#116 | Zeek Arkham |

In episode #116 of "Rizzology", host Nick Rizzo sits down with seasoned law enforcement officer Zeek Arkham to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing society today. They delve into the disturbing normalization of online violence, using examples like the viral incident on social media platform X where a young girl was attacked. 

The episode also explores the societal reluctance to intervene in violent situations due to potential legal consequences, referencing the controversial Daniel Perry case. Zeek shares insights from his law enforcement experience, highlighting the complex legal challenges officers face in self-defense situations. 

Both also discuss the broader societal implications of firearm ownership, dispelling common myths and shedding light on their personal preferences for Glocks, Sig Sauers, and HK (Heckler & Koch) firearms. The conversation touches on Nick's personal journey through COVID-19, which led to a reevaluation of authority and societal norms. They critique the lenient law enforcement and legal consequences that plague America, providing real examples like store closures in high-crime areas. The episode also includes heartfelt reflections on personal relationships.

Thanks for watching "Rizzology" with our special guest, Zeek Arkham! If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love your support. Share the episode with friends and family, and drop a comment with your thoughts and questions on our social media or podcast platforms. Don’t forget to like and subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you can, please leave us a rating and review to help spread the word. Your feedback and engagement keep us going strong. Stay tuned for more thought-provoking content!

https://x.com/ZeekArkham
https://www.instagram.com/zeekarkham/

Chapters

• 8:00 People seek acknowledgment; honesty about roles needed.
• 11:50 Leadership attracts others regardless of official rank.
• 19:47 Firearms: Understanding reduces fear, history's controversial tool.
• 25:58 Fear limits independent thought and decision-making.
• 31:08 Blindly following without questioning limits understanding.
• 35:02 Prioritize family safety over legal concerns.
• 40:18 Society's concern over helping strangers escalates.
• 46:59 Contrasting realities of luxury and urban decay.
• 48:28 Understand backgrounds before engaging or making decisions.
• 55:35 Divorce rates rise; relationships appear strained.
• 58:09 Absent father resorted to buying affection instead.
• 1:05:00 Friends share intense overseas military experiences.
• 1:09:27 Choosing peace over toxic relationships is important.
• 1:16:12 Why limit viewpoints when diversity exists today?
• 1:32:52 Are current rights worse than the 1950s?
• 1:46:50 Fear and misconceptions about becoming a cop.
• 1:51:54 Traffic stops are scary and stressful jobs.
• 1:56:27 Discuss gun safety tips and connect for training.

Transcript

0:00

Big Zeke, I appreciate you coming down, hanging out with me today, chopping it up a little bit. It's. It's been something in the making for a while, dude. We've known each other for how many years at Bevs? How many. How many years have you been a Bevs guy? Let's just start off with that. Sheesh. So my daughter is going to be 10, and I moved to Long island right before she turned. Right before she was born. So I've been at bevs for about 10 years. I think we've known each other about half that. Yeah. Minimum. Dude. Because I joined in. I want to say I joined in, like, 2010. 2011 is when I joined up there. And I was just this, like, chubby. Oh, I'm still chubby, but I was just, like, chubby little kid that just kind of was, like, looking around for, like, the biggest dude in the gym, trying to figure out, all right, who am I gonna be? Friends. You need friends. Nick and Sean Harris was around back then, and all these big dudes, you know, you had Branch Warren coming through at the time. You know, anytime there was something to do in New York. And I'll never forget, man, if you've heard the story before, I apologize, but it's hysterical to me and Max. So, you know, obviously, Big Max and I saw him do it his back when Max. Nobody would talk to Max. Like, Max is like, don't look at Max in the eye like, the bull's going to come get you. He was doing overhead tricep extensions. And I saw him, and I just go, okay, here we go. This is your opportunity. So he finishes up, and I said, hey, man, what does that work? And he just, like, looked at me like the. Like, what the hell? He goes, triceps. I go, oh, I'm working arms. So that's perfect. That's backside of the arms. Let's do it. So I start doing it, and he, like, walks away, but as he's walking back, he goes. He literally just like. As he's walking back, he pushes my elbow and he goes, elbows closer. And I went, oh, look at this friendship forming. I said, ever since then, you can't get rid of me now. Yeah. I was like, that's it. You can't get rid of me now. So it's been. You get. You get to meet some really good, good, you know, human beings and people especially that come through that door, man. The gym community is something else. I mean, I don't know if you felt this, but I always like that the Gym community. It doesn't matter what you look like, who you are. Everyone just is there to just better themselves, do their thing, and just continue leveling up. I mean, I just. I don't understand where they have this misconception where if you're a new beginner and you go to the gym, people are gonna be like, get out of my way. Maybe it's like that in places like LA Fitness or other places. You know, I trained at New York Sports Club for a long time. Maybe it's something like that. But over at Bev's, people will help you out. You know, if you see that they see you doing something wrong or you can possibly get injured, they'll come and help you out. They'll talk to you. You know, I can't tell you Max. You know, day one, talking to Max, it was just mutual respect, you know, And I haven't encountered really anyone there except for, like, you know, the guys who show up there and they've got, like, you know, the cameras already, and they're trying to. Well, now they outlawed the Tripods. Now they outlaw them. I'm so happy. I'm so happy for that. They outlawed them. Get that shit out of here. Steve was like, nop. I'm so happy for that, because you'd have like, I'm just trying to do some dumbbell presses. And the guy there's got like a whole setup, you know, next to you on the bench, he's like, oh, just do me a favor. Can you just wait a little bit so I can do. No. Like, that is crazy to ask somebody to wait. That is insane. Yeah. Like, I don't care if you're just shooting stuff for your social media, like, leave me alone. I want to work out. You wait, you know? So I'm so glad Bevs doesn't have the atmosphere. Yeah, I've trained down at Onyx a bunch of times, and they still allow that. I mean, when I first started doing the camera work especially, my biggest thing was I don't want to be in other people's way. And I don't understand where that disconnect from society. I think it's a societal type of lack of mutual respect, let's just call it. But I don't understand where that started to really lack. It's like, people are there to work out. People are there to do their thing. You are in their way. So you need to ask, hey, is it cool if I set this up? Hey, is it cool if I walk in front of you real quick? I just Wanna, like, ask you and just make sure. I was always like that. I could have been filming the biggest name in the world when I was filming Kai all around the world when I was filming Sergio Oliva Jr. At BEVS Flex Lewis. All these guys, I could be in the middle of them working out and me trying to get a different angle. And I'll always be looking over my shoulder to make sure I'm not stepping on somebody, making sure my gear isn't in the way. If I had, like a little pelican case with me and it was off to the side, I just never wanted to be that guy. But there's such a disconnect with a lot of these people that they just. Main character syndrome, right? Like, they just believe that you're the only person on this planet whether we're in a simulation or not. You know what I'm saying? Like, whether we actually are the only person here or not. You gotta have some respect for your fellow human. Like, just ask. Be a person. Hey, yo, is it cool if I set this up? Hey, is it cool if I. If I walk in front of you real quick? Oh, oh, you want. Oh, am I in your way here? Yeah, do your set and then I'll film afterwards. I'll film while you rest. Not that hard. I mean, these. These people act like this. The film a Scorsese film over here. It's like, dude, it's just you fucking working out. I mean, at the end of the day, after the reel goes up, no one's going to care in 24 hours. So, like, no one probably cares when you throw it up anyway. So everyone wants to be the next big fitness influencer. Everybody wants to be the next, you know, Connecticut Fletcher or whoever else is out there, you know, Trend twins, whoever, they all want to be the next guy. And I'm like, I don't think you realize how over saturated that market is. Like, you can throw a stick and it'll hit someone and then bounce off three other people who are all showing their ass on social media. You know, it's like that meme on social media. Oh, you know, like, some chick is like, yo, oh, I just got a new haircut. Meanwhile, her ass is like, right in the camera. It's like, I don't care. I just want to. I go in there, I got my hood on. What hair were you trimming? Yeah, wait a minute. Hair on top looks the same. Well, it's the angle got me thinking. But everyone wants to be that. Like, God bless him. I love him to Death. But I got a cousin who wants to be like a big social media influencer. And I'm like, dude, like, I don't know if it's gonna happen, man. Like, I don't know if it's gonna happen. You're in a market that's oversaturated and God bless him, but he's got nothing that helps him stick out. So, you know, everyone wants to be the next person, but it's like going to college for African American studies. Like, you know how these people go to NYU and they spend a quarter of a million dollars, probably more, on a four year degree in African American studies. The fuck are you going to do with that? You know what does it, what type of a job requires that as a prereq? I'll tell you, I'll tell you what kind of job. Yeah, I'll take my cappuccino with an extra shot, please. Oh, shit. Thank you. That's, that's all that's good for you. Spent. You spent almost half a million dollars to work at Starbucks next to some. Next to the next guy who's got an African American studies degree next to the next guy who's got an English major degree. Like, they can all compare notes. Yeah, you can all compare notes and. Maybe find they have new findings. And I know this because there was a Starbucks next to where I worked. And the guy in there, he used to tell us all the time, yeah, I'm just getting ready to graduate from NYU and I'm thinking, okay, you got like a good degree, what are you majoring in? Oh, directing. Directing. Okay, well, what are you, what are you going to do with that? You have interns set up, you got, you know, you're going somewhere with it. You know, you move into California, you move into Miami, like, what? No, I'm going to stay here, I'm going to get you. He's still working there five years later. I've known this guy for five years, he's still working there. Like, what the fuck are you going to do with that degree? So, I mean, it's the same thing with the fitness industry. The fitness industry, and I'm not a fitness guy, but it's the same thing with that. Where these guys all want to, they want to disrupt your workout and they want to disrupt what you're doing. They want to disrupt everybody else in the gym so that they can get their shot where they're like, oh, look at my abs, look at my ass. You know, like, give it up, dude, give it up. Yeah. And on Top of that, we're using the word model nowadays very loosely. We have to go back to some standards at that point, because everybody can't be an Instagram model, an only fans model. It's sex work. You're not. That's not what that is. It is what we got to call it, what it is. You're not a model. Okay, listen, I don't knock it. Listen, if I was a hot chick with it, with a, with a banging body, oh, do I might have no leaf. Listen, man, when it comes down, when it comes, when push comes to shove, man, if that's how you make your money, do your thing. Whether, whether, whether you want to debate on moral values or not, whatever, like, if that's the way that you make your loot, Godspeed, do your thing. But like, it's just, it's the delusion factor of just like, what do you actually, you know, what do you actually do? You're selling yourself, like, just, okay, call a spade a spade. It is what it is. Like, at the end of the day, it's like, no, I'm a model. It's like, ah, okay, like, what kind of model can I get? Like a Runway model? Like, what kind of model are we talking about here? People really just want to be recognized, acknowledged. Even though there's a lot of people that say they don't give a fuck about what other people think about them, they do, in theory, care. Because we all, we're creatures of like primitive beings, like monkey brains. Like, we, we all have that built into us where people will say, oh, I don't fucking care what other people think of me. It's like, no, no, no, you do so. It's like when you're trying to rise up and be the next whatever it is. Because, like, there's a secession type of a thing. Like, eventually the old guard cross, you know, the old guard retires and now the next person. You know, you have to just kind of put into perspective, like, what are the moral values of? Like, what are you actually trying to do? It's like, okay, you're trying to be a fitness influencer, but let's just use a female. For example. It's like all the shots are, oh, it's back day, and the camera's pointed up your crotch. It's like, come on, sweetheart. Like, what are we doing over here? Like, let's just, let's just, let's just be real. Like, there are plenty of actual female influencers that don't do that, that are inspiring that. So are you Trying to stand out from the pack by doing that? Well, no, because I would. I would say that the majority of girls that are trying to do that, they follow that B path, which is the selling and sexualizing their body constantly. So if we were hot females, would we probably do the same? