A Vietnam Podcast: Stories of Vietnam

Catching up with JK Hobson | S3 E5

April 03, 2020 Niall Mackay Season 3 Episode 5
A Vietnam Podcast: Stories of Vietnam
Catching up with JK Hobson | S3 E5
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Show Notes Transcript

This was recorded via Skype from quarantine, you may have to turn the volume up.

For no other real reason than I haven't spoken to Jay in nearly a month and is one of my favourite people to talk to, I call up JK Hobson to have a chat about the state of the world today, life on the outside and how he is coping with quarantine. 

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Theme music composed by Lewis Wright.
Main Cover Art designed by Niall Mackay and Le Nguyen.
Episode art designed by Niall Mackay.

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spk_1:   0:00
way. Welcome to the special quarantine season. How the next guest up was the foot Ever guessed on seven million takes on the first of a repeat guest on seven bait. Seven million bakes on. I haven't smoked him in over a month. I don't want to catch up with him and have a chat because I miss talking to him. So let welcome J. K. Hobson. How are you?

spk_0:   0:36
You know what a good man. Um, just in quarantine. Uh, not really Quarantine. Just actually chilling. Um, yeah, I'm here in my apartment. Oh, my God. I'm looking out the window at the minimal amount of traffic. It's drawn by, but your motorbikes driving by my window and, uh, it's pretty Chill the skies looking pretty clear because there's not a lot of Ah, I guess there's not a lot of pollution these days, So could be worse. Could be a lot worse. Yeah,

spk_1:   1:13
it is an added benefit, isn't it? I'll look at the cue, and I'm used to seem like 100 and 50 and don't go out without a mask. And that was so green and the skies blue them thio about a mask. But that's true. That's true. Uses for a very different reason. Um, so you wanna explain to us what today is Friday The third of April? Um, I'm a day 14 of quarantines for 14 days here, which has gone by surprisingly fast. We've just had a second covert test today. So as soon as we get the all clear on the second test and will be allowed to go, which is doubtful that will be ready for tomorrow's will open on Sunday will be able to get him. We're gonna come back to a very different please. When we left side going on the March 10th Life was, ah, pretty much normal. And then now we're gonna come back into a very different scenarios were going to tell me I'm still figuring out what life's gonna be like. And for anyone listening around the world, what is life like and stay on right now.

spk_0:   2:16
Well, um, it's really quiet. The government has asked that people don't leave their homes unless they absolutely need to need to means, like, you know, going out to get food. Um, they have limited public meetings. In other words, you're not supposed to meet people out in public. Uh, Thio, two people at a time. You're gonna go out, meet somebody, make sure your meeting on Lee one person, and they want us to obey, like social. This key thing rules which airs, you know, make sure you're standing. Ah, meter apart are two meters apart around it from anybody you're talking to right now. I'm looking at four people walking across the street. They are all wearing masks, but they're standing right next to each other. So, um, I was

spk_1:   3:09
in the basement. Get everyone?

spk_0:   3:12
Yeah, yeah. Um, I think I think that because Vietnam was so ahead of the curve, you know, Vietnam closed the border to China. I forget when that was it might be You

spk_1:   3:28
went into my tea and your is in January,

spk_0:   3:31
right? Yeah. And then we had the Tet holiday, which lasted until the end of January. And I remember I had two classes that weekend, right, which is, like, I guess, the first weekend of February. And then that was it. Public schools were closed, so I think if I'm estimating correctly, although we have the Tet holiday, I don't even know if public schools opened after the Tet holiday, right? Like swallowing. All right? Yeah. So, in effect, public schools have been closed since the middle of January. Right? Um, that's very slowly. Yeah. Yeah. That's, like 2/2 months already, right? I'm actually shit. Yeah, Yeah, over two months. Right? Um, almost three months. Jesus Christ. Um, a lot of people have been teaching online like so, fortunately for me, that company that I work for is an English teacher. They found a way to sort of transition the classes so that I can work on line now. Although I have way less work than I did. You know, when I had regular classes, um, so people that scraping by, but okay, so we'll get to that in a minute. But the other things they did, like slowly, they started implementing different rules. Like at a certain point, I guess it was the beginning of March or maybe the second week of March. They said that all bars and clubs close they deemed unnecessary, right? So then you still have restaurants open. And then about a week

spk_1:   5:15
and a

spk_0:   5:15
half ago, they said, Okay, all restaurants that seat more than 30 people should remain close or not, or just not seeing anybody. You can send stuff to g o. You can. You can order stuff to take away, But you can't sit at the restaurant. And then that became all restaurants feeding more than 10 people should remain closed business. So right now you have some restaurant open everybody's doing. Take away. Everybody's doing grab, um, some and grabs our local rideshare company. Um, I've even heard that some So they have, ah, declaration of health. But you can feel that fill out online. And I've heard that some grab drivers will ask to see your declaration of health, which is basically fill it out. It's like, Well, where is the last place he traveled? Have you had a fever? You know, basically giving your word that you haven't been around anyone who has a Corona virus and you haven't developed symptoms of Corona virus of your own.

