Political Talk with Jon Butts

Dom L'Amour speaks with good friend Jon Butts AKA J Boogie @jonbuttsishereabout our feelings on the state of the upcoming election.

What if the political landscape is more fragile than we think? Join me, Dom L'Amour, on the Black Man Talking Emotions podcast as I sit down with my good friend J Boogie, aka Jon Butts, to dissect the current state of U.S. politics and its looming impact on the upcoming election. We unravel the complexities behind eroding voter bases, President Biden's plummeting approval ratings, and the overall sense of disillusionment gripping the nation. Alongside our political analysis, Jay shares some light-hearted updates on his personal life, including a new home and preparing for the joy of fatherhood, while also lamenting a sold-out show that didn’t go as planned.

Our candid conversation takes a hard look at the global influence of U.S. politics, the relentless left-right battle, and the chaos that defined the first debate between Biden and Trump. We ponder the efficacy of past Democratic candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and confront the double standards in political scandals. The chapter titled "Navigating News and Trump's Legal Battles" is a deep dive into our media consumption habits, balancing between comedic relief from John Oliver and Seth Meyers, and more neutral reporting from NPR. We also reflect on the repetitive nature of Trump's media coverage and the unwavering support from his followers.

Wrapping up, we explore the contrasting perceptions of Trump and Biden, touching on their respective promises, actions, and the moral dilemmas they present. From minimum wage issues to labor laws and systemic injustices, our discussion sheds light on the role of government in improving lives. We even venture into the personal, discussing the challenges of city life and the importance of staying connected and informed. This episode is a mix of political discourse and personal reflection that promises to be both thought-provoking and heartfelt. Tune in and join our conversation.

Opening quote: Alexander Hamilton

Opening and Closing Theme song: Produced by Dom L'Amour

Transition Music from Mad Chops Vol1 and Vol. 2 by Mad Keys

and 

from Piano Soul Vol.1(Loop Pack) by The Modern Producers Team

Cover art by Studio Mania: Custom Art @studiomania99

Please subscribe to the podcast, and give us a good rating. 5 stars please and thank you. Follow me on @doml_amour on Instagram. Or at 

domlamour.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

He's losing a lot of core members of his voter base. I think I saw the Latino population is down, the young population is down, the black population is down on his approval rate. Essentially, whether that's going to turn around in the next handful of months, I'm not sure. I'm not sure how you could do that when genocide is happening On your watch. It's.

Speaker 2: 0:29

If.

Speaker 1: 0:37

Trump is going to Win this election, it is due to his own Inability To execute on the things that got him to where he is right now.

Speaker 2: 0:58

Ladies and gentlemen, and anyone else who is here, my name is Dom L'Amour and you are listening to the Black man Talking Emotions podcast. On today's episode I speak with friend of the show, jay Boogie, aka John Butts, about our feelings on the state of the upcoming election. This process of election affords a moral certainty that the office of president will suddenly fall to the lot of any man who is not, in an eminent degree, endowed with the requisite qualifications. I need it, I didn't need it, but I'm happy to have a scotch and to talk to you.

Speaker 1: 1:53

This is always a pleasure, it's always a good time, always a good day, tell me where you at where.

Speaker 2: 1:56

Where are you at right now? This looks official. This looks like you got it set up for you yeah, we just moved, man.

Speaker 1: 2:02

We got nice little two-layer situation upstairs, downstairs. So I'm in my little workspace, slash creative space. I work from home for the audience. Who doesn't know Me and my wife both work from home. Yeah, I've kind of found this little corner in the new space that is working for work and it's working for the creative stuff a little bit. You know, got some legs on a little bit of stuff, but still finding our footing here, adjusting to the space, you know how it is, prepping for the future, oh yeah.

Speaker 2: 2:40

Oh yeah, big time Prepping for the new one. Oh yeah, bam bam, bam, bam bam. Oh yeah, big time prepping for the new one. Oh yeah, I was so pumped for y'all. Congratulations on the baby. How are I mean?

Speaker 2: 2:54

I haven't seen you since my show, yep, and it was so much fun you were I'll stop it, man it was a credible show I you know that was was very, very proud of that show and I'm heartbroken because I paid the venue an extra $250 to record and film that performance. Okay, and they did not record and film that performance.

Speaker 2: 3:19

So the people who were in the room got to experience it and that's the way it's going to be. No one else is going to really get to see too much of it. I don't have, unless you got some videos that you can send me. I didn't have a lot of stuff from that show at all. I was very sad. I did my grandma's song for my grandma and I wanted that recording. I did my great-grandmother's song that I was going to release that performance of the song. When we performed it I was like yo, that is it. I don't need to record that in the studio. That's going to be the only way I realized version. Yeah, and I too. I was so proud of it and they had state-of-the-art equipment, mastering equipment. They were mixing as the show was going on. I was told, and they didn't push record fumbled, fumbled the whole. Yeah, everything very much. It was heartbreaking, but also it was a celebration sold the place out. I haven't seen you since then.

Speaker 2: 4:16

How have you been since then?

Speaker 1: 4:19

oh man, how long ago.

Speaker 2: 4:20

I just time is like elastic man, I know that was. Wow, it was in november, I think. Yeah, the show was november november.

Speaker 1: 4:27

I'm pretty sure we traveled for holidays. Thanksgiving spent some time with my family. Were you in georgia? Yeah, we were here.

Speaker 2: 4:35

Brief it was you told me about that. Yeah, okay, I was out of town.