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. I don't know how I'd feel. I know for a fact I'd be. Yeah, you know what? I would. I don't know because, like, even as a guy, I've had the opportunity over the years to just, like. Let's just say as a man, you can choose a little bit more freeingly in certain areas than women sometimes can. But now I feel like it used to be 80s and 90s promiscuity and whatnot. It was. It was like the women didn't wanna. Now it's flipped. Now the women are more so than the guys in a lot of aspects, you see. You know, like hookup culture and whatnot. So. But you go back to, like, thinking about if your values currently would align with that if you were the opposite sex. I don't know if I would. I don't know. Well, anyone who. Getting back to what you said about people who say, oh, I don't care what people think of me. Anyone who has to announce it like that cares exactly what people think of them. Heavy. It's like the whole alpha male thing with men. You have to announce, oh, I'm an alpha male. I'm an alpha male. It's like Game of Thrones where Tywin Lannister said, if you have to say you're the king, you're not really the king. I don't know anyone who has said, I'm an alpha male who is legitimately an alpha male. I call people betas all the time because there are beta men out there, there are weak men out there. But if you have to announce, I'm an alpha, that means you're overcompensating for something. Yes. Because true men who are leaders who get out there and they just take control of a situation, they don't have. To announce it, they just do it. They just do it. They just do it. You know, it's like what Walter Payton said, when you're good, you tell other people. When you're great, people will tell you. And it helps you to walk around with a sense of humility. Like, you know what? I'm not gonna call myself this. I'm not gonna announce to people who I am. I'm just gonna show them and you got out there and you show them. It's like being in law enforcement. It's like being in the military. If you're a leader, people will make their way to you. There are people who don't have the rank, who aren't star generals or who aren't chiefs or whoever. They're just out there, and people will make their way to them. And it's funny because when you're a leader out in the field like that, people who outrank you or who have more of a standing, they'll come to you and be like, hey, what do you think of this? You know, so you don't. It's not something you have to announce. It's not something you have to put yourself out there and say, you know, hey, listen, this is who I am. Like, I have a guy who messages me every now and again on Instagram. And it's actually in his. In his title. He has his first name and he has, in quotations, alpha male and then his last name. And I'm like, I want to tell him so badly. This is the cringiest thing. So I remember, like, I just started conversing with him. I was like, well, what do you do? Like, what do you like? You know, I kind of just asked him at one point, well, what makes you an alpha male? Oh, I do this, and I do this. Okay, so you're just a regular dude. You just. What do you do? I'm a barista at Starbucks. It's like, what? No. Okay, yeah, no, he's a trainer. But I'm like, you know, first of all, I looked at his page, and I just wanted to message his clients so badly. Don't train with him. Oh, please don't. Don't train with him. Please don't. You pay him. You pay him. When you pay. If you give him a check, do you write alpha male on the check? Make it out. Who is this check being made out to? So and so. Alpha male, so and so? Like, no, no, Just the way he. Was training his clients. I was like, oh, my Lord. This is. This is bad. That's a lot of people, man. You see a lot of shit. Oh, yeah. Oh, you see a lot of shit on Instagram. You see a lot of shit. And it's. It's. It's just trying to reinvent the wheel. And you don't have to. A lot of times you can. You can spice things up and do things, you know, very efficiently. Not to, like, derail the conversation of that, because I want to get back to that, but, like, you can spice things up and make it a challenge without making it like, balance on four Bosu balls while you deadlift 300 pounds and balance an egg carton on your head. It's like, bro, you're doing too much. Chill out. Like, just deadlift, strength train. Like, stop reinventing the wheel. It's not that serious. You know, I see the craziest shit all the time. And I've switched modalities over the years to a lot of different things. Now I do a lot of jiu jitsu. Prior to that, I was doing a lot of bodybuilding stuff. I did group fitness for a while, for like a year at the Spot in Lindenhurst. Og so it's just like, I've always tried different things and seen when it works. OG was great, but it was like, way too much cardio for me. Like, I was lean, I felt good, but it was just like I felt like I was withering away. I wasn't getting strong anymore. I just didn't feel great. Jiu jitsu has been phenomenal because it's like a great thing to just learn for self defense and just in general. But then on top of it, strength training has given me the. Not bodybuilding, but strength training now has given me the feeling of, like, confidence where I felt like I was losing some by running myself into the ground on the hit circuits. So these, these people on Instagram, man, I. They just. They really just be trying to just be extra stand out from the pack. Like they want to be the next thing. Like, look at the crazy shit I put my client through. It's like, nah, bro, just be a good trainer. Jamal, he was in here the other day. He's been training for over 30 years at this point. He's got clients for over 20 years because he just is good and he does what they need to achieve the results that they're looking for. You know, whether it's boxing, whether it's strength and conditioning, whether it's, you know, cardio or hiit based, he. He knows what they need to do and he adapts it for them. There's not any of this, like, sensational craziness that they're trying to do. It's insane. Well, any kind of training you're doing, whether it's bodybuilding, whether it's like, I do a lot of training with firearms and guns and I do a lot of tactical training, you should be asking these people questions. How long have you been doing this? Who else have you trained? You know what, you just ask them General questions like, okay, if we're, if we're using this gun, this firearm, what's the difference between this firearm and that firearm? Like, I have a lot of clients when I, when I do tactical training, who they want to get out there and get the prettiest gun imaginable. As I just told you that I wanted a staccato. No, you know what he was like, he was one of those, he's probably rolled his eyes like, fuck, man, another one. No, you know what? If you want a gun that looks good just because you want it in your collection, fine, well and good. I have no problem with that. You know, you want a gold plated Desert Eagle, go for it, man. Is. I have no problem with that. But if you're using it in a tactical sense, oh man, you know, if you're using it, if you're using it to actually defend yourself, defend your home, defend your family, go for what works. And I tell people that all the time. You can get the gold plated Desert Eagle, but is that going to defend you when you need it? Are you going to be able to pull that out? You know, it looks great. Yeah, it looks great. But Robert's gonna be like, wow, that gun looks great. Please don't shoot me with that. Robber's gonna be like, that is an amazing looking gun. Wow. Hold up, before you shoot me, just kinda take. Wow. Okay. Okay. All right. No, it doesn't jam. Yeah. Is it gonna jam? Because they got that gold plating has to go somewhere, you know, is it gonna. Jamie, I go for the most basic thing possible. I don't need a whole bunch of bells and whistles. I don't need, I don't need to look pretty. Is it going to fire when I need it to fire? Yes. Is it going to jam? No. And if someone is training you, if your body's involved in it, if you're training with a personal trainer, if you're training with someone tactical, if you're, if you're doing knife training with someone, you should be asking them questions. Same way you go to a, you don't just pick any doctor out the phone book, you know, you, you, you hopefully you should be looking that doctor up. You should be seeing how much experience does he have, where he, where did he train, who did he work with, you know, same thing with anyone who's training you. Where your body's involved, you should be talking to them and getting a sense of who they are before you, even before you pay for anything, get a sense of who they are. What are you, Are you a Glock or a Sig guy? I like Glocks if I'm. Depends what it is. For rifles, I do like Sig sour. Okay. Although for rifles, I also like just. I usually like just a regular basic AR15 build. You were saying you build them yourself too? Yeah. Sick. Yeah, so dope. Actually, if I had to pick though, I'm actually an HK guy. Heckler. Really. I love HKs. Yeah. Everybody I talk to doesn't like them. Except for Billy. Billy said he likes them. I love HKs. Yeah. I love HKs just because they're smooth. I get, I get less of a kick with them, you know, it's. It's like, it's like, it's like a Subaru versus a Mercedes Benz. In my opinion. You just, you're gonna have more into the Mercedes Benz, you know, this Subaru. And I don't even, I don't know, I've. I've never driven a Subaru before. I might be. Somebody might be watching this, be like, yeah, what the hey. I like my Subaru, you know, but any. Hate Subarus. Oh, man. But no, you know, it's you, you. You get what you pay for. Yeah, it's a smoother. To me. It's a smoother. Are they more expensive? They're more expensive. Oh, they are. Okay, then the Glock. Yeah, but they're a smoother pistol. To me. They. The bullet goes right where I need it to go. More shots on target and I just, I just, I like them better. Listen, I mean, Glock, I've never fired an HK. I have my.43X that I love. That thing's been, you know, great. I wanted to get something that was concealable and whatnot and just have the ability to. And then I have my Henry, my lever action, which I love. That thing is so much fun. And then I just have a Mossberg. So it's like, that's, that's really the collection. But I want. I, I'm interested in getting a full size. I would like to get a full size handgun at some point. I just, you know, I'm saying like, well, am I gonna spend it on a 19 or, you know, because that's sort of full size. Ish. Right? The 19. The Glock 19. Am I going to do that? Or maybe at HK or Staccato, if I want to just spend it all and have to give them my first two born children at some point, which at this rate it's not going well. So they're not going to have that they're not going to have any kids to take anyway. But it's just such an interesting topic, firearms, and how you can tell instantly once you start talking to somebody if they're about it or they're not about it. And it's just like, it doesn't have to be a black and white subject. They're not only used to, obviously keep us safe and protect us, but it's part of our country's history as well. And if it's something I've had conversations with people that are more so afraid of the firearms. And I go, well, if you're afraid of it, you need to go out and get some training on it, because you'll learn that it's a tool at the end of the day. And the tool can be used for good, it could be used for bad, but if you have a better understanding of the tool itself, you're less likely to be afraid of it. You know, we're always afraid of things that we don't understand. So if you don't understand it and you're just told things about it, you're going to believe that instantly and not understand that, oh, there's different calibers and different guns and different use cases and whatnot. It's not just like, oh, gun bad, gun bad. And I was somebody that not necessarily didn't like guns. I was afraid of them for a while. Like, I had a buddy who lives down in Florida now who's a cop down there, and he was always a big gun advocate, and he always liked he was building ars and like, had to be like the late 2000 and tens. Like, you know, he was always building ars in his. In his house and like, oh, look at this, look at this. And I. Every time he'd show me when I was like, but now, now he's like, oh, now I got you on the train now. And now I'm like, oh, shit, let me see that one again. And this and that. So, you know, I'm sure you have more experience talking to people. Obviously you have way more experience being around them and using them. You know, what is something that you try to convey to people that may be more scared of a firearm? Guns do two things. They shoot and they rust. That's one of the first things I learned. They're not gonna get up and just start firing. It's not like the movies where, you know, you throw it down a flight of stairs and it's gonna wipe out the whole room. Just firing on its own. You know, it's In a spinning chaos. People have these misconceptions of guns just from the movie or the government uses fear to control people as far as what they should and should be feeling about firearms. Every, you know, you hear about the mass shooters over and over and over again. Some nutcase walked into a school or walked into a church and took out, you know, five, seven, 10 people. Does it happen? Yes. Is it tragic? Yes. But there are millions of gun owners in this country. We have, we have. I think at the last number I saw, there's like 12 firearms per person in this country. Something like that. Something, some crazy number like that, which I'm like, you know, I'm contributing to that by myself. I've got like me and three other people by myself, allegedly. You know. Then there was that boat trip where I lost all my firearms, lost them all. It was crazy. I gotta put that out there. Why did that happen? That's insane. Yeah, just a boat trip. You know, I don't know what happened, but you know, they use these numbers to make people scared that. What they're not talking about is in Chicago, there's a mass shooting every weekend. What they're not talking about is in places like Baltimore, St. Louis, there's a mass shooting every weekend. But they want to use that school shooter optic to now push legislation and go, yeah, you know, we need to be registering your firearms, we need to be controlling your firearms. We need to be, you know, you have a presidential candidate who claims to be a gun owner, but then is also historically in favor of going door to door and doing a mandatory confiscation. She's not going to do it. She's going to send other people to do it. But she's in favor of a mandatory confiscation. Why? All you're doing is making legal, law abiding gun owners pay for the sins of people who misuse those guns. You know, if you're, if someone goes out and drunk drives and kills a family, we're not saying, okay, we should be wiping out all cars. You know, we should be, we should be restricting driver's licenses. We should be. And driving before people go, oh yeah, but you know, you have to have a license and restrictions for driving. Driving isn't a right. Gun ownership is a right under the second amendment. So you have people who use, who are scared and when you use that fear, like you said, they are scared of what they don't know. You have people who don't have guns or don't own guns or don't know anything about Guns now, making laws for people who have guns. You know, if I. If I ask you what type of gun you have, you go, oh, I have a Glock. To me, that tells me you really don't know much about. You either don't know much about guns or you just lie to me. Because, like, you know, even like you said, most people, if they have a Glock, they go, I have a 19. Yeah, I have a 17. I have a 26. You know, they're more into it than that. They would just say, oh, I have a Glock. Yeah, Anybody can say, I have a Glock. Okay. Yeah. You know, I have a dog. What kind? What kind? It's like, if I ask you if you have a car, no one goes, yeah, I have a Ford. They'll say, oh, I have a. You know, I have an F150. I have an F150. I have, you know, this. You know, they. Gun owners talk the same way. You know, if you. What type of rifle do you have? Oh, I have an AR build. I use this part, have this kind of scope on it. You know, this. That's more how people talk, you know. So when you have people who know nothing about guns making laws for people who do have guns and they don't know anything about it themselves, it's not a fair comparison. Whenever they start talking about calibers, it cracks me up, though, because they have no, no, like, finger on the pulse of, like, what it actually is. They'd be like, oh, this nine millimeter could blow your limb off. It's just like, what the fuck are you talking about? Like Joe Biden said, even me knowing, like, listen, like I said, I've only been like. And I can't even call myself like an advocate, but a responsible gun owner. I've only been for like the last couple of years, maybe three, four years. So it's just like there are people. These people are supposed to, like, know and have people on their councils that have the ins and outs of these, you know, firearms calibers, all these different metrics of what winds up lining up to being the gun, and they have no idea. It's like you have the cheat sheet behind you. You have everybody and every piece of information that you could ever use, but you chose to scare and really paralyze a lot of people in the country that don't know as well. So they just entrust in them to give them the information. And unfortunately, if you don't do the information and the research yourself, and you just believe the one side or the One thing that you hear, and this is in everything, then you don't ever actually get to think. You actually just are like a little robot that gets downloaded into every day. So it's like, okay, well, they said this. Okay, they said this. And you don't actually get to like make a decision for yourself. Like I had told that one friend, you know, she works in the schools, and I told her, I said, listen, you're afraid of guns, you need to go out and just like shoot and train a little bit. Because God forbid, let's say in a worst case scenario, horrifically, and God forbid, that there is a potential school shooter in her area. And people wrestle the guy to the ground, the woman, whoever is carrying out the heinous act, they wrestle this person to the ground and the gun slides across the floor to her. You have never, you have chosen to never understand this piece of machinery right here. So you don't even know how to safely hold it. You don't know good trigger control. You don't know how to take the mag out. Oh, wait, they're still around in the chamber. Like you don't know any of these things because you've chosen to just be paralyzed in fear as opposed to being a little bit more proactive. Well, this thing makes me frightened. Why don't I go to one of the like dark storm or go to one of these places where they'll teach me. For 100 bucks, they'll bring me in, I'll shoot it at the range. I'll have a better