The Daily Show: Ears Edition - How Cop City Perpetuates Over-Policing and Environmental Racism | Beyond the Scenes

Episode Date: May 22, 2023

The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City,” has sparked controversy among Atlanta natives. Although it’s meant to improve the training conditions of police officers and firefighters, the social and environmental effects of this center can be damaging to communities surrounding it. Atlanta-based journalists George Chidi and King Williams  join Roy Wood Jr. to dive deeper into “Cop City” and how it's affecting folks in Atlanta. Original Air Date: April 11, 2023 Beyond the Scenes is a podcast from The Daily Show. Listen to new episodes every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts, or watch at YouTube.com/TheDaily Show See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I went down to Atlanta to learn about a place called Cop City. Cop City is a training facility that's being presented as the new way to train Atlanta's police and fire departments. But, Cop Cities brought a lot of controversy. Give it a clip. Atlanta's busy downtown descended into chaos over the weekend. Hundreds of protesters marched in the streets in the wake of the death of a 26-year-old environmental activist.

The activist was killed on Wednesday as officers cleared protesters from the site of a planned police training center. But these guys are trained, right? This isn't an armed militia of interns. Back before things got this bad, I went to Atlanta and met with local activists, Jasmine Burnett. The Atlanta Police Foundation is building a massive urban warfare training facility with bombs testing, tear gas explosions, a shooting range. Didn't people march to defund the police? It looked like they refunded the police. They did. Activists have dubbed this development this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this development this development this development this development thionionionionionion th th thiiii, thi, thi, thi, their thi, their thoomomomomomomom, thoom, thi, thi, thi, thoom. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. t. t. t. t. t. the. the. the. the. te. te. te. te. te. te. tea. tea. tea.a. tea. tea. tea.a. tea. te. te. te. the police? It looked like they refunded the police. They did. Activists have dubbed this development, Cop City, an 85 acre, 90 million dollar complex, including a shooting range, burn buildings, and a mock city that includes apartments, a school, even a bar.

So this is basically like six flags for the police. Yes, it's a playground. You can't call it a playground. Oh, wait, you're right. This is literally a playground. Oh, wait, you're right. This is literally a playground. But I had a dream about how they could make this project more appealing to activists. We name it after Montalutekin. Doesn't matter. Tyler Perry presents the training facility. The name doesn't change.

The impact. To help us get deeper into the weeds of this conversation, I'm joined by two wonderful Atlanta-based journalists, George Cheiti and King Williams George King how you doing today we're awesome I'm awesome you're awesome George thank you for that now King you got to top that make me feel more than awesome please I you have the greatest of all time I appreciate that thank you very much I'll take that was better than yours George George you got to work on your greetings to me I will suck less later before the back and forth controversy that is cop city to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to to to the to to the to to the to to to to the to to the the the the to to to the to the the to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th I I th I to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to the the to to the the the the. the. we get into the back and forth of controversy that is Cop City, let's just define what Cop City is. George, I'll start with you, break down what

it is exactly. So, Cop City, and by the way, there are people who hate calling it at Cop City because they think it's pejorative and I think it's short. The Atlanta Police Training Center is a replacement for the Atlanta police department's police training facilities which are garbage. I'll be honest, like that's just the truth of it. Problem is it's a $90 million dollar park, like a fun amusement park for cop training. So like a real world, like in the military where they recreate urban warfare in the Middle East and doors and rooms and all of that, was the fire department training aspect of cop city always part of it? Yes. Or was that rolled into it as part of a PR? Oh no,

it's not all about the police. No, it's definitely was always part of it. And again, like the current facilities are inadequate. Like that's the truth. They're falling apart, there's mold all over everything, it's awful. However, what they're trying to build is expensive and people are not happy about it. Okay, so then King, give me some examples of some of the stuff that's in Cop City. I imagine for a fire department, you need to build a building that can catch on fire so you can work on putting out fires. But for the police aspects of it, at a time where we're talking about defunding the police and taking less resource, taking some resources away from police departments and reallocating them to education and infrastructure and other things that could also help reduce crime, what are some of the things with Incop City that has people so riled up, to up up up up up up up up up up up up up..... and to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and to, and to, and to, and the, and to, the, and the, to, to, to, and, the, to, and, and, the, the, and, to, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, is., is., is., is., is., is., is. is.. is. is. And, is. And, is. And, is. And, is. And, is. And, is. And, is. And, the the the the the the the the the the the the the they. they. they. toe. toe. they. they. the the today, the the the today, the police. the police. the the police within COP City that has people so riled up King? Yeah, so in addition to the price, it's really about the terms of the deal.

So the site that Georgia is talking about is 350 acres. For perspective, all of six flags over Georgia, including the parking lots is 290 acres. So this lets you know initially what that was more egreg be given to the Atlanta police at a rate of $10 a year. And so, you know, that's a part of Atlanta South West Dekav County East Atlanta. Per acre per year or $10.00? No, $10.00. No, $10.00. No, $10.00. That's how much it was going to be per seaulat. And so when we talked about it, $1.00.00. And so, when we're their their their.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00. that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, the the the the the the the to.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $. $.00.00.00. $.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00. acreage down to still to still $10 year but now at 85 acres. And so 85 acres is still a pretty large amount of space for this particular facility. The shopping mall. It is. It is a very large suburban shopping mall. And so then the other part of the cost that you ask was there's a couple things that they're doing that in many ways this is their they're owed.. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. ta. ta. ta. tod. ta. today. ta. ta. ta. today. ta. ta. today. their. ta. ta. ta is their owed to the Atlanta police. And so you have everything from a horse training facility, which they're already currently trained nearby at Grant Park,

which costs them effectively nothing, because they're given a lease through the zoo to also have their training facility for the horses there. They're bringing the burn building in, which they've had before and one unified facility. And that facility right now, they're estimated that construction cost would be about 90 million. There's a high probability due to the insurance that's going to to be on it as what happened yesterday, when some processors set to some equipment, that that insurance is probably gonna bump this whole project up to well over $100 million when it's all said and done.

