JANUARY HAS BEEN A FUCKIN SHIT SHOW!

Reviewing the past few weeks: Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Keith Porter, Killed by ICE,  Mark Ruffalo at the Golden Globes.

Disclaimer: These tips are for informational purposes based on immigrant rights resources and do not constitute legal advice.

TOPIC 1: Know your rights! Mayor Mamdani video: Do Not Open Your Door: If ICE agents come to your home, you do not have to open the door unless they have a warrant signed by a judge (not an administrative warrant) and passed under the door. Exercise the Right to Remain Silent: You do not have to answer questions about your birth place or immigration status. State, "I am exercising my right to remain silent". Do Not Sign Anything: Do not sign any documents without speaking to a lawyer first. Refuse Search: If agents do not have a signed warrant, you can refuse to let them in. Show "Red Cards": You can display a "Know Your Rights" (Red Card) to express your rights if you do not feel comfortable speaking.

TOPIC 2: Safety Precautions and Preparedness: Create a Safety Plan: Identify emergency contacts, prepare child care documents, and keep important papers (passports, birth certificates) in a safe, accessible place. Document the Interaction: If it is safe to do so, record the interaction on your phone. Do Not Run or Lie: Stay calm, do not run or fight, and do not provide false documents or information. If You Are Detained: You have the right to a lawyer. Do not discuss your case with anyone but your attorney.

TOPIC 3: What to Do in Specific Scenarios: Stopped on the Street: Ask if you are free to leave. If yes, walk away calmly. Stopped in a Vehicle: Pull over, turn on the interior light, show your license and registration, and keep your hands visible. If Arrested: Remain silent and contact an immigration attorney immediately.

TOPIC 4: Reminder for the POC / LGBTQ+ Communities: We are sitting this out.
/ Allow our non melanin friends, families and neighbors to continue to do the work. / Support them when and where ever you can, safely! / Shop local whenever you can!

NOW YOU TELL ME: Have you seen the killings? How have you been affected? Do you even care… No judgements.

UNTIL NEXT TIME: If you made it this far… drop a FIST UP emoji in the comments. If you’re watching : remember like and subscribe. If you’re listening : feel free to rate but download is even better. It just helps grow the pod.

BONUS: January 12 Ordered Books! January 14 Nat Org House Day. January 15 National Bagel Day. January 17 Daniel Radcliffe aka Harry Potter. January 18 Renée Alexander aka Maxine, Living Single. January 26 Lego Crocks ~ Drop February 16. January 26 Dog Attack, MTA, Metro North, LIRR  Rules. January 27 NYC snow report ~ Washington Hts & Inwood win!

—————— Mike Dreyden Figueroa on Social Media —————— 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