understanding of how to be safe with this machine. And then if you choose to never use it ever again or never touch it again, that's totally on you. That's okay. No one has to be comfortable with them all the time, but at least have a basic understanding and principle of what it is, how it functions, and in the worst case scenario, how you can disarm it so this way it can't be used against you or other people. That's my thought process on it. No, you're 100% correct. Like I said, people look at movies and they think that this is how guns function. Like you can just sit there for five minutes and empty out thousands of rounds from one mag. You know, you never have to reload or anything. You just, you just, you sit there, you press full auto and you just shooting for five minutes straight. You know, people, people really think that happens. Or you put, you put a silencer on a gun and the gun just goes. You know, you can, you can wipe out a room Full of people. And if you're in a room next door, you have no idea what's going on? No. Splinter Cell style, bro. Splinter Cell. Listen, I'm a big. I'm a gamer. I love Splinter Cell. I love Call of Duty, you know. I love Splinter Cells. I love Ghost recon. Yeah, I play all that shit. But I also know that's not how that works in real life, you know? Yeah. So. I mean, but people want. People almost want to be scared. We saw what happened during the lockdowns. We saw it happen during COVID you know, where you had people who were legitimately like, you know, I'll invite you over to my house for a barbecue, but I need to see your Covid vaccination card first. You're telling family members this because people are afraid. You have confirmed cases of parents locking their kids in their rooms. Who got Covid? No, I need. Just. Just. Just stay in there for a week. It'll be okay. It'll be okay. Confirmed cases. And it's like, why would you. Like, what. What would make you, as a parent, do that? Like, I have a daughter at home. I would never lock her away in her room by herself. I'll tell you what. If I had a kid and he or she got Covid. We getting it together, baby. Yeah. Guess what? We. We hanging out on the couch watching Netflix together. Yeah, we got Covid. That happened. So that happened with my mom and I. I was living at home still. I. I was. I was hanging out with this chick who gave it to me. It was like. I was not. I was not prepared for that one. I was. Dude, listen. I was in. We were doing underground shoots at gyms, boarding up the windows so people wouldn't see inside. Like, we. We had athletes flying from all over the world and still getting shoots in. And there's one chick that I decided to hang out with after, like, a year of being Covid free around international athletes and everybody, she gave it to me. I was like, are you fucking kidding me, bro? I'm laying in my mom's office. I'll never forget this shit. I'm laying at my mom's office, and it's the spare bedroom, and I'm laying on her on her floor, and she's working or whatever, and I just. I literally got up from my bed, I laid down on the floor, and within two minutes, I just kind of went like this. I went. I was like, what is that? Why does my nose feel sharp? I go, what is this? And I went like this. I went, oh, hmm. She goes, what's up? I go, yeah, I definitely can't taste anything. She's like, what do you mean? And I went, oh, yeah, no, it's gone. And she goes, what do you mean it's gone? So I go into the kitchen, I start tasting things. I go, oh, yeah, no, no, no. I got the vid. It's over. I was like, it's over and you're getting it next. And she's just like, oh, come on. And then she was just like, whatever, let's get it out of the way. And then she was fine. Listen, did it beat my mom up a little bit more than it beat me up? Yeah, without question. You know, my mom is healthy, but she's not like, every day at the gym and this and that and blah, blah, blah. So it's just. It did hit her a little bit harder than it hit me. But, I mean, in the long run, she was totally fine, got the antibodies and we were good. And that was it. I got it once more, and then it was like another sniffles, and that was it. So. But yeah, it goes back to what you're stating, though. It goes back to blindly following and not doing your own research and not understanding things. And I don't know what happened the last eight years. And maybe you can shed some light on what you've seen as well, because you've been in and out of law enforcement and different sectors and whatnot. But I just feel like there has been a mass awakening in a lot of ways for a lot of people or a deeper sleep for a lot of others. And it's not to say that the people that have fallen further asleep are incorrect, but at some point you have to kind of go, how much more proof do you need that we can't blindly follow everything that we're told? And that's everything. I mean, I question as my. What do they say as your frontal lobe has developed more. It's almost like a switch has been flipped since COVID for me, where I just look at the world a very different place. I don't look at it more. I used to want to be the corporate kid, go into the city, work my nine to five, come home, have the white picket fence, the wife waiting at home with the kids, this and that, like this picture and dream that I was painted at a young age. I always thought that's how life was going to be. And as life has gone on, especially since the introduction of COVID and whatnot, and for a long time, I didn't pay attention to what was going, not only in government, but around the world. Like, I paid attention, but I didn't. Now I'm really watching. And the more you watch, the more you go. We've let morons lead the pack. This is scary. And the other people that have gone deeper asleep, they're just still following, as opposed to having freedom of thought and allowing themselves to kind of be suppressed in their own thoughts. And it's crazy to me. My mom and I, we. When we talk about stuff like this, we actually feel like we're crazy because we see things so crystal clear to us. We're like, are we the crazy ones? Because we feel like we're nuts if people don't recognize patterns. Tony Robbins is a big pattern guy. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, things are cyclical. We see things happen on a cyclical type scale a lot of times. So are you going to keep allowing these cyclical patterns to keep happening that do nothing but harm society as a whole? Well, I know I threw a lot at you. No, no, no. I mean, it's actually, you hit on a lot of good points because you have people who are very dependent on the government and they're afraid to do anything. Like my wife's best friend's husband. I remember during. After the whole George Floyd thing happened and they were having riots, like, on a daily basis, he calls me and he goes, let me ask you a question. He goes, in case something happens near my house, I don't have anything to defend myself with. I don't have a baseball bat, anything. He goes, what would you recommend I get? Because he knows I'm a big home defense guy. I'm a big second amendment guy. I'm a big, you know, I do doomsday prepping, that kind of thing. Not, you know, not. Not on the degree that a lot of other people do it. Yeah, but just enough that you have some supplies. But just enough to have some supplies that my family and I are safe. Which is the responsible thing to do as a male and head of the house type of situation. Well, exactly. Because, listen, if you're a man and your family can't look at you for protection, I don't know what you're doing with your life, you know, but he calls me, he asked me all this, and I said to him, I said, well, you know, I can get you some bear mace. I said, there's a lot of gun stores around here. There's a lot of outdoors places around here. I can get you some bear mace. And I'll give it to you, you know, so that you have something, so that you can, you know, God forbid someone breaks to your home, you can. He goes, well, is it legal here in the boroughs? I don't know. You know, it's legal out here, you know, but as far as the boroughs go, I don't. You gotta check. You gotta check. Check what's been passed or what has been revoked. So I'm thinking, so when should I give it to you? He goes, well, if it's not legal, I don't really want any problems. And I kind of hung up on him after that. Like, dude, did you really just call me to ask me what you could do to protect your family? And then you're worried about the legality of it? If I'm protecting my family, I'll go to jail over that. I'll risk it. I'll stand in front of a judge and say, hey, listen, I had to protect my family. Someone broke into my house, and I did what I had to do to make sure my wife is safe, my daughter is safe, my dog is safe. You know, I'm gonna do what I need to do. Did you really just ask me, God forbid something happens like that and he hurts or kills, God forbid, kills a member of your family? Are you really gonna wrap yourself in the comfort of. Well, at least what I did was legal. Like, I don't understand. We're sending Buddy to the afterlife. No, no, I'm gonna send him express to Jesus. You know, we're sending him right there. Yeah. So, like, you know, but you get a sense of how weak some people are. This is a good guy, you know, I talk to him. There's nothing against these people as, like. As humans, but you just. They're either paralyzed in fear or they're paralyzed in the thought process of, like, doing wrong in the eyes of, like, society. And so, like, well, society has unfortunately shifted its viewpoints to something that may not necessarily align with what really needs to happen and go down. That's the unfortunate side of things. It's like, if somebody breaks into my house and they're looking to harm my dog, or they're looking to rob me or when I was living at home, especially if they're looking to hurt my mom, bro, it's over for you. Yeah, it's over for you. And listen, if I don't have to use a firearm, great, because at the end of the day, we all know people that are responsible gun owners. We all know it's going to be a legal, exhaustive battle of just, like, who was at fault? Did you shoot him this way? What was this and that? And, like, just, bro, buddy ran into my house trying to kill me. I don't know why we're arguing about this. So I have cameras in my house that run 24 7. So, like, this is. This is important to me. So now there's no question. This is exactly what happened. Here are the tapes. Enjoy. There you go. He ran in with a shotgun, tried to kick my dog, and that was it. That was enough for me. But people get nervous. Like, I see a lot of comments, especially lately online, of like, unfortunately, sometimes you just see these on X. Especially, man, it just. It just starts. It starts hitting me with everything. And I'm like, oh, please, it's too early for this. And then you got Elon fucking posting diablo clips. But then the next tweet will be like, somebody getting the shit kicked out of them. You're like, oh, bro, please. There was a young lady that got her ass kicked. I'm sure you saw the video recently. Hodge twins posted it. There was a young girl that got her ass kicked by like four or five guys. Grown ass men. And people are commenting. A lot of the people are commenting. Oh, any man that watched that and allowed it to happen is a pussy or this and that. And then you literally have people linking the dude from the subway. What is his name? Daniel Perry. Yeah. Who was trying to be a good Samaritan and good person. And he's going to trial over this shit now because this fucking dude. I don't even know the full case, but I know the dude was, like, bothering people or whether he was, like, putting his hands on people or whatnot. This is crazy. That's why they're not intervening, because now they're going to be tied up in a legal battle where the girl that they were defending goes on about her merry way and continues to do whatever she does and she. And, oh, thank you. And that's it. That's all you get from that. Well, look at. Look at the cop who. There was just a case. The cop who shot the WNBA player. The ex WNBA player. I forgot her name, but yeah. There's a clip of. You see his body cam where he knocks on. Was that the chick that ran at him? The Asian dude? Yeah. Oh, yeah, I saw that. He knocks on the door, comes out with a knife. The first thing she does is swing the knife at him. Cut his head. Cut his head off. Yeah. And he's, like, running down the hallway and he's begging her to stop. And this big 6 foot 5 Sasquatch looking woman runs down the hallway at him and she's swinging at this big broad shouldered fucking dog. I'm five seven. That would look like David and Goliath shit. They make women that big. Like, gosh, does she have heels on? Yeah. You're like, what the fuck? So, and she's, and he's like begging her like, stop, please stop. And finally he takes his shot. But that's where cops in the United States are. That's where everybody in the United States are. You know, if you're, if you are a certain classification of people, whether you're white, you're Asian, whatever, even black, and you have to take police action or you have to take some sort of self defensive action against another either black person or someone who the left looks at and they're like, you know, oh, this is our new martyr. This is who we're gonna have a gold casket for and have three different funerals for. This is our new martyr. If you have to take action against someone like that, in the back of your mind you're thinking to yourself, what are gonna be the ramifications of this? You know, if you're a good Samaritan out on the street, you're gonna start thinking, if I get myself involved in this, what's going to be the ramifications? Am I going to be going to jail over this? Am I going to be, especially for a stranger? Listen, if it's your family, yeah, it's a different story. You do what you got to do. Very different story. We do what you guys stand on business. Yeah, but if it's a stranger out in the street, before you jump in and rescue that person, your first thought is, okay, well, am I going to go to jail over this person? Am I going to be the next person that they're putting my name up there and telling people who my family is and they're going to be putting this, Is this something I have to think about now? But this is where we are now as a society, where you've got people who, who like being victims and they wrap themselves up in the victimhood and they're like, you know, you know, what if something is done to this person, it's done to all of us. And now, you know, we got to go out there and we got to protest, we have to riot and we have to loot a CVS and we got, we've got to do this. Look at the laws that they have. As far as shoplifting goes, not what is it nine? It's California 900 and what? Yeah, 900 like 40 something dollars. Specifically. There was a store that I just saw that raised all of their prices to the, to that, that limit of what it would be considered for what, larceny or grand larceny? What is it? Yeah, for, for it to be considered grand larceny. They raised all the prices to that limit and then they give the discount at the register. Yeah, there's coupons at the, yeah, there's coupons at the register. It's crazy. Or if you go to a certain, like a CVS or something or like, you know, certain, like a Walmart, everything is locked behind, behind glass. Deodorant and everything. It's like, deodorant, yeah, 11 deodorant. I, I can't just snag that off the wall. But then people complain if that same Walmart now packs up and goes, you know what? We're out. Yeah, we're out. Look at Chicago, they had to close like, like all sorts of stores in Chicago and people, oh, we deserve to have these stores. No, you don't, because you're not doing anything about the looting that's going on in the stores in your neighborhood. So you've got people who, they're backed into a corner now and society has to move away from that. You have to have law enforcement who can actually do their jobs. You have to have DAs who actually want to prosecute. You have to have judges who actually want to impose sentences for crimes. Everybody's an activist nowadays. So now you've got the DA who's like, I'm an activist and I'm not going to charge this because God forbid we put another person of color in jail or we put another person of this in jail. And you've got judges who are like, you know what? I've seen you 14 times and you robbed everybody, including this old lady, including this pregnant woman, all that. But you just deserve a second chance. You just deserve a 15th chance. Let's give you a 15th chance. Do you promise you're going to be a good boy? Yes, your honor, I promise I'm going to be a good boy. All right. Go out there, you crazy kid. And the second he leaves the courtroom, he's robbing someone all over again. You know, I