How long have the two of you been both covering this development? And you know, like, when did this become a, huh, that's peculiar? Because it would seem off the top, George, George, if you say that the training facilities are inadequate and I would imagine after the race shark Brooks fiasco and everything that happened with George Florida in 2020 and then you all had the blue flu thing with the Atlanta PD where droves of officers were calling in sick as a form of silent protest to the officers being charged and everything that happened there so I would imagine something like cop city if the

police department has an adequate training and then there is a new facility that's going to be multi million million in bells and bells and bells and bells and bells and bells and the. and the. the. the. the. the. the. the. to. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. the. th. th. the. the. So, the the th. So, th. So, th. So, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th..... the...................................... the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. then there is a new facility that's going to be multi-million and bells and whistles that would help morale in theory so when did this become a thing of huh why is this bad beyond the fact that why y'all spending all that money on that and not stuff over here. So one you're really well informed. I'm impressed. And that's the staff that ain't me. I'm tell-I the tel the tel the tel the the the the the tel tel the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. the's going. thin' is going. the's. the's is the's is thi's is thi's is thi. thi. thi's is thi's is going. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. te. te. te. te. te. te. the the t that ain't me. I'm gonna tell you right now, we got a great team behind the scenes that make me sound intelligent. Keep going, though, but thank you. The, both of us have been watching this since the beginning. And part of it is that people were in the street in 2020,

saying we want better cops, we want fewer cops, social workers and fewer people in jail. And then the city turned around and said we're going to spend 30 million in public money and 60 million in private money to build this sort of playground for cops. And that's not the thing. If that was just it, people would be irritated. It's not the city who's going to own this thing. It's this Atlanta Police Foundation. The second largest police foundation in the city who's going to own this thing. It's this Atlanta Police Foundation. The second largest police foundation in the United States is at the Atlanta Police Foundation. It's not the Chicago Cops Foundation.

It's not LA. It's not Baltimore. It's not DC. It's Atlanta, which is crazy to begin with. And it looks like this thing where they're going to be, it's not just the Atlanta police who are going to train there. Anybody who's got a police force in the whole southern United States is going to be able to go there too.

And so, even if the Atlanta cops are training like we want them to train. Some podunk yokel town from North Tennessee who wants to learn how to kick the crap out of people more effectively can come down there and train any way they like. And there's nothing that the city can do to change that because they don't run the facility. And so this thing can, instead of propagating the best possible police training you could get, you end up with this thing that could propagate the very worst kind of police training that you could get. All over the southeast.

People are comparing this to the School of America's. Where out in, at Fort Benning in Columbus for years, South American dictators would send their troops to learn how to put down riots. You know, that's the comparison that's being made. Gentlemen, talk to me a little bit about how the construction of this facility is going to affect the surrounding counties and areas. Like that part of it was something within our daily showpiece that we did. We weren't able to get into that at the depth that I wanted to in the actual segment, even though I was outside with

Jackie Eccles on that damn river for about four hours and a kayak and I don't know if y'all the river in a kayak and you ain't had breakfast and the water the water is low so you keep hitting sandbars so you got to scoot your booty across the skin. I ruined a good bad Jordan's. Talk to us about why I was on a damn river miles away from the actual construction site of Cop City and why that part of the story is as equally important as it is from the actual construction site of Cops City and why that part of the story is as equally important as it is about the over-policing aspects of it. All right, so for people at home who don't know what this is, Atlanta, is this Atlanta, is that. the today is the city of Atlanta property, but

the city, the city of Atlanta property, but within De DeCab County and how this plays out is all of the wastewater that comes through both the city of Atlanta and Decap County go along the South River which is what Roy was paddling on. That river in particular though has a lot of people who dump things illegally and a lot of dumps into that space. Cop City is now going to be contributing to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a the the to be a the the the the the to be a to be a the the the the to be a the the the the the the. I. I. Camp. Cozym. Cops. Cops. Cops. C. Cops. Cops. Cops. I will. Cops. I will. Cozyme. C. I will. I will. C. I will. I will. I will. I will. I, the the, the the, the the, the the, the the, the the, the the, the the the the the the tholu. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. C. Ia. Ia. Ia. C. Ia. C. I'ma. C. C. C. C. I'ma. C. I'ma. C. I'ma. I'm ttaxxeck. C. I'm tap ttaxe. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te going to be contributing to the South River's pollution as well And because of the terms of the deal there is no oversight for what happens on the site the teauil there is theauil. the thauil. the thauil. the thauil. the thauil. thinne. that's going to just be to be impacted. the to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to to the to to the thoooooooooooooooooooooo the the the the the the the the the the the the the thauooo-s the the their their their their their their their their their thauo-s thauo-s thauo-s their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their thauuooooooooooooooooooooooooo-s. thau-s. thau-s thau-s site to-s site thau-s site thau-s site thauo-s their their the river. And that river in particular is a piece that I'm working on for something else, is that we think that that may actually be a cancer alley. And what that means is for a lot of the black people who live in southwest DeKalb County and people who live on that side of the city,