Speaker 1: 4:37

Okay, I was about to be mad, as I was like, wait, I'm pretty sure we reached out man, don't be, don't be sending shooters this way, man. I'm pretty sure we hollered the new space we moved in the day after christmas. So it was kind of like all of thanksgiving to christmas was getting the old spot prepared for the move and, yeah, bria was out of preschool for a bit, so it was really just like a bunch of plates in the air just juggling them all. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 5:06

So yeah things are starting to find a new rhythm around the new space, really, really thankful. Never been like outside of my childhood home, never living in a spot with as much space in this and I'm not trying to like gas myself up or anything- but it just feels good.

Speaker 2: 5:23

No, that ain't gassing up. You were in new york. You was in a studio. More likely stove was next to the bed. You know I'm saying 670 square feet.

Speaker 1: 5:30

For all of those people who like numbers, 670 square feet. So go ahead and determine what that is with a one uh, not even one year old, nine month old and two grown ass people trying to work it out that sounds.

Speaker 2: 5:42

You know how many square feet my place is? Dude, true statement. I want you to guess it.

Speaker 1: 5:46

I'll tell you uh, I'm gonna say 16, 16, 3 000.

Speaker 2: 5:53

Okay, that's just, that's just insane that's not me trying to flex, that's just me understanding how small, 670 feet, is I just that new york lifestyle. I I thought it was fantastic. I would have loved the music scene up there. I would.

Speaker 2: 6:09

I still would enjoy to go up there and work, but man living there forever vibrant, it's vibrant but I know, I see, and the thing is, I know you and I, like you did it, though you actually were there. So I'm sure you have the connections and you're like yo, you trippy, you need to do it. I'm game to go try it. I'm not saying I won't ever, but right, right, right, no, the people are there. I am enjoying having an acre of land. I'm enjoying this lifestyle.

Speaker 1: 6:34

You know what I'm saying yeah, it's calm and you can kind of adapt to the busyness of any community. Really, you can like make the communities work for you, so it's like, and you can kind of retreat back to your space, have some peace and some normalcy, rather than like I don't know new york. I guess that's the you know um, the drawback, the kind of proximity to every body, all shoulder to shoulder and everything you know, yeah, you make it work, understood?

Speaker 2: 7:01

hey, before we jump into the main topic, I wanted to kind of go back to what we were talking about earlier, about my show. I haven't really spoken to anyone about it since and you were one you like during my shows, for the people who are listening, I always drink with a date during the show. Eight grab a date, kind of thing from circle of death, and j boogie was the date during my st louis show.

Speaker 1: 7:23

I was like this motherfucker took it back to college on him. I was like I know, I know, yeah.

Speaker 2: 7:30

I was very curious because you were in one of the interesting spots in the night because, as a performer and I'm sure you know this, people who or you might do this when you perform, or whatever I have like four or five spots that I look throughout the night and you just so happen to be sitting right in my middle spot, like the spot that I look straight, as if it's like I'm looking over everyone's head but I'm looking in the back. You were right there and I was like that's kind of that's why I, literally, when I looked up, I was like who am I? It was like, oh, that's going to. That's why I literally, when I looked up, I was like who my dad was like, oh, that's gonna be jay boogie, because you were right in my line of my sight. How did you enjoy it and what did you think about the venue than just the energy of the show?

Speaker 1: 8:11

oh man, it was electrifying. I was fully immersed. That's why you're like oh, send me some videos. I was like man.

Speaker 2: 8:18

I hope I have some because I was in it weren't on their phone that I was in it. Most people were there.

Speaker 1: 8:24

And I felt like the crowd was right. I felt like the ambiance was nice and that was my first time at the Blue Strawberry and you couldn't tell that there was some kind of tension, or I guess that was a discovery after the show.

Speaker 2: 8:38

No, I didn't know about that until months later.

Speaker 1: 8:40

It was seamless, the band sounded good. I was very impressed.

Speaker 2: 8:44

Honestly, I appreciate that, man. It was really one of those times because I hadn't been in St Louis for a show like that oh my God, over five years, right, which was mind-blowing to me because I'm you know me, you hear me I can't go five minutes while being like St Louis something Right, you hear me. I mean, I can't go five minutes while being like St Louis, something right. And so, not being back home and performing, living in LA and living all over wherever I've been, finally getting to go home, do my show, my music, the way I wanted it to be, and with my family in the building, new songs, original songs, story time it was just everything, and I always appreciate people like you who come out and support me.

Speaker 2: 9:24

I really want to give you your flowers on that. Y'all really were there for me, looking out for me. It's so dope. Stephanie and I have known each other middle school, we've known each other so long, and for her to still be riding for me, still be out there supporting it, just makes everything that much more special. So thank you for for being there. Thank you for the energy you was throwing back, because I knew it was coming back. When I was pouring the drinks, you was like yeah, like it was all energy, especially somebody pulling you up.

Speaker 1: 9:54

You know you in the building, but no man, let's just put it this way if I know what you do. So I had to show up yeah, that's kind of my perspective on it like I wouldn't be showing up for nothing, tired, and that's not the show that you put on. And yeah it was. It was cool to just be in your world for a little bit. You, like you said, your family was there. It felt very special. It felt like homecoming. You know what I mean Very lively in that way, felt like family. So I'm happy to be a part of that. I appreciate it.

Speaker 2: 10:22

I appreciate it. I wanted to start off nice and cuddly and warm and enjoy our beverages. Have a couple sips, yeah, because the content today will be, I'm not going to say, bad, but I want to talk serious with you and I always love having these interesting conversations with you because you always keep it 100 with me and it's always fascinating to hear how you're taking in the stuff that's coming around you. So it's an election year? Oh no, it's an election year. It's something that I feel like I can't go another pod without talking about.