mean, like, this is what we've got here. There's no repercussions for the action? There's no repercussions? No. So, I mean, I've talked to cops before where they're still doing the paperwork. To process the arrest. And the prisoners already been transported to central booking, received their sentence, received their fine or whatever and came back. And now they're picking up their property from the cop. And the cop is still working on the paperwork. You know, it now takes longer for the cop to do the paperwork than it is for the criminal to actually go through the entire legal process. Like, this is where we are now in society all across America, mostly in blue cities, but in America, Call a. Spade a spade, we have to stop. Like, and not that you don't call a spade a spade. You are very open about, like, standing on facts and business, which I appreciate. And I think that that should be the case for everybody. If you believe in something specific, bring the facts to back it up. If you can't, realistically, when it comes down to it, it's like if there are two people debating and both have facts, only one person about the same subject, only one person's facts are really going to be the ones that actually matter and actually are real versus fluff or bullshit or. This study was this. It's like, we just got it. We all got to just stop seeing this so black and white. It has to be just like, this is what it is. Like, this is what it is. And how do we fix it? We have to start doing X as opposed to what we've been trying to fix it as Y, because obviously Y doesn't work. So now we have to go in a different direction. I'm actually going to Chicago this month for Hirocks. I've never been to Chicago before. I don't know what to expect because you hear a lot. You hear a lot of negative stories, but then you hear a lot of positives about the city, too. But I've probably heard far more negative than I have positive about the city as a whole. Well, Chicago is like New York City, where there are some parts that are very good. I fucking stay away from New York City, which is just sad as hell because we live so close in proximity to the city. And at one point, it was such an amazing place to go. I mean, I remember late 90s, early 2000s, my family and I, we would go into the city every Christmas Eve, go see a Broadway show, even though I fucking hate Broadway shows. But it was just, like, nice that the family did it together. We'd go to Broadway show, then we go to Carmine's for dinner. We'd hang out, go see the tree. Like it was this nice thing. You couldn't get me to the city right now. I Have no interest. Like, even if there are jobs for video work, I'm like, hesitant. I'm just like, how much is the job paying? I'm good. It's not even because I think I'm like, in immediate danger. It's almost just taking that variable out of the potential for my day. Like, we're probably gonna be fine, but, like, on an off chance that we're not, is it worth it for the X amount of dollars? Nah, I'm good. I could shoot another video on the island. And that's unfortunately how a lot of these areas are. People talk about LA in such high regard. LA is a shithole. Absolutely. And anybody that watches this show regularly, y'all know I have been saying since day one, LA is a shithole. I have gone out there for work probably like five, six times. Every single time. I just can't wait to get home. I'm like, you gotta get me out of here. I stayed in downtown LA for the LA Fit Expo a couple years ago. I was shooting for a company and the entire night, I'm not even exaggerating, the entire night sounded like Grand Theft Auto was on a tv. I swear, bro, it was so crazy. I couldn't believe it. I walked out of the bedroom in the morning because the other teammates were like in the. We had a big Airbnb. Just super nice, like Penthouse style Airbnb. I walked out of the bedroom afterwards and I go, did you guys hear all of that last night? They go, oh, yeah. I go normal, like, is that how it normally is out here? They're like, oh, yeah. I'm like, bro, junkies fighting cops. I definitely heard guns go off a couple of times. I'm like, what in the fuck is going on in this place? Couldn't wrap my head around it. Then you start looking at like, how Hollywood paints this golden picture of LA and California and the city. And as you're driving around, you're looking around like, yeah, okay, Beverly Hills is super rich. So is Manhasset. So Beverly Hills is super rich. And you're just driving around there and you're like, okay, yeah, it's fat around here. It's big ass houses, a lot of luxury cars. You go a couple blocks away for a majority of the drive back to like the city center of la. You get all those bars on the windows of homes, all the metal bars on the windows and this and that. Just, it looks like Grand Theft Auto. And you're just, you're like, what have I been told about this place for so long? Before I even went out there, I was in high school and I wanted to live in California because of the way that it was depicted on shows, the outdoor malls. I was like, oh, I have kids. Yeah, I was like, oh, I have kids. They'll be able to go to the outdoor mall after school. I'll go to work, I'll come home. It'll be a nice sunset and coastline and a Carlsbad, San Diego type scenario. And then you start looking around when you actually get out there and you just go, oh, I was fed a lie. I don't like that. Sure, some places are beautiful out there, but the few beautiful spots, does that make up for how much shit goes on out there? Well, you have. I read a lot of Thomas Sowell. I'm a huge fan of Thomas Sowell. Who's that? He's a doctor. He speaks a lot of. He speaks on a lot of left wing, right wing politics and things like that. He speaks a lot about how people grew up. I've read all his books. He's just a really accomplished, really intelligent man. I'm a huge fan of his. I read a lot of his books. But he talks about knowing someone's background before you engage with them. Like, I'm not gonna talk to someone who grew up in Beverly Hills about crime because they really have no idea what real true crime is. I'm not gonna speak to somebody about who lives in Central park west about, you know, walking up a flight of stairs and you smell piss and urine because you have to walk up to your fifth floor apartment and you walk past a floor where you can hear someone fighting, like, literally like fighting, fist fighting, you know, I'm not going to talk to them about that because they have no idea what that means. It's the same thing when you talk about LA and Hollywood or Central park in Hollywood. And you know, they have this rosy view of what goes on because none of it is at their doorstep. Thomas Sowell says the worst people make decisions are the people where their decisions don't affect them. If I'm making a decision, okay, you know what, let's allow everybody to come through the southern border and we're not going to check them. That decision is not going to affect them because they live in gated communities, they live in penthouse apartments where they're never gonna see this. They live in a little bubble where they're not gonna see any of these migrants who come through the southern border. And they only deal with the echo chamber of their peers that agree that it's okay, it's fine. Exactly. They're not gonna. Yeah, they're not gonna listen to someone who says no, you know what? No, they're screwing everything up. They're over here. The city now has to pay this much for them. They're over here taking jobs, taking security, taking this. You know, there are migrant gangs running around. Legitimate Venezuelan migrant gangs running around who are nightmares. You thought the Bloods and Crips were bad. These guys are even worse. They don't want to hear any of that. They don't care because it's not going to affect them. The day it came to a little bit of their doorstep, they made noise. In California, they made noise. In Martha's Vineyard, they made noise because it came to their doorstep, they went, oh, remember that video of Martha's Vineyard, the Desantis? We're dropping them off there. Dropped them off over there. And they went, oh, hell no. How dare you? Oh, no. Listen, listen, we love you. Oh, you're such good people. Get them out of here. Yeah, get them out here. Oh, you're so wonderful. Oh, yeah. I thought y'all had spare bedrooms. Get them on the bus. Get them on. Get all of them. You on the bus, Consuelo. On the bus now. Oh, but we love you. Oh, you're just. You're gonna do so well. Okay? You do so well in this center. Move more on the bus. Okay, good. All right. Bye. Bye. They made sure they got. There wasn't even a day, it wasn't even 24 hours. The migrants got off the bus and they went, oh, hell no. Put them right back on the bus. So they don't. It doesn't affect them. It affects people like you and I who walk through these cities with our families or who have to walk from point A to point B and you're encountering within a five block radius, people who are running up on you or looking at you to see if they can rob you. Listen, my wife, I love her to death, but she's got no sense of security. She's got no sense of, I gotta be watching out for this. My daughter's the same way. My wife and my daughter, I always tell them if the zombie apocalypse happens, it's gonna be a full time job taking care of the both of you because she's got. She's just got no awareness. I do feel like that's mostly like. And this is, people would say maybe disagree with me, but I feel like that's kind of like the female versus male brain. In a lot of instances. The more the more so, like, vigilance of men as the. As the caretakers of the family. They have to be more vigilant in terms of, like, external attackers and whatnot coming at them. That's why I never sit with my back to the door. Like, a lot of. A lot of girls that I've talked to, they don't get that, like, I always watch the doors. You always got to watch certain things on the outside of the. And I don't want to cut you off. I want you to continue what you're saying. But, like, on the outside of the street while they're on the inside of the curb. You know, on the inside of the curb, when you're on the outside of the curb, just these little things that. That men instinctually do. It's just like, that's that primal monkey brain that we have. And in terms of. They're more of the caretakers of, like, the children and whatnot. There are. There are biological. I'm not gonna get into that with us today. Oh, yeah, I'm about to say no. We'Re not gonna get into that. We're not getting into that. No, no. Different. No, no, we're not getting into that. I'm just trying to say that there are a lot of differences between men and women, and we have to understand that they're. At the end of the day, the mindset of both of them are very different in that term. Well, I will say this. I have worked with some women. There are some female operators out there. Oh, I would take them. I'd pick them first. But would you say they're more outliers, though? They are more outliers, yeah. So it's not more common, though. You would say it's more common with men. Yeah. No, There's a reason why Navy seals, Green Berets, sas, guys like that. It's very. I think it's. I think. I'm pretty sure it's 100% male dominated. And I'll interject one more time, that's not me saying. Because people will take that out of context. They'll be like, oh, he hates women. I don't hate women. Women are some of my favorite people on the planet. My mother is my best friend. I love my mom. She's single mom since I was 2. I would not be here without my mom. I talk to her, like, 10 times a day. I love my mom. So it has nothing to do with that. There are just very big differences when it comes to male and female brains and how the. And the Operations of how they work. That's it. But as you were saying. Sorry. No, even that was just like a little disclaimer. Like, we're not doctors. We can't give health advice. No, I mean, listen, listen. There are things. There are things you need women for. Listen. Oh, without question. I rely on her a lot as far as raising our daughter. Cause A. Cause I'm at work a lot. But B, because there's things, you know, there's things that she'll have a softer touch for than I will. You know, we have a daughter. I tell my wife all the time, that's your department. I have no idea what to say or do when it comes to that. You know, if we had a son, okay, possibly. But we have a daughter, so that's your department all day. I love it, though. Big tough guy with the girl dad now, though. That's awesome. You're going to have her. Like, that's like Jamal and his daughter. Yeah, she's like. She's like little version of him, though. She's like a little savage. She's awesome. No, I take her to dance. Yeah. And when she complains to me about the stuff that goes on. Dance, I'm just like, I. Okay, you know, what do you need me to do? What do you need me to do? What do you need me to do? I got you. I got. I got to beat somebody up. Like what? Like, I don't know, like what? Point out her daddy. Point out her daddy. Hey, you come here. But there are other things. But there are other things that are my department. Yeah. You know? God, you know, when my daughter starts dating, I got. I gotta be a dad to be like. All right, listen. You know, listen, baby girl, I can't monitor you all the time, so I need you to know X, Y, and Z for when you start dating. You know, if something, God forbid, this happens, I need you to do this. You know, if this. Those are talks I have to have with her, you know, just because we just have different roles. But like you said, we've gotten away from that. Yeah. We've gotten away from the standard of just, like, the households and how they operate. And it shows, man. It shows in society. You know, I hate to use the buzzwords, the nuclear family and all this stuff, like, just. But it worked for a long time, and it worked for a reason. And it worked because there was a synergy in the house. And the dad was there as a strong figure for the family. The mom was there offering her nurturing care and whatnot. Like, it Worked to raise a very specific type of family. And, and nowadays you just see, I mean, left and right, divorce rates are fucking crazy, man. And it just, it, it makes you a little, especially as a Single guy at 33, it makes you a little bit not hesitant, but it just, you just see all the negativity. Even my friends that are in relationships or are in marriages, I know what they're. I see the Instagram post they put up. Dog, that is not what you were telling me about her and you guys 24 hours earlier. Like, I get everybody has problems and there's no perfect relationship or situation, but it's like, you know, you guys are ready to just fucking knife each other. Like, this is. And really, like, this wasn't just a spat. This was like, we hate each other. So it's like, you know, you see all this stuff and then the divorce happens and then there's fights and then the kids are involved. Like, my parents got divorced, man, it was bad. It was bad for a long time. And I lived with that. I lived with my mom the whole time. But I'd go visit dad and it's like a, it's literally like living in a psyop. That's really what it is. Like, he would, he would tell me shit about mom, like, oh, this and that. And then she would be like, no, no, no, no. And like they're trying to both, like, who's he gonna, who's he gonna vote for? That's what it felt like. It was just like, holy shit, what the fuck is going on? I just wanna play baseball. So it's tough, man. But when you do have a strong family, and you do have a strong family dynamic, it does show in long term studies and long term play that it is healthier and it does raise more productive members of society as well. I mean, listen, I don't take anything away from single moms. My mom was essentially a single mom. My father treated fatherhood like a part time. I'll pick this up. And I feel like, you know, and you know, on top of that, he was very abusive. Things like that. Like, I'm open about that. You know, my father was extremely abusive when he felt like being around, you know, So I saw a lot of that growing up and I saw a lot of things that I said to myself, I'm going to stop that. You know, it's going to end with me. That legacy is going to end with me once I have a family. But how do I not want to act towards my kids? Exactly. This was like the trial. It's like, okay, yeah, we're not doing that. Yeah, that was my dad. That was my dad, too. I haven't spoken to my dad, and it'll be a year in November. I haven't spoken to my dad in a year now. And we were on and off rocky for years just because he's more of a friend than he is a father figure. Yeah. And, yeah, it'll be a year. He just followed me on TikTok. I was like, you can't even pick the phone up to, like, make a call and just say, yo, I fucked