The Chris Cuomo Project - Listener Comments: Warmongering, Police Interactions, Stoicism

Episode Date: March 23, 2023

In a special episode of The Chris Cuomo Project, Chris reacts to a grab bag of YouTube comments, podcast reviews, and listener calls about the Russia-Ukraine war, speaking to the police, reacting as a stoic, and more. If you’d like to ask Chris a question, call [phone]. Leave your name, location, phone number, email address, and your brief question, and it may be addressed in an upcoming show. Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday. Need to hire? You need Indeed. Visit Indeed.com/CCP to start hiring now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, I'm Chris Cuomo. Welcome to a special edition of the Chris Cuomo Project. I tell you I want your feedback. My News Nation show is for you. That's why we do Have Your Say. And here, we do it two different ways. You send comments, we'll go through them. And by we, I mean Greg. And then we will pick some and we will respond. And when you call in on the line, the number will be put up here for you guys to figure it out, because I don't remember the phone number anymore. I will take calls, and I will answer best as I can, and in fact, we're going to do it right now. Support for the Chris Cuomo Project comes from PrizePix.

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and they will determine if appropriate. Restrictions apply. You see the website, you'll get details and important safety information. You're going to need a subscription. It's required. Plus, price is going to vary based on product and subscription plan. All right, we're going to start with some YouTube comments. This one is on you looking back at the year of war in Ukraine. Don Fleming writes, Listen, who are you talking to right now?

Because you can't be talking to me, right? Well, I'm not some warmonger. I'm not into it. I don't even like to go to me, right? Well, I'm not some warmonger. I'm not into it. I don't even like to go to them, okay? It's frightening. It's frightening for my family. It's frightening for my team. It's frightening for me.

And a lot of times, you people don't even watch. So just think about that in terms of knitting of commerce and some perverse sense of attachment to conflict. Now, look, what I think you're trying to express in a kind of nasty and unproductive way is do we give too much credence to warfare? And by doing that, do we make ourselves more susceptible to being involved

and maybe even perpetuating conflicts? Now, if that were your point, that's a lot better way to put it the way I just did. But look, you got to be careful. I don't believe in gratuitous conflicts. What's the proof? When we went to Iraq, I didn't know why we were going to Iraq. Yeah, I went there to cover it.

When we were looking for Osama bin Laden, I was one of these people who was always asking the question, well, is this thing a snake or a worm? Meaning if you cut off the head of the snake, snake dies. You cut off the worm, what happens? It grows back, just starts moving in another direction. So I ask those questions. I'm not a warmonger. I'm not a hawk, okay?

I believe in what's happening in Ukraine because it is unfair to Ukrainians, and they have a right to be free. A God-given, as you would say, natural right, as I would say, a human right. And what Russia's doing is wrong. And the reason they're doing it is wrong and it is invasive of our sovereignty. It is because what happens with NATO, you know, is dominoes. You think they're going to stop there? You think that this isn't about NATO or them? And NATO has to win that battle because the many must work to be strong and not isolated by just them. One in Russia, maybe with China. But then you got to think of it that way too. If you allow for this type of split up, this agglomeration of power,

if it's Russia and China versus the world, that's not good for anybody. So you got to nip it in the bud and you have to show that force will be met with force, but also reason. All right. So I'm not the guy. I'm not trying to go after war just because I think it's somehow commercially viable. You recently did a interview with Margaret Choaret cho the comedian yeah uh this person called kilvap cram wrote i don't get it cuomo brought in a comedian to talk about mass shootings because she's asian not an asian detective psychologist professor he decided on a comedian i have no idea who this broad is you're an idiot okay a broad seriously you're an idiot and okay? Abroad, seriously, you're an idiot. And I'll tell you why.

Because when you throw out something gratuitous like that, you just cheapen the value of anything that came before it or after it, frankly. If you don't know who she is, there's this thing called Google, okay? She has been a big shot for like 40 years in the business of entertainment. And she has been a huge pioneer for like 40 years in the business of entertainment and she has been a huge pioneer

for asian comics and she happens to be really smart okay and she doesn't have to be an investigator or a criminologist to have feelings as an asian american about uh what matters in our society especially when we're coming off two mass shootings that were perpetuated by Asians, which is not only weird in America, but also created an interesting opportunity for a conversation about why don't Asians engage in mass shootings the way other people do, even by a per capita look, and what it means culturally about what was happening in one or more of both of those dynamics so i think she's smart uh i know she's smart she had really interesting things to say that come from a cultural uh and societal perspective and if you don't like it i got a great situation for you don't watch don't watch this is from that same episode. GV Peach writes, love you, Quo Mu,