Speaker 2: 11:03

The state of our country is the stuff that's going on around the world that our country is influencing, this crazy left and right battle where everyone is like, if one thing doesn't happen, we could be going towards civil war, and I feel like we've been hearing that every election since bush. Really, I just want to kind of pick your brain and see where you are when it comes to this, Because in my lifetime, the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in politics ever was the first Joe Biden Trump debate, where they were literally screaming at each other and talking reckless to each other and kind of like berating each other. That was mind blowing. I could. I watched it because I felt like I had to, but I couldn't believe what I was seeing. And those were the two people we had to go and vote for.

Speaker 1: 11:57

Mm.

Speaker 2: 11:57

Right now, starting with Biden as our president. Where is your head at? Are you like dreading the day that you're going to have to check it and be like, oh man, here we go, let's go ahead and just get them in there? Are you wishing that he would just step down so that we can elect someone else? Where is your head at? I?

Speaker 1: 12:15

guess are we talking from the pragmatist, the radicalist? I don't know who is being asked that question.

Speaker 2: 12:26

Oh man, this is murky, murky territory in terms of this is why I wanted to talk to you about it, because I knew that you'd be like oh, I don't want to do this. I'm right there with you where I'm like this is hard, but I'm like I feel like I should vocalize it, and you're the first person I wanted to talk to.

Speaker 1: 12:41

I appreciate you thinking about me, joe Biden. Okay, let me start with this, impose another question. Blue, no matter who, is a sentiment. It is a perspective that a lot of people have, especially when you have kind of seen the course of history and how the democratic party, the Democratic Party has often aligned itself in modern times. Now, joe Biden's record was not good before he got elected.

Speaker 2: 13:15

Well, no, no Before Barack Obama, because when he became Barack Obama's vice president, out of nowhere, everyone was like we love Joe. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. It was like Joe's so fun.

Speaker 1: 13:24

He's the the guy in the background, we don't have to really worry about him he's on kind of on some segregationist type stuff in his, like you know, earlier years. So you kind of take that in and then live through his presidency and think about what was promised versus what is actually happening. Whether I am very naive or didn't kind of chart his actual history or any of that kind of reflects on me. But as the times have gone on, the veil has been lifted, so to speak, or that sort of cozy, you know at least not Trump has been lifted, so to speak, or that sort of cozy, you know at least not trump, yeah, has been lifted for me. So the perspective of a voter, just like a citizen civilian, I feel let down, I guess that's that's honestly the softest way I could put it. I feel, yeah, I agree I'll be soft.

Speaker 2: 14:20

I feel like for me, and this is so early in the game, but for me, joe has had a side eye for me since the day he looked in the camera and was like you ain't black if you don't vote for me. That moment till now I've been side-eyeing him hard. I remember when Barack Obama gave him the Medal of Freedom and I was like that was just such an emotional moment. It was so cool. I was so happy for him and his family and I thought he was just the greatest guy. Whatever he did in the past didn't matter at that point. He was Obama's guy and Obama was looking out for him and I felt like that was like his retirement reward. It was like he's going off into the sunset. We won't ever have to see him again. And then we had to see him again and it was after Hillary nosedive into the Atlantic Ocean. Wow, I think about when he announced that he was running. At that time I was more of an elizabeth warren fan. Everyone loved bernie and bernie was great. But bernie had the thing that now joe biden has. Back then he was too damn old, even though he was saying everything that I wanted him to say. I was doing my research and seeing he had been saying that forever and I loved it.

Speaker 2: 15:44

Elizabeth Warren was also in that same mind state. I felt like she was gonna fight for things and I felt like she was really you know gun hole to jump on it. I was excited about her. I thought she was great, I really liked her.

Speaker 2: 15:57

But she's a woman and a lot of people were kind of shushing her and it really got to this weird place when she started claiming she was Native American and they were like no, you're not. And it was like what, oh man, like that kind of stuff. Dang, it really sucked, but it was like it breaks my heart because I see that small thing. She's say she's Native American and then everybody's like we can't take her seriously anymore. Trump started off by saying Mexicans are rapists. Right, double standard. It blows my mind how one side will literally push you away, saying your image is tarnished by this one little thing, and then the other side is just like when you said anyone that's blue, I'm thinking anyone, but red is way tougher because they like yo, we going for whoever is in there. That's our guy and he's our messiah, if and but.

Speaker 1: 16:46

We have evidence that he was part of the insurrection, but we still ain't gonna impeach him that's because he was part of what that whole cohort of this nation stands for is like this white national. This is the idea of white nationalism. You know what I mean. Whether you to admit that, whether you want to stand on that, whether you want to sweep it under the rug, that is what his dog whistle is. You know what I mean. So, that's Trumpy.

Speaker 2: 17:13

It's Trumpy as hell. Going back to Biden, that moment when he said you ain't black if you don't vote for me. And I will continue to say that over and over and over, just so people can hear it again you ain't black if you don't vote for me. And he didn't say you aren't a black person if you vote.

Speaker 1: 17:28

He said you ain't black if you don't vote for me. He was like, gave a lot of conviction behind that statement.

Speaker 2: 17:34

You know what I'm saying. And he was trying to be all buddy-buddy and it's like dude, look in the mirror. You can't say that, period. It's so even if we over here thinking it to our people, saying what the hell are you doing? Your ass can't say it. And I feel like a black staffer was joking about it and he heard them say that and he came out there and said it and the black staff was like no, that was me, not you. You, you can't say that. Right, his old ass didn't take the cue and I know that's something small too, but it started to kind of show me just how much of a politician he was. Something that simple. Open my eyes to this. Dude's been doing this for decades.