up. I'm sorry, like this and that. But you'll follow me on TikTok. All right, bro, Watch the show from afar. Enjoy. Cause, like, I don't want you a part of my life. That's it. And that's the unfortunate side of, like, what you deal with when you have a father that is absent in specific ways. My dad was, like, the buy your affection type of guy. He was the, like, how many toys, how many Pokemon cards can I buy you where you love me, even though I'm not there for, like, when it counts? So as a young kid, you're like, oh, shit, I'm just getting a bunch of stuff. This is great. But then as you grow up and you're older, you're just like, man, I just wanted a dad that played baseball with me or just hung out with me and treated me not like an equal, but like a son. And I didn't get that. So now I know when I do have a kid, whether it's a girl, boy, whatever, doesn't matter to me as long as the baby's healthy. To me, it's just like, I know now I don't want to be like anything like you were. And I'm setting the record straight going forward of how we treat our family members and our kids. Yeah, no, I mean, my father wasn't even that. My father was extremely narcissistic, where he was like, I'm going to fuck up as much as I want, and you just accept it, you know? So even now, my last conversation with him was a couple of months ago where basically I told him, hey, listen, you have a beautiful granddaughter that you will never meet. You had something that people would kill for, most men would kill for, you know, a wife who didn't ask you for anything, sons who none of us were out to challenge him. You know, all we required from you was to be a good person, and you couldn't do that. You fucked that up. You know, Have a. Have a regular job. Treat us like you actually gave a fuck about us. You know, if you woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Don't growl at us and bark at us. You know, just. Hey, listen, you know, I'm a little grumpy. I'm just going to be a little quiet. Listen, do I have my moments where I wake up a little grumpy sometimes? Yeah, we're all humans. I'm not going to take that out of my wife and daughter, though. I'll wake up, I'll be a little quiet, you know, and, you know, as soon as I have my coffee, you know, my daughter hasn't done anything for me. To me. For me to be growling at her. And she's probably just happy to see. You, and she's just happy to see me, you know, so what am I going to do? Yell at her for what? My wife? Who? Yell at her for what? You know, so. I mean, it's. All we asked of you was to be a decent person, and you couldn't do that. So now you're reaping the benefits of that. All actions have a reaction now. You're reaping the benefits of what you did. The benefits probably isn't the right word, but you're reaping what you've sown. Yep. So. So, yeah, you have a granddaughter you. You'll never meet who will know nothing. About you, and good on you for keeping her away from him. Because it's. I know. I'm sure it's in. In theory, it's not a tough decision, but in some way it is, because, you know, you obviously want family to be family, but you've made the correct decision of just, like, I'm not. I'm not subjecting her to that. Because there's a lot of people that would just be like, well, I want him to meet his granddaughter, and I just want to. I want to see if we can spark that. And then. Good for you. It actually wasn't easy to say. Okay, good, good. It was a pretty easy. But you. But. But some people might. Some people might. No, I've spoken to people who were like, oh, well, you know, you kind of. Yeah, I had one person tell me, oh, you kind of owe him because he helped. I don't owe him a thing. Yeah, I don't know that I don't. Owe him a thing. He. He's. The fact that I acknowledged his existence, to go and talk to him was enough for me. Yeah, that's. That's enough that you've gotten more. More than you deserve. Yeah, you've gotten way. Yeah, so. So that's it. You have a granddaughter you'll never meet, and that's it. I have nothing else to say to you. And I just kind of walked away from him after that. My father was always. I was. I was on the skinnier side growing up, so I was a little bit more. So he was a little bit more physically intimidating towards me. And now I'm at the point where I'm way bigger than he is. So he had to. He had to. He had to deal with that. There was no physical intimidation. There was no psychological intimidation. I've been through way too much in my life, in my career. You know, when you. When you're in a situation where you're carrying firearms and you're in a literal war zone, you know, there's. There's not much that's gonna intimidate you. So he had nothing against me, so now he's got to sit and talk to me like a man. He couldn't do that. So I said, you know what? We don't ever have to talk ever again. That was it in terms of you bringing up the carrying firearm, your career choice and whatnot. I just kind of wanted to dive into that, if that's okay for a second. I'm going to let you steer this portion of it of just, like, what you can talk about, but, like, what got you into your line of work is what I'm curious about. I really. I don't want to say I had no other options, but it was something that I've always sort of been into. Like, I wanted to train, I wanted to go out there and do things. I've done executive security before, where you meet with people, you learn how super rich people actually live, which I've never been super rich at all, but you kind of learn how they live, you know, you learn how they operate that you. Within the first couple seconds, you can tell, okay, this is going to be a good tour, or this is going to be, you know, a good experience. Or you could say, you know what? This person don't give a fuck about me. I'm just kind of, just kind of going to keep to myself. Would you think that it's more so that they don't give a fuck about you and you're expendable. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's absolutely how they just, you know, my life is worth more than his. Yeah. You know, where, you know, push. Push comes to shove, I'll do what I can to get you out of there. But, you know, if I gotta leave you, I will, you know, Especially if. You didn't give me any food from that buffet, man. Yeah, you didn't show love when the lobster was out, man. Hey, it's. Hey, see you later, brother. So, I mean, it's something like that, but you learn to work with other people. You learn operations. Some of my best friends are guys who I've worked with before and I've operated with before. And you learn that there's a bond beyond just, you know, like family and blood and things like these people become your family. Same thing with law enforcement. Same thing with, you know, just people you work with. I've worked with. I've been fortunate enough to meet cops from all over the country, and you get that bond with them. There was a guy who I was friends with before, he. I don't know what the hell happened to him, but he turned into a super, like, hardcore leftist. And it's funny because I'm a black guy from New York and I'm more right wing. He's a white guy from Alabama and he's extremely left wing. So you would think the roles are. Different, you know, yin and yang, though. That's why someone need to be sacrificed in the other side to keep the balance. Yeah, but he, you know, we went through training together for a week. I took FEMA training in Alabama for a week, where, you know, you learn just about diseases and things like that. And he became a good friend of mine for a while. But you forged those bonds with people. And everybody military that I've had on the podcast, which I've had a few. They all say this, like, verbatim. They all say the same thing. They all say. It's just so different. It's not. It's exactly how you put it, too. There's more to it than just family, friends, and, like, loved ones. It's like a brotherhood that really just forges itself. It really is. Especially when you're in shit situations overseas. I mean, my boy Brandon, he lost his sergeant over there, or I believe it was the sergeant, not the lieutenant, but he lost his sergeant. He talked about the whole thing and patrolling around the different areas of Iraq and whatnot. It's insane. My buddy Julio has done his tours. Zach Ligori, who is one of my buddies from Nunzies, he just moved down south to South Carolina. He talked about a lot of his stuff and just what it went through going into the Marines and everything. Everybody says the same thing, though. The guys that you wind up being like, in your squadron, platoon, whatever you want to call it, like, whatever terminology it is. Those are your guys and you just. The bond. Usually I'm sure there's assholes, but the bonds just keep getting stronger and stronger. The more tours, the more shit you guys have to crawl into and out of. I'm sure it's just. It's a very interesting concept that you wind up seeing on the other side of it when it's back to civilian life. Well, my daughter's godfather is one of my old partners in law enforcement, and he's one of the best guys I know. My wife kind of doesn't. Doesn't because you know what? Cause he's. He's got. He's got a really warped sense of humor. But, I mean, which I appreciate, which I think is hysterical. Probably. I would think it's hysterical too. But, you know, he's. He's. And that. And he doesn't back down. You know, he. I've had to talk some couple times. Like, dude, that's like my wife. Like, yeah, you're going to get me in an argument later on. I had a similar. Similar situation with my godson best friend. My best friend for, like, 20 years, actually. He's 20. Nah, it's like probably like 15. 15 years. And yeah, he. I was. I was honored when he made me his son, his firstborn's godfather. I was honored because he had brothers. And he just said, I want you to be there because I can count on you and whatnot, and this and that. I was flattered. I really was. Yeah. And his girl, unfortunately, we just. Her and I just never clicked. She would feed him a lot of, like, bullshit and give him a lot of problems. She had two kids with two different guys before him, and she just. Truthfully, she just wasn't really, like, a nice person. She was just, like, really nasty. And I always wanted to be there for my godson, so I would make. I would go above and beyond. I try to buy him gifts for his holidays and see him whenever I could. But I just know that, like, he wouldn't interact with me very nicely. Like, not. Not. He wasn't nasty, but he'd be more like, push away. And I'll never forget, man, one time I. I just said, hey, man, can I get. Can I get a hug, buddy? Like, can I get a hug? And he just said, I can. I can't. And I was just like, she's probably more than likely just feeding him shit. Like, you're not allowed to hang out with uncle. You know, don't talk to Uncle Nick too much when you're around him type of stuff, because that's the type of person she was. And unfortunately, my relationship with my. My buddy fizzled out because I was telling him, you're not seeing things clearly. Like, you have to really look. She didn't like that I was giving him different perspective and opening his eyes in some way. And unfortunately, he just kind of fell into dealing with it. So, you know, it's a shame I haven't spoken to him. It'll be probably like two years this coming July. June. Ish. So it's been a while, man. And that was like, my best. We talked every single day. And my godson's. And I don't see my godson anymore. So, like, stuff like that really does suck when there's, like, some type of a strain on the relationship. And this is obviously very different than your situation with your God with your buddy who's your daughter's godfather. But that just made me think about it. When you said him and your wife, they butt heads a little bit. I was like, fuck, man. That's like me with my little guy, Jackson. But it just sucks. No, I mean, but also, that goes back to talking about being men. My wife would never say that to me. Cause she knows I'd make a point now of talking to him every other hour. Now, if she ever told me, I don't want you talking to him, bro. Like, I'll tell her fly out like you. There were some. Not. Not to blow out their. Their dirty laundry. But, like, dude, there were a couple times where she just didn't. She wouldn't want him on the phone with me in the house. Like, she wouldn't want him to talk and hang out with his friends, like, when she was around or her daughters were around. So, like, he had to be all hands on deck, but they would wind up all sitting on their phones anyway. So it's like, what are we. What are we doing over here? So one day, short example. One day he. He went out to get breakfast for everybody, and I was on the phone with him. Usually he would call me when he'd go out to get breakfast, because he'd have, like, 20 minutes to just talk and bullshit. So he's getting. Pulling up to the house. I go, you pulling up to the house? He's like, yeah. I go, you're not gonna hang out with me? And he goes. He goes, no, no, no, fuck that. We're good. We're good. So he walks into the house. And as he walks into the house, one of her daughters runs up to him and he just goes, hey, sweetie. He's like, can you grab the bag? He's like, my hands are full. And she goes, well, maybe. And you hear her in the background. She's like, well, maybe if you were off the fucking phone and not talking to Nick, probably you could hold more groceries. And I was just like, okay, I'm exiting on that because that is insane that you're gonna sit there and get talked to like that. That's fucking crazy, bro. I said, you have fun with that. And I'm gonna go and enjoy my peace and quiet in my house. And it's just. It's a sad situation that a lot of people just keep themselves in these relationships with people that they are, without question, not compatible with because more than likely they're just afraid to just be alone and not just have somebody. I'm just going to disagree with you a little bit. Please, please. Just. Because I think a lot of men, especially men especially who are in relationships that they're not happy with are because they don't want the legal ramifications of that. Because everyone talks about equality of the sexes and all that and genders and all that. They're not married men. Well, either way, they have. They have a child in common, right? Well, they did. This is. At this point, they did have a child, and then they wound up having another one. But the first two were hers from different. From different guys. Either way, child in common. When you go to family court, you might as well be married. Like my. I have a brother who thinks he's doing something. Like he's got. Got like a loophole in place because he's got, like three kids with this one chick, but he's not married to her. And I'm like, dude, you understand? You go to family court, you might as well be married to her. This is really just one line. They gotta be, okay, well, he's not married to her, but they got these three kids, so she's gonna get X, Y and Z. Women get favoritism in family court, and that's just a fact. You know, you go in there, you could be the best dad in the world. They're still gonna look at the mother like, okay, but we're gonna try to defer. The mother literally has to be a crackhead and walk into family court cracked out for the judge to go, okay, well, maybe we shouldn't give full custody to the mom. Maybe stagnant crack pipes around the Home isn't the best thing for the kids to growing up with. But then look at what the man's missing and lose. Going to lose. He's going to lose half his paycheck. He's going to lose. If he's got a pension, he's going to lose a portion of his pension. He's going to lose. The man is going to walk into family court in a losing proposition. And that's why a lot of men stay in relationships where they're just not happy and they're like, you know what? I'm unhappy and I don't like going home, but I'm going to lose so much more. That's why you, that's where that term is cheaper to keeper comes from. Because you're like, look at what I'm going to lose. Like, I love my kids, I love my life, but I hate my marriage. And that's what a lot of them. I have friends every day who I do a little psychological counseling with them because they're like, dude, like, I hate going home. I got to go home and face this bitch. And I'm like, like, I get it. Trust me, I understand. My marriage hasn't been perfect. But I don't think any marriage is perfect. No, there's always. It is something that needs to be worked on. Relationships as a whole need to be worked on. You have two people that even if they have the same personality or the same agreement about everything, there's still gonna be friction at times and there's still gonna be disagreements that you have to work through. So I don't think any marriage is ever perfect. But