would say that that calculation, like, it works out in favor of letting the kid read it, right? Obviously, like, there are limits to what we want our kids to read. Absolutely. We want them to be imbibing things that are good and right and true. But I don't think that these adjectives qualify as something that's evil that our kids shouldn't be consuming. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political.

Starting point is 00:13:26 They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us.

Starting point is 00:14:05 In The Witches, which is something that he wrote, a paragraph explaining the witches are bald beneath their wigs ends with the new line. There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. Really? Like, we have to caveat that. Come on now. In previous editions of James and the Giant Peach, the centipede sings,

Starting point is 00:14:28 Aunt Sponge was terrifically fat and tremendously fat flabby at that. And Aunt Spiker was thin as a wire and dry as a bone only drier. That's funny. Both verses have been removed. And in their place are these rhymes. Aunt Sponge was a nasty old brute. Well, I thought brute was male. And deserved to be squashed by the fruit.

Starting point is 00:14:50 Aunt Spiker was much of the same and deserves half the blame. Okay. You know, whatever. If you wanted to add those to this story, but again, the reason that they're doing it because it's wrong to call someone flabby, like what if that's an important part of the story? Also, I think physical descriptions, which it seems like they're removing or caveat in all these, are really important. I think they're really important for kids' imagination. References to female characters have disappeared. Cool.

Starting point is 00:15:19 Miss Trenchable in Matilda, once a most formidable female, is now, oh, okay, a most formidable woman. So now they're saying woman because it does it have to do with trans stuff? Because female, we have been told, indicates like your sex and indicates your actual chromosomes. But woman is someone who simply identifies as woman. I don't know if that's the motivation here, but it seems really silly. Gender neutral terms have been added in places where Charlie and the chocolate factory's umpalupas were small men. Now they're small people.

Starting point is 00:15:54 okay just in case someone out there is reading one little girl out there is reading it's like i want to be an umpalumpa well now that little girl's mother can look at her earnestly in the eye and say you can baby you can the cloud men and james and the giant peach have become cloud people good see now now the little girl little taller girl Abigail she can look at her her mom and say but mom i i didn't know that i could be a cloud person. I thought only my brother, Tom, could be a cloud man. And now that there's cloud people, now, now I want to be a cloud person. She can say, yes, yes, you're absolutely right. You can. This is breaking glass ceilings. I'm so proud of Puffin. Puffin and the Roald Doll Story Company made the changes in conjunction with inclusive minds, which is an organization that describes itself as a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion and accessibility in children's

Starting point is 00:16:57 literature. Alexandra Strick, a co-founder of Inclusive Minds, said they aim to ensure authentic representation by working closely with the book world and with those who have lived experience of any facet of diversity. Look, not all books are going to represent you, are going to represent every facet of diversity. They're simply not. That's not necessarily what books are for. Books aren't necessarily so you can see yourself reflected at it.

Starting point is 00:17:21 That's not necessarily what TV shows are for. I'm not saying all forms of representation are bad. I'm not saying that. But to write a book for the purpose of representation solely, I think that that actually is probably going to compromise your ability to just tell a good story and certainly going back, retroactively editing stories to try to match all of our different forms of representation today. I think that's just stupid.

Starting point is 00:17:49 I think, again, it's just counterproductive. it's totally it's totally pointless i remember i had a mom on and she was a mom whose speech went viral at this school board meeting and uh she was talking about this terrible book that was being presented to her eighth grader and there were multiple actually there was one that described the different ways that this person wanted to commit suicide in very graphic terms we're talking about her 13 14 year old being told that he can read this book in eighth grade providing provided for him by his public school. And then this is in a conservative area, by the way, in a conservative state.