but you talked way too much. She didn't get to talk much. You were talking, not asking her questions. Podcast is a discussion, but both people 50-50 conversation. No, not 50-50. Ad liberare,

meaning, you know, as it freely flows. I guarantee you, if we look at it, she spoke more than I did, but it's not a contest, okay? And it's my podcast, and sometimes I have more that I want to tee up. Sometimes I'm interviewing people because I want to talk to them, and sometimes it's because I want to talk at them and ask them for things that they can feed in me. It's not all about you all

the time. But look, I take all constructive criticism. I work on my skills and how to do interviews all the time. I'll try to do better, but there is no formula. This is from a recent, one of your walk and talk episodes. Hey, Chris, any book that you suggest about mental health, something that maybe was useful to you that could be useful to some of us as well? Depends what you're struggling with.

I'm no practitioner or clinician. Certainly, there are tons of resources out there. I think that if you really believe that you're in a hole and you're struggling with your health, the best thing to do is to seek out a clinician. And there are free resources on the internet. You can Google it and find it. I wouldn't mess around with my health. I mean, look, think of it this way. We have a tendency to treat what's happening here and here different than if it were your, you know, like if it's your ideas and your feelings and how you feel about yourself, your heart versus if your heart were fluttering and your brain was

really hurting, your head was really hurting, you treat them totally different ways. You're not looking up online unless you're some kind of WebMD idiot. You know, oh, I wonder what this constant throbbing behind my left eye is. You're going to a doctor. You're going to a clinic, right? So if you have nagging, persistent, almost unavoidable angst or anxiety

or feelings that, you know, are just dark and taking you to a bad place, why would you try to figure it out yourself? And especially when there are free resources online. So I don't think you're a book away. Now, if you're just looking for perspective, I am a big Goggins fan, but there are a lot of great things out there for you to read. I read so much of it. I mean, I'm so deeply tied into philosophy because I really believe that that is the best agency of self-help. And I love self-help stuff. Whatever works for you, I think is great. The philosophy kind of connects with me in a different way, especially stoicism. But that's not per se mental health. I mean, it does have

a lot of connection to your own well-being and how you maintain it. But it really depends on what you're looking for. And the good news is if it's really just about sampling ways to be better and you're not in any acute situation, there are tons of resources. Look at a Goggins. If you want it in an allegory fashion, look at Paolo Quello, who is not really a mental health writer, but his stories very much are about empowerment and how to see yourself in your dreams. Look, no shame in my game. I've been using AG1 for over five years. Why? It works, it's easier, and it's less expensive.

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Why? Because I like their sheets. That's why. A lot of people don't get a good night's sleep for a lot of reasons. One of the ones that you can control is bedding. One out of three of us report being sleep deprived. Okay, well, what is it? Well, it stresses all kinds of things, but the wrong sheets can make you hot, can make you cold. I'm telling you, I don't even believe it either, but Cozy Earth sheets breathe. And here's what I love about them. Cozy Earth's best-selling sheep is a bamboo set, okay? Temperature regulating. Gets softer with every wash. I'm not kidding you, all right? Now, so if you go to CozyEarth.com

and you enter the code, enter the code CHRIS, and you can get up to 35% off your first order. CozyEarth.com, and the code is Chris. So these actually aren't YouTube comments. These are reviews of the podcast from Apple Podcasts. I wanted to read some of these to you. This is from Troutdale Mayor. Four stars out of five. Keep it real.

I like your introspective outlook on your life. Stop selling swag. It seems like a cheesy thing to do. Unless what I'm trying to do is crowdsource contributions, and that happens to be the answer. So I'm trying to get a bunch of money together that I can then give away to worthy causes in your, my, all of our names. Now what? Thank you for reviewing the podcast. I appreciate it. I'm not trying to get rich selling swag. I'm just trying to create another avenue of helping. derisive at CNN for years. Then somehow I came across this podcast and a voice in the back of my head reminded me that I want both sides and I should listen to Chris for their side's view. Well, call me surprised when I listened to the episode with Senator Joe Manchin,