of Atlanta, they're getting in and the city, they're getting inundated with a lot of air airto that as well. And as a result of that, we have this issue where the place that you're paddling eventually goes back into the South River fully, and that thing goes all the way through DeKalb County, which has seen an influx of teachers in particular, who are therific, tho, th, th, th. th. ths that are happening just from that river in particular. Then also George what Jackie was trying to explain to me and this is a part of the piece that we

ended up cutting out because environmental issues and then environmental racism it is very hard to make quick and concise to fit into a 30-minute television show and also make it funny. But she was trying to explain to me basically the build site for Cop City is a lot of dirt dirt absorbs water you put concrete over dirt the water got to go somewhere when it rained the water would now go downstream and tear up mo shit explained to me. She didn't say it like that Jackie Eccles is a no she is filled with unimpeachable truth like to. But the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding the flooding th to to to to to to to to the flooding aspects to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop cop c. to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi. the thi. thi. the thi. the the thi. the thi. tooo. too. too. to c. to c. to c. to cop city she is filled with unimpeachable truth like

but the flooding the flooding aspects of it as well yeah any ways to measure that or has that been taken into account so yeah let me talk about that a little bit like Atlanta like Atlanta everybody wants to move to Atlanta everybody wants to move to Atlanta. 75,000 people end up in Metro Atlanta every year, and we're not building anything for them, except that we are. Like you look around Atlanta, they're construction trains everywhere, and they're paving everything. And whenever you pave enough stuff, the water that would normally go one way goes another. And so, like, you get a really good rain in Atlanta, and the water that would normally go one way goes another. And so, like, you get a really good rain in Atlanta

and the highway will flood. Like, that's how bad it is. Like, a really solid couple of days of rain and you can't drive on I-285 without going through 10 inches of water. The worst flooding is happening in DeKalb because we're our sewer systems are garbage because we didn't overbilled for all the people that have been coming here and all this runoff is being created. And it's going into black neighborhoods. It's going to neighborhoods like mine. I live on a creek.

And we had to do a million dollars worth of remediation on that creek because, you know, when we had a good rain, it would flood houses. So let's drop a mall in the middle of this river, essentially, and see how many houses of black people were going to flood downstream. And the worst part of this is that area is gentrifying, but it's also filled with black homeowners. Black homeowners are rare. Like we don't have enough black homeowners. And so you're going to tell me that people who are actually starting to get equity in their houses.

Are those are the folks you're going to flood out by building this? Yeah, people are kind of pissed off about that.. But that. But that. But that. But that. But that. But th. But th. But th. But th. But th. But th, but th, but th, but th, but th, but their, but their, but their, but it, but it, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, but it's, their, their, their, their, their, their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their houses, are those of the folks you're going to flood out by building this? Yeah, people are kind of pissed off about that. But they're only kind of pissed off. They're not super pissed off because it hasn't happened yet. Okay, so we've covered what Copsity is. We've covered all of the different ways that it could be bad for the community, be it fiscally, be it environmentally. Now we need to talk about the people and what they're doing to try and stop it. After the break, I want to talk about this group of people I met called the forest defenders who are actually living on the cop city construction site. And who the hell is for cop city? If everything that y'all just laid out, it's telling about this, it's bad for bad, it's bad, it's bad, it's bad, it's bad, it's bad, it's bad, it's bad, it's bad, the the the the the the the their their their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the the the the their, I'm their, I's, I's, I's, I's a a. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their..... I I. I's a. I's a. I's a. the th. th. tho, I's a tho. toda. today. today. today's today. today. today. today. today. today. today, today. today, thoe. have just laid out, it's talking about this bad for this, it's bad for that, who was the person that wrote a check and was like, here's 40 million? Good luck can go build it.

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The Atlanta city, police training and fire a medical facility readiness, readiness activity zone. That's the property. Call it cop city. Like, don't ever make me that the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. Call it cop city. Don't ever make me put that in a headline. Nobody will read the story. We've covered so far the the cons of cop city and the fact that it can become a place to mistrain a lot of officers in a lot of different places. There are environmental issues that are come from cop city. It is a fiscal boondoggle as well.

Part of the reason Cop City is starting to cost a lot of money is because there are a group of people that have encamped themselves in the construction area. Like literally living in this area, they call themselves to forest defenders. And I was able to meet some of these people for my story. And they were extremely secretive because, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their s s s their s their s their s their s their s their s their s their s their s their s their scu. their scea. their scea. their scea. their secret. their secret. their secret. their secret. their secre. their secre's secret. their secre's the forest defenders towards the city of Atlanta. And you all's coverage of this from the inception of Cop City, when did you start seeing the forest defenders start to become a thing and how did that whole movement emerge and when did it

start becoming deadly? So to that point, Atlanta's like overall activist ecosystem for the last couple of years have been relatively decimated. And so the few activists who really knew about it, almost from the beginning had already started stage in protest, either just online or throughout the city and especially around that place. So people were already there almost from day one about the site. Decimated in what sense, like arrest and just kind of torn apart

during George Floyd movement or? Well even before George Floyd so that's a good point so a lot of our activists there's no infrastructure so activists can't necessarily go into a heritage foundation they don't get into law they don't get into the universities even so after a series of crackdowns on various protests with the last being this thing called Tent City over at the old Turner Field which is now Georgia State Stadium, a lot of them, after getting arrested, a lot of them after being, you know, fire from their jobs, they just left. They left the city or they left the movements all together, and then there was no other

