March 10, 2023 • 42 mins
Time for the BIN weekly news recap. Special guests this week are News Anchors Alexandria Ikomoni and John Marshal.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's been another busy newsweek and we like to review
the major stories of the week here on the Black
Information Network. Today we are joined by Black Information Network
news anchors John Marshall and Alexandria at Kamomee to discuss
this week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network
Daily Podcast and I'm your host, rams's job. John and Alexandria.
(00:20):
How you guys doing doing great? Man? Glad to be
here again. Yeah, man, we got hello. Happy to be
here are you? How are you doing all right? Well, shoot,
let's get to it. Obviously, very very sad news to
start us off today. A group of four Americans from
South Carolina were kidnapped this week at a Mexican border
(00:42):
border city. Two of them were killed in what is
being described as a case involving mistaken identity, and there's
gang rivalry involved as well. So Alexandria, you cover the
South Carolina market with the Black Information Network, so tell
us a little bit more about this story and then
John will get your thoughts on it as well. Yeah. So,
like you stated, four black people went to Mexico, two
(01:04):
were found dead, two were found alive, and they're back
in the United States. But the group were kidnapped was
kidnapped when crossing the border near Brownsville, Texas. Has happened
last week. Family members were saying that they went there
for a medical procedure. We know that the Mexico Mexican
president has confirmed that they were caught in the crossfire
(01:26):
between two armed groups. I'm also getting reports that they
were mistaken to be Haitian smugglers as to why that
they were really you know, taken, kidnapped if you will.
One person has been arrested in Mexico because of this.
But this also started the conversation about how going outside
(01:47):
of the country for medical procedures, whether it's serious or
for cosmetics, it's not something that's really a biased that
people do because it can be unsafe when you leave
the country. Sure, sure, John, let's get your thoughts on those.
Just following up with what Alexandria said. I have a
friend of mine that went out to the Dominican Republic
(02:08):
for one of those cosmetic procedures just recently, and I
was worried for her, Like, Yo, she's going out there
by herself. I was like, Yo, are you gonna be good?
I just I don't know a lot about that side
of things, and the concern and the worry is definitely there.
I do think, however, I don't believe in coincidence, but
(02:30):
I do believe in random acts of violence and things
like that. But I do believe that there's more to
this story that either isn't being told to us yet
or hasn't been made public yet that will make this
make more sense. I'm not pointing any fingers or accusing
(02:51):
anybody of anything, but I just I truly believe there's
more to this random cartel rival gang stray bullets. It happens,
but in my heart, I feel like there's something else
that's going on here that either people don't want us
to know or the media is trying to hold onto.
(03:15):
I don't know, but something feels off. This story was
kind of off putting for me a little bit, because
you just never know what's really going on until you
know what's going on. It's a very unfortunate and sad event,
and I hope that justice is brought to the people
that were involved in this because losing you know, brother, sister, friend, family, remember,
(03:37):
especially out of the country, and we know how other
countries deal with their legal issues outside of the US
dealing with their legal issues. They can sweep stuff under
the rug and just keep it moving. And this has
happened before with I forget the young lady's name that
got beat up, that got beat to death over in
another country, and they just kind of brushed it up
(03:58):
under the rug until the US came in and said, hey, nah,
we need somebody to answer for this. So I believe
that there's more to the story that hasn't come out
yet that I hope will come out so we can
get some real answers. Yeah, yeah, you know, there's a
part of this that felt a little sad when I
came across it, and it said that obviously the two
surviving travelers were able to make contact with their families
(04:23):
and everyone's really happy. But then they had to bring
back two bodies, of course, as you know, and there's
a process of repatriating the deceased into the United States.
And that felt very grim and very sad, And so,
you know, to your point, there is obviously a strong
(04:45):
need to exercise caution whenever you're moving around. And this
is coming from someone I've been all over the world.
I've been in all fifty states. I live in Arizona.
So I go to Mexico all the time, to dj
or to vacation or for whatever reason. A lot of
my friends go back and forth, and I'll go with
them because they're from next goor to have family there,
(05:05):
and if I'm able to let folks know, then I will.
These incidents are certainly rare, but they do happen, and
it is something where as you mentioned, John, it's it's
it's we definitely need to exercise caution and really be
(05:26):
mindful of the wise and any risks associated with it.