and I found myself agreeing with a lot of what Chris said in his monologue. Whether he's being truthful and real is yet to be seen, but I will continue to listen. And I have to hand it to him that he got a word in edgewise with famed narcissist Neil deGrasse. Narcissist Neil deGrasse. Look, whatever you call yourself, you're clearly to the right of the political spectrum, and that's okay. I don't have any problem with where you are on the spectrum as long as it makes sense, okay? I have a lot of conservatives in my life. I have a lot of real conservatives in my life, real liberals. I don't have any problem with where you are on the spectrum as long as it makes sense. I have a lot of conservatives in my life. I have a lot of real conservatives in my life and real liberals. I don't know that you fall into either category by just insulting one of the smartest men and astrophysicists in our society. He's not a narcissist.

He's confident because he's competent. And he happens to be a really genial good guy who's been very good to me. And it's not like it's easy for people to be in my world. It comes with a lot of controversy, warranted, unwarranted, that's for you to decide. Now, I don't lie, okay? I never lied about what I did to help my brother. I never lied about Trump. I never lie about anything. Lying means that I said something that is untrue, that I know know is untrue and I said it to deceive you. That's not what I do, okay? And I don't know why I would ever do that.

So you may not like my opinions. You may not like that I was criticizing your boy, former President Trump. He didn't lie as much as he did, and he wasn't as intentionally divisive in trying to feed tribal warfare and attacking my family personally so that I had to move, then maybe I wouldn't be so negative on him. But I believe it was warranted. And you don't see me do that with all Republicans. I test people in power, and I'm not a liar. And if you really believe I'm a liar, don't ever listen or watch anything I do again, because there are enough sources out there. If you really think somebody's lying, avoid them. This is from Nikki, ampersand, dollar sign, 76543. A listener,

five out of five stars. Their only comment is, please don't call listeners sweetheart. comment is please don't call listeners sweetheart really they gave it five stars i know it's just it's just to look at yeah if the person that i called sweetheart said don't call me that i wouldn't do it but it's just a term of endearment. It's like when I call guys, most of the time I call them brother. Why? Because I'm trying to create connection. I'm trying to be nice. I'm trying to be endearing.

If it doesn't work for you, I get it. I wouldn't say that to you. But I don't think it's fair. Not fair. I don't even know what that word means. I don't know that it's productive to believe that somehow a word, unless it is obviously and by definition derisive, is worth policing. In the interest of what?

Gender equality? I mean, is not everything that I'm doing proof to you that I want to advance the interests of men and women, white and black? I promise I'm not playing favorites and I'm not talking down to anybody. Okay, now we're going to play some calls that we've recently gotten on the show. Here's the first one. Hi, this is Erin. I'm in Hutto, Texas, and I want to know why it is now that when the police pull you over or detain you that you're not allowed to ask even politely, what have I done? Why are you stopping me? Why am I being detained? Because when you ask this, even politely, whether you're black, white, whatever, as you found out with your colleague, immediately you're thrown to the ground,

handcuffed, resisting, and you haven't even been told what's happening. So when did it become against the law to ask why you're being stopped? And when did the police stop saying, well, I pulled you over today because you ran that red light, or do you know why I pulled you over, ma'am or sir? We don't get that. And it's like, you're not even allowed to ask because the minute you ask, now you're in trouble. That's my question. Did that happen to you? If it did, then it gives a lot more weight to it. If you're talking about just things that you've observed, very often, very often we highlight cases that are extreme. So don't see it as the rule. highlight cases that are extreme.

So don't see it as the rule. Of course you have the right to ask questions. The line is, is your exercise of free speech, is that exercise coming into conflict with taking the directions of a law enforcement officer? Because once that line is crossed, now you are resisting. Now, can this be a bullshit distinction? Yes, it can be. Can it be abused by the person with the power?

Yes, it can be. Can it be abused by the citizen? Yes, it can be. Can questions not really be, hey, seriously, I want to know, but just be obnoxious and just to resist? Yes, that can happen also. But you can absolutely ask why whatever's happening is happening. There's just this line of compliance, and that's why attorneys often will tell their clients, that's not the time

to fight. If this guy is, or this woman is insistent on giving you the ticket or arresting you for whatever it is, it's going to happen. That's not the time to fight it because you're at too big a disadvantage. You've got to let it play out and you've got to play the system. Now, I know that's unsatisfying and I know that that can be unjust, but there are also realities that are sometimes uncomfortable. Hi, Chris. This is Matthew from Chicago. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions. It's sort of a merger of or evil to events that happened to you

or anything that's happened that you have, and just accepting for them for what they are, and mental health, and accepting who you are as a person. I'm in the sort of a position where I have attention deficit disorder. It's a pretty common thing to have. And it on its own presents a difficulty because it prevents me from, it could prevent me from doing certain things. For the military, for example, I can't join the military if I take the medication for my condition. If I don't take Adderall or Concerta or Ritalin, then I can join the military if I don't take it for two years.