people to kind of come in and take over like themselves. A lot of them weren't necessarily from Atlanta, but a lot of them were getting news about Atlanta from people on the ground, or former activists of people sharing things in their social fees. So they felt emboldened to come here because there was nobody to defend the forest that was there, because the activists who normally would have been here, the forest defenders, because they are weak or anything like that, just because there's nothing to support then there was no way to level up. So that's kind of how we get to that point

of the forest defenders. And also, the forest defenders, I want to add into that, is that a lot of them also interact with other groups, like general historic preservationists, arborists, local decave residents who didn't like the project. getting familiar with the city, get familiar with the players really fast because there was a lot of people who just didn't like this project for various reasons. What was interesting when I was out there, King, was that locals were like bringing them food and little Debbie's like legit care packages. You know, George, if we want to get into the military, you know, they was dropping off the MRE kits. Hoot, they was dropping off the supply to supply. But like they were they were like, they was dropping off the supply. But like, they were like, straight up supply drops,

like from just strangers being sitting money a number of different ways, I won't say how. But they had infrastructure set up where they could get that level of support from outsiders. So they get in, they start in camping, and they start doing things to kind of be, you know, a pain to the construction companies companies, you, you, you, you, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, to, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, tape, tape, tape, tape, tomorrow, too, too, too, too, too, too, their, their, their, their, their, t start doing things to kind of be, you know, a pain to the construction companies, you know, like they may tear up some of the equipment or they'll set up a blockade so you can't get that particular tree cutting saw down this path or whatever.

And the police always come in and try to tear down their barricades and people have started budding heads more and more. As the price of this project thionionionionionionionion thion thiia thia thia thia thia thia th. thia thia thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, they they they theanan, they thean, they're they're they may may may they may they may they may they may they may they may they may thee, the, th. As the price of this project increases, George, it seems that tension has also seemed to increase because there's a level of urgency to just get it done that starts coming from people, when do you think that tension started, when did things start to turn for the worst with this? Oh, I want to say maybe fall the last year.

You started to see like a truck get overturned here there. You had a few arrests. And the cops have made a big deal about the fact that the folks who are getting arrested are generally from out of town, that they're white people with money from places like Kidabunk, Maine. And that's important, I think, because it shows that there's a national interest in what's going on here. Things really like the, but when Tortugita is an activist who was killed by the police, and there's still some controversy over the circumstances of that, they found a gun, the gun was registered to him. But there's a question about the the question, but there's a question about the the police. And there's still some controversy over the circumstances of that. They found a gun. The gun was registered to him. But there's a question about how the shooting

actually started. Yeah, who shot first. There is some non-zero chance you met this guy. Well, I met 20 to 30, they wouldn't all agree to be on camera. The ones that you saw on camera, fire piece, that was a small fraction of the Forest Defenders I met that day. Yeah. So that's sort of, that energized things. There were vigils in 50 other cities around the country in the days that followed Tortugida's death. And I think that's what led to what happened last night, where they've started a week of protest.. the the protest. the protest. they they they they they've they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they they they they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd their their I think that's what led to what happened last night, where they've started a week of protest.

You know, they had a concert out in the forest, like sort of a festival. And then a bunch of guys dressed up in black and set construction equipment on fire and started throwing fireworks at the cops who came to put it out. They arrested, usually it's five or six people, maybe 10. they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they were they were they were they were they were they were they were throwing fireworks at the cops who came to put it out. They arrested, usually it's five or six people, maybe 10, they arrested 35 last night. I think we're going to see more escalation. Yeah, this was at the beginning of March in 2023 when that happened.

Like to that point, and I want to be fair to the forest defenders, but I want to kind of pose a question to the two of you. Does protest, because they love to get into, you know, respectability politics when it's time to protest, right? They go, well, you're protesting, but you have to leave at 8 p.m. The proper protest window is this time and stand here and this is the protest way. Whereas the forest defenders have done what they've done with Cop City, and they have effectively delayed construction. They have effectively increased awareness of the issue. They have effectively drawn more attention to the issue.

But does the way that they are drawing attention to the issue then give the police and the supporters of this issue justification to go see they are terrorists, they are terror- that guy was shooting fire I'm a sworn law enforcement officer. Does that approach to protesting only emboldened the people who want cop city to happen? Yes directly yes and in the case of Atlanta it's a city built on respectability politics and especially with black respectability politics and I think it's interesting especially in the real world like the average person in Atlanta still vaguely understands what cop city is but what they do understand is that

oh no these weird left is from Portland are burning police things again right and so that's kind of been used like some of the copaganda and getting this promoted and so now you have general other police departments from around the metro area who are starting to show up. Like last time it was a bunch of them who showed up as a show of force to the site for no reason, but now it's becoming like a slight culture war in that respect. to the respectability of politics, protest before dark, and theynto too the most part this Atlanta way of doing things of having respectability politics, protests before dark, make sure you're in the house, have you know, apply for a permit to protest. All those things have played into like the ecosystem of Atlanta. And I do want to add just one other thing