With that said, any risks are always going to be
infinitesimally small, but that's that's not zero. So just something
to keep in mind. But we'll keep following the story,
and if there are any more people that get brought
to justice, which is our hope always in this country,
(05:48):
then of course we'll be happy to report on that.
Black Information Network News anchors John Marshall and Alexandria Kimoni
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. Moving on,
this was a new one for me. I learned a
little bit so this month, millions of Americans experienced the
(06:10):
reduction and their SNAP benefits as the federal government ended
the pandemic assistance portion of this program, and I had
never heard of SNAP before. And then when I read
a little bit into it and I found out that
it had to do with like EBT, I was like, oh,
I definitely know what EBT is. But anyway, let's go
into this a bit more. How is the reduction in
(06:31):
SNAP and if it's impacting black communities? John, this time,
let's start with you, all right, cool? So I have
two sides to how I feel about them taking the
extra benefits away. So let's start with what the extra
benefits are. So the emergency allotments, and I'm getting this
from the government website. The emergency allotments allowed all SNAP
(06:53):
households to receive an additional ninety five bucks and benefits,
or an additional benefit valued to the maximum benefit for
their household side, whichever value is greater. Now, that's for
food and different things that families need if they are
on these SNAP benefits. So my two different sides. Number one,
(07:15):
my father has always told me to have compassion for people,
and I believe it is the responsibility of those who can.
I believe it's the responsibility to help those who are
in need and who need help. If you're on snap
and like you said, Ramsay's EBT that that's all kind
of round up in one thing. You need some help.
(07:37):
And again I believe it is the responsibility of those
who can help to help. This increase happened because of
the pandemic. The pandemic by definition is some issue, something
big that has happened that is worldwide. In this case,
it was a virus that killed millions of people, that
kept people from going to work. That really just flip
the world upside down. You need help, whether you are
(07:59):
up middle lower below the poverty line. Everybody was affected mentally,
a lot, physically and financially, so help was needed. So
my compassionate side says, these people still need help because
there are long term effects of COVID, not just the
physical long term effects, but the financial ramifications and ripple effect,
(08:21):
and that's going on right now. So it's hard to
take back the help that is being given by the pandemic. Now.
The capitalistic and no excuses side of me says, at
some point in time, we're not in a pandemic anymore.
(08:42):
The government has said we are no longer in a pandemic.
That means that we're not inside anymore. You can and
you can go out, you can work, you can get
a job, you can do all these things like that.
And if nobody's gonna tell you, hey, stop giving me
free money, nobody's ever going to say that. So at
some point in time, somebody has to be the bad
(09:04):
guy and make the decision say, Okay, y'all, we're already
in trillions of dollars of debt. Taking ninety five bucks
from people on snap is not going to put that
much of a dent in it, But you have to
turn it off at some time. When is the right
time to turn it off? If not now? Again, I
wouldn't want them to take my money from me either,
but somebody has to. We are not in the pandemic anymore,
(09:25):
So when is it time to stop? What I say
to do, which doesn't matter because it's already been done.
They've already stopped it. What I say to do is
to really take a look at the numbers of the
people and the households that are on these benefits and
really crunch some numbers to see how that it is
affecting their household, their life, and their quality of life.
(09:48):
When you take this money away, Alexandria. Again, the money's
already been taken away. But if I had to, if
I had to make the call, I would do a
lot of research to figure out is this the right time.
So I have my compassionate side, but I also have
my Ay, look y'all, it's over. We're going back to normal.
We're not taking all of them away. It's going to
(10:09):
sound very harsh. Go out, get you a job. You
know what I'm saying. But you know I have two
sides to it. Sure, sure, alexandre I know you're you're
waiting to chime in. Go ahead, Yeah, No, I understand
where he's coming from. I do respect where what John
is saying, for sure, But my heart also goes to
(10:30):
the compassionate side of the fact of like he mentioned,
you know the economic standpoint. Honestly, we are in times
of inflation. We've done stories about eggs being eight dollars
like these. This is not normal. So people really do
need that money, People really do need that assistance. Of course,
there are people out there who abuse what it's there for.
(10:52):
But we cannot, you know, different here and be able
to separate the two. So we need to make sure
we help who we can help, and it's just unfortunate
for people who really need that extra money. But I'm
hoping that something can happen where eggs are not costing
eight dollars anymore. We know, like that's an exaggeration, but
(11:13):
we need something to It really does bring the inflation
down a little bit. Yeah, I think that that's uh.