spk_1:   6:20
Yeah, so Yeah, that's right. I have to shoot. I don't

spk_0:   6:24
know. Right. Um, so but because Vietnam has been so ahead of the curve, like again, like you're seeing news and in the U. S. You know, people. I mean people. People are still going out you know, I've seen I saw I saw megachurches like 550 people in this mega church praying that Corona buyers will go away. I'm like, I got a better idea. I'm not Meet up with 550 people and saying like one of those zombie movies where there's like, Oh, there's one zombie in the crowd of people But then that person bite somebody in that first bite somebody. And next thing you know, you got a whole cove in 19 horde piling out of the megachurch.

spk_1:   7:06
Where did you see in your hometown of New York? They had they brought in a naval ship toe comedy patients. Well, and I didn't have cool. Did, like, patient. And everyone flocked out to go and see this naval ship. Yeah,

spk_0:   7:21
that was That was that was very dump. To be fair, I don't think any of those were native New Yorkers. I don't think native New Yorkers those people they don't really Oh, they're not really people. Um, yeah, I did see that. That was that. That's I mean, it's I mean, it's a total shit show over there. It's not like I stopped counting at 40,000 cases close to 300 people. Did you know that was That was maybe two days ago. You know, I haven't checked latest numbers, but, I mean, just the sheer density of New York, you know, And it's like, you know, and you can ask people that quarantine, you can ask people to stay in their homes. But, you know, not everybody has the luxury. I'm a I'm a single guy, you know? So I can sit here in my apartment alone again, definitely expendable. My time alone anyway, you know? But some people live with families and, you know, and, you know, in large buildings, that's another thing is Ah, few of the large buildings here in Saigon. There was a case where us there's a it's kind of notorious year in Saigon. Now, where this one bar Didn't they use the loophole, get out of the early closing regulation out of the closing ruling? Because they had a restaurant license. So they said, Well, technically, since we have this, we serve food, which is, like, you know, french fries, buffalo wings, bar food or whatever. They could stay open, right? So they stay it open for a ST Patty's Day celebration. And, of course, everybody's got a drink on ST Patty's Day, right? So a bunch of people went out to drink, and it turned out that one person who was in attendance was a pilot just flown in from overseas. And he wasn't exhibiting symptoms yet. And I think something like 17 cases immediately started from that. And now we're up to Last time I checked yesterday was 222 cases, you know, 75 of them have recovered, but there's still 222 and counting, obviously. So some of the people that were at that bar at that time, um, we're also diagnosed with Corona virus. They're tested positive, and they lived in huge buildings like like, you know, like called Apartment Building. And they immediately quarantined the entire apartment building like no engine outs, you know, So they're really being hard core about it. You know, I would say that this is probably in an epidemic like this. Um, Vietnam's is not only well prepared, but the government can enforce the kind of control that they see fit, You know, for example, quarantining the whole building like it would be really difficult to pull something like that off in the United States.

spk_1:   10:18
Well, you imagine, right? I mean, the land

spk_0:   10:21
of freedom, you know, get the freedom to go. Go to a megachurch you want while there's a you know ah, pandemic, Right? So I think that's part of the reason why you know, they're having such a hard time getting hold of it. And also just people just not listening, not staying home

spk_1:   10:37
way we took yesterday. We were just talking today about Vietnam. Learned a lot from solves because they were. They were impacted by that, and they've taken those lessons on board. And I think that's what we're seeing with these reactions in Vietnam is lending those lessons and getting things done quickly balls through yet because it has the authority to do it and the population will acquiesce to that. All right, we're almost in a fortunate position, but I know when you see America like, you know, obviously people distrust the government for right or wrong reasons, whatever they are. And you know there's a reason not to be 100% trustful. But that's a problem, right? Like we've had she really governments for so long in American UK that people that so little trust that a time like this when you really need to trust the people in Charles, it's completely eroded. And then you also have someone in charge who is completely untrustworthy as well. Yeah, watching the developments in America right now, you're just like you probably seen is where you've seen that the official clips of Trump being like it's just the flu and then, like another clip of him, too. You know, some people are saying that it's just the flu, but it's not just the flu, it's worse than that. And it's you with the person seeing Thio, the desert flu like

spk_0:   11:52
and then and then he then he's like it was The other thing he said was, He's like, Yeah, well, you know, things were said, you know, But we're moving on. I'm like he says. He says he is about the future. He's not about like, looking at so basically he doesn't. He doesn't want to come out and say that he was wrong. So it's kind of like when somebody does something egregious and you're like, you know, he did something like two days ago, they Why would you do that? You know. Why did you kick my dog? That was two days ago. Can we just move on like this? I can't do anything about that, right. Let's just, like, pick it up from here, right? And that's what he's trying to change the narrative and and that's yet. And so there's a reason not to trust, you know, the standing, you know, Executive Branch. You know, But there are people that he has on his cabinet. That guy named Fulci, the The Cheers. Right? And that guy, you know, I'm pretty sure the reason he has he's in the position. That is that that he's in, that he probably doesn't challenge Trump to his face. Come on. It couldn't be that wrong, right? It would be like it be like being a friend of Michael Jackson's would be, like, eight. Like you. You think you might want to get all these kids out of your house You could like No, you're out of here. You know, my friend, Get out of here. You know, I mean, because you know somebody that was telling him that, you know?