Speaker 1: 18:18

Right.

Speaker 2: 18:18

This dude's been going around putting on a smile, memorizing everybody's name, talking about oh, you do this and I do this back in Delaware. He's been doing this for years. This ain't nothing but another day for him. So I started to also do my research where he really leaned middle. He really leaned towards trying to work with the other side. He really leaned towards.

Speaker 2: 18:40

I understand the stuff that these Democrats are saying, and they're really left too. I don't agree with them either, republicans. I started to notice all of that politic coming out and I'm like, oh man, this is why we don't want him. But the only reason why the Democrats are going towards him is because they think we can't win unless we have someone that's in the middle. And that's the most middle guy we had, and it just broke my heart because it continued to show me that he's going to do what I felt like Hillary would have done if she was president.

Speaker 2: 19:10

I thought Hillary was going to play it safe. She would say what she wanted to say, but then she would get in there and she would become a politician. She'll start working with the other side. She'll make sure everything was sliced down the middle. They wouldn't let her get away with everything, but they still would get a lot done because she would be willing to compromise more than a Bernie would have been or an Elizabeth would have been. They would have been like, no, this ain't it we looking out for the people, right? But those two were like we have interests in companies, we're business people, we know what we need to do to make this work. We've been negotiating deals for years. You know we've been whipping it like status quoists. Yeah, yeah, you know saying this.

Speaker 2: 19:50

Yeah, you see that. So I remember when they first brought up the idea of wiping out student loans. I remember that like it was yesterday, because I was like there's no way they're gonna do that. And bernie them like, yo, we need to do an. Elizabeth was like, yeah, we do. And I was like, oh man, I like those two so much, but there's no way, right.

Speaker 1: 20:07

Universal healthcare UBI.

Speaker 2: 20:08

Oh yeah.

Speaker 1: 20:09

The nine Workers' rights, women's rights.

Speaker 2: 20:11

They asked Biden and Biden was like the only person on stage who was like, nah, suddenly ain't doing that. But then, out of nowhere, he flipped the script later in the campaign and I was like, oh, he's doing that because he wants us to vote for him. I remember saying that verbatim, I remember exactly when it happened. And if he get in there, there's no way he's really going to do that. And I was talking to the homie the other day because for me, I qualify for the full $20,000.

Speaker 2: 20:39

I had a Pell Grant because my folks were broke, so it would have totally put me in a position where I would have been able to buy a car Not buy a car, but start paying towards a car. And that's what I need. I need a car really bad. But I remember thinking I don't believe it. And then he became president and all of this other stuff started to happen, where he's just being a president. We stopped talking about Biden because we were with Trump. Every single day of his presidency. Every day you heard something about Trump. And when Biden became president, it was like a three-month period where I was like I wouldn't even listen in to Seth Meyers anymore. Wow, you know, I stopped. I was like, I don't even have to listen to any of this stuff.

Speaker 1: 21:21

Honky-dory out here. Joe Biden is out here. It's going to be great. Yeah, I'm like I ain't got to worry about nothing. It's a new year.

Speaker 2: 21:26

It's a new day and then they announced the student loan thing and I was like, yeah, I don't believe this is going to happen. Still, imagine having a president where they tell you we're going to do something and you look them in the eyes through the television screen and say, I know your ass is lying and this is supposed to be the guy. That's the good guy. This is supposed to be the guy that we want in the office. This is supposed to be the guy we voted for. We had to vote him in and I still don't believe your ass. Right, that's that's my biden experience.

Speaker 2: 22:05

I feel like I don't need to go. Everybody talks about. This is the the most infuriating thing people say when they come to trump and stuff. I just like his politics. You don't know, it's fucking politics. Stop acting like you paying attention for real, because you not most of us aren't in there that much. I listen to my, my john oliver's and my seth meyers for giggles. Then I listen to my npr for what's really going on. That's the essence of what I get. I try to stay away from cnn and msnbc because I just feel like they are. It's an exaggerated, over-the-top scare tactic, just like the opposite side.

Speaker 1: 22:40

In my opinion, it's like trying not visual clickbait.

Speaker 2: 22:43

Yes npr is very much a neutral place where I can listen and just get the news and they're not trying to push anything on me and it's obvious they're not trying to put a sheet, they're just saying this is what happened. You get some stories on the weekend where you're like, man, I can tell this might be leaning certain ways or whatever, but any way it goes, we're learning on both sides of the equation what's going on in politics when in PR.

Speaker 2: 23:05

So I try my best to get my real news from there. I try to read up. I'll even watch speeches from the opposite side. I'll watch that Trump speech. You know like I'll do that Same, just so I know what the hell's really being said. Just so I know what the hell's going on.

Speaker 2: 23:18

Because later on that night when I watch Seth Meyers, I'll get the clips from the speech that I watched in full and he'll make him look dumb and I'm like he did look dumb the whole time. But also he was saying stuff and I was listening to the audience and the audience were cheering. That's the part that we always have to remind ourselves. When Seth Meyers put it up, it's giggles, it's funny's funny. It's like look how stupid he looks great. But then you listen to them speech and they are trying, uh, chanting USA, usa, trump, make America great, we love you, our president 2024. They're chanting he's their savior and they believe that shit.