January was a fucking shit show. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the pod. I'm Mike Draden Figueroa. This is Unscripted and Unrehearsed, where I give you my take on things that I've experienced, seen, and witnessed in the past month. I had originally planned on the premiere episode for this season to be about heated rivalry, you know. Um how it inspired me, uh how it uh affected my journey as an actor and a creator, um how it helped me to work more on the reboot of Last Call, and uh to to still be hopeful for the kind of love that these this story portrays. But first. I'm sorry if I'm a little squinty and you can't see my eyes. I damaged my eyes. Basically, what happened was um I was using Lumify. For those of you who don't know, Lumify is apparently an eye drop that makes the whites, the the scaras of your eyes, the whites, brighter, more luminous. I wanted to get new headshots and I wanted my eyes because they're usually red and irritated from pollution and dry air. This is not a daily thing to do. And I would, after every shower, I was do I a couple drops in each eye. So since the uh instructions are microscopic and you need a microscope to read them, I didn't see the proper way to use them. So I burned my eyes. On top of that, it's been very, very cold, so the cold air is drying out my eyes, and then the heat system at work when it's on is very, very dry and it's burning and drying out my eyes. So I can barely see, and I'm squinting all the times, and it really hurts a lot. So sorry. I can wear my glasses, but not for very long times. I can wear my contacts, but not for very long. Uh so everything's blurry, but thanks for being here. Uh Catherine O'Hara's death hit me like of course, that's how we're gonna end January. Why the fuck not? You know. I I found myself between um, is her death more important than the others recently, like Renee Good and um Alex uh Predi and Keith Porter. Um they're different deaths, and I I understand that. Um Catherine O'Hara, of course, was in it. Um the first time I became aware of her was in Betelgeuse, and she was fucking amazing in Beetlejuice, and I became a fan. And then I found her in all those kooky shows like Best in Show and um uh the other one that that she was in, I just just left me. Um which was mostly improvised, and you know, as an actor, you you hope your improvisational skills are sharp to keep up with people, and they they taught that by just watching this movie, they taught it, and so uh it broke my heart. Um it was not on my bingo card for January, it's not what I expected January to be ending like. That made no sense. I did not expect that that's how January was gonna end. Um, I don't know if this was sudden or you know, she was battling or dealing with some kind of health issue, but it was just the worst fucking news. And my heart goes out to her family and friends and everybody else in the industry who knew her and worked with her and called her a mom because she was a funny mom. Um Renee Good's death, I watched it like I saw it happen live when I would someone was broadcasting and happened to catch their live, and I'm like, oh, what's this? And all of that went down. What pissed me off the most, aside from everything else that's why it happened, is the ridiculous spin calling these people domestic terrorists, and that she used her car as a weapon and all this nonsense. And I clearly that's not what happened. Um, what made me proud was the investigators who quit the investigation into this when they were told to focus on Renee Good's wife and her peripheral people. I was like, you know what? Fucking yeah, man. Fucking say I quit. That's not no. They have not they they had nothing to do with that. Um and then focusing the the investigation on her widow and everybody else. Instead of the people who actually did that. And what killed me the m the the fact that he the dude that shot her called her a fucking bitch. I don't think he even realized that he just killed her because I'm sure she was dead before the car hit the other car and stopped. None of these people are shielded. And I hope they realize that. Because a lot of people during World War II who were saying I was just following orders. Uh, Alex Predi's death, too. That that was crazy the way they try to spin that. We all watched it. We all watched it. What happened the day before, two days before, a week before, that is inconsequential to what happened in that moment because he did nothing in that moment to warrant what they did. And I'm glad there were multiple cameras and multiple angles because the guy who disarmed him and took his weapon, his legally allowed weapon from him while he was face down on the ground. The video shows that person set off around and screamed gun, gun. Or the other way around. But he set off around. You can see the pop and the smoke in slow motion. Had that not happened, I don't think they would have shot him. And I hope they find out who that person was. And of course, Keith Porter, I believe it was a month before a few weeks before in California, if I'm not mistaken. I don't have details, but I'm like, people of color, we've we've dealt with this a lot. I'm grow I'm fortunate and privileged enough that I don't right away attract a lot of attention. I'm I mean, but it could happen because I could pass for anything. You know, I could pass for Middle Eastern depending on what I'm wearing. I pass for Latino because I'm part Latino. I could pass for anything other than white. But sometimes I just go under the radar, especially when I'm not wearing a hat and people see my yarmulk up, or I'm targeted because of that. Um I'm lucky in that sense, but I will always keep my eye out and point out if I'm in that situation, I will pull out my phone and and start recording. But luckily here in New York City, the we haven't really heard of these instances um or seen them. And I think that's pretty much uh because of whatever um deal Adams made with the with the government and now Mom Donnie, whatever discussions they had when