So should I accept that as my condition as not being good or evil and not see the military's decision to not let people go in as good or evil and just accept it and focus more on my mental health? Or is it better to see the challenge ahead of you? React to it as a Stoic would, react to it, see it for what it is, and better yourself within the system, better yourself within that environment? Or use the tools you have in front of you to make your life better outside of that goal? I know it's kind of an odd question, and it's very confusing for me because I'm'm not entirely sure the correct answer here. So anyway, I just want to throw that out again, happy you're back and hope to see more of you. Take care. One, thank you. Two, I appreciate the thought you put into this. Three, it is a problem with how the military and a lot of organizations in our society view medication that is done for behavior or mood or psychological impact as with physical impact.

Now, the military has always been kind of strict in terms of who they let in and not, you know, with different discrepancies. But there's also a bias and a stigma attached to this and i do think that's something we have to work on as we become more cognizant and respectful of uh the kind of full uh range of health and wellness aspects to somebody's life. Now, there's a little bit of a nuance, a tweak to what you're saying. Acceptance, acceptance is very powerful. And I'm not saying that you accept things for what they are. I'm saying that what I try to do, and I struggle with this mightily, is you don't have a lot of control over what happens, okay, in your life. Certain things you make happen.

A lot of things happen no matter what you do. You always have the choice of how to decide you're going to feel and react to what happens, okay? So it's not just accepting it. Greg throws water in my face. Well, I guess I just have to accept that he did it. Okay, that's a choice you can make. But I have absolute control over what I do or not do, say or not say, feel or not feel,

in response to what he does. There's a lot of power in that. No, there's a lot of power in that, in the ability to control what something means to you, okay? Look, there are guys in my life who would say like, holy cow, I can't believe he just did that. He's testing me. He thinks I won't do something because I'm on camera. I'm about to tune him up. But those- The listeners don't know what happened, by the way.

Oh, sorry. He threw water on me. But I see that as a weakness, okay? And I also don't believe in aggression. I believe in self-defense. And it's okay to feel aggression, to feel like you'd like to do things, to feel anger, to feel rage. It all has its place. What I'm saying is you don't have to accept what happens.

You can accept it on your own terms. So somebody will say, I can't believe he did that, or you let her say this, or you let that person do this. Hey, that's their feeling about it. It doesn't have to mean that to you. You know, I say this to my son all the time. Thank God he's got a good head on his shoulders. You know, you don't let that guy bitch you, he punked you, you know, whatever stupid words that they're using now

to try to be provocative about aggression, right? That's your choice. Oh, yeah, but he said that thing about your brother. He said that thing about your father. That's your choice. Oh yeah, but he said that thing about your brother. He said that thing about your father. That's my choice, okay? And I happen to know what happens when I make a choice that didn't even really matter to me, and then it comes with huge consequences. Like I didn't even really give a shit, and I wound up getting in all this trouble for a choice that I made. Silly. That's where I'm telling you, you got a lot of untapped power and you decide what is good and bad, right and wrong

for you and about you in every way up into the line until where it starts to affect other people. And then they're going to weigh in and life is going to weigh in and society is going to weigh in. But you always have the power of your own perspective on what happens to you and what it means about you. Well, I'm sorry

I threw this at you because I really like this flavor. So I apologize. That's good. That's an odd sense of compunction he has. Thank you very much for sending me those YouTube and other comments. I am happy to be in this conversation with you,

even if I think that Greg is cherry-picking about the nastiest shit that he can find about me. No, I'm kidding. It's good to hear from you. I'm happy to have the exchange, and I hope there was some benefit, not just to the people who sent the comments, but to everybody listening and watching. So take care until the next time. I'm Chris Cuomo. Please subscribe. Follow. If you're on YouTube, you see where you can get the merch. Again, it's about crowdsourcing a contribution kitty. That's why I'm doing it. And I'll see you on News Nation, 8 and 11 p.m. Eastern.