Speaker 2: 23:55

So it's hard for me to come out here and act like I'm getting all the juice when I'm not paying attention to the whole equation. I try my best to Moving from Biden to Trump. I'm nervous because I feel like he has this momentum and he continues to get this free press. Do you feel like that you're constantly seeing stuff on him, hearing stuff on him? Feel like he's still just getting so much free press towards you that you don't even want? Do you feel like you keep getting that dose of trump?

Speaker 1: 24:23

I feel like I see it, but I honestly don't pay attention to it, because so much of what we see is what we saw like years. It's like the same cycle. You know what I mean? Like oh, here he is, new, new lawsuits. Is he going? Ok, trump got a lawsuit. Like can we stop him from being on the ticket or not, I don't care about.

Speaker 2: 24:46

I don't care about losing his fortune. I don't care about him losing his business.

Speaker 1: 24:50

I don't care about that. No, not at all. Like, oh, so we've got some movement trying to keep him off the ballot. Ok, so that's not, that's not going to stick either. Okay, that's just where we're headed. You know, if he's that slippery, then the media diet doesn't necessarily matter to me, because I kind of know what we're being positioned for. Whether they're spewing it at me or not, I honestly don't spend a ton of time being concerned about the right outside of like actual events. That kind of happen in real life in. You know, if there is kind of a scuffle or some sort of tension between left and right, say protest squabble or whatever, that's kind of when I tap in. But as far as like what Trump is actually going through and how much we think Ron DeSantis might have Trumpian politics, but I don't know, he's kind of awkward and it's like you can save me all that Like I don't, I unsubscribe.

Speaker 2: 25:52

I'm right there with you. I think I get a little extra dose of him more and more just because I do listen to npr and do see his speeches and think what the hell did he say? So I do get a dose of him because I look for a little bit more, like some recent stuff. I mean, yeah, whenever, whenever he does a speech on the campaign trail, I always what's a new?

Speaker 1: 26:11

trump quip. You got any that you can recall.

Speaker 2: 26:15

I'm not trying to put you on the spot but no, like you, like you said it, I feel like everything is very much on repeat with him. He's not doing anything new. The one thing that he has that's different than the last campaign is these lawsuits. Okay, he's a victim.

Speaker 1: 26:31

He's being treated unfairly but once again that's been that.

Speaker 2: 26:34

Yeah, so he's spending that more but he's already you know, he already has been a victim. They, they cheated on him in the election.

Speaker 2: 26:41

You know he won all these places already and they didn't give it to him Like he's already a victim, but this gives him an extra dose of ammunition, which is mind blowing to me the idea that people truly look at him and think, wow, I just feel so bad for him. He's a God fearing man who is being put through the ringer even because he just wants to save our country that's how people think about it.

Speaker 1: 27:05

They don't drive the his connection to jeffrey epstein a little hard enough for me. You know, like the lawsuits or what they like we're. What was he doing with jeffrey epstein? I mean, we know, but like, yeah, let's get to the intricacies, not to be tinfoil hat about it, it's more so. We've got photo evidence, we got videos of them together. Let's that's where we need to be peeling back the layers, because maybe that could be where this momentum could get stopped.

Speaker 2: 27:34

I don't know, but this goes back to what you said earlier when you were talking about how he's so slippery. It goes back to biden and it comes full circle for me, in a sense of, as president, what have you done to truly make him pay for the crimes that he's gone through? What have you stopped? Why do I wake up every day and see all he had a bad day in court. All the attorney is smiling in the courtroom because they know that he's going to get it. Oh my God. The judge has put in a gag rule. His attorney is constantly lying to the judge. She's going to see punishment eventually. Oh my God. All of this stuff is really looking bad for Trump. It's looking bad for Trump. I constantly hear this shit, but for some reason, some crazy reason, I think that Jonathan Majors will be punished more for what he did than what Trump's bitch ass will get punished for.

Speaker 1: 28:36

Well, if you run away from a white woman in the middle of the dark, there might be something nefarious going on.

Speaker 2: 28:45

So you gotta put all eyes on that but a guy that we all know was a slumlord who cheated people out of their money and literally bankrupt businesses. We know that he did that. Some way he's gonna get away from the corrupt charges he has on this company. How, I don't know. How do we all know this? How do we all know these stories about his golf courses in Scotland and all the stuff he does with Mar-a-Lago and all the stuff that he does in Chicago, in New York? How do we all know that he's a slum bastard and he is not a good person? How do we know that? Yet every time someone actually tries to stick it to him, he gets away. And on top of that, he gets away with the worst lawyers in the world. Remember, his lawyers aren't that great.

Speaker 1: 29:31

I constantly hear how dumb his lawyers are I can't get the image of uh rudy gi hairspray wetting down his face. I can't let go of that.

Speaker 2: 29:43

But for some reason that guy was good enough to get him off. Wow, even though we still say he's an idiot, we constantly tell him people that he's dumb and he made this bad choice and he did this. He did that. He has four court cases right now that the only one that most people think will stick is the one in georgia. Okay, the one in new york maybe he made.

Speaker 2: 30:03

He had to fly down there like a couple handful of months ago, but even then, but even then, really, I'm gonna pose this question to you what do you think's gonna happen to trump, even if he's found guilty? Oh, he's gonna find some way out. There's no way.

Speaker 1: 30:18

He's going to jail, yeah there's no way he's gonna be in jail there's no way they're gonna prevent him from being president.

Speaker 2: 30:24

Think about that. We're in a place now where every time I look up, there's something that trump did during his presidency that's affecting us. Now the supreme court's gonna look at all the stuff that's going on with him being elected and they're more than likely going to be like yo, that shit don't matter, right? He put some of them in there himself.

Speaker 1: 30:45

It's coming down the road, so y'all gotta protect me.