Starting point is 00:18:29 And then middle schooler was also given by the English teacher a book describing different sexual activities, including rape. And the defense I've heard is the defensive representation. Well, some kids have gone through that. Some kids have thought of suicide. Some kids have gone through sexual assault. Oh, so they need to be retron. traumatized by their assignments at school? Really? That's your argument? Those things don't need to

Starting point is 00:18:58 necessarily be represented to little kids. And most kids, by the way, have not experienced those things. And so then we're planting those ideas in their head before they even have the frontal lobe, before they even have the capacity to really be able to comprehend them. They're being assigned. And in a lot of cases, given those books by their teachers or at least given access to those books in the life. libraries, those are far more offensive than anything that Roald Dahl has written for children, anything Dr. Seuss has written far worse for their mind, for their development, for their self-esteem, for their view of others, their view of the world. That has a far worse effect on their behavior, their mentality, their psychology than any

Starting point is 00:19:44 of these children's books that are now being censored by sensitivity readers and inclusive mind. And yet those are the kinds of books that are actually being promoted in schools, even while Roald Dahl and while poor Dr. Seuss is being taken out and they're being chastised for not being sensitive enough. The Guardian also said publisher of Roald Dahl books in French has no plans to rewrite. So this is apparently just for the English books. Antoine Chiron, he's a lawyer with ACBN, that's a Paris law firm that specializes in authors' rights, said it was not illegal in France to change a dead author's works, but it is dangerous for the culture. Agree with you, Antoine.

Starting point is 00:20:31 Agree with you. Here's what he says. How far back should we go? Baudelaire, Voltaire, the Bible. If books are changed in this way, they are not the original works. It is not far off censorship. This is our artistic history. I would be in favor of completely getting rid of the work rather than changing it if we feel

Starting point is 00:20:48 at a fence current thinking. but again, where do you stop? Who decides what is now offensive or goes against current thinking? This seems to be an attack on artistic creation and freedom of expression. He's absolutely right. And he's French. That's crazy. And now I don't think that getting rid of the work rather than changing it is any better.

Starting point is 00:21:08 I mean, you're just looking at burning books. How many dystopian novels have we seen there in actual, I mean, examples from history of communists, of fascist, totalitarian. burning books, changing history. Again, 1984. Think about all of the dystopian novels that you can think of that were written in the 20th century. All of them had to do with the controlling of language

Starting point is 00:21:34 and the name of compassion, of course, and the name of order and the name of peace and the name of kindness. All of them had to do with attacking this kind of artistic expression. I mean, look at Mao's China. This is exactly the kind of route that Mao went down. And by the way, this is still what the CCP does to this day. The CCP has

Starting point is 00:21:54 edited the Bible to take out anything that could be seen as offensive to communism. And by the way, you have Americans here who think that the Bible as it is is pro-communism. But at least the Chinese are actually, as atheists, more theologically knowledgeable to realize that the Bible, as it is written, is not pro-communism. It has to be extremely edited to seem that it is pro-communism. So anything about owning private property, or seeming to support individual rights or liberty or things like that, the CCP has said, oh, no, that's not going to, that's not going to make it to the final version of the Bible that we let our people read.

Starting point is 00:22:33 Like, how is this any different than that? No, it's not the government doing it. So I guess that's a little bit better. But I think we've learned through what we've seen through the efforts and big tack and corporations, how they try through their means to try to clamp down on speech, that it's still a first amendment issue. And I just think it makes us really stupid. There are other examples of the changes that they're making to Roll Doll's books in Matilda and The Witches, again, just trying to make things, just trying to make things more palatable for our sensitivities today. You can't say

Starting point is 00:23:11 things like crazy. You can't, you know, obviously call people fat. and things like that. You can't say flabby. There was one part in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Great flabby folds of fat bulged out from every part of his body. That's been changed to great folds bulge out from every part of his body. So that's important. You can't say the word queer because queer means different things today.