he went to visit the turd in office. Uh, but they are signed as a chick. I f I wanted to find her her Instagram. She's uh been documenting and posting where they're located, and of course, they're in mostly people of color neighborhoods in the fucking South Bronx. I mean in Woodside, that's in Queens. I mean, in in uh East New York, that's in Brooklyn, you know, mostly uh Caribbean people and black people and Latino people. Like what what else are you gonna find there? You don't see these people on the upper west side, on the upper east side. You know, uh why why aren't you like staking out these mansions where they hire illegal house day laborers or illegal people, well not illegal, but uh folks who are not documented as domestics. Because you know they won't put up with that shit. Um so I'm gonna have a link below to a Guardian article, uh, the eight people that were killed by ICE in 2026 so far, and hopefully there won't be any more. But um now that they have uh Holman taking over in Minneapolis, um, he's more dangerous than the guy that they demoted. And any scale down is bullshit, just like the mayor of that city said, I'll believe it when I see it. Um also there's a link below to an interview that Mark Ruffalo did at the Golden Globes Red Carpet, which blew me away. I I it it I was so proud of him. The link is below, you'll see it, you'll get to read it. Uh, but he was like, I'm I'm not happy. I'm I'm like here, I'm doing this, but my head is not here, basically. Um and he talked about stuff that's going on. And there's rumors that Disney dropped him. So we may he may not be the Hulk anymore. The other demonic uh company. The happiest place on earth is not not so happy. Side note, there was a uh there are reports to this day, reports of people who go to the happiest place on earth on the East Coast and the West Coast, and they show out. They act like they have no common sense, they have no common courtesy, they don't have empathy, they just act like they're the only they're all the main character in that movie. And they they it's ridiculous. Aside from being the expensive, you just dropped a pretty penny on going on these things, so why are you gonna act stupid? So uh this disclaimer, I'm gonna read it to you. These tips are for informational purposes only on immigrant rights resources and do not constitute legal advice. And I'm saying that because I forgot to say this before. Um I did say it before. Um, like I said, I wanted to start this off about heated rivalry and all that fun stuff. Um, but I think this is important for I think everything changes from like minute to minute. So when all of these notes were written over over a couple weeks while I was putting together this this episode. Um, but it's worth reminding for people who are following me and don't know or didn't catch the news. Um know your ranks. Um, there's a link below uh where Mayor Mamdani posted that wonderful video of him on how to decipher between um a an order by signed by a judge and then just what these people are are shoving in your face saying this is illegal. Um so watch watch the the video. It's really cool, it's well done, and it's very informative. Um side note, I I haven't been carrying it with me, but um a lot of people are now carrying their passports with them. Don't take the real passport, just take a color copy, just go spend the three or five bucks, whatever it is, make a color copy and keep it on you. Um and your driver's license if it's uh enhanced because you know it'll have the American flag on it. Um if you don't have an enhanced license, you should buy now because I know the deadline passed. Um just a quick note if you really want to get through all that hassle real quick, go to the DMV at Queen's College. It's out of the way, but there's hardly anybody there. Now that everybody knows, it'll probably be crazy. But just go. Um thanks to my mom for that because I was dealing with um Harlem and it's so busy and so many people, it's crazy. Uh, you're there for too long. But go to the right across the street from Queen's College. Um, so do not open your door. Um, if ICE agents come to your home, you do not have to open the door unless they have a warrant signed by a judge, not an administrative warrant. That's the other one that they they try to shove in your face, and have them pass it under the door. That is the requirement. You want me to open the door? Show me the the judge signed warrant, slide it under the door, and open the door. But as we've seen, they are knocking down the doors. So remember that your Second Amendment rights still exist. I know in New York City a lot of people um a lot of people have guns. They do. I have messages who's calling me. Um a lot of people have guns, especially in the hood. And when I say the hood, you know why. So I so be aware of that. Um, exercise your right to remain silent. This is so hard to do because they will say shit to you to provoke you and do shit. Like you do not have to answer any questions about your uh birthplace, immigration status. Uh you can simply say, I'm exact I'm exercising my right to remain silent. The same thing goes for regular cops, too. You don't have to say a word. You know, they're talking to you, just stay quiet. Especially after they read you your Miranda rights. Even when they say, Do you understand these rights that I've read to you, you don't have to answer them. That's the way it works. Don't sign anything. For the love of God. Even at work, anywhere, don't sign anything. Do not sign any documents without speaking to a lawyer first. They can't make you sign anything. We don't have to sign anything. If they say they can say whatever they want. Cops are trained to lie to you, to confuse you, to distract you. And half these idiots aren't even trained cops. Don't sign anything. Just sign this and we'll have we'll get you out of here in five minutes to lie. Just repeat lawyer if you have to speak. Just keep saying lawyer. I want a lawyer. You can repeat that. Uh refuse a search too. Uh if agents do not have uh