When when I was kind of researching this, I saw
that the people who were most affected by this, or
the elderly, and I obviously, John, you're absolutely right. You know,
(11:33):
at some point this has to end, and ideally it
would end when things return to normal. But a return
to normal, in my estimation, is different for different people.
A government decision maker might think that because the viruses over,
things have returned to normal, But an elderly person where
(11:57):
you know, as you mentioned Alexandria, you know costs skyrocketed
and so forth, you know they're normal, might not have
a rived just yet. And so you know, to your point, John,
your compassionate side, I could definitely see a mixed approach
where you're accounting for the nuance. I think that would
(12:19):
be a little bit more strategic and beneficial to the
people that are actually impacted by these snap benefits and
the decisions. One of the points that I learned about
the pandemic, and it's very sad, is that it was
(12:39):
a massive transfer of wealth from poor people, and you know,
black people are overrepresented in those numbers. The massive transfer
of wealth from poor people in this country to rich people.
We sought across the board, and there's no two ways
about that. We saw the same thing happen in two
(13:01):
thousand and eight with the recession. We've seen it happen
time and again in this country, where it's been a
bit more directly impactful on black and brown people. And
all of these things have happened under the guise of capitalism.
It's often a catch all. I'm often very critical of capitalism,
(13:26):
so that means that I need to be a bit
more informed than the average lay person in terms of
what capitalism is, what socialism is, what communism is, and
the mechanics and the invisible forces that are at play
with respect to capitalism and these other isms that people
(13:46):
often tend to be afraid of, and what the benefit
is and what the goal is. And I think that
when you are a person like me, who part of
the reason why I loved having you on the show,
John is because you're your belief system oftentime challenges my own,
(14:07):
and those challenges are welcome because it helps me to
know whether or not I am based in a shared
reality or if I if my ideas or my beliefs
have married. But towards this end, my beliefs are that
a society should function collectively and with a government that
(14:32):
pursues happiness, human happiness and anything that is that any
anything else in terms of priority should be second to that.
And so asking your asking the question are the people happy?
How can we make them happier? What is it that
makes people happy? That being the fundamental core of a
(14:54):
society like this is I think something that everybody would
agree with. But in practice, capitalism does not put happiness
above profits. Capitalism does not put people above profits. In fact,
capitalism Opten bulldozes over people. And that's not to say
that we live in a purely capitalistic society. The truth
(15:15):
is we live in a socialist society. That is, you know,
capitalist capitalistic in some of the worst areas in arenas.
But if we did not have socialist programs, we would
not have any BT program or in US now benefits
program either. So I love your point John about they're
needing to be a more strategic and more nuanced approach
(15:39):
to these sorts of things because the people that are
disproportionately affected by it are Black people, and as we've read,
elderly people. And the last thing that I love I
want to think about is an old Black woman who
has responsibilities, who maybe cannot participate in the job market,
(16:02):
and who is dealing with the lasting benefits of the
pandemic and her world has not returned to normal just
yet and was really depending on these benefits and her
being forgotten. So I appreciate you pointing out the fact
that a mixed approach would have served the community a
little bit better. Black Information Network news enters John Marshall
(16:25):
and Alexandria Akimoni are here. We thus discussing this week's
major stories. I get the feeling we might have done
with this next one. In Atlanta, twenty three people were
arrested are originally charged as agitators during protest over the
opening of a new police training facility. Now the charges
have been upgraded to include domestic terrorism. Alexandria, this time,
(16:49):
let's start with you. Bring us up to speed on
this story. Yeah, so Atlanta is my hometown as well
as John is going to put that out there, so
we definitely know all about what's going on in the
city of Atlanta. So nearly two dozen people were arrested
in the city for their violent protests of the construction
(17:10):
site that's supposed to be a new public safety training
center for officers as well as first responders. But I
will say people forget the first responders part, only think
of the officers that have to train there. And they
have given this training facility the name Cops City. So
(17:31):
there have been multiple protests about it. This has been
going on for some time now. Well this was just
the latest incident and the latest protests. But police were
calling this one a group of agitators, and they actually
released videos showing the group of people throwing large rocks, bricks,
fireworks and more at police officers. Another video shows police
(17:55):
equipment destroyed. Thirty five people actually were arrested, but only
three were charged with domestic terrorism. And I wanted to
point out that the people who are charged are from
all over the country. This has been a thing that
has got the attention to people nationally. Only two of
the people who are facing who are facing I should
(18:16):
say that domestic terrorism charges are from Atlanta, so everyone
is really getting involved in the protests of what many
call cops. City. John give me with both barrels, Alexandra,
I am glad that you brought that up, because these
are not eight aliens that are doing this craziness. I
(18:38):
believe that everybody that was there throwing fireworks, throwing bricks
and all that stuff like that need to be in jail.