Starting point is 00:23:40 You had to change it to things like strange. And again, I'm just looking at the different things. James and the Giant Peach, taking out all references to fat. so funny. I mean, this kind of, it just, it just ruins, it ruins Roaldol because part of it was the shock factor. Part of it was how he described people and things, like how he described both beauty and ugliness. Like in line, The Witch in the Wardrobe. I mean, you see this kind of language from C.S. Lewis too, calling something as ghastly and grotesque and ugly, especially when you're looking at the evil that the white witch and all of her ghouls represent versus the kind of

Starting point is 00:24:18 royal and beautiful and bright descriptions of Aslan and his army. I think all of these things are really important for kids to understand as they're discerning light versus darkness. But when you exchange the God of Scripture for the God of self, feelings reign. Feelings are central to every decision that we make. Moral relativism, which is inevitable when you remove God as the foundation of morality. means that standards of right and wrong are constantly changing depending on the feelings of those who hold the most power. And today we've decided, ironically, that the quote

Starting point is 00:24:59 unquote most marginalized people actually have the most power to tell us what words we can say and what stories we can read. By the way, if you have that kind of power, you're not actually marginalized. And so you just go along with the person who has the most political capital. You just go along with the person who is the loudest. The person whom you were told, if you offend them in any way, that indicates that you are lacking empathy or morality. I mean, that's how moral relativism goes. It actually shrinks our language, shrinks our imagination, shrinks our creativity. And it's not going to create a kinder society. By the way, like, we've been becoming more sensitive for the past, I don't know, 30 or so years. Do we have a,

Starting point is 00:25:46 kinder and less polarized America because of that, has political correctness helped us come together? Like, have we become a nicer, more polite? People, have we become friendlier? Have we become better at relationships? Have we of a country, as a country, become more empathetic because of the policing of our language, because of removing words like that from books? I don't think so. I don't know. I think our kids can be better equipped, better equipped than all of this. And like I said, just a reminder that these people aren't They're not actually interested in like the well-being and the formation of your kids because they're pushing kids into books like the ones that we've talked about before. Flamer. It's perfectly normal.

Starting point is 00:26:29 This book is gay. Let's talk about it. Born ready. Gender, queer. All of these books that I listed in Florida, in Alabama, in Texas, Oklahoma. I mean, these are books that have pornographic descriptions that are being in some cases presented to middle schoolers. probably in some cases elementary school schoolers in the name of representation

Starting point is 00:26:50 and the name of diversity and the name of inclusion and the name of education and yet like this is the kind of stuff that is actually going to damage the minds of kids they don't need to see depictions of genitalia they don't need to hear that they might be born in the wrong body

Starting point is 00:27:06 like this has long term damage on kids not hearing words like flabby in the book Matilda I mean we've just gotten so crazy and so backwards. But again, this is what happens when you exchange the God of Scripture for the God of self. Romans 1 becomes, it manifests itself in stupidity like this. Foolish minds are darkened and they just make bad decisions. Okay, next thing I want to talk about, speaking of things that kids should not be presented.

Starting point is 00:27:53 and speaking of our culture, going to a place of craziness, we now have a person by the name of Jeffrey Star. Jeffrey Star, I actually don't know if this person, like, how he quote, unquote, unidentifies. I don't know if he actually goes by like she, her pronouns or like calls himself a woman. He goes, I'm hearing in my ear. He goes by he. Okay. I mean, I would have said that anyway, because he is a man, but I just was curious.

Starting point is 00:28:20 So he goes by he. his name is Jeffrey Starr and he is a makeup person. I think he was like a makeup YouTuber. I think he has his own makeup line now, but he dresses as a woman. He dresses like totally femininely, but he doesn't make an effort besides that to look feminine. Like his body is very masculine, his face, his voice very masculine. But everything else he tries to make like very feminine. So I find him very frightening, like very dark and demonic seeming and very frightening as a person. He has millions and millions of followers and subscribers. He has a lot of influence.

Starting point is 00:28:57 And this video I saw circulating. And yes, some conservatives praising it because he has like a modicum of common sense. Here's that clip. I'm not into all the other bulls. I think. What other bulls? The they and them. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:29:13 And all that extra that we added during the pandemic. Because everyone was so bored on their houses. They just started to make up more. More stuff. Yeah. That's where the conservative is like me because I'm just real. You do have a conservative vibe to you.

Starting point is 00:29:25 You're not vain. You're trans, your male or you're female. And you're standing on that. And people get so mad when I say that. How are you with they? What the fuck does that mean? As stupid is what it is.