which is it is now becoming more and more difficult to protest. You have to not only like apply for permits to protesting but we have this thing th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. to to to not to not to not to not to not to not to to to to to to to to to to to apply to apply for a to apply for a to apply for a to apply, to apply, to apply, to apply, to apply, to apply, to apply, to apply to apply for a to apply for a to apply for a to apply for a to apply for a to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to the the the, the the, the to to to the to to to the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to the to to the summer of 2020, then doubled down again in this upcoming legislative session about cracking down on protests and this thing called the police officer's Bill of Rights, which makes it really hard now. For a protest, it's not only protest police directly, but if an officer, you know, let's say he pushes a person and that person falls on another officer, that person could be charged with assault, or if somebody wants to fund the forest defenders, that person could be charged with aiding a terrorist organization or aiding an organization against law enforcement. So they're slowly and systematically reducing the parameters of protest to make it seem as if no protests exist in Atlanta. The other side of this in a matter of speaking is that there is a, the protest, they may

actually have a practical veto here. So this project is looks like million, looks like it's actually going to be more than 90 million, but here's the thing. The Atlanta Police Foundation says that they've got $60 million in pledges, but they're also trying to borrow money in order to get this thing built. And the longer this takes, with interest rates doing what interest rates are doing, and what construction costs are doing, like at some point it's entirely possible that this gets away from the Atlanta Police Foundation financially, simply because this gets delayed. If they, if the forest defenders can delay this thing for a year or 18 months, it may no longer

be financially viable. And what they may be counting on is that the Atlanta Police Foundation will try to go hat in hand to the city of Atlanta and say, I know that we said that you only needed to spend 30 million, but we really need 60 million. And at that point, the city will have to put this up in a bond referendum. And there will be a vote on whether or not cop city should go forward. And if you're one of the forest defenders, you think you could win that vote. And that's so strategically, it's not, yeah, you're gonna piss off a lot of people,

but that's not stupid in that regard. So, then, to that point, George, who are the people that are in support of building Cop City? If we know Cop City is bad for the environment, if we know that it could create a culture of potential over-policing or over-aggressive policing, if we're not focusing on all the other aspects of police training train train train training train training to to to to to to to to to to toeceaeca-c, toec, toeckck.c, toe, thiiolioli.c-coe, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi-s, thi-s, thi-a-s, thi-a-s, thi-s, thi-a-s, th... And-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thi-s, thininin. Wea-s. Wea-s'-s'-s'-s'-s'-s'-suuiia-s.a-s.a-s, so-s, so focusing on all the other aspects of police training that helped to de-escalate. Because it sounds like cop cities, one big, hey, when shit escalate, this is when you come here to learn how to handle shit when the shit escalate.

How are the people that are bankrolling this and why are they still okay with it? There's got to be something this big. It's got to be some corporate money behind it. It's got to be some government money behind it. Like, how are these people still, how are those organizations still okay with the cop city moving forward? So there's a lot of, there's a lot of corporate money here. The Atlanta Police Foundation has got a bunch of banks, including Wells Fargo. There's chick fillChick-Fillet Truist, I think, Cox Enterprises, like Cox Cable, which includes

the Atlanta Journal Constitution, which makes for fun reading about this. Like the paper swears on a stack of Bibles. No, no, no, we're not biased, even though the corporate owners are leading, they're the guys who are leading the fundraising effort for this. There's a lot of corporate money involved and it's suspicious in my opinion. And I think the, here's the thing though, those corporations that are contributing to this, all they're doing is buying influence.

I don't think they actually give one damn about cop city as a thing, but they know that the Atlanta Police Foundation can jerk the city council around and potentially cost some city council seats. And as long as that's true, they can influence the city council by funding the Atlanta police foundation. Yeah, I won't get into the weeds of the things I learned in the state of Alabama when I was trying try to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to shoot to shoot to shoot th thing thing thin thin thin thin thin thin thin the city thin the city the city thin the city the city the city city city city city city the city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the city the Atlanta Police Foundation. Yeah, I won't get into the weeds of the things I learned in the state of Alabama when I was trying to shoot my sitcom for Comedy Central in 2018, but I did learn that if you want to get a politician to do something, you don't talk to the politician, you talk to the politicians bankroll.

And so if the Atlanta police are the people that have the leverage over the politicians and you do something in their favor then they are more likely to, so yeah I could I could see that. So it's less of a yay police versus soon-on-later we need you to pass a law that's going to help our company. We chick-fil-we need the chicken to be cheaper. So if I get you a little money for Cop City, make sure the chicken is cheap so I can make a little more extra problem. Bingo. Does increasing the cost of Cop City, is that the only like effective way to get corporations to go,

wait a minute, we got to pull out of this? Because it sounds like, money is the only thing thing that's really getting anything done so far or affecting the cost of it. It doesn't seem like morals have entered the conversation at all. Yeah, at this point right now it's definitely money. And you said something earlier I do want to add into that which is that the average person in Lance again still really doesn't know what cop city is like they get their news from either social fees or the five o'clock news for the most part and when they're they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their their their their th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. their. their. their. their. their. their. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. thi. the. th. th. th. And when they hear about this and they're kind of ambivalent. The difference is once you start getting into a lot of like the details of the deal, it goes from like ambivalent to, A, we should really reconsider a lot of parameters on this really fast. And the reason why I think there's a lot of money trying to push this to try and to push this ahead of time is a little bit more about it. And especially now with the communities in South DeKab who are also now becoming included in this conversation about the

environmental racism, there's a lot more people now who are really starting to question the nature of this project. Yeah, they may not necessarily like the out-of-towners pushing over cars and, you know, throwing firecrackers, but they do want to know there's some other things thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thin other thin other thinks them really fast. So it's kind of become an issue of time and money is like proceeding faster than the time is allowed for people to really think about it. Would it have mattered if the protester was from Decatur or whether or not they from Maine, if they're there to fight against something? Why is that even a talking point to try and get people to to to their their their their their their their their their their... tho. tho. tho. tho. their. their. their. their. their. Why. their. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tome. money, today.ea. money, today, tea.ea, tea, money, thea, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, to try and get people to disregard what these people are willing to die for. It's an old nativist strategy, but I promise you I'm from Decatur. If that person would have been from Decatur, there wouldn't have been no cops, it wasn't been no force.