spk_1:   13:14
Yeah. You know, you mentioned that Folke we were watching being stuck in quarantine last week. Have you seen those ads on YouTube come up from master class? Or I don't know if you've watched any of those episodes. It's, you know, we have an expert speaker gives a master class on a different subject, whether it's still retailing or different things. And so, ah, roomie anesthesia has an account, and we watched one from an FBI negotiator and really, really interesting tournament negotiation, negotiation techniques and tone of voice hat takes and lovable. And one of the tips that he gave was, If you're a negotiation negotiating table with, like a keep with people like Move passing on, you got the minute impasse and talking. The main person negotiating, he's like you should be looking at the other people's reactions in the room because then you really start to figure if he's saying is true or not, he put a deal on the table, But you see the other guy kind of went or react or whatever. Then you begin to understand if he's telling the truth on or what you're really seeing other people, and I was like, That's exactly what you do with a Trump Press conference What you should do with any press conferences watching other people because I don't know how many times have you seen somebody up on the podium beside Trump? And he says something and you watch like John Kelly's reaction or cheese reaction and they're just like, Wait, what? Yeah, yeah.

spk_0:   14:38
Who was the guy who was the astronaut? I forget Is it was it was it Buzz Aldrin? But he was likely nothing. But like he was, you know, I think Trump was like signing some some bills. Maybe Thio allocate more money and ask for a sum like that. But he's just talking and just like, Oh, my God, just, you know, it's like watching the office. You know what I mean? It's like Michael says some crazy shit and everybody and nobody can say anything, you know? I mean, you could just see their reaction, You know, everybody's just held hostage by this moron. You

spk_1:   15:08
think Alan? Yeah. I love that show up, like, Exactly. Wouldn't play nobody questions that we think. Then the camping rejected something like, Really? Yeah. Yeah, And guess

spk_0:   15:18
what? We all work in the mailroom, right? We don't even have access to this person. We just We just work in the mailroom, right? With Patrice O'Neal and Craig Anderson. Um, but this is another thing, actually. Just getting back to Vietnam for a second. There's something that I learned, which was that Ah, so so Vietnam closed, the bigger that they closed aboard, a gent said to China. And in late January. But then Vietnam has this this policy, which it enacts in cases of usually natural disasters like floods and typhoons like especially in like the central, where, like flooding is. You know, it's just it's just crazy, like you can see like Ice Livin Quay and in the rainy season, in a way like you, like you'll see, like literally people will have their bikes on boats and like like walking them, walking their bikes over. He's like, Very I mean, you think the two floods, you think how the influence is like nothing like that. People are like chest deep in water so that a policy that they call the four on the spot policy right and they used this to handle of the pandemic right and you can look up what this means later, but it's for on the spot includes leadership on the spot. Human resource is on the spot means and materials on the spot and logistics on the spot. So basically like they're they're they're facing it full on. They're facing it, you know, from from Jump Street. You know it again. This is Ah, you know, I think this is again part of the reason why they've been able to get such a handle on it over here. And, uh, yeah, and over there it's still it's still a debate. I mean, if you look online, I'm still having a debate with people as to whether I had one guy argued me in all seriousness. You said, Oh, you know, Well, they're just saying all these people died, but I don't know what anybody who died. Yeah, I know anybody who died. That's his reasoning. He's saying, Everybody's freaking out. Everybody's freaking out for no reason, you know, you know. But did you die though, you know?

spk_1:   17:25
I mean, you people make these arguments before, right? Like I don't know that's running because I have not seen it round or I haven't been to the moon. So I don't know if we went to the moon. It's like, Well, at some point, you've got to trust something, right?

spk_0:   17:40
Yeah, yeah. Yet trust experts, you're the experts, you know? Do you think? Do you think like everybody who who is a scientist goes back and running the experiments for every single thing that they you know, that people have learned up until that point? No. Science is like, Yes, it's to a degree. You're sitting on the shoulders of giants, and that's one way that, you know, people use that to the kind of frown upon science. But there's agreed upon collective reality Brighton and And if you want to challenge that, you can. But you have to prove it. You don't just by saying, if you just say well, you know, you don't know that that's not the same. Is proving the opposite is true. So in other words, if I tell you Neil, you can't prove that the Earth is round. That is not a rational argument for the Earth being flat, you know, I'm saying yes, and that's the grounds of their standing on. You know these guys. We're still waiting for them to find the end of it. You know

spk_1:   18:43
on this is gonna be a big problem in the U S. Like what? You're seeing people. If you're we're at a stage right now, but it's obviously and I'm And that's the issue in the U. S. New York's grown zero. I just We just read today that a party there's nobody in New York who doesn't know someone who's sick, which then counters the argument of the person you're talking to. The probably lived. I don't know where they live, maybe somewhere ruining that argument. This doesn't work because you go to New York, don't they? Well knew somewhere, Ray, right? It was only what less than two cases of Kuldip you know, someone that tight butt over. He means world way, does he? But if you've got America right now that people still can't agree on climate change, and things like this are still such partisan issues, what worries me for America is what you've just pointed out is, how are they gonna agree on this, cause the even short on the worst time to think it was a travel or delete your yesterday? Or was it Seth Miles showing Sean Hannity again? Just flip flops his position. He goes from 12 weeks ago calling it like a Hawks and what? No, And then now he's like nobody takes as more seriously than me. And it's like, Dude, choose a side like, No, it's just you and into obviously, people watch that and and that filters through. So if it becomes real Partizan and you have people not believing science, Um, I think that's what's gonna be a big problem for America.