Starting point is 00:29:35 But you need someone like me that looks like me to say it. Because if you say it, it turns into you're homophobic. You hate trans people. You hate gays. And it's just how you feel. You don't hate anyone. You just think it's stupid.

Starting point is 00:29:46 Yeah. I mean, I don't need to look like Jeffrey started to say that. A lot of us have been saying that for a long time because we don't care if we get called those names. You cannot be a they-them. That is plural. Or that's what you call someone when you just don't know. You don't know what their gender is. That hasn't been disclosed at a story. That hasn't been disclosed to you. You're like, someone's like, oh, you know, the CEO will be here soon. Oh, what time are they going to be here? Like you ask that because you don't know if it's he or her. You don't look at someone who presents

Starting point is 00:30:14 themselves to you and say, oh, I'm going to call you they then. That's not like a pronoun that you declare for yourself. And actually, it's very selfish to try to bend the laws of language in order to accommodate a feeling that you have created for yourself. And so I agree with Jeffrey Starr there. And I do appreciate. Okay. So he's got some common sense there. Like you're either male or female and you can't be they, them. And I appreciate that. I appreciate him saying that. But do I think, and I'm not saying that I've seen like a ton of people. people do this. So just let me put that out there. But do I think that he's like on our side now? He says, oh, conservatives like him. I don't doubt that there are some conservatives who do.

Starting point is 00:31:00 Conservatives get so excited when someone who is like on the left or is not just an out-and-out Christian Republican says something that we agree with. And I understand the excitement because it's like we get lambasted all day by all these celebrities and all of these mainstream sources that when someone says something that's just like a little bit true, we're like, yes, our hero. But look, this, like this is still a person, a man who is very, very confused and very, very lost. This is a man who presents as a woman. Now, maybe he's not confused about who he actually is. And I can like appreciate that, that he is apparently not trying to say, I don't know, that you can be they or whatever, but he obviously doesn't believe that a man is a man and a

Starting point is 00:31:49 woman is a woman. He believes that there's a lot of gender bending that goes on there. So I'm not going to like applaud this as wow. He is a beacon of common sense and clarity for us. And I would just say that, yeah, of course, you can be a fan of someone who doesn't agree with you on everything. There are people that I like that I know I don't agree with on everything and I think that's fine. But I think that we should pump the brakes, slow our role before conservatives are like, yay, Jeffrey Star, conservative hero, our advocate for common sense and for clarity in all things. He said something that people five years ago, the vast majority of people would have been like, yeah, duh, what do you even talking about? No one goes by, no one goes by they, them.

Starting point is 00:32:36 Like what counts is truth telling today? What counts is courage and bravery today? It's really sad. I mean, so there's this meme that I've shared before. I actually edited it myself because when I shared it on Instagram, I don't even know how to describe it. It's like the gray guy and like the based chat over here. And we'll put it up on YouTube if we find it. And the gray guy is like, who radicalized you? And the based chat over here is like, no one. I am just a normal person from 50 years ago.

Starting point is 00:33:13 But I changed that to 10 years ago. Okay. The things that you think are radical that I think men are men and women are women from the point of conception, that genetics actually matter, that I'm not going to accept this idea that a man can become a woman and vice versa. That I believe that marriage between a man and a woman is sacred and has a special and irreplaceable place in any kind of strong society. Yeah, the vast majority of people believed that 10 years ago. the things that you're calling bigoted and radical today, even the stuff on like social justice and things about like reparations and systemic racism, the things that I know about those things, it's not even believed, know about those things based on the data that we have.

Starting point is 00:33:55 Yeah, most people believed and knew those things 10 years ago and weren't even afraid to say it. Don Lemon was one of those people. There was a clip that was circulating recently that where he was talking about, look, if you want to clean up your communities, if you want a better life, he's talking specifically to black people, which most people would not say this today. Most people on the right would not say this today just because of the absolute backlash that you would get. He just was like, look, clean up your community, pull your pants up, like, you know, speak in a way that is like respectable and things like that. Today you're told that there is no agency whatsoever in these minority communities in every single bad thing that comes upon them.