I will agree with you in your original rebuttal that I can definitely understand that to some extent. Especially when he, you know, he's making good money. But he's a, he's a tech at. He's a lead tech at a car dealership. Service wise, a very, very high end one and good one. He's a very, he's very good at what he does. But it's just like I could definitely understand that he does. He's not ready. And then he had a second kid with her. So yeah, now it's just like dog, you're just not. I told him, I was like, bro. He was thinking about, you're stuck. He was thinking about leaving her after the first one. And he. And same thing, same succession happened. It was the craziest shit in the world. I had broken. I was with a girl that I just knew was not the one. And he was complaining this before they had a kid together. He was complaining about his girl. And I'm just like, all right, bro, this is it. Like, I'm break up with mine. You get rid of yours. We're gonna start fresh. I was like, just do. I'm telling you, just do it. He's like, okay. And then three weeks go by and I'm just like, I broke up with mine. I'm just like, what happened? I haven't heard from you. He just goes, oh, she's pregnant. I'm like, oh, it's over for you, bro. And then the same secession happened again. It's like, he can't. During. Right after Covid, like, when it start fizzling out a little bit. He can't stand her there, constantly fighting this constant problem. Blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, all right, bro dip. You only got one son. Now's the chance. Gets quiet again for like three weeks. I go, what happened? He goes, she's pregnant again. I go, bro, can you stop having sex with her without a condom? Like, what is going on? You can't stand her. But, like, here you are just digging a deeper grave. I'm like, I don't understand. So, yeah, you make your own fucking problems at that point. Yeah, listen, listen. All men have been guilty of that at some point. Yeah, like, listen, man, I'm done with her. I'm done. I'm not doing it anymore. And then you see her wearing that sundress, you're like, man, fuck it. All right. Fuck. She wore the sundress. She wore the sundress and it's over. Fuck. All right, all right, let me go. I've only had one slip up like that where I was just like. Afterwards, the car ride home, I just kind of was just like, ah, that wasn't a good one. That wasn't one of Nick's brightest moves. We got a. We got a. We got a band together, brother. We got a band together. I say. I say all men. Well, most men. Excuse me, most men I know have been at that point where you're just like, I shouldn't. I shouldn't do this. But it. But damn it. Damn it. All right, let me just. She wore the low cut dress. Oh, okay. Let me go over there. And then, like I said, you driving home, you're like, I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have done that. No, I'm telling you, man, it was like one of those drive home where every couple minutes I. The music real low. So one every couple of minutes, I just went. I Just kept going like this. Oh man, what the fuck are you doing, bro? Like, come on. And then you get back in a groove, you're like, yeah, but everything's good. And then you go, oh, now we gotta wait a month or two just to see what happens. Yeah, good times, good times. But not learn from our mistakes. Younger men learn from our mistakes. I did, I did want to be respectful of your time. It's an hour and 17 minutes that we're in right now. I know you said, you know, hours, what you wanted to spend, if you could spend a little bit more time. I do. I wanted to dive into. I can do a little bit more. Okay. I just wanted to dive into one more topic just to be sure. I want to be respectful of the rest of your day. I appreciate you hanging out with me. We got to do it again if you're ever down, man. Yeah, no, absolutely. So I found it interesting when you said. Because I'm sure you've dealt with this a lot. Black dude from New York, more right leaning and right wing type of thought process. And then the dude from Alabama. Yeah, he's from Alabama. Alabama, white dude, more left leaning, I guess, whatever. We touch politics every now and then on here, really politics. And at this point, like I'm a very conservative guy. I want government to stay the fuck out of my business. I don't want any of that shit. And I just want to be left alone and live a peaceful, nice life. But the more you see infringement and stepping and stepping, they kind of just push you to start going to one side versus the other. I just find it very interesting especially. And you could speak about it, because I can. I'm a white guy, as a black man, I find that they expect you to just think a specific way. From what I've seen, just as a third party, watching everybody debate and yell at each other. Cuz I really do just sit back and like observe. And I find it very interesting that the country was founded on everybody having their own opinion and being able to believe in what they want to believe in. So why in 2024 is one type of person expected to only think one type of way when there's so many more variables nowadays and so much more information out there for people to make their own decision versus like what they were born to believe that they should? Does that make sense? Yeah. Cause I see it all the time, I'm just like. And then people just start name calling and they start going in on especially listen, black guys, black men, like, they just, they go in on and it's like, why aren't they allowed to think the way they want to think? Just as like a dude who you would think would be more conservative or lean right. He has, he's allowed to lean left when nobody bats an eye. Yeah, but why is it that you. He's champion for it. That's what I'm saying. So like why can't you? Like, it's just, it's so, it's so crazy to me, especially when you're dealing with two parties and one party that specifically is all for people of color and all this. Like, I don't even know what the. I don't even know what they like. Yeah, that's what they usually say online. You know, I'm trying to be somewhat respective, you know, respectful of like how to position it because I don't really talk about it that often. But it's a, it's a topic that is very like intriguing to me because I just don't understand why you're not allowed to form your own opinion. Well, my thing is I kind of red pilled myself the more research I did. You know, when you start looking at like I'll ask people which party was pro slavery and they always say the Republicans. No, Democrats. Which party was actually was literally founded to fight slavery. Oh, the Democrats, the Republicans. And I'm not saying Republicans are all good. They're not, I'm not saying that they're righteous good at all. But when you look at it historically, certain things make sense. Which party was the one that fought to give black people the right to vote? Oh, the Democrats. No, Republicans. Which party had the first black senators or the first black congressmen in this country? The Democrats? Nah, Republicans, man. Like I'll say that to people and then the answer is, oh well, the party switched. Okay, I'll give you $1,000 if you can tell me when the party's switched. Tell me, tell me which, which, which. If there's a switch, then that means that at some point everyone who was Democrat said we're going to return Republican. And everybody who's Republican said, well, we're going to turn Democrat. So if you can tell me exactly when the party switched, I'll give you $1,000 right now. And no one's been able to do it. And I've talked to bona fide historians and they'll point out, they'll cherry pick, they'll be like, well, this person switched at this date and this person switches. Okay, no, but there was a party switched. I'm not Talking about certain Democrats who then turn Republicans. I'm talking about there was a party switch, so tell me when exactly that happened. And none of them can do it. You gotta look at history. You gotta look at facts. People say all the time, oh, you know, I get my facts from you talking to me. I'll get my facts from you. No, don't get your facts from me because I could be wrong. Look it up yourself. I'll give you resources to look at the same resources I looked at. But I encourage everybody to look at their own facts. Do the work for yourself. So the more facts people know, the more people go, you know what? I'm looking at the pattern of government and what they're doing. I'm looking at what's going on in Brazil where they directly censor things. I'm looking at what's going on in the UK where if I, if I put a post on social media, they're. Coming to your house. That could be considered, quote unquote, hate. Speech coming to your house. You're going to get a knock at. Your door and who's, and who's to determine what hates what. What is it? Who's determined? I listen. I could say the word hot dog is now a slur. You told me you weren't going to bring that up on the podcast. You said you weren't going to use that word. That's crazy. No, but I can say, hey, listen. Yeah, it's true though. That guy's a fucking filthy hot dog. Who's to say that's not hate speech in their eyes? It is the all seeing government. Yeah. You know, and hate speech is actually covered under the first amendment. Is it really? Yeah. The only things that aren't covered under the first amendment are things that can directly hurt some people. Saying, fire in the crowded theater where people are going to run out and get trampled. That's like, that's like the. Yeah. Bomb on an airplane. You can't, you know, that is not covered under the first amendment, saying, hey listen, there's this guy, Nikki, I'm going to shoot his ass at this time. That's not covered under the first amendment. But if I, if I say, hey, that guy Zeke is an N word or whatever, it's covered under the first Amendment. Just because it may or may not hurt my feelings, it actually doesn't hurt my feelings. But just because it may or may not hurt someone's feelings, that I can say it. Free speech is allowed to be hurtful. Free speech is allowed to be hateful. It's not allowed to directly endanger someone, but if it's hurtful, oh, well, deal with it, you know, so when I tell people to do their own research, you know, when I tell people to listen to facts, well, I love the debunking is you have these literal white knight saviors on social media who. I get lectured on a daily basis on X and on. On. On Instagram. Those are my two main platforms. I get lectured on a daily basis. Hey, listen, this is what you should be feeling. Oh, you're this. You vote this way, shame on you. Because you should be doing it. I literally get lectured on how I should be voting and thinking and feeling and teaching my daughter and things like that. Like, I get lectured on that daily by white folks. And I'm like, I'm going to think and feel and walk and talk and act the way I want to. Pardon my French, man. Like, that's like slave owner shit. Like, it really is. Yeah, down talking. Down talking to you. Like, yo, this is what you need to do. It's like, no, I do what the fuck I want to do. How about that? I agree. That's what free will is. That's what we all have in this country and in life, we have free will. And I can believe. And if I believe, and if I believed in one thing and I pivot to another belief, that's my ability to use reason and logic as well. So if I once believed in this, and now that doesn't align with me anymore, and now I believe in this. I've transformed my own journey in life. So, like, why would I not be allowed to, like, speak about what I want to speak about now? I tell this story a lot. Like, when I first got out of college, I was all full of fucking piss and vinegar. Like, I thought I was the guy now, you know, and I was educated and I could talk about this. And I remember I had a family reunion with my mom's side of the family. My mom's side of family is from the South. My father's side of the family is from England. And I'm talking to. My great grandfather was there. You know, he's. He's got, you know, rest in peace. He passed away a long time ago. But my great granddad was there. And my great granddad grew up in 1930s North Carolina. Like, he was. He was there when the Klan was, like, something prevalent. Like, you know, he saw people get killed just for being black and nothing happened to them. I think he, you know, he. I think he even saw A lynching or two, you know what I mean? So, you know, you're walking down the street and you just. You see this. So I'm sitting there, I'm thinking, I'm educating people, and I'm talking. I'm talking about how this institution is racist. And I'm beginning to fight back against this. And I'm thinking, I'm putting on a clinic. So my granddad sitting next to me, he put his hand on my hand to kind of stop me, and he said, always be the last person in the room to call something racist. Because if you call everything racist, nothing is racist. But if you don't call everything racist and you use that word when you really need it, it hits more powerfully, you know? And he took his hand off my hand, and he just continued the conversation directed to something else. And I'm sitting there in my feelings, you know, I'm like, who the fuck this guy's gonna tell me? Does he even have a high school education? I'm college educated, you know? And then it hit me. He's experienced more than you'll ever know. He's learned about more than you'll ever know. You read about racism in the Klan in a book. He's actually seen them. He's been afraid for his life. Yeah, he's been afraid for his life. You read about it. You weren't even in the country reading about it. He's actually experienced it. So who are you to tell him? It hit me like a week later. But isn't it crazy how certain words or certain things that you hear from people in the moment, you hear it and you dissect it and you absorb the words that you heard. But then down the line, that's one of those prevalent moments that stuck with you. It's like one of those thumbprint moments in your brain that you'll always remember. That's like him holding your hand, telling you this, and then going back to his conversation like nothing happened. You'll always remember that feeling and what was going on at that specific moment. Yeah. And it's something like, I really wish I had grown up more around him, talking to him. Like I said, my father being who he was, he tried to keep us away from my mom's side of the family. Because that's what narcissists do. They keep you away from people who could possibly have something else to say. Have an impact on you. Yeah, but, you know, between, like, my granddad, like, I'm. I love my granddad to death. He's going to be 92 in January. Blessings. Yeah. So I just want to, you know, just talk to him and absorb all kinds of knowledge from him as much as I can. You ever thought. I know you have a podcast. You ever thought about not necessarily doing an episode with him, but having the recording gear and recording, like, just. Hey, grandpa, what? Do you remember my granddad hates technology. Don't even tell him. Don't even tell him. No, set one up on the set. One up, like over here. I could call my granddad right now. And he hates telephones. Like, he will get me. That will be the shortest podcast episode ever. He's in Florida right now. Yes. You got to visit him. No, in person. Well, the thing is, he. He takes care of my grandmother. My grandmother's got, like, end stage Alzheimer's. She's in bad, bad shape. Yeah, it's tough. She was. She was a fiery. Full of. Full of energy, full of spunk, you know, kind of woman. And, you know, she would love my daughters. My. My daughter is just as sassy. My daughter is just as fiery, but she was full of that. And now she's just a shell of who she was. You know, it's tough, man. Dementia, Alzheimer's, those things, especially at the end. Really, really sad to just see that and people that you love for, you know, your entire life, you know, you're. You've known them your entire life, you see them just not only deteriorate, but you see them not recognize you anymore. Is a tough one. Yeah. No, my grandmother has no idea who I am. But, you know, it doesn't stop me from saying, here, you know, grandma, I love you. Yeah, you know, grandma, you know, hey, how are you? And she'll talk to me, but she has no idea who I am. But she's just like a stranger to her. Yeah, but. But he's determined to hold her hand till the very end. That's amazing. That's that old school love, bro. That's that old school. Like, we are in this together till. Till death do us part. But my mom is frustrated because he moved to Florida to be near my mom, because he finally had to admit, I need help. They lived in Arizona for the longest time, and my granddaddy, just between taking care of the house because they had their house out there between, you know, trying