spk_0:   19:59
Yeah, yeah, I mean, I mean, we're talking about this before, you know. The thing is, if you had hokey ideas 30 years ago, right then you you would just have to sit there with your hokey ass ideas and live in your apartment with a tinfoil hat on or whatever you know. But now you have an Internet, and you can build ah, hokey ass website on whatever your dumb ass idea is right. And you get enough people to agree with that dumb ass idea, it can. It can, uh, you know, it could be propagated, you know, in that. And that's what's happening, you know? And so you get people who some people just are are against science because they just don't understand it and rather than like actually trying to, you know, trying to see what all this stuff it's science, you know, uh, promotes these ideas because they've been proven to be true. That's a test. Science works. You have an idea. Science works because you try to disprove something, you know, like the reason they cannot hurt his round. It's combined trying to disprove that the rope was early. Even if you're trying to prove it right, you have to try to disprove it in order to prove it. You can't disprove it. Then it turns out to be true. But yeah, but we're not. We're not there yet with trust in science. And there's a very a ce faras the climate change thing. You know, there's a there's a monetary, you know there's There's an economic incentive towards a lot of these politicians denying climate change, right, because in all of a sudden you know the what's gonna happen? Tol lobbyist, What's gonna happen? All of these industries, all this money, it turns out that human beings are responsible for climate change and it has to do with the 02 emissions. Right then these companies gonna have to do something different or they're gonna happen, not exist. And, well, how's that gonna affect the economy? So these so, like the oil companies don't disagree. If you look at scientists of work for oil companies, they don't disagree that that it's causing climate change, right? The scientists don't. But when they lobby the politicians, the politicians can pretend to disagree, even though they might totally believe it. But it doesn't again. It doesn't benefit them economically. Thio to agree with the climate science. So they go and propagate this bullshit idea to broke people that have nothing to gain economically from a denial of climate and everything else to lose, you know, And and then all of a sudden, there you go there. You have an idea. Now you have just distrust in science. And just who are these scientists? Oh, they think they're so smart with their science, right? And next thing you know, when something really like this comes along and all of a sudden there's this, you know, there's this ingrained distrust and people don't want to fucking listen. They want to go, They want to go to a megachurch. Meanwhile, then ask one of these asked one of these, uh, these priests one. These pastors, whatever the hell who supposedly has healing hands? I asked them to go to one of those Coronas virus hospitals, right? With no mask on and no gloves. Right. And go heal up. I bet you I bet you anything they won't set foot in one of those places. Yeah. Yeah. So we're just We're just gonna die from stupid ideas.

spk_1:   23:11
Well, you know, the thing is, I think it's, um police said this, people somewhere on the podcast where I used to be a massive conspiracy if you strike him back, like, 12 years ago, remember? Under but 2000 and probably for a couple of years, Believed everything I saw on YouTube was like, I'm never gonna vaccinate my Children because that seemed like one YouTube video Annoying, Not even close to having kids. But I was already Yeah, that's terrible. There's mercury and, you know, and believed everything I read and then obviously, um, got a little bit wiser. Overtime didn't change overnight, but I remember kind of one of the big step changes was I went to work for a science institute. So I'm not scientist Provident Fund raising for the charity on I I spoke to on the scientists. Look, you know, I read all this stuff. No. I have seen all this stuff about an IV access and acne vaccinations. What do you think about that? And she was just like, It's an insult to science. She's like to think that the scientists there aren't trying to help people. She's together. Maybe scientists are trying to make money more than anything. But she's like veils, Good people out there every day working to cure cancer, which is what we were doing. This institute cure arthritis. I cure allergies, those people out there working every single day for, like, mixed the new money. There's not money and scientists, and science is not many rich test, you know what I mean? They're out there trying to make the world about me. She's like, I want to cure cancer. That's my cool enough, I'm gonna mean. And so then hear from the scientists. And then when you start to realize, you know, and I used to believe in all that, all the scientists are in order, you know? What do you want to call it the deep stay or the Rothschilds or they're all true. You know they're there for the money. And then when you start to actually like, look by that quite loose arguments like these scientists are soo disconnected. The award for different results institutes universities around the world. Very few of them are working for a massive pharmaceutical companies and the ones that are just trying to tweak bloody ibuprofen so we can sail under a new name like they're not trying to poison your Children, that the whole thing is well about, like because of cancer in situ as well was the people say this was a hood is a common when I'm sure you've held right that they don't want to cure cancer because the treatment is more profitable. They want people to keep getting cancer so they can keep treatment on again. A lamps just through working a science institute. It couldn't be further from the truth. The truth is, if someone was to find a cure for cancer, it would be the most profitable thing ever because you know what's in the booth? Um, sugar, old age. We're just getting a little chilly. It we're getting him alive being alive, you know, like close, tense. Literally.