Speaker 2: 30:48

How did he, in four years, do so much to affect the way that the country is run and the decisions that are made? But then everyone says he's a dummy and he doesn't know what he's doing. He's uneducated. It seems like the myth that trump is dumb is starting more and more to make me think he actually knew exactly what the fuck he was doing. Biden for some reason this seasoned politician and couldn't take student loans away. That's something I almost feel small compared to Trump putting in 300 different judges and appointing two Supreme Judge, Like he was in there working. It seems like and not only that. He's convinced people like Sexy Red came out talking about how Trump.

Speaker 1: 31:37

Sexy red came out talking about how trump when he was in we was making money and he was looking out for the black community.

Speaker 2: 31:42

Dot, dot dot. He didn't convince black people that he actually cared about them. Yeah, think about that. Is he dumb for it? Like, how can he be dumb and he doing?

Speaker 1: 31:49

that, not to say that sexy red is getting exploited, but I think just the optics of $2,800 or, you know, $3,200, versus like what it would mean to have your student loans wiped away, some assistance with healthcare or some sort of a from my perspective, some sort of between zero and five like help need some help out here with this little one Like I don't know what it could be but some sort of parent stip. One like I don't know what it could be, but some sort of parent stipend. I don't know you could do something to cory favor, especially if you're gonna have these, uh, questionable militaristic choices. You're losing a lot. I think I read something today and here we go the podcast, podcast problem. Not completely founded, but I remember he's losing a lot of core members of his voter base down. The young population is down. The black population is down on its approval rate, essentially. Whether that's going to turn around in the next handful of months, I'm not sure. I'm not sure how you could do that when genocide is happening on your watch.

Speaker 1: 33:15

If Trump is going to win this election, it is due to his own inability to execute on the things that got him to where he is right now.

Speaker 1: 33:35

I fully blame him and his I don't know if I would say administration, because I feel like I've also seen headlines about his administration walking out and joining strikes and protests during the past few years.

Speaker 1: 33:52

I think it boils down to him and kind of that close circle of advisors. However, that upper echelon of transfer of big power and decision-making happens. I think this reflects on him more than it does on the voter, because we showed up for him, despite what you mentioned before, the inconsistency, and now you've kind of revealed this broader inconsistency and it's it's a lot to grapple with when you consider the alternative versus what is happening right now, because outright fascism, like we were ushering it in, or what's going on now. As a citizen, as a civilian, it is a tough spot to be in right now and to have a, or at least believe you have, a moral compass, some sort of ethical way of life and viewing the world and viewing how we should relate to each other as individuals and a grander kind of species. It is really difficult to look towards November with any sort of optimism, I guess.

Speaker 2: 35:08

You know, I find myself now getting a lot of texts about joining surveys, telling my opinion on what I believe is going to happen in November, and I'm replying back to those texts with stop unsubscribe.

Speaker 2: 35:25

I find myself constantly telling myself one is the better of less evils, One is better. I used to truly see myself as a person who one day would you know, perform and do whatever and then eventually go into politics Always wanted that because I just always felt like we all are here to make a better world and every discussion in high school college always was that weirdo who was in the middle, kind of seeing different perspectives than other people, and I felt like there was a better calling for me. But now I'm in this place mentally, I truly don't believe I would be able to handle work in the politics. I feel that I don't believe I would be able to look at a man in his eye sockets and let him truly just lie and gaslight me, Because that's what people in politics do and they'll look at you and say it's politics. Your job is to make life better for people.

Speaker 1: 36:31

So I would disagree with that statement, though, that the government is here to make people's lives better. To make people's lives better, one of the larger components of Republicans and Libertarians is small government and little government involvement in your life, and if you don't view the United States Postal Service as a valuable government initiative, then what are we going to say for the folks that need that health care, the folks that need that child care or need that debt waived or whatever, if that's kind of the alternative school of thought?

Speaker 2: 37:07

But, with that being said, when I hear people talk about smaller governments, smaller this, smaller that, when they hear the Affordable Care Act, we really need that. We enjoy it on both sides, not just left or right. There are people on the right, lots of people on the right, who need that Affordable Care Act Absolutely and they approve it. But if you just switch the name to Obamacare same thing. It's the worst thing that's ever happened to this country. It's the same thing, right. But when you say Affordable Care Act, they're like oh man, I use that every month. I need my AC, I love that.

Speaker 1: 37:44

Affordable Care Act.

Speaker 2: 37:45

So that's when I hear the small government thing, and it makes me think that's something else that they're trying to say. You know, how can you live in a country that's finding different ways to continue to separate itself? That's all small government's doing. Let the states figure it out. So you go to one state and you can smoke weed though you can go to sleep, and it's something that you use as medicine, and everyone in that state understands that and the people in the state next to it go to that state and get weed, but then come back to their homes and vote against it uh, some real internal duality going on right there you know, I'm saying our family members who's gone to jail for having little, small bags of weed on them when they were younger and now.

Speaker 2: 38:32

I woke up the other day and there was a youtube ad while I was listening to my podcast. I was listening to, I was listening shout out to to Carmelo and Anthony and Mero the Kid. Okay, I got to check them out, a7 in Brooklyn.

Speaker 2: 38:44

That's such a great pod. But on the commercial there was a lady. She walked in in this like robe. It was like, hey, babe, I just popped a mood gummy that's rated for action. And he was like, oh no, no, I just popped a sleepy gummy and she's like, well, what time does it? And then he was asleep already and she was like what, finish myself off? And walks off. And it's this funny, great, happy-go-lucky white couple who just so happened to pop weed gummies for the mood and also to sleep.