to take care of my grandmother, he finally had to admit, I need help. So he sold his house in Arizona. He moved to Florida to be near my mom so she could help. But even still, like, the nurse will be like, you know, hey, listen, you know, your wife needs X, Y, and Z. And my granddad, being who he is, it was just like, okay. And the nurse was like, what I'm trying to tell you is you need to get someone here. But my granddad's like, no, that's my bride. That's my wife. I'm gonna hold her hand. Whatever she needs, I'm gonna take care of it. And my mom has to talk to him. Like, listen, there are certain medical things you can't do. Yeah. There's certain things you can be able to assist in. My granddad finally just accepted a physical therapist coming in to work with my grandmother. Good. Because she has. She can move from left to right fine. But when it goes right to left, she has to, like, really, like, oh. It'S the motor skill. Yeah, the motor skills. Yeah. She can't do it or just, you know, things like going up the stairs. She can. You know, she has a hard time. You know, she'll look at the stairs, and in her mind, she's trying to work out, how am I going to do this? My granddad would just pull up the stairs. Come on, you know, honey, let's go. You know, he just, you know, that old. That old vibrato, he's like, come on, let's get it. We got this. But the physical therapist is trained how to teach her how to go up the stairs again. So she's kind of starting to get it and understand and same thing with moving left to right and right to left. She's kind of getting it. But, you know, my granddad was just like, oh, you know, honey, let's go. We're gonna go this way. We're gonna go that way. He doesn't. So he had to learn to accept help. Yeah. And, you know, just. He's. He's the type of guy, like, thankfully, I had him growing up where I could see him every now and again, but. Yeah, just. I wish I had more of my family. On my mom's side. I know all about my father's side. They're there. I have some of my father's sides in Texas. They're. They're like, you know, Texas, you know, just rednecks kind of gun toting. No, they're like. They're like Texas, like, kind of like criminals. Like, I really don't. I really don't, like, hang out with. I can't really, you know, and then I got, like, British, like, yachties who, you know, Got a mix, man. Yeah, I got a weird mix on my father's side. My mom's side is all like Southern old school gentry, but my father's side is like Texas criminals and then like Jamaican yachties in England. And, you know, I just, I try to avoid them. Do you know. Do you know Dave center stage? Do you ever heard of Dave center stage? He was a coach in the bodybuilding world, but he was a Long island guy, but more so out east. Very good friends with Dave. Dave came on my podcast, it's got to be a couple years ago at this point, and we had put a clip out because it's very interesting that you brought up the Southern, your granddad actually experiencing the racism and whatnot. And we put a clip up on TikTok about Dave saying similar things with his. I believe it was his father that experienced that. And Dave is half black. He does look a little bit more white than black, but he's half black. And I put that clip up, bro. I got so much hate on that fucking clip. And basically the clip entailed that a lot of people today don't understand what real racism is. They think that there's racism out there, but yeah, okay, it's in pockets. And those racist people are always gonna be racist. So you're trying to change somebody that's never gonna change. But a majority of the population doesn't see it like that. Like, I grew up in New York, like around a lot of Italians. I grew up around a lot of Jamaicans, a lot of Haitians. Like, I'm cool with everybody. It's a melting pot of cultures. I fuck with everybody. If you're a good person and you're black, you're white, you're yellow, you're orange, it doesn't matter to me if we fucks with each other. Like, we're cool with each other. Don't matter to me. And actually we learn a lot from the opposite. Like, everybody's demographic is different, so you learn a lot. I knew when I went to my Puerto Rican friends houses, yo, there was always gonna be rice and beans on the stove and we were gonna be eating good, like plantains and all that. Like, we were good. But, like, there are so many people that try to, like, have this pretend fight with themselves. Like, the world hates me and it's just like, does it? Or did you just meet like one person that was an asshole? I mean, I don't know. But then they get mad because I talk about it because I'm a white dude. But that's what they. Basically, the conversation was on that clip. Nothing. But first off, it Got flagged and they made me take it down. But it started getting. Which is a disgrace, bro. It started getting so much. So much like, rolling momentum of people just hating. Look at these two fucking white guys talking about racism, this and that. I'm like, bro, he's half black. He's talking about. He's talking about his dad's experiences. What are you talking about? His dad is black. Like, full. What are we doing? Why can't we have a conversation instead of just breaking down and just like, a yelling and screaming match of, like, who's more oppressed and I'm more mad at the other person? And you've never experienced anything. It's like, all right, I'm okay to admit that I haven't experienced that type of stuff that you may have, but once again, is it one instance? Is it multiple instances? Like, how did you get into these altercations? Well, usually when I'm having this kind of discussion against people who are convinced that things are just as bad now or worse than they were back in the 1950s, I ask them, well, what rights are you missing? What rights are you still fighting for? Let me know. We'll go there. I'll protest with you. What rights are you still fighting for? And then they'll be like, well, because, you know, I tried to get a house loan one time and the bank denied me. Okay, well, did they deny you because you have a 500 credit score, or did they deny you because you're black? And if they denied you because you're black, what proof do you have of that? Let's take a look at it. Legally, what proof do you have that they denied you because you're black? Well, because I walked in there and obviously, because. No, it's not obviously anything. What's out there that said, you know. But I have a friend who he described to me, like, this one time, there's a story of St. George, the dragon slayer. And this guy St. George was the greatest dragon slayer out there. He went out there and he killed every dragon out there. So now he was irrelevant. Now he doesn't have any more dragons to slay, so now he's got to look for dragons to slay. So now everything became a dragon. That windmill is broken. That's a dragon. I gotta go slay that dragon. You know, a sheep is missing. That's a dragon. I gotta go slay that dragon. And it's the same thing. Nowadays, people want racism to be this thing so badly that they're looking for anything they can to call it Racist. I do that on my Instagram page all the time. I saw something where it said, healthy eating is racist. How the. How the fuck. What? What was the logic? Speaking a certain way is racist. What? How? What? You know, maybe it's because I grew up with more. I grew up with a mother who impressed upon me, you know, how to speak and how to speak well. And I had, you know, a sort of UK based learning experience. But how is speaking properly racist? Oh, you know, physical fitness is racist. Saw that one. How the fuck. Like, where are you getting this from? What kind of mental gymnastics do you have to do in order to get from that point A to that point B? But during the George Floyd riots, you saw it where people were like, I need to be here and march for these people. And they were more concerned with having their phone out and recording themselves marching. They would only take about 10 steps, but they could say, hey, listen, I'm here. I'm marching for George Floyd. And then they will go and do something else. You know, I've got people who. I face more racism from white liberals, especially white female liberals, than I do from anybody else, especially if they have a black kid. I remember there's a chick who actually goes to Bev's or went to Bev's. I know she's got an inter. She's got a biracial son with a black man. And she actually called me a house Negro during a discussion I had on somebody else's page. I went, she's got balls. Because, you know. Well, no. Well, it's like what Chelsea Handler did, you know, with 50 Cent. I have to remind him he's black. I've always said I'll face the most racism from white female liberals who have either dated a bunch of black dudes or have a biracial son. Because now they figure, I got a pass. I'm good. Chelsea handler. I've sucked 20 black dicks, so I'm good. I got a racism. This is my racism pass right here. I have racism. Sorry for whoever's. I don't mean that you really lifted the kid, but this is my racism pass right here. I've sucked 20 black dicks. I'm good. Oh, I have a black kid. Look, look, he's right here. I swear. That's my past. I swear. So now I can call you. Because you're a black conservatarian. I can call you a house Negro. But I'm good. I'm good. Look, this is it. This is it. I swear. There was a kid. I Went to college with a white Jewish kid who felt like he could say stuff to me. And I was like, dude, I knew you back in college. I knew when I made a joke about moving into your Jewish neighborhood in Bayside, you flipped out. You flipped the fuck out because you, like. No, no, the fuck you aren't. You're not. No. When I was dating someone that he liked and she was. She was white, you were the one. He was the one who made. Who was trying to make jokes about, oh, you know, the two. The two of you were together. You're gonna have an Oreo, kid. That. That was. That was you. And now here we are, 20 years later. You're overcompensating for the fact that you had all that racism back in the day. Well, because you went to a BLM meeting. But because. Because now you go online and you. Virtue signal and you think that you can, you know, because you've. You've fought for black people. In your opinion. Because I fought for black people. Now I'm allowed to say this to you. No, you're not. I mean, Clarence Thomas did something. Oh, when the Dobbs decision came down, what was that? That was. It took abortion away from it being a federal thing, back to state's rights, which is. Which is. It was always supposed to be a state's rights issue, but when it went down to that, Clarence Thomas didn't even. He didn't write the decision. He didn't do anything. He just voted to bring it back to the states. That's literally all he did. Which is what they're supposed to do. They're just supposed to vote and say yes or no. You saw more racism from white liberals towards Clarence Thomas, who had. Who. All he did was vote. They were calling him the N word with a hard R. They were. They were going off on him. They didn't. They didn't talk about anybody else. They didn't talk about the guy who actually wrote the decision. They didn't talk about anybody. They were going after him because now this is their chance to use all their racism passes. Oh, listen, I've been to 20 BLM. Rallies, but I've been. I've been such an activist. And now. Now I have it. Here's my past. I'm going to use that N word that I have now. Clarence Thomas, he, like, there. That's how they. But anyone who's black, who's ever voted right wing, who's conservative, libertarian, as I call myself a conservatarian, we've all experienced that from white Liberal activists. Hodge twins post about it all the time. Yeah, I used to follow them when they were doing all the fasting and the gym guys back years and years ago. And I re looked at their page on X because I saw them posting a lot on there. And I saw they had the beards and everything. And I just saw the amount of stuff they retweeted of people just being fucking nasty. And it's like, yeah, I get it every day. What amazes me is for a person that claims to be so involved with being so proactive for the black community and this and that, whether a black person believes in X or a black person believes in Y, it's still right. You're trying to be an activist for them. So what do you care if they don't have the same opinions as you? But because they don't have the same opinion as you, all of a sudden you want to attack them. And now it doesn't matter anymore. Right. My old neighbor, who is super liberal, she made a point of buying my daughter half, like, black dolls. And like, I'm like, she. My daughter don't care. She don't. She'll play with anything. She's a little. She doesn't look at it like she's 10. She's gonna be 10. She don't care. Yeah, she don't care. She'll play with anything. Her favorite. Her favorite music group right now is a J pop band. So, like, she. And to her, it's the same thing as Taylor Swift. It's the same thing as whatever else she listens to. She don't care. She don't give a fuck. Yeah, it's what you're trying to pre instill in them. Like, you should believe in. You should be using the black dolls. You should be doing this, you should be doing that. It's like, yo, just let the kids be kids, yo. Yeah, why are you making a point of buying her black? Like, literally, like, she'll buy her Christmas gifts and there'll be three dolls and all of them will be black. And I'm like, okay. Like, she don't. She don't give a. Like, why. Why are you making a point? Why are you more concerned about this than she is? Throw a white one in there or throw an Asian one. Why don't we get the whole set? Oh, white, White, dude. Get the whole set. It's like, she don't get like, but why are you making a point of this? Like, what's. But to her. They want to pre marinate them about what Life is actually. Yeah, but to her, she's helping. She's helping. I'm buying her black doll so she can have my daughter's actually my wife's complexion. And my wife is a light olive skinned Puerto Rican woman. Like what? Like, if I don't care and my daughter doesn't care, why do you care? They feel like they need to care. Yeah, they feel like, they feel like this is their thing. Unfortunately, they get their whole identity looped into like the belief system of one single party or one single idea or ideology and whatnot. And then that's their identity. That's people in my family. Excuse me, it's people in my family, man. I love them to death. But like some of the things that they speak about, I'm just like, guys, you really don't hang out with other people of like, other cultures. You really don't. Like, you're very sheltered. Like you think you do, but you don't. And like, you know, by believing in one thing and screaming at the top of the mountain about what that belief is, you believe that you're doing something, but you're not. Like, just the best thing that you can do is just treat everybody like they're people. Like, just be, like I said, be cool with everybody. Truth be told, I don't care if you're a liberal, I don't care if you're a Republican, if you're a good person and you're not like a raging asshole and loud and anytime a topic comes up and maybe we don't have an agreement, you're not screaming in my face and then storming out by the time we're done with the conversation. I mean, as long as you're not doing that, you're okay to have difference of opinions. That's the point of America and this country. That's why so many people leave their countries to come here. Whether doing it legally, illegally, what have you. That's why so many people try to flee here. Because in other countries you speak out against the general population or general means of like, what it is, you're getting your head chopped off or you're getting stoned to death in a town square, you're able to have these conversations, but instead of having these conversations, a lot of people just storm off or they scream or they use nasty words. And especially when they get back into a corner of like, well, what you're saying doesn't make sense and it doesn't actually factually that's not correct. Let me inform you about this. And then you can go do your own research and just see, they don't even want to hear it. And this sometimes can play on both sides. Really can. Yeah, it can. It just could be both sides. So it's just like, we got to get back to, like, stop labeling everything. Like, I talk to my mom about this all the time. Like, labeling specific things as, like, as. This is all it needs to be. This is what it has to be. It's like, just let civilization just be. I feel like we were good for a while. I feel like we were. I could be wrong. Like, I was young in the early 2000s, late 90s, but I feel like now people are just so fucking bored all day, and they. Once again, we go back to