spk_0:   25:47
People don't get people, don't get cancer. That's one day,

spk_1:   25:50
Yeah, let's just part of the aging process is right. You get a single person gets cancer every day and your body just use with an energy. Get older. Eventually, one of those cancerous said it was gonna turn into a tumor on whether it's benign or malignant or no. And I maybe start speaking at a time here because, as I said, I'm not saying this, but from what I remember from what I learned, this is what I remember to be the case. So the fact is it the fact to see that they want they don't want a cure cancer, because treating it's more profitable is absolutely ludicrous. And again, when I spoke to a real scientist who's investigating was investigated and brain cancer and have an amazing results, she's like It's an insult to me and two other scientists to claim that we don't want to cure cancer. So, yeah, I said it was over for me. But like a step by step change and in talking to real people, realizing how the reward works, you like there's no grand conspiracy like I was just no on. I still know people. There were anti vaxxers You do wanna vaccinated Children on. I get it. Like I understand it because at that point of view, for a short time, But I'm not the one, like, I think, injuries that measles are going up months ago on out. We need a vaccine for this flu. Nobody's rushing out to try and find a new essential oil that's gonna cure Corona virus just like you see in the pre start running into the hospital with a healing hands. We know that signs is gonna solve this. So the fact that people can still be again signs because they don't understand it, that it's, uh, very frustrating, Right? Well, we'll

spk_0:   27:20
see when when they come up with the vaccine with Corona virus. That's when the rubber is gonna hit the road. We're gonna see about these anti vax of people and see what's gonna see what's gonna happen to them. You know, I mean, like, because first of all, you're gonna have to stand by your, you know, stand by your original position because in modern day society, as governed by social media. The worst thing that you could be is wrong. That's, like, the worst thing. If somebody like you're actually proven wrong, I have to say that you're wrong. Like you talking about Sean Hannity that he, uh you know, one minute he's saying it's a hoax, and then he doesn't even acknowledge the back. He's wrong. And then the next two weeks later, he's talking about nobody's Maur. Seriously, about this tone of yours than I am right is like, No, everybody wants to be wrong. So these people are gonna, you know, we'll see these people are still clutching onto their their ideas, you know? But, you know, something you were saying got me thinking about, like, science for profit. You know, I bet this profitable scientists are, you know, I bet they are, or some of the police is like those 3% of the scientists that are against climate change,

spk_1:   28:24
coolest ends to gambling that their frickin loaded you get, like oil

spk_0:   28:30
companies like, Oh, hey, we saw about your research. We want to give you some more money for your research. You know, that's disproven climate change, you know, Um, but, uh, yeah, I mean, we don't have this. This is literally no other way out of. You know, we have to trust people better experts in the subject or become an expert yourself. But But being an expert, it does not include just fishing around on the goddamn Internet run. Because you mean you could find anything, Whatever your agenda is, Whatever your position is on anything, you could find someone to back it up on the Internet. Yes, we're talking about, you know, come up before, like the You know, the best thing about the Internet is that you know, anybody with any idea, you know, has as a forum, but which they can share, you know, whatever their idea is, whatever their thoughts off, the worst thing about the Internet is anyone with an idea can share their idea on this media and share with your socks off. Yeah, so, you know, so we just gotta be smarter. And I'm just on my leg giving us regular ass everyday people like, you know, at least at least five times a day. I see somebody on my Facebook feed, which means most of these people I know personally, like hosting something that is so easily proven false. Like if you see something you see and you're like, Wow, I so agree with that. That's see, that's just what I was thinking, right? It's something. It's just, like, kind of mind blowingly true for you, right? Just do one more search just to make sure just google it, you know? I mean, I make sure that Snopes isn't the first thing that comes up it, you know, But people, people get so excited about about that kind of stuff. So I think now I mean, the first thing on this agenda is figuring out this pandemic and, you know, how do you know

spk_1:   30:22
how to keep

spk_0:   30:23
people from getting it? How to slow down the rate of contraction so that you know, so that the hospitals are overworking and fucking should talk to the doctor about this? You should you that should be one of your shows talking to an annual doctor that has to work in one of these places because they I'm sure if I one of those people, I would want to put these people's heads to a frickin wall. You know, I mean cause because because these these ideas. These ideas, you know, isolated, you know, are annoying. But in the context of what's going on, like propagating the idea that the Corona viruses a flu or it's our hopes, it

spk_1:   31:03
is dangerous. Oh, by the way, that's a good show. Yeah, I'm just going to see if there's any doctor listening who wantto who want to Come on. Maybe I'll have a wee bit of a Celtic and see if there's anyone that anyone I know that may want to come on because there would be interesting because I think is, well, war. I think with the Internet more you're talking about, anyone can see what they want. Ah, lot of its kind of harmless, right? Like you're just reading on the Internet, your formula June views, even like in Montana. But me being a bit anti vaccine. But then, as soon as more than more more people believe in it, no, we see the things like more more any vaccines and arise and measles and things like this. And then no. When it comes to a sexual situation like this that this is no, where is it actually dangerous? It's not just online. It's not just people chatting in a four room. It's not just a couple of people going. Yeah, I believe in that. Like, And like you said, they don't wanna admit they're wrong. The position is entrenched. And then now we have this global pandemic and all these experts are saying one thing they're like, Well, I'm not sure I believe that it's Yeah,