Speaker 2: 39:12

And it is just this normal, great thing we've gone mainstream literally 10 years ago they were looking at black people saying how dare you?

Speaker 1: 39:22

yeah, super predators. I remember hillary, I remember that you know I'm saying we saw that.

Speaker 2: 39:28

So we see this world where literally all it takes is for someone to just change it. Republicans vote against it. They change it, they're taking advantage of it, no matter what. Hey, it's here, we in there. I'm just taking it for my glaucoma, right what? But that black person was a minister society, a horrible person. And also, now that it's legal, that black person who has this whole farm ready to go, that know how to get the weed right, that's not regulated and illegal.

Speaker 1: 39:57

We still can take you to jail or we're gonna take the farm, because they'd be doing that too.

Speaker 2: 40:02

Come on so you see little things like that. It just continues to roll up into this world where I'm just seeing this double standard, where I'm seeing things that I don't believe, and when I say don't believe mean I don't believe that they're looking out for me. I constantly feel like that, more and more the older I get and I'm more passionate. Now that's the worst part. I should be wanting to help, I should be wanting to, but I believe that whatever scenario I put myself in, I'm gonna be shushed away. I'm gonna be pushed away. I'm gonna to be shushed away. I'm going to be pushed away. I'm going to be told that I'm not on the level of other people. I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm American who wake up every day and don't believe that my president is really looking out for me and no matter who's in there. I don't feel that way.

Speaker 2: 40:51

At the end of Obama, I still kind of was like I don't know, and they say this small government thing, like you said, that's kind of this philosophy for the republicans, but it's just going back to reconstruction, going back to those democrats before lennon b johnson who were racist assholes right, who were saying, hey, we want small government, let the states decide what they want to do with the black people. Hmm, that's what it was all about.

Speaker 1: 41:21

You can only imagine what those former slave-holding states are going to do with the black Americans.

Speaker 2: 41:26

What do you think they're going to do with them? You know, in a state where they're more than likely were outnumbered by black people at that point before the migrations across the country, in those moments when they were outnumbered, they found ways to still vote them down, push them down, tell them they couldn't do this, couldn't do that. And it was because they wanted small government. They wanted the states to handle it. States' rights the states should be able to choose how they treat people. And that thing Minimum wage that wasn't started because they were like, hey, we need to pay all these people in this country, everybody. No, it was because we want to pay black people a certain amount. This is the minimum wage that we're going to. Let allow you to pay black people, because you should still pay black people. So you got a minimum wage now because you horrible people wouldn't even pay them this. That's why you're being forced to pay them that. But now we're in a world where minimum wage is still the same amount, right, and they won't move it. Why?

Speaker 1: 42:21

not, I don know, because it's the working class and the working class is supposed to work. It ain't supposed to be making money. It's supposed to be in these goddamn offices and these factories and just churning out the product.

Speaker 2: 42:36

And the majority of the working class is minority. That's why you know what I'm saying For you. Have you ever felt like? Have you ever looked into politics? Have you ever been interested in doing any of it? Like, was that ever something that was on your mind?

Speaker 1: 42:50

sort of passing down that fight from their era and before them. So I've always had some urgency around issues. Thanks to them, in high school I was part of the Young Democrats and you know have felt like I was very engaged even when I worked at Colonial Williamsburg. Very formative experience politically, mentally, as it relates to being a member of US society. But when I think about politics and I think about these inconsistencies that we've talked about, I mean you mentioned that Joe Biden has a medal of freedom and that's pretty nuts to say right now and just thinking about the sort of spine bending you have to do to participate in that framework.

Speaker 1: 43:52

There's a certain level of BS that as a minority, as a working class, that you kind of get and is in your body. And then you and I have the double empathy, I guess, from going to theater school. So we just know how to perform, we know how to be in spaces. But being a politician will change you, it seems it will make you not the person you were before you entered office and I feel the folks that have been consistent is a very small cohort of people that I have witnessed.

Speaker 1: 44:32

I would say that I just couldn't do it, even though there are examples. Maybe I could be in these groups and in these kind of spaces that lead the charge on the issues that are of concern and are very modern and of young folk. But I don't know if I want to be the person having the conversation, shaking the hands, writing the drawing up the legislation or whatever other kind of cogs in the grander system. I don't know if I could participate in that. I feel like lending my voice and being educated is the best thing that I can do at this stage. Who knows, maybe in 10 years I'll change my mind, but that's kind of how I feel, that's what my head is too.

Speaker 1: 45:17

There's some shaping that's being done in this house, so I've got to shape those minds, or try to shape those minds, and I don't know if I would be doing them a service by trying to go that direction and being changed by that infrastructure.

Speaker 2: 45:32

I agree I think about when I was younger I really wanted to be a lawyer. I really did, and I was quickly reminded of how horrible that could be the gaslighting, the manipulating the laws, yeah, and I just didn't understand that. At a young age I was just like what? Somebody can just say a different word and that changes what it means. No, that's ridiculous. How stupid do you have to be to hear someone say one word but it means the same thing, but it's translated differently and that's all you need to do Phrasing say something a certain way so that when you actually make this contract, people are looking at you like, oh well, it says this and it was like, yes, it says this. Specifically, it doesn't say that. So technically in the wording of the contract, you have to do this and we don't have to do that. We shouldn't live in a country where you can do that to the law. The law should be this is the law, do it.

Speaker 1: 46:31

Period Right. If there are going to be laws, then that's how it should work. Yes, but when you decide that the English language doesn't matter, then things get a little tricky when we start looking at those words and then you add on top of that now, yes, the laws can be manipulated all around.