Starting point is 00:34:33 The consequences or the trials and tribulations that they have, the disparities that exist there have, have nothing to. to do whatsoever with any kind of choice or any kind of behavior, any kind of, like any kind of morality or anything like that, that it all has to do with the system. It all has to do with white people. It all has to do with racism and white supremacy in the system holding them down. And in that way, it's very belittling. It's very patronizing. It's very infantilizing. It's actually dangerous because you just perpetuate the cycles that in a lot of cases are keeping people in poverty, incarcerated, and things like that. Ten years ago, people were bold enough to say the things that, you know, we knew are true. Now today, most people won't say those things because it's,

Starting point is 00:35:25 again, offensive. And it goes back to what we were saying. When feelings reign, you are constantly changing the standards of morality to try to meet the people in power who are telling you what you have to believe to be considered empathetic or not. And speaking of Don Limam, who we've seen over the past few years, he is one of many people who was just completely broken by Donald Trump. Now, he was liberal before that. Certainly he was at CNN. But I mean, the country shifted way to the left. After 2010 is when things really started to happen. But then 2014, 2015, 2015, 2016, things just accelerated so much. And I think Donald Trump being the polarizing figure that he is, and that's not me bashing him at all. It's just how it is. Like that got things to a very

Starting point is 00:36:11 crazy place on the left very quickly. And Dunloman was one of those people. So he's certainly on the left. But then he'll say things that are like, what are you talking about? So now he is, he's on this morning show and CNN. He used to have a nightly show that wasn't doing very well at all. Now he is a morning show host, but he is having a hard time adjusting. I don't know if you guys have seen these stories where apparently he just has bad behavior. He doesn't treat his coworkers well, especially apparently his female coworkers. His, what's the, what's the co-workers name? The young one, she's like my age that is also the, oh, Caitlin Collins.

Starting point is 00:36:53 His co-host on this morning show, apparently it's reported that he was yelling at her, screaming at her because she accidentally interrupted him in something, which by the way, happens in cable news on accident all the time. But he just thinks it seems like he is bigger and better than all of this because he used to have a prime time slot. So he's having a hard time sharing the spotlight. But maybe it's because of what he thinks about women in general that is actually driving some of his bad behavior and his mistreatment of his female coworkers.

Starting point is 00:37:24 So he is under fire for comments that he made about Nikki Haley. So this is according to AP News, Don Lemon to return to CNN, undergo formal training. So that means that he was put on pause. He was not let go, but he was told, hey, he can't host this show because of comments that he made on February 16th on CNN this morning when he, I'll just play you the clip when he said this. Nikki Haley isn't in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s. That's not according to me. Prime for what? It depends. It's just like prime. If you look it up, if you look, if you Google, When is a woman in her prime?

Starting point is 00:38:04 It'll say 20s, 30s, and 40s. I don't necessarily it. 40s. Oh, I got it another decade. I agree with that. So I think she has to be careful about saying that politicians aren't in their prime. I think they need to qualify. Are you talking about prime for, like, child-coring? Or are you're talking about crime for being president?

Starting point is 00:38:20 The facts are. Google it, everybody at home. When is a woman in her prime? It says 20s, 30s and 40s. And I'm just saying Nikki Haley should be careful about saying that politicians are not in their prime. And they need to be in their prime when they serve because she wouldn't be in a prime. according to Google or whatever it is. Okay.