spk_0:   32:02
yeah, we're gonna figure out they're gonna figure out, like how far freedom of speech should go causes the whole thing where, you know, I don't know if you've ever heard of this, but this is like a classic argument for for the First Amendment that's used in America. First Amendment being freedom of speech, right? It's like, OK, so this freedom of speech is that mean you have the freedom to yell fire in a crowded theater? This like the classic, you know, And the answer is no, because you're putting people's lives in danger, right? So case in point, there was a guy, and this wasn't even that dangerous. But there was a guy here in Saigon local Vietnamese do, and he was posting things on Facebook that, like, be prepared everyone. The government is about to enforce a lock down and it starts tonight at midnight. Mind you, a friend of mine, someone that you probably know called me on the same day. Call me on the phone, right? Like how many times you just call somebody on the phone these days, right? And he calls me on. It's happening today, J. Make sure you're not on the street. After six o'clock, they're gonna start grabbing foreigners and they start putting him in quarantine camps. You better stay inside and they're coming after Americans. He was like, on some that really paranoid frantic. And I'll tell you what, It freaked me out for about five minutes, and so I called her mother and we talked about it. We're like, Yeah, he's chicken And and, of course, nothing like that happened. They did enforce another level. Off quarantine was like, Hey, just don't go out. You know, we were talking about before. Don't go out if you don't have to just go get food. But the guy who originally made this post was actually jailed and fined Republic ing publishing misinformation, which you know, I mean, is it so there's a I mean, there's an argument to be made whether that was good or not, but the interesting that it happens,

spk_1:   33:56
you know, these

spk_0:   33:57
people got here publishing misinformation. You know, in the States that you have to be fooled, you get ahold, crack dealers out. People sold weed, right?

spk_1:   34:08
But it's like it's a faint light because we have this discussion that you're talking capacity in the room on. What we're seeing was right. So right now it seems like that's a good thing because he's publishing misinformation. But then that's you have to. Then I'll be OK. But damningly 100% believe, or the government seeing whatever country is to the fact to the point of that, we agreed, issued punish this person for publishing information that they disagree with. That's a dangerous path because then it will start to give governments that paddle up to honey someone publishing stuff that we disagree with its real dangerous precedent. And that's why America is when they all say to the skill of, you know, you can almost hear whatever and do what you want because they have that freedom of government and Baba and the other one thing that we've mentioned a couple of times is all these governments know how these emergency power's locked her. What's so forth but doing with those powers now? I don't think that will be the case. Having governments would lift these powers. I do still have trust in them. But again, it's just does definitely Ah worry there, I think.

spk_0:   35:15
Yeah, yeah, I don't I don't know. I don't know if I trust any government with having, like, the limited amount of power. I mean, you don't really have much of a choice, right? But I don't know if I have. Definitely. Trump is the last president I would wanna have in charge when they and start enforcing martial look right. But to go back to the original police said, Then jail the guy because they disagreed with What is it like you can't like there's not. This is a kind of esoteric thing. There's no such thing as disagreeing with a fact, right? So, like I say, there's such thing as dogs and you say you disagree, like that's that's It's not it's not debatable, like whether the so the government. It's something the government disagreed with the guy, uh, posting that they were gonna enforce martial law, whatever. It just wasn't true. Yeah, it's like you can't understand. I'm saying it's like it's a fun and I'm having trouble articulating right now, you know, But But, you know, again, if I tell you two parts hydrogen oxygen makes water and you go, I disagree. This is not it's not a debatable point. You're saying I

spk_1:   36:36
don't know the way a polish have hotel axes, so, you know, maybe there's a hotel in love or I don't know. Okay, you've got to have an alternative conversation, right? Uh huh. Yourself. You remember that one when Kelly and Cone we came over hotel? Just make sure you knew that I wasn't

spk_0:   37:04
at no nothing that I e yeah, yeah. WeII used to call it bullshit because there's a fax, uh, can't say bullshit on TV, so

spk_1:   37:25
Oh, this is the beauty of the thing that we can just make a podcast from the balcony of my quarantine via the beauty of escape. And we can just put it out there and someone's gonna listen to this. And though they're gonna think that will tell Cam Boucha or we're making sense, I'm not too sure. Uh, send me a message? No. You think Let's live from Let's move on from the heavy stuff. So, what have you done to prepare for quarantine? Because I said, Well, hopefully getting out soon. We even be no. The country. Since the night, the tents of Mars, we have nothing in the house. We are gonna have to get out a year on get prepared pretty quickly for basically another quarantine. But just this time, we're gonna be a womb.

spk_0:   38:02
Yeah. Um, what have I done to quarantine? I just mostly, uh, so I don't know. As you know, I don't cook very often. You know, food is so cheap and so easy to get here in Vietnam and Saigon that generally I just you did every meal out. Um, that's not an option. It's still an option to order meals. But I just feel like being I've just been feeling like being a little more self sufficient, So I did a bunch of food shopping. Um, I have kind of a small kitchen, so I kind of had to reorganize much my kitchen to get my microwave and my toaster oven and still top ready. So I got my stuff ready to cook of my last three meals I cooked which, you know, I'm sure to people in the Western Hemisphere or outside of Vietnam Listening to this, that's like, you know, what do you want? A medal,

spk_1:   38:53
but unusual that if issue

spk_0:   38:59
right, You know, But so I've been cooking a lot at home. Um, just kind of talking to people about about different projects to launch. You know, this is, you know, for people here in Vietnam, especially teachers. People have really taken a financial hit. I had a huge cut in my salary. Um, fortunately, I was able to talk to my landlord, and I got actually got a substantial rent reduction. So you know, another advantage Thio not living in a capitalist society. You know, people aren't trying to get you everywhere you go. You know, I did a post about that on Facebook, right? I said a You know what? I got a rent reduction. Everybody. She tried out with your landlord and see what they say. And so my friend said that bland or laughed in their faces. Really? Just like you don't have work. They last just laughed in their faces, you