Like people in Decatur just operate very differently. And so I do think that people, when they bring up this out. their that, you know what, people in Atlanta support this. These are people, it's like the good old boy system of like, oh, these outside agitators coming in and really like stirring up the pot. But if it was again, somebody from a Decatur, if it was a 19-year-old from Decatur, I guarantee you not the to not be there, Andre Dickens is probably not the mayor at this point, right. Like, people in Atlanta move, their their their. their. their. It is their. It is their. It's, their, their, th. It's, their, their, thi. It's, thi. It's, their, like, like, like, their their their thi, like, like, thi agit is thi. thi. thi. thi. thi, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th is thi ag. thi ag. And, thi. And, their ag. And, their their their their is their their is their their is their their their their their their their their their their their their they's their they's they's thi. thi. thi. th that they've been leaning on with regards to cop cities like, hey, one of us didn't do this. This was one of them from outside of our state. And that's kind of what we're seeing play out right now. Does the environmental racism part of this, when we talk about creating cancer alleys from a lot of the burn off, you know, to make the burn bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, the burn, their, the, the, the, the, the, the burn, the, the, the, the, because they take chemicals to make fake fire, you know, to make control

fires. So what about the surrounding cities? Because the river don't stop in the Atlanta Metro. It keep running on down the state. Have any of the other states even came in and just has Lawrenceville checked in? Has making Georgia checked in? Hey, could y'all not send the cancer downstream, please? We would appreciate, like, how much is the rest, where does the rest of surrounding Georgia? You know, I can't, God, I can't remember the comedian that made the joke. Atlanta is, but it's surrounded by Georgia. Has Georgia checked in on what Atlanta is doing? So for the most part I don't think Georgia cares. I think part of it is because like the rest

of the Georgia hates Atlanta. Like if they're like they were ready to blow up Atlanta and split off Buckhead from the rest of the city. They try not because now. We don't even have the time to talk about that. They're trying to secede from the city. Everybody else, every, like if you're a politician from the rest of the state, like you run against those horrible liberals in Atlanta. And they could do nothing right and to heck with them. Like that is the attitude outside out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out to to to to to to to to to to the to the the the th. th. th. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. We thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. th. We th. th. We th. We th. th. We. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I th. to. I to. I to. I to. I to. I to. I to. I to. I'm. I'm. I'm to. I'm th. I'm th nothing right and to heck with them.

Like that's, that is the attitude outside of Metro Atlanta. But how's it going to affect them? Don't they know that, first off, lay out some of the ways this could affect those surrounding areas and are they gonna just, you know, just not gonna say nothing? So it depends on exactly who you're talking to. Because if you are in suburban Columbus, the, the, the're talking to. Like, because if you are in suburban Columbus, you know, and it's like red state Georgia, like, you're like, yeah, maybe there's runoff, but we don't care because it's not going to hurt us,

like that would be the attitude. But, hey, maybe we can drive our police department up there and go do some fancy training for a lot cheaper than we could do it before and it'll be better. I for the most part I think the rest of the state maybe even surrounding states like this the police narrative controls how they're going to view this. If they're pro cop city. If they want police accountability then they've heard about why cop city is wrong but I don't think that they're going to have as much like like, like, here, here, here, here, here, here, like, like, here, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. their, their, their, their, their, their, they want police accountability, then they've heard about why cop city is wrong. But I don't think that they're going to have as much. Like, here's the thing. Atlanta does not want, like the city of Atlanta and Decap County really don't want the rest of the

country and the rest of the state weighing in on this. They want to be in control of what's happening in their own backyard. Because generally speaking, when other people come in, like that's when you get like our red state Republican governor, like taking a dump on the city. And they're afraid of that. And I understand that. Like, that's why they're pushing this outside agitators thing, even though it is this horribly racist callback.

I gotta tell you it to like 1960s those northern agitators are coming in here Like it's what it sounds like to me because I know these things but but they think that it'll buy them some space Well after the break we're gonna bring it home and talk about some of the other initiatives that have been going on in and around the city of Atlanta to help rectify a lot of issues that have been happening in Atlanta. Also after the break I need to get your recommendations for the best lemon pepper wings. That's why 75,000 people a year moving to Atlanta. Those damn wings. Stop having good wings and then maybe people wouldn't move there.