Speaker 2: 46:53

But then also some states you go to and they have completely different laws. So you go to this state and it doesn't matter, because you know in this state, you know, minors are a different age than in other states. In this state you can marry this many people. In this state, prostitution or gambling, whatever I mean, it's legal in this state. You want to work at?

Speaker 1: 47:16

McDonald's. Come on over to Oklahoma. You can start when you're 12.

Speaker 2: 47:20

Yes, Think about that 12. Yes, think about that. What makes small government in different states better than just, hey, federal government? Change all these damn laws and make it the United States of America.

Speaker 1: 47:33

I don't know Dom sounding like communism. At least that's what people are going to say. Oh, that's exactly what people are going to say when-. Oh, that's exactly what people are going to say the broad sweeping change and authority being in one place. I don't know what the right way of doing it is, but when it relates to betterment, I think that there should be more. This is the right thing. I think we can all agree on this.

Speaker 2: 48:04

This is morally correct. But who cares about morals? When I want to be right, I want to be right. Well, I don't care about morals, I just want to be right. So my people that voted for me said they want this. I'm gonna be right.

Speaker 1: 48:19

I don't give a fuck about your morals, it's politics and that just says we need a better way of vetting politicians, the people that hold power I think the politics need more rules. Personally, yeah, I think you need a job description?

Speaker 2: 48:34

what is the senator's job description? They need to have a whole list of things that they supposed to be doing and if they don't do that list, according to the people that are in the country, it doesn't matter what. What's going on in your state no, no the country. Are they doing their job, right? If they're not they should have a moment where we could be like, hey, oh, they're not doing their job, let's get them up out of there yeah, it should be that simple right.

Speaker 1: 48:59

But you got people like what's his name? Who had I don't know if he got censured or just got voted out, but it doesn't matter the bar you say what's his name and I know exactly what you're talking about the glasses I don't know his name either, but that ass wife, he was a congressman.

Speaker 2: 49:18

He got a body there, dude, because he over lying, lying about everything, dude, not just kind of lying, he's making up names people didn't even know that was his real name.

Speaker 1: 49:27

Dude, you know saying he hadn't built his empire yet, so he didn't get to. He didn't get to do it the way that trump did it, but he was trying to run the same play yeah, and it was in new york too. That makes you crazier too, that's, that's pretty crazy that you knew exactly who I'm talking about.

Speaker 2: 49:44

But think about the idea that those people voted for that person. Yeah, that's the crazier part. He ran a whole campaign and got voted in and then people was like hey, we just learned this about you. Why didn't you learn about that before you voted for this dude? Because the bar is too low and red's gonna vote for red.

Speaker 1: 50:03

Period Right right that kind of uniformity.

Speaker 2: 50:06

He knew it didn't matter, he's a Republican. Just talk the way they want you to talk, say the things they want you to say and at the end say God bless America and you, my sir, will be in the game, and that is heartbreaking. You shouldn't be able to say some simple shit like that and know that's really how it is.

Speaker 1: 50:28

But that really is how it is if you're willing to stand in front of 250 american flags you know I'm saying talking about how america is the greatest country in the world.

Speaker 2: 50:39

your ass has never left washington heights, but it's the greatest country I've ever been in my life. Yeah, of course you're the only girl. Your ass has never left Washington Heights, but it's the greatest country I've ever been in my life. Yeah, of course it's the only country you've been to. Oh man, you ain't been to Japan and seen them clean-ass bathrooms.

Speaker 1: 50:54

Oh, that's a whole other direction of conversation. I'm like skip all this, Tell me everything.

Speaker 2: 50:59

But no, I can go on and on. I'll give you the scoop. It was a good time, I think. More than anything, I just wanted to talk to you because, like you said, you are in a place where you have a future to look out for. You have kids that you're gonna have to tell about this world. That's right too.

Speaker 1: 51:18

I think yeah too, and if you didn't know before, now you know. If you didn't know before now you know. Breaking news.

Speaker 2: 51:26

So in my head. It's like when I have a child. I'm so nervous about them becoming real people and being like Pops. Tell me about the world and me looking at them and saying people suck and you're going to have to choose a side and that is not the way. You should have to look at what's going on, but it's the truth.

Speaker 1: 51:52

And that brown skin ain't going to help too much Ain't going to help you.

Speaker 2: 51:55

Ain't going to help you. You know what I'm saying. People are going to be trying to touch your hair. Learn the code. You know what?

Speaker 1: 52:04

I'm saying you want to be able to survive at this late stage because I, just I, it just breaks my heart.

Speaker 2: 52:18

We've made it to the end of the show, ooh, already. We do this every time. I appreciate your time, I appreciate your words, your honesty. All I have to ask now is how do you feel?

Speaker 1: 52:29

oh, I feel elevated man, I'm in the comfort zone. I'm like I've been on daddy duty all day. This is always a beautiful moment to connect on on here for real amen. Cheers to you, cheers.

Speaker 2: 52:51

I want to thank you for listening to the Black man Talking Emotions podcast. The opening quote. Credit goes to Alexander Hamilton and shout out to J Boogie for being on the pod. Follow J Boogie at John Butts is is here on instagram. Please subscribe to the podcast, share the podcast and give us a good rating. Five stars, please, and thank you. You can support the show by clicking the link at the bottom of the episode description. Also, tell me your plans for this coming year. We should collab. Follow me at d-O-M-L underscore A-M-O-U-R on Instagram or at domlamorecom. I'm Dom L'Amour. Much love.