Starting point is 00:38:39 Okay. So people think it's weird because he was like, a woman is not in her prime and you can just Google it. You can Google it. A woman is not in her prime when she's past her 40s. I guess Nikki Haley is probably in her 50s or something like that, which is like, I mean, she could be the, you know, the young daughter of our,

Starting point is 00:39:03 the current president of the United States, who was only 18 years younger than Jimmy Carter, who is almost 100 and is in hospice right now. Jimmy Carter is 98. He's only 18 years older. 18 years older than the president of the United States. So, like, I don't think

Starting point is 00:39:18 that anyone on the left can say that a reason that they shouldn't vote for, that we shouldn't have a president like Nikki Haley is age. Now, past prime, if you were talking about childbearing, sure like I think that's true if Don Lemon like if you're concerned about Nikki Haley's fertility thank you so much for thinking about that and thinking through that I'm sure she I mean I'm sure

Starting point is 00:39:41 she just really appreciates that because you know she was probably considering giving birth again and then she heard Don Lemon she was like oh my gosh that is so true I'm in my 50s I can't have kids oh thank you thank you Don Lemon so I'm sure she takes kindly to you looking out for her fertility and whether or not she can have another child. But if you're talking about prime in any other way, I'm just wondering where is the, like, where are you getting that? So if I Google, I don't use Google, but I'll use Google for the sake of argument.

Starting point is 00:40:13 When is a woman in her prime to do anything publicly? Let's see what Google has to say. Well, primewomen.com says, bottom line, as far as having wisdom and verve and the experience used both wisely, most women are in their prime after the age of 50. Now the Healthy Journal says a woman's prime is between the ages of 28 and 45. But again, it says it's for, this is for child raising and child bearing. Okay.

Starting point is 00:40:54 So again, I guess I'm just confused about if Don Lemon is talking about Nikki Haley's ability to have kids or if I don't know he's talking about her ability to run for president of the United States. I don't know. I mean, we have an octogenarian right now in the White House, right now, right now. So I'm thinking that it would probably be okay. Now, maybe there are a million other reasons that you don't want to vote for Nikki Haley. And that's fine. But I don't think her age is something that disqualifies her. It was just such like a silly, silly thing to. say. He said, I'm just saying what the facts are. Really? Really. Now, Nikki Haley said, I was asking for a mental competency test for a sexist male reporter on CNN. I was asking for transparency

Starting point is 00:41:41 for mental competency test for elected officials who make tough decisions for Americans every day. Now, if it were me, I would not use the word sexist. You're playing leftist language games. Like, I understand why you want to do this, but if you're running for president, don't even. Don't even give it. Don't even give them anything like that because it's just don't even use sexist or racist or anything like that because you are just playing their game. I mean, Don Lemon is not bright. We know that. I mean, he's he's not, he's, he's not a wise person. I remember I was watching one day and he said the word disrespectful.

Starting point is 00:42:22 And he literally said, disrespectful. Oh, wait, that's not actually a word un-un-respectful. I don't know, non-respectful. So this is someone who doesn't know the disrespectful is a word. Okay, that's what I would have said if I were Nikki Haley. So maybe he's past his prime. I don't know. I don't know.

Starting point is 00:42:43 Just something to consider. Okay, guess what, guys? Next week, I have a surprise. I have a very fun interview that is coming out that will be conducted. it will come out next week. I'm not even going to tell you. It's going to be a surprise. And you're going to be so excited and happy about this interview. And I'm super pumped for it too. And so just stay tuned for that. Stay tuned for that. All right. Oh, one last thing I want to say is tomorrow Thursday, February 23rd. My page says February 27th. I'm guessing it's February 23rd tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:43:30 I'm going to be hosting an off-the-record private Q&A exclusively for Blaze TV subscribers. So you can send me questions. So if you're a Blaze TV subscriber, go to blaz-tiv.com slash off-the-record and sign up today so you can join the conversation. Use promo code off the record if you want to become a subscriber to be able to chat with me. And it's not just with me. Like sometimes it's Glenn Beck and different hosts at Blaze TV. So tomorrow, Thursday, February 23rd, says 27th, twice, at 1145 AMCT, 1245 PMET, head over to blazedtv.com slash off the record.

Starting point is 00:44:13 BlazTV.com slash off the record. All right. That's all we've got time for today. See you guys back here tomorrow. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about.

Starting point is 00:44:32 God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this Steve Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts.

Starting point is 00:45:01 I hope you'll join us. Thank you.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 759 | Book-Banning Brigade Comes for Roald Dahl

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