spk_1:   39:52
know? So I radioed me. I read your pools, and I did it and I got a rent reduction. Yeah. There you go. You don't even know that, Angela. Jules, But I got, like, 20% which is better than nothing, Because you have to leave a salary. Well, yeah. I mean, that Z they probably had a bigger cut on our salary, but still, you know, And at this time And no talking to relatives who want my relatives owns an apartment. She had to do the same or two tenants. Both lost their jobs right now, so she's had to reduce the rent. Everyone's just in this vicious killer. And, you know, you can't be like I'm not gonna reduce your rent, because that's just gonna hurt you in the long run, right? Like so everyone. Everyone's helping each other. But it was your post. I saw your post and was like, Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. I'm gonna try that. And thankfully, but well, yes, she's super ladies, like in the same position. He's like my wife and I. We've always had salary cuts. I have two apartments. I empty right now because I can't run the moat like tell me just what a noise in the background. Now, Um, so just because someone have a bit of money doesn't mean that they're No, I mean to these problems as well, you

spk_0:   40:53
know? No. Yeah, I mean, women. And, yeah, the landlord owes money to somebody else, Violator. Everybody else too, you know that. I mean, I think I should feel like a unilateral Let's just cut the shit. Just cut the the economy. Blame. Let's just stop for a minute so we could ask Eagle with this other shit. You know what I mean? But, you know, goes back to an old Bill Hicks. You know, thing about the economy being fake. You know, this is like an agreed upon delusion that you know how this country is this much in debt and the deficit is this, you know, because when? Because when it comes down to it, like, all we have is this planet full of people and resource is, you know, and we have to figure out how to make this shit work, you know, and I think that something like this is kind of like the reset button that's gonna wake a lot of people up to that, You know? Definitely. Probably get killed up this podcast.

spk_1:   41:52
Yeah. Uh, well, you know, you remember, like, when when I was gonna talk about, like, performing and stuff. Obviously, all of that has stopped. But you remember I was making quit while I was starting all my shoes for about a month or so. With can a Corona virus jokes and talking about being an over. Yeah, And people wear masks when they don't have to. And then I remember, as it started getting serious, and I was like, I can't regret making these manners going on. Steve, Shane have a lot of iris possible anymore because I'm worried I'm gonna be like that comedian that gets Corona virus and dies after Amelia about it. You know that you are a few. I feel that. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I feel like there's a bit of irony in there that I meet so much fun of Corona virus. And now I've ended up in government quarantine. So So there you go. But how you how you getting on? Obviously you're not performing right now. Nobody is The arts are suffering around the world. I was just listening to the prime minister of New Zealand today talking about it and how they're trying support the arts because that there's one industry that depends on people gathering together in a crowed to enjoy something

spk_0:   42:58
on. Well, just just just to go back for a second, that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. I think I'm being sincere is like, back then we didn't know shit. I mean, I'm not saying it was good that you were kind of downplaying, you know, But at the end of the day, you're you're not the head of state. You're not a head of state. So what you say at that time is just coming from, you know, a place of literally ignorance. You know, I'm saying so I didn't do a lot of Corona virus jokes, and I just I just just just seemed too topical. That's for some reason, whatever. But then I ended up doing some later, Um, but in terms of ah, but I'm sorry, what was the second part of your question? Just want to get that in about you. Said the prime Minister of New Zealand.

spk_1:   43:46
Oh, she just said of the arts are suffering because of all the arts need, Uh,

spk_0:   43:51
let me tell you something. I have been in my room. I'm a I am fucking these parts

spk_1:   44:00
and and I just Oh, just paralyzed

spk_0:   44:06
laughter. No, you need a Would you ever have to have that? You've practiced stand up in your room. But, you know, new jokes together, right? And then you just and you're just like all right. So I'm gonna tell this joke, and then I'm give it, like, 10 seconds from applause break, right? I got a time when I gotta come after 10 seconds and then you go up on stage like, uh, how it went in my room wasn't how it went down in my living room. I

spk_1:   44:34
don't know could when your practice you just because I'll be practicing at home either by myself. But something's age will be there and, like, you know, pause where the laughter will be. But, you know, she's maybe not listening or she's not there. So there's just islands and its so awkward And yet you're like, this is where the laughter Yeah, And then you got one spade you deliver was still nothing. Yeah.

spk_0:   44:56
Yeah. What I've learned is just like, just kind of roll over. Just keep going. As if that wasn't that wasn't the joke. I mean, like, I like, I like I meant to do that. You know,

spk_1:   45:10
you just keep going. I think that's been one of my am. The things I've been I've been most proud about since I got into stand up comedy is never really letting those moments be too awkward. Like, if you If you don't get a laugh right away, just move on and forgotten about. And the worst is wonky Comedian really leave that awkward moment hanging. And it's nothing to do the job, something that they get a massive last the night before and then the next night warn some comedians. I didn't leave that just way too long, and they get so awkward because it's like, Oh, they'll even see like, Oh, shit. I didn't work here like all I did. You see that? Just move on. Move on. Forget about