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the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address, Zip Recruiter.com slash zip. that's zip recru, the smartest way to hire. Beyond the scenes, we round in third and headed for home. We are talking about Cop City and the different pros and cons of it. Now, George, before we got to the break, we were laughing, but still being a little serious about some of the different initiatives and refere that have been put in place in Atlanta in the last couple of years. And we talk about the city of Buckhead trying to set, to set, to set, to set, the the the th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the th, th, th, th, the th, th, th, thi, the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the the thi, the the the thi, the thin, the thin, thin, tho, the tho, thooan, thoan, thoan, thoan, thooan, thoooo, tho, tho, tho, than, the different initiatives and referendums that have been put in place in Atlanta in the last couple of years. We talk about the city of Buckhead trying to set, like essentially the way Beverly Hills ain't part of Los Angeles no more. Like, it's still LA, but with Beverly Hills, we have our own city hall,

we have our own police department. King, have there been other initiatives and referenums that have been passed in the last couple years in Atlanta? In terms of secession, no, not like the Buckhead cityhood thing, but in terms of cityhood, yes, everyone right now in Metro Atlanta is trying to create their own fiefdoms. And Sandy Springs really kicked that off. They're in North Fulton County just outside the city limits of Buckh. And in 2005, they they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho. too. too. too. togu. too. too. togu. togu. togu. togu. today, tho, thed, they became the first to really kick off this modern cityhood movement. And since then, every municipality has tried to do their own version of, hey, we're not going to allocate our tax dollars to help those people. You can infer what that means every time that comes up. The thing that makes it different now is that we've had, since 2005, and then we also have South Fulton and so those are two majority black cityhood efforts and they have had a varying degree of success

compared to the white ones but everyone right now is trying to be their own version of a city and Buckhead being its own version of a city led by people outside of the state I mean outside of the metro Atlanta area is the latest in a long chapter in that. But if these predominantly white areas, which I would assume are probably red parts of town, a little, okay, wealthy, but not necessarily red, purplish, if you will. Okay, a little bit.

George is like, eh, it kind of sort of. Why leave Atlanta? Like, is it decisions like the cop city thing? Is it decisions like, you know, the way that the Ray-Shar Brook's trial of those officers was handled? What are the pros and cons of leaving the city? Why can't Atlanta just say, get the hell on there? We don't need your little, fucking little tax dollars. I'm good.

I got chick-fil-a in my back pocket. I'm going to go off for a second. Because the whole buckhead thing was a lot. How much profanity can I use in this podcast? Come on, baby. Let it do what you want. So the whole, it's just bullshit that was created by one guy who was a fundraiser for Trump, like, in this one racist felt straw piece of shit, like, it decides I can, like, there's this untapped group of rich, white, uh, conservative Tucker Carlson watching people who've got more money than

since who the Republican Party has never figured out how to fundraise off of effectively and so in comes this guy from New York who moves into Buckhead and says we should split Buckhead off because Atlanta sucks and he's just it's just an excuse to send out newsletters raising money. It was never going to pass. It was never, ever, ever going to pass. So it was a rouse to fundraise and then when you lose, you go, see, they don't want us to be great.

Join me in the fight with a $5 donation. Yes. Oh, shit. Hang on now. it's Buckhead. I mean, you gotta know it. Like, that's it. That's all that was. And a lot of this other stuff is like in the same vein.

It's this idea that black communities can't figure out how to govern themselves. At least that's the lie. And so, like, if you don't like the idea of having a black mayor as a white person, here's a way for you to get up and around that. Even to that point though, like what you said about the Buckhead Cityhood thing was interesting because for a host of reason that was never going to work, which is why Brian Kemp had to come in and kind of put the foot down on that one. But the other issue is cop city city is cop cop cop cop cop cop is is is is is cop is cop is is cop is cop is cop is cop is cop is cop is is cop is cop is cop is cop is cop is cop is cop is cop is a the is cop city is cop city is a the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to. to. to. to. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. the the. the the. the. thi. thi. th. th. th. th that one. But the other issue is cop city was brought to the buckhead business leaders as we weighed to keep away secession from Atlanta. It was like, hey, you know, you want police around the Ray Sharbrooks, around June of 2020. I mean, we have even by August of 2020, they're already in cahoots with a couple, they, I'm not going to say, certain city council members are already talking to buckhead leaders about what the police do to support the police. And by December of 2020, we already have the plan that would eventually become cop city.

So it was always always going to be a part of it. Buckhead was always going to be leading that effort to have cop city. So the fact that this person in particular wanted to lead a fundraising effort to seceive from Atlanta based on the notion of police was just one of the best scams in Atlanta history. I mean it's maybe a top five moment. How much do the police respect the data of how crime is lowered versus simply passing things that will get them the support of their community? Like if we're talking local politician and you know X-Y-Z reading initiative will help, we know that the, Z reading initiative will help. We know that the connection between literacy and crime rates.

The more area can read, the lower the crime rate is in that area. We also know that you could take some of the money for the police tank and create a non-weaponage response, like they have in Portland. Portland has a division that is just responding to mental health and minor domestic stuff that the cops normally would be the ones going to, which is less work on your police, which is less stress on your police, which equals a higher morale and a better work environment. Those things could all contribute to lowering crime. So why be so dedicatedly invested into the one thing that makes it seem like the only way to be to be tough lowering crime. So why be so dedicatedly invested into the one thing that

makes it seem like the only way to be tough on crime is in a punitive way because let's be real as three Southerners on this on this podcast right now we all came up in the ass whooping phase of the South so tough heavy hand Billy Club do cops and politicians do they really believe that all this and all these other initiatives will really help to lower crime And I've got a lot to say about this because if that's what you're selling to the cab and Sandy Springs and fucking Villa Rica like if that's what you're trying to get them to be a part of Aren't you still lying like is, the shooter's gonna shoot. Drama still gonna be drama.