assigned warrant, they can't uh uh you can refuse to let them search you. Say I I refuse a search. You can't search me, don't search me, don't touch me. Uh and showing red cards. Now you can display uh a red card that says uh know your rights, that means that you have this information on you. And express your rights if you feel comfortable speaking. They're listed on I have I don't have a link for that. I don't I've never seen this card before. But um, if you have it, get it. Um me personally, I will just remain silent and keep asking for a lawyer and let that be that. Um yeah. So safety precautions uh and preparedness. Um I think that in these moments where you need to, you know, either bug out quick or what have you, sometimes it doesn't, you know, in the moment you're you know you're reacting. But if you have a plan in place, it it will probably help you a little bit. Um so create a safety plan, identify emergency contacts, write those numbers down because if your phone is seized or taken from you, etc. Also take off any biometrics so this way they can't just hold it up to your face and open up your phone. Uh they may have to plug it in or do whatever, but um if I'm not mistaken, you can set up a feature on your iPhone that if any foreign plug is put in, it will shut off shut down your phone, I believe. I also know that if they put in the code more than once wrong, it'll shut down your phone for 24 hours or some shit like that. Um but yeah, take off the biometrics. I know it's hard, convenience, move fast, but you it's it's worth remembering, and it'll help your memory cells because I've noticed this. Back in the 80s, maybe as long as the 90s, I could recite phone numbers. I knew phone numbers off the top of my head. It was rare that I didn't know a phone number. Then with autodial, I can't remember a goddamn number. And I've been trying to commit some phone numbers to memory. Um, I would go back to that. Or if you can keep them written down on a piece of paper in your wallet or in your purse or what have you, the most important ones. Lawyer, mom, dad, sister, brother, etc., best friend, write those numbers down. Um, identify your emergency contacts, prepare prepare child care documents, uh, keep those important papers, passports, birth certificates in a safe place. Mine are in a uh fireproof um container thingy in my dresser drawer. Uh social security card, brand new one. Back when we had to get all these new documents for enhanced uh driver's licenses, I went through the very long, tedious process of getting a new birth certificate, getting a new Social Security card, uh, and renewing my passport. So I have all of that over there. Um also I would make copies and leave them with a trusted friend or family member. So in case they need to come get you, you take a proof who you are. That is major, at least more than one person. Um keep a set of keys with them too, in case they take all your shit and you don't get it back. I would do that as well. Um document the interaction if you can. Um if it's safe and you can do it, just record the interactions with your phone or what have you, or like have like one of those little mini body cam thingies. Um I have a device, I'm not gonna show it to you, but sometimes I have a device that records video and audio. I carry on me sometimes. Um but yeah, get one of those. Um what was the other thing I wanted to mention with preparedness? Oh, yeah, uh spare clothes or what have you, if you can leave them somewhere like uh toilet trees and all that, like at work or at a friend's house or what have you, because we may not be able to you know brush your teeth, or you know, if if you're a woman, have hygiene products, all that stuff. Uh do not run or lie. Now, I know you tell a brother and you see something coming, you know, you don't ask questions. Our brothers and sisters, we just take off and like don't we'll talk about it later. You see people running, just go. Um, but if they're coming at you, don't run or lie. Um, especially lying, because if you're caught in a lie, then they have reason to detain you, obviously. But um, stay calm, don't run or lie, don't fight. Um, and don't provide any false documentation or information because it's just gonna bite you in the ass later on. And if you are detained, uh you have the right of to a lawyer again. Uh do not discuss your case with anyone but your attorney. So you don't know who's locked up, face in there, um, fake inmates in there, you know. People, hey, we'll let you out if you've got us information on this one, you know, or stuff like that happens. Or cops who pretend, you know, they're in there too and they're acting out. The the loudest person in the bunch is the one that's the fake, the quietest person in the bunch is the fake. Just don't speak to anybody but your lawyer. Also, if you have to defend yourself in these situations, defend yourself, please, honestly. Um, and so some specific scenarios, what you can do. Um, so if you stopped on the street, uh the information is um ask if you are free to leave. And if yes, just walk away calmly. Uh, if you're stopped in a vehicle and you pulled over, uh turn on the interior light, day or night, just turn on the light, um, show your license and your registration, and uh keep your hands on the on the keep your hands visible, whether it's on the wheel or on the dashboard or like this or like this. Uh open, obviously, so they don't think you have something in your hands. Um and if you're arrested, again, remain silent, contact any uh an immigration attorney or your attorney immediately. I think you'd even set up your phone, say, you know, I don't want to say because my phone will turn on, but you know, who call my lawyer. So again, disclaimer. These tips are for informational purposes only, uh, based on immigrant rights resources, and do not constitute legal advice. I'm not a lawyer. Uh shout out to um that lawyer dude that I follow who I thought was gay but is not gay, and he's fucking dreamy and he does uh employment law. I forgot his name.