They need to be charged with domestic terrorism, all that
stuff like that. You can have peaceful protests, and I'm
all for that. And we know the climate of police
and our community right now, and it's been that way
(18:59):
for a while. It just seems to keep getting worse
and worse. So I understand that, and I am on
our side when it comes to that. But these people
are not from Atlanta. They come to these different cities
and they start agitating, and what it does it dims
the message of what we're the protesting is supposed to
(19:22):
be about. The same thing with Kyle Rittenhouse drove to
a two and a half hours to go kill people,
saying he's protecting businesses and stuff like that. These people
are not from here, and they are coming here and
they're causing a chaos, and they're causing a ruckis and
it's again, it's diluting the message. And I really don't
(19:45):
think that they well I can't speak for them, but
there are other ways to go about doing that. And
to be honest with you, protesting ain't really getting us
anywhere right now. It's it's really not getting us anywhere
right now. Are they crucial and necessary, yes, But there's
(20:05):
so much more that has to happen in order for
change to truly happen. Has to happen in legislation, It
has to happen with electing black leaders and leaders of
all color that will fight for us. Throwing a brick
at a cop city is not going to get you.
You're going to get arrested, bro' You're not going to
(20:28):
get your point across. Now you're charged with domestic terrorism.
That's a federal charge. So you know, I hate the
fact that the city gets painted or kind of overshadows
the thirty plus people who aren't even from here that
come here and start trouble. We can handle our own stuff.
(20:49):
We don't need y'all coming down here. You know what,
I'm saying, throwing bricks at our police and protesting and stuff.
We can handle our own. So I mean, I don't
have any sympathy for him. It's like it's like, uh,
drug dealers, right, if you deal drugs, you know what
comes with that. You can either go to jail. You're
gonna live a fast life, You're gonna have the nice
cars and the pretty girls and all that, but jail
(21:11):
comes with that. And that's just a part of the game.
If you go agitate and throwing bricks and fireworks at
police and calling it protesting, jail comes with that. So
it is what it is. Just leave our city alone.
Well I appreciate that. That's uh about what I expected. Um,
(21:32):
you as you as you know, and as as I'm
sure some of our listeners know. Um, these folks, these
agitators or domestic terrorists or whatever they're being branded as. Now,
this is kind of like, uh, this is a group
of people that I tend to empathize with. I tend
to understand their frustration. I think it was doctor King
(21:54):
that said a riot is the language of the unheard. Um,
all these people being from around the country. I suspect,
having talked to them personally, but I suspect they were
responding to calls for alas ship and support and solidarity
because I'm familiar with and maybe you two can help
(22:16):
me out. There's a settlement in the woods somewhere in
Georgia where protesters and activists have kind of taken over
and they like kind of are relegated to the trees,
but they are in their mind holding the line, bringing
attention to this sort of cop city thing that they've
(22:39):
branded this effort or initiative or enterprise. I'm not sure
exactly what they're doing, what the police are doing, but
you know, I recognize that there are people there who
are well aware of the fact that they will ultimately
be arrested. They feel they'll be arrested for the cause,
(23:02):
you know, and they know what comes with it. A
lot of people, a lot of our heroes have been arrested.
That's why we have all the lug shots and that
sort of thing. So they feel like they're going to
be on the right side of history by bringing attention
to what they believe is police overreach, police injustice, the
political establishment doubling down on funding the police, giving the
(23:23):
police more power, more tanks, guns, weapons, and the police
and their estimation are the ones that are often terrorizing
black and brown communities, and most of these folks, they
would like attention to be focused on programs that actually
prevent the necessity for crime in the first place. We
were talking earlier about snap benefits and what happens if
(23:44):
those go away. There are people that can't afford what
do they do? They figure out other ways to make money,
or they just take food, as any creature endowed with
consciousness would do with a nervous system and consciousness would do.