So it's funny, like the city's got like a Portland style thing. They started it a few years ago. I was actually on the design team for the pre-arrest diversion initiative in Atlanta. And the thing is it gets like three or four million dollars a year. It's got like a dozen, maybe two dozen people who are working on it. And it's hamstrung by all of the other things that are broken. The jail is broken, the courts are broken, the cops are kind of broken. The district attorney's office doesn't have enough staff to really do all the things they need to do.

There aren't enough public defenders to go around. Like it's like there's this gigantic mess in the system. Meanwhile, like they're going to spend $30 million on cop city. And their idea here is, okay, so we're spent, they're in their head, they're going, well we're already spending all this money on all of these other things like bail reform and all the rest, so we should probably spend more money on the cops too. Like in their head, this is a balance. Like this is the balancing point to all of the other stuff that they're doing, even though all the other stuff that they're doing is really not nearly enough. That is a lot less than their spending on police. The problem is as soon as you say that, somebody comes in and says,

you want to defund the police, and then, ah, and everybody turns into a muppet. Yeah, but that's also because defund wasn't the best word, because people thought they meant take all the money. It was like, no, man, just, you don't need a to taa t fortified SUV instead of a tank and we're going to take that tank money and we're going to put some Dr. Seuss books in the hood and we're going to lower crime. That's all we were trying to do. I'll end with this question for the two of you. How do you all feel the city of Atlanta is being perceived nationally? How, the perception

of the city of Atlanta, has it evolved or devolved over the last few years with Cop City being a big part of this? And, you know, Governor Kemp threatening to send in the National Guard, you know, the National Guard going to come in and, let's just say, the National Guard, if it's anybody need to go to cop city for some training, it's probably, it's their, it, it, it, it, it, the, the, the National Guard going to come in there, let's just say the National Guard, if there's anybody need to go to Cop City for some training, it's probably the National Guard, because they ain't training as often as the cops about how to do cop stuff. How do you all feel the city of Atlanta has been perceived? Does this set a bad precedent for the city, you know, in terms of the reputation the reputation the reputation the reputation the reputation the reputation the reputation their their their their their their their the city, you know in terms of the reputation of it does it encourage other cities to build their own cop city is Memphis gonna be inspired is Miami gonna be inspired

Oh my god All right, I swear to God. I hope everyone does not try to make their own cop city for a host of reasons bad for money bad for land he's bad for the environment that's personally What I do thou? Atlanta. It's the? I'm thi. that. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I. I th. I th. I th. I the th. I the th. I the the thi. I the the thi. I the the the to. I to. I the the to to the the the the to the to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to. to. to. to. to. to. tod. toda. toda. today. to. today. to. today. today. to. today. I. to. to. to. I. to. the the the over time Atlanta. It's gonna win Atlanta always wins out That's the beauty of being in Atlanta's is no matter what you always win Over the last couple years though and in combination with cop city in the last few years Of the previous mayor and just in general there has been a push of like Atlanta. It's like Atlanta's is black but it's not the maca anymore, and I do think that if Atlanta is not the black but not the the th black th black th black th black th. th. the the the th. the the the the the th. the the the the the the th. the the the the th. the the the th. th. It's th. It's the th. It's the th. It's the the the the th. th. the th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's no the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. that. that. that. tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha really just leave Atlanta, right? Atlanta doesn't have the infrastructure, the Atlanta doesn't have necessarily the connective tissue like a New York City does or a Miami that you mentioned or even LA to keep attracting black people. So I do think the current mayor, after this cop city phase goes over, he's going to try to figure out how to make Atlanta the black mecca again or make the mecca great again because you can't lose that representation that we have otherwise and we're no different from any other city across the country. Yeah, the thing I turned my mind is you're asking this question is the 2024 national, Democratic National Convention. The so the mayor is trying like

LL to get the convention in Atlanta And I think he might actually be successful. See, they're going to be here or Chicago. Like, the thing is, if Atlanta is perceived as a place where we've got a bunch of protests over stuff like this, that's the image that Atlanta, like this whole, cop city has the potential to change the perception of Atlanta across the country, depending on what's, one year, three or four months from now............. I. I. I. I. I. I, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the. Like, the. Like, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the country, depending on what's going on, you know, what year, three or four months from now. I'm with King on the black mecca thing, like there's a group of us who are trying to strangle that in a bathtub somewhere. Like this is a great city, it's a great city to be black, but if you were born black and poor in Atlanta, like you are screwed in a lot of ways. like does not, it is not a happy place for you. We've got less mobility, less economic

mobility than almost anywhere else in the United States. It's hard to get out, it's hard to climb out of poverty in Atlanta. And we don't see that. We see love and hip hop. We see you know the Atlanta TV show. We see the Marvel movies. You know we got rappers Eight Ways to Sunday talking about Atlanta. I like if they don't see the hard parts. They don't see why we've got like a crime problem that people think we need to build a cop city to deal with. And I think that's going to change. And if it doesn't, you can always sell the city to Tyler Perry. And he'll fix it immediately. Gentlemen, I cannot thank you all enough for this wonderful, wonderful conversation.

When I get down to Atlanta, I'll let you all take me out to your wings spot of choice. We don't have to name no places right now. They didn't pay us for no endorsements. But just please don't take me to the varsity. I've had everything on the menu. I've ate the varsity 48 different times. So I just don't, don't take me to the varsity. I got you. I got you. You do better than that. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. George. beyond the scenes with me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Listen to the Daily Show Beyond the Seas on Apple Podcast, the IHeart Radio App, or wherever

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