technology, social media, podcasts, whatnot, you know? And I'm sure people will watch this and think that I'm just. I'm out here just trying to, like. I'm not trying to do anything. Well, everybody has to be an activist nowadays, too. My thing is, I just want to have good conversations with good people. At the end of the day, I don't care what skin color. I don't care what. Dude, they could be a fucking alien from a different planet. Don't matter to me. Yo, if we're chilling, drinking, like, energy drinks and hanging out coffee, whatnot, we're cool. But, like, we've gone. There's been a point of, like, not no return, but there's been a point where, like, just everybody wants to, like, be the activist. They want to be the loud voice for the unspoken people and this and that. It's just like, yo, we're all. You're seeing things as, like, he's black, he's white, he's Asian. Stop looking at it like that. We're people, bro. Like, we're all people at the end of the day. We have different pigmentation and different features, but we're all fucking people at the end of the day. So we have to stop looking at, like, oh, well, this person's this. So we have to, like, give more attention to them. No, we don't. We just have to treat everybody the same. We really do. Well, look at Instagram. How many people have activists in their bio? Oh, God, none that I follow. Thank fucking God. What are you an activist for? You know? Yeah, I'm an activist for eating more vegetables and less meat because, fuck me. It's like, okay, whatever, bro. Well, I laughed my ass off. Like, Queers for Palestine. You don't even know what would happen if you went over there, bro. I got A lot of gay friends. Why don't you? Why don't you so do. I was like, why don't you go over there? Yeah, just let us know how that goes, bro. Let us know. Just get off the plane and see how far you get. Like, you've never actually seen what goes on. Yeah. Like, you talk to anyone who's actually been over there, they're like, dude, queers for power. What the fuck? Yeah. Do you understand? You wouldn't even make it off the plane. Yeah. You know, but they don't want to. They don't want to under. They don't want to have that thought process. They want to be rallying behind some type of a cause because we go. It really stems down to purpose in life. Yeah. A lot of these people don't have purpose. They believe that this is their purpose, to be the champion of some type of a rights issue. Or make up one if there isn't actually one. I'm telling you, bro, we're bored. There's a lot of people that are fucking bored all day. And they're not out there getting their hands dirty. Like, working, creating a family, like, bettering themselves, doing jujitsu, going to the gym, watching what they eat. Like, being in charge of their own self and bettering themselves, which in turn will make a better society. As opposed to, like, now. They want to just like, go out there and point fingers at, well, you're not doing the right thing. And you're not doing the right thing. It's like, bro, you haven't held yourself accountable in 15 years. Who are you kidding? No people. I talk to people who are anti cop. Like, I hate. I hate cops. And I'm like, dude, let me tell you something, okay? Let me tell you. If there was an actual purge that went on. Oh, fuck. Do you know how many people would shit themselves? Like, you're talking about maybe less than 1% of the population who. If there was an actual Purge, if the government actually said, you know what? Everybody have fun. From 7pm to 7am Shit. We're going to disable 911. No cops. All crime is legal. We're going to have an actual bona fide purge dog. It's over. Okay? So. So good luck and let's see how it works out for you. It's over. Do you know how many people would shit themselves out of pure

fear? Yeah. The second 7: 1:46:49

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7: 1:46:52

01pm hit. There were people who would ugly cry in their houses for the next 12 hours. And any little sound that happened Their pipes could make a noise. What was that? What was that? I mean, like, that's how. That's how you might hate cops and think that because you've watched 12 episodes of Law and Order or 12 seasons, whatever the fuck they're up to, you might think that because. Or you've watched a couple movies now, and now you're on some gorilla biscuits, like, oh, yeah, I could do that job, you know, I wish somebody would walk up to me, they would beat your ass, and they would take everything from you, or you'd get shot and they'd take everything from you. So I talk to people who hate cops. Like, you know what? You live in this little fantasy world where you could do so much, but if there were an actual Purge and you had no one to call, especially the fact I know you don't have any guns in your house, so you're just a sitting target. Oh, it's over, dude. I'm going to go in your house with my guns. I'm going to take all your toilet paper and everything. Especially during the. During the pandemic when they bought up. All the I got shit, bro. I see you as a. As a potential resource. That was a Bill Burr joke, actually. That was a Bill Burr joke. He's just like. I'm just. At this point, he's like, everyone was just saying, don't get a gun. Don't get a gun. He's like, but at this point, if I don't even. If I don't even have one or know how to use one, and the world goes to shit. I'm just. I'm just stockpiling for the toughest guy on the block. It's like, I'm just. I'm just sitting here just getting his resources ready. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see you as a potential resource. All of us in the prepper world are like, hey, listen, you keep an eye on which neighbors have all their stuff out there. And because they're a potential resource if I need it, I'm gonna go in your house and take everything. If it's end of times type shit, bro. Unless there are, like, little groups and pockets of people, like family and whatnot that actually band together. Yo, it's every man, woman, child for themselves. And you got to make sure that you and yours are good. Yeah, I'm going to end on this because I do want to. We're coming up at almost 2 now, because we could just keep talking, me and you. This is fucking awesome. I definitely want to have you in again, but on the topic of the cop hating, it's. I was, I. She listens to this. She's going to be tight. But I'm not saying who it is. I was with this. I was with this chick and, you know, we had a little fun, whatever. Next morning I was just talking to her and like, there were a bunch of cops outside my house that day. And I literally. I literally got sent the picture to. From my neighbor who's a marine. He hit me up. He's like, yo, Nick, I just wanna make sure you're good. Is everything okay? Blah, blah, blah. And I said, oh, shit. I had no idea. Like, I didn't even hear them. They were arresting this dude in the back of my house. Whatever. What have you? Didn't even notice. Anyway, I sent it to her. I was like, yo, this was. This craziness was going on outside. She goes off on like a cop hating rant. And I was like, whoa, whoa. Going off. And I was just like, what do you. I said, can I ask you something? Like, if something happens, like, who are you calling? Like, to protect you? She's like, oh, the Mafia? I go, okay, let me tell you this. And she's not Italian either. I was like, let me tell you this. The mafia ain't what it is anymore, sweetheart. For somebody that had friends, family, acquaintances that went to college, it's not what you think it is. So they're not coming to, like protect you and this and that. Like, that's not how it works. And she just went off on this whole big tirade. Anything that, Anything bad that happens to cops, they deserve it. I was just like, yo, sweetheart. I said, I got a lot of family and friends that are in law enforcement. Ex military. I know they don't like ex military. Veterans. Veterans. I gotta get out of the habit of saying that. But anyway, I was just like, listen, you're entitled to your opinion. You want to believe what you want to believe, that's cool. I said, But I just. She's like, oh, I'm glad you're agreeing with me. I said, oh, no, no, no, no, that's not good. No, no, no, it's not good. Explicit. I do not agree with you at all. I said, you're entitled to your opinion. Agreeing to disagree. Yeah, I'm just going to. I just. I hit people with. Okay. When they, like, going off and off and off, I just go, okay. And that makes them usually more mad, which I like, because I'm not answering you now, but like, I just said okay. She's like, I'm glad you agree with me. I said no, no, no, I don't agree with you. Do I think that there are bad apples that are in there? Without question, there are bad people. But there are bad people everywhere in life. And the unfortunate side of it is they make their way into different sectors. Just like there are bad people in government, in the Fed, in police, in officer work. There are bad fishermen, there are bad everything. It just is what it is. You're gonna get a mixture of people whenever you have a lot of people in different areas and whatnot. But you can't let one bad person ruin an entire force of people just because it's not how it works. Because the people that I know, the cops that I'm friends with, and it's not just because I'm friends with them, they wanna do that job. Cause they wanna help people. They want to put their self on the line to keep the community safe. And it's a tough fucking job. At the end of the day, it's a tough job. I hear about this shit all the time. And listen, there's a lot of people that you know, oh, dude from high school had nothing going for him, so he just became a cop. It's like, okay, he became a cop, but that's still some serious shit when it comes down to it. Traffic stops are scary. Busting in homes for raids and whatnot, for warrants and judges ordering all this stuff, that is some scary shit. And until the day that you walk up to a car, as somebody that claims to hate this entire division of work and people, until you have had to put your fingerprints on the back of a car before you walk up to the car and the windows are blacked out and they're opening it by a crack and then a handgun comes out the window pointed at you. Until you've experienced that or potentially been in a situation similar to it, you can't say that you hate these people just because you can't. It's a stressful fucking job, bro. It's scary. I couldn't imagine doing it. I really couldn't. I trained at Blackwater for a while back when they were doing training. Where's that? Blackwater. They were in Virginia. By train with them. They were in Virginia. They're basically like a military slash law enforcement training facility. Like, it's basically like, like a concentrated class. And I did their car stop training. Like I signed up for a lot of their programs. I, I encourage every cop who, if you have the time, you have the money, go get external training from someone else. Get trained by a seal. Get trained by a green Beret. Get trained by a cop who's got 20, 30 years on the job, who has seen a lot, you know, who's worked in the busy area and who's seen a lot. But I went and trained at Blackwater, and I took their car stop training, their felony car stop training. And all I can say is, by the time I left there, I went, wow, there's. I. I never looked at car stops the same way again. So if I do a car stop, I'm. I'm so cautious. Yeah. And if the windows are blacked out. Listen, I need those windows to come down before I approach the car just because I see what's happening. And people have said to me before, oh, why are you treating me like a criminal? Because I don't know you. Yeah, I don't know you, bro. You might have family on the job, and you love cops. You might have just robbed a liquor store. And now I'm pulling you over, and you're like, I'm not going back. You might hate cops. And now you're just looking for a cop to just take down. I don't know who you are. You might be an old grandmother who's just borrowing your son's car. It wouldn't hurt her fly. We still gotta go into the interaction the same way. I don't know who you are, so if I'm cautious while approaching you, it's because I want to survive this car stop. You wanna survive this car stop. You know, we have the same concerns. So I've tried to speak to people about that before, and some of them are receptive to it. I've done training before where I'm like, all right, listen. Approach my car and see what happens. And I've taken them out, and they're like, wow, I had no idea. Like, what? You know, so listen. I mean, just until you've been in someone's shoes, you have no idea what they're going through. Every car stop. On the topic of car stops, every car stop I've ever been in has been the same interaction for me where I treat it like they're nervous about coming up to my car. Yeah. I don't care if they see a white hand or what I like. I'm. I'm treating every single interaction like they're very nervous about me, and I want them to be at ease no matter what. So my biggest thing is every single car stop. Because I have tinted windows, man. Every single car stop. All the windows down in the car, all the windows down, especially at night, all the lights on in the interior, one hand out the window, keys on the roof, other hand on the steering wheel. And anything that I'm asked to do, whether it's. Get documentation out, what have you, if it's not currently in front of me to give to the officer, hey, it's in my glove box or it's in my center console. Do you mind if I reach for it? Is it okay? And every single time. Thank you. I appreciate you asking. Yeah. I have to treat this like they're gonna be on defense no matter what. And I respect that. And I want them to not feel in danger when I'm doing this shit, because it doesn't matter. It could. Their life, my life could change in a flash. Yeah. And you have to. And listen, you're gonna get. I've gotten asshole cops, but I've kept my fucking mouth shut and I've dealt with it. They gave me a ticket, they did whatever. Okay. I'll deal with it on the back end. But they get to go on their merry way, and I don't escalate the situation any further than it needs to be. Exactly. We're done. So to me, it's common sense, but unfortunately, sometimes sense ain't so common. Big Zeke, two hours coming up on. Man, I gotta get you out of here. You said originally an hour or an hour over. Dude, I really do appreciate you coming by, hanging out. I'd love for you to come back, dive a little deeper into some of the other stuff that we were talking about prior. Absolutely. I would love for you to talk about gun safety and just some of the. Some tips and tricks that you can give people that would maybe help them, aid them in being a little bit more open to learning about them and whatnot. That just practical use cases that can really change somebody's life in a life or death situation as well. But you are the shit. I'm very happy that we got to sit down today. If you can plug yourself, like, literally tell them how they can follow you, what platforms, whatnot, and if you do training, how they can get in touch with you for training in the area, if you do. I don't know if you do. Yeah, yeah, no, just. Zeke. Arkham Z E E K A R K h a M1 word on both Instagram and X. X is my bigger platform. And yeah, just. If anybody wants training, anybody wants to just talk. I do. I definitely. I definitely want to get some training with you and just learn a little bit more and get a little bit more tactical, you know, and just like I think it. Every bit of training helps every, every single piece of knowledge that you can gain. And just in general, it helps whether you believe it or not or understand it or not. And hopefully you never have to use that training, but if you do, it's like jiu jitsu for me. It's like I roll almost every night now, so it's like, God forbid that situation comes up. I'm less likely to shut down in that flight or fight mode. I'm more likely to be able to stay calm and assess the situation in a clear thought. Yeah, well, it's why the military is. It's why operators train hundreds of times over and over again. Because your muscle memory just. It kicks in without you even thinking about it. Yep. You know, so that's just how we roll. You're the man, dude. I think this is episode 115. I'm usually fucked up when I say the episode titles, like the numbers and everything like that, but episode 115 of Risology with my man Zeke. I appreciate you. As I've said, anybody that listen, you liked the episode, you hated it. It is what it is. We just realized people having real ass conversations. Please, like share. Subscribe for the channel. It helps me to grow and continue sitting down with amazing humans like Zeke. On that note, I appreciate everybody for fucking with us. But for now, peace. Thank you. Thank you.