And then you committed a crime, and then they're police
there to arrest you, but there are no programs to
(24:07):
provide food. So there are programs in these people's estimation
that could exist that again could prevent the necessity of crime.
And so to see communities double down on giving the
police more resources when the police are often bad guys
and their stories can be incredibly frustrated, frustrating. The one
(24:29):
thing that I did notice is that, as you mentioned Alexandria,
they're throwing rocks and cocktails at equipment, and they're throwing
it's like firepackers or something like that, But there were
no shots. You have any guns They're not trying to
murder in any lives anything like that. So sure riot,
you know, destruction of property is there things that have
(24:50):
happened many times in many cities for many decades in
this country, and this is a new version of that.
But at you know, to your point, John, I think
that a lot of these people responded to a call
for solidarity support and all I should, and that's why
we ended up with so many people from all over
the country are taking im dedmonstration ramses. If people who
(25:14):
came up to the Civic Cipher headquarters and started throwing
molotov cocktails and bricks and rocks through your windows, man,
that's that's mark you you brought up, king Uh, peaceful protesting,
that's not peaceful protesting. Throwing molotov cocktails and bricks and rocks,
(25:35):
that is not peaceful protesting. That's that's violence. That's violence.
Let one of those molotovs hit the wrong person or
or set ablaze to whatever equipment they have, there's something explodes,
et cetera, et cetera. I really believe that their intentions
are I'm just gonna I don't know this, but I'll
(25:57):
say this. I believe their intentions are good, maybe not
all of them, but I believe their intentions are good,
but the direction that they are taking is not correct.
One of my favorite quotes is by Pastor Andy Stanley,
and he says, direction, not intention, determines your destination. Their
direction was molotov cocktails, bricks and rocks. Their destination was jail.
(26:17):
Whether they intended to agitate in the way they did,
some of them may have said, I'm going to jail
for the cause. I just think they went about it
the wrong way, and don't be everybody's human, right. We
know what we're dealing with with police, but it's not
all of them. It's not all of them. So I
(26:38):
just think they went about it the wrong way, man,
because they can seriously hurt somebody doing that, the same
way police have seriously hurt us. They can seriously hurt somebody,
and now they're in jail for manslaughter or murder or homicide.
You know, no this, you know the call for solidarity
actually resulted, if I remember correctly, from the police killing
(26:59):
one of the protesters of the one of the guys
died and let them tell the story. He was completely interesting.
In fact, I saw his photo earlier this morning, So
I think that might have been some time last year
when his life was taken by the police. So yeah,
the stakes are definitely that high. He's remembered as a
martyr now. And then, you know, to your point about
(27:23):
going about it the wrong way, that's another fair point.
You know, there's a lot of people that have a
lot of different ideas on how black people and oppressed
people should go about getting their rights or seeking their
customary freedoms. That were people who had opinions on what
women should do to get the right to vote, and
what black people should do to get the right to vote,
and to sit on a bus. You know, don't do
(27:44):
it this way, don't do it that way, don't protest,
don't you know. There's a lot of folks that have
a lot of opinions on how other people should pursue
justice in the world. And it's people like this that
don't listen to that, that do their best to move
the needle forward, whether or not they're successful, that my
heart goes out to. You know, I'm obviously not one
(28:05):
of those people. I use a different stage, a different platform,
and I do my best to have conversations and dialogue
and that can be effective. But that's not to say
that this sort of stuff that they're doing doesn't get
attention to and doesn't generate a response to. I would
never condone that activity, but the fact of the matter
is that we're responding to it right now, and so
(28:26):
there's no response. And then as far as people you
know coming to attack, you know, civic cipher where that's
a bit more of a no. I appreciate the question
because it's valid. I love these questions. I'll never I mean,
you were just in the spotlight for something, you know
what I mean, you were in a national spotlight for
(28:48):
a while. I'll tell you the truth. There are people
that text me the address of my little boys school,
like and my lawyers told me to consider that threat.
Have to go talk to the principles, because people are
threatening my child's life, you know. So I've been through
that and I know that that's what comes with it,
you know, and I prepare for it and I deal
with it. The difference is that I am not an institution,
(29:08):
I'm not a government. I'm a private citizen, and so
the nature of the threat and the intention behind the
attack is very different. If someone wants to end my life.