spk_0:   45:46
it. Yeah, but I mean something. Some some comics are actually good at that too. Mitch Hedberg, you stood. You know I hate that job. You know, that was that was a terrible joke, you know, And you know you're charming enough. You can pull anything off. I'd love to see. I'd love to see a clip of of Dave Chappelle bombing, I wonder. I mean, I saw the one where the people were yelling at him and stuff, but see how tell you handles it because, you know, I don't know if it's a one trick pony, but for me, I would agree with you that Ah, yeah, trying trying to leave his little little space little room for awkwardness unless you're gonna use the awkwardness somehow. But I have either, but yeah, just, uh, it's hard to think about stand up. Comedy is hard to think about. Like Like what? Two, right? I mean, you know, most of the writing that I do in terms of my humor is stuff that I'll put up on Facebook like little like one off ideas. Like what was the one I did recently? Was is they say that, uh, cove in 19 has a 1% morbidity rate. Too bad we can't choose the 1% right. That's so it's like of mice efficient, which is literally too bad we can't choose the 1% right. Oh, yeah. just like writing stuff like that on, you know, and posting it up and then, you know, calling people trying Thio just stay limber, you know, because we don't know what What's the The social. We don't know what the concept is going to know what the social climate is gonna be when this is all over and done with, you know, how are you gonna What's the first joke? You're gonna tell you what I mean. Like, yeah way. Have no idea you could go up there. Remember when there was the United States of America? Yeah, right. So we just We just got a kind of stay loose and have faith that whenever this is it done right, and we have, ah, medium for which to perform, that will still be funny in whatever situation, you know,

spk_1:   47:52
would, you know, like, yeah for sure. Because a week ago I couldn't even think about past a week because, you know, just trying get through this quarantine, and we're getting to the end, Really? Probably of a deal to most left it more so something to think about the outside world in the future. And like it or not, I can't think of any new material. About few people have said to me, You must be getting so much good material. Listen, it's like I'm getting nothing from this so far, you know, Maybe. But yesterday it was time to get a little bell because, you know, I was thinking about it. I read this online a few weeks ago before even came into quarantine. Is just remember that when this is all over on the first automatically, the stadium's gonna be fooled when the first bars or they're going to be packed. When the first restaurants Putin, there's gonna be lines out the door. You know, when this is all over and things start to get back to normal, it's just going to be this joyous celebration of just doing the things that we used to take for granted. And I thought about like a comedy Shows will not will not have impacto auditoriums, but we have packed our rooms with 2034 people, those comet issues that do when this is all said and done, they are going to be packed. They're going to be people that are excited to be Oh, it's not gonna matter what we see it's not gonna matter if we're funny. It's just gonna be a celebration off being out and being with people. And when I thought about that yesterday, like, I'm gonna emotional thinking about it that moment veil Just gonna be incredible. Well, let

spk_0:   49:18
me know how it goes. I'm gonna be home. I'm gonna let that first round of people go out there And maybe towards the end of the set, I'll do a pop in quickly.

spk_1:   49:31
7 to 10 minutes and get out of their way. Should mean, like, a clear pal Specs box. And the comedian is to put form in the palace baseball, so I don't even help. We're all in the past planes that are you gonna get the plane going over right now? So they're also playing blending. I'm not really sure, Wheeler. Um Anyway, um, athletics.

spk_0:   49:54
So there's still planes going up to Hanoi and denying and stuff like that. Yeah,

spk_1:   49:59
my left eye lift leave. I think that's a positive new, and we will get through this on is gonna be joyous when we do, there's gonna be a lot of pain. Like like you know what? I was worried. I got worried that we've done a few episodes. No for this quarantine season. And, you know, we've made some jokes and we've bean in it and I was like, Guest of the After it's broken toe, Lawrence would be published. Sounds like you might not recognize the seriousness. Is seriousness of this situation enough like an and the Jews, always wise, as you know, Why is this person in the room? She's like, People get enough of that from the news like everyone knows it's bad, like you got your cast, your number. If anyone's listening, you're a selfish prick. But he's not talking about people that are dying. I know people are dying, you know. People are dying. We know this is a terrible, but this podcast isn't the space to be talking about that because there's plenty of other Casey but that So I just wanted to put that out because I do feel like maybe it seems like I'm me being jovial about this weird situation, but I mean, we're just here trying to get through and produce something that would put people will listen to and enjoy and take a break from working at CNN or the BBC of the Guardian for, like, two minutes and and enjoy listening to me. And you're talking.

spk_0:   51:14
Yeah, that's our job. You know, making people feel bad about shit is not our job. Yeah,

spk_1:   51:19
yeah, yeah, sure. Yeah. Well said Well said Thank you. Thank you. I'll hopefully be outta here soon. I'd love to see I'll catch up the for being, but it doesn't seem like that's gonna happen for a while. We have not joined in with any of these kind of zoom parties or house party, because just we don't feel like, you know, being here in quarantine. We don't We don't have nothing. Hand Well, pretty little key. We just siona phones and we talk. We can acquire, we talk to each other, then we keep to ourselves at the same time. But once we get, wanna join one human bodies with a beer so we'll get onto that. Yeah. Do

spk_0:   51:54
you have against humanity? A few days ago. T do that with his foot. Get seven people. It was super fun, man. Super fine.

spk_1:   52:04
All right. We'll see you on the outside will have a beer soon. We'll do a shoeshine. Yeah, man. Yeah, man. I keep up the

spk_0:   52:11
cooking. All right, man. Stay well, man. All the best hanging out, Agent Gibbs. You too.

spk_1:   52:19
See you soon. Me, but like

spk_0:   52:21
Okay, peace out.