unknown 21:59

He's

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Doing it too out there. Alright. So reminder for the POC LGBTQ communities. That's us. Uh combination thereof. We're sitting this out. We are sitting this out. A lot of instigation is to get people of color out there to, you know, wild out and do shit. And we are all sitting this out. And every time I think about this, I keep thinking of like um Compton and all these places where there's a lot of huge black communities, huge Mexican communities, a lot of gangs. We all know this here in Long Island and in Brooklyn and in Queens and everywhere. These agents are not going to these communities because I think they're aware if they do this, something really drastic will happen. And I think they've made an understanding. We're not getting involved in this. Let non-melanin people handle this. Um yeah. Let them do it. They've been doing it so far. And of course, I and I don't want to say this, but it's a fact. I'm sorry. The minute The minute white women, white little girls, get in trouble, that's when all hell breaks loose and people want answers. I don't like the fact, but hopefully. With uh white people being hurt as well, the government has to change. Um It's just a fact, and I'm sorry, but I would I I don't know if I'm deluded enough to believe that to have hope, but I have to. Because the way I grew up was all of this is supposed to be supposedly in the past, and we got we're growing past this, and every step forward was progress. But then once Reagan got into office, it became a you know three-card Monty game. Uh that's my perception. So I'm getting emotional when I'm not making sense. I'm trying to stick to the scripts here, but I'm upset, as many people are. We are upset. But don't get involved. We're not getting involved. We've done it before. We've marched, we've yelled, we've gotten shot, we've gotten killed, we've gotten arrested. I think other people should really take up the reins here. And those protests I just saw on the news this morning. Uh so many people out in Minneapolis, and uh I was like, whoa. I mean, it seemed like every person in Minneapolis was on the street in sub-zero weather. They were out there. And I'm like, wow. Oh, something just came to mind. Lindsey Graham was coming out of a meeting. Excuse me. One second. This is great. And you can see that his his sudden maleness just was like he was coming out, and a reporter or whatever said, Lindsay, why don't you just come out as gay and maybe you'll stop getting blackmailed and I spit out my drink? Because the way you look, you can see he was like, his eye went like this. He was like, and he kept going. He was so mad. That was anyway. If you see that. Hey, let me know that you saw that because it was just priceless. It's true. Bitch, come out already. You're you're there are less days ahead of you, honey. There's just just come out. Heated rivalry. Look at look at look at heated rivalry. Come out, girl. Be the be be the congregation. Come on. Barney Frank cannot be the only one that was like, I don't give a fuck, motherfuckers. I'm gay. What? Okay. So uh that levity. Um, I hope it uh made you feel okay. But um, I need to know from you now. You know, you you tell me now. You know how how are you feeling? How how did how did you feel seeing all of this? Um, I want to know. We need to talk to each other about this stuff. We cannot internalize. I internalize a lot. Um, I don't express a lot, and it's part of the reason why I started doing this podcast, is because I need to express these things because they're in my head and I feel distracted and I can't be functioning in my creativity and my art and my pursuits if I don't get it out of my head. Um and I do use a lot of these emotions, I make note of them for work as well. So, how how how did it affect you? How what did you think when you saw that? I really do want to know. Please write to me, put it in the comments. Um, I want to know how it affected you. You know, how did you feel when you saw it, and then how did it affect you? Um, I don't know if those two different things, but I know that I know when I'm feeling something or when I'm like affected by something. Does that make sense? I don't know. Or do you even care? I hold no judgment if you say, I don't give a fuck. It's not my problem. I have no judgment, but I would like to know. Because your your feeling on that aspect is important and valid as well. So I'm proud of myself. I kept this under 30 minutes. Uh so until next time, if you made it this far, drop a fist up emoji in whatever color melanin you are. Or if you don't have any melanin, fist up, our brothers and sisters. Um yeah, if you're watching, please remember like, follow, share. If you got any value in this, I really hope you did. I appreciate it. Um please let me know that you did. And uh if you're listening to this on the pod, just you know, five stars, please. It it really helps with getting me up the ladder. And uh we did really well the first time around. And I say we is just me and the kids, because you know, some mostly I think I gotta put them more because they got a lot of attention. Uh, people liked and I appreciated it. So it helps me stay in the ladder. So until next time, thanks for watching. Be safe. I love you. Later.