This is the path that I walk. Doctor King gave
his sermon, he said, I've been to the mountaintop, I've
seen the promised land. I may not get there with you.
(29:30):
That's the truth that I had to come to terms
with when I started my show. Now, if somebody wants
to come and end my life again, that's a very
different dynamic than people protesting a system that they feel
is oppressing them. And so I think that you know,
when you look at it, really what it is, it's
apples and oranges. With that said, I recognize in respect
(29:51):
that there are people who feel differently. There are people
who are big fans of the police. They think police
are everything and they can do no wrong, and they
completely look over all of the injustices, all the thin
blue wall of silence, and all of the police misconduct
in the police brutality in the years and decades and
eons of systemic oppression on black and brown communities. There
(30:13):
are people who look right past it and put a
blue flag stripe on their coat, rocket and put a
sticker on their card, you know, full speed ahead. Those
people often take issue with the things that I say
where I'm being critical of the system that I believe
could be better. Again, my approach is different from these protesters,
but were protesters just the same. They just have a
(30:35):
different platform. And when I say that, these are kind
of people where I can empathize with, I understand and
respect their frustration. Their tactics are not my tactics, but
I recognize and I can see the source of that.
And you know, these things and other things have moved
the cultural narrative in this country forward time and again.
(30:56):
These are not the first people to throw molotov cocktails
in this country. They're not the first people to throw firepackers.
Nobody's life was ended. They didn't go there with the
intent to kill, maybe to harm, I don't know. But
no guns were there. The only people were guns were
the police. You know. Unfortunately the police didn't kill anyone else.
And so you know, this is another story. We're just
(31:18):
going to have to wait and see, you know, what happens.
But domestic terrorism, as you mentioned, that's federal, and you know,
maybe they that's what they signed up for, you know,
and if that's the case, then a person like me
looks at that and respects what they're trying to do.
Black Information Network news anchors John Marshall and Alexandria Ikimoni
(31:39):
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. The
reviews are in or the network like the Netflix special
that Chris Rock did, and they've been mixed. He finally
responded to last year's Oscar Oscar's altercation with Will Smith.
(32:00):
So we're gonna get take from both of you guys,
But first let's start with you, John. What is your
reaction to Chris rocks special and slack program in the
world and is it finally over? Cool? Cool? So I
watched these special live. I think that was last weekend
when Netflix did their first live broadcast. Ever, let me
(32:21):
preface this with saying, I can't stand and it really
hurts to see two black men or two black anything man, woman, woman, woman.
I hate seeing us battle each other, right, especially especially
like Chris Rocks said at the end of his special,
(32:43):
don't fight in front of white black people. Yeah, you
know what I'm saying. So I hate seeing that. I'll
preface that with this, However, it happened, so it has
to be addressed, and it has and it's out there.
Will Smith, I believe, had a moment of emotion and
a moment weakness from an emotional weakness and acted out.
(33:05):
He got his lick in, and I believe Chris Rock
played it cool and got his lick back to the
tune of forty million dollars for two specials with Netflix,
and I mean really just tore into both Will and
Jada at the end. Was he going hard? He was
going real hard. Me personally, I love it from an
(33:27):
entertainment value perspective, but that was a very real situation
that happened. A grown man got slapped by another grown man.
Two that are two of the best to do it
in the entertainment industry. Again, very unfortunate to see. So
once it's out there. Chris Rock is a comedian, and
(33:47):
when you are a comedian, you get sort of a
pass to say things that people don't normally say. Bernie, Matt,
you say it all the time. I say what you
can't say. I say what you want to say. So
you get a chance to say things that people want
to say, don't or can't say. You get a chance
to be politically incorrect, and you kind of get a pass.
But what comes with that is the opportunity to get
(34:11):
slapped in the face sometimes by people who don't want
to who don't want to hear, or are not gonna
put up with that, or don't think it's funny or whatever.
That's what happened. That's what comes with being a comedian.
Same thing. Like I said before, if you're a drug dealer,
you know what comes with it, the fast cards, the money,
and the girls. But jail does too. Sometimes you go
(34:31):
to jail. Chris Rock went to proverbial drug dealer jail
by getting slapped in the face by Will Smith. He
got his lick back again to the tune of forty million.
I like what he did. I enjoyed the special. Everybody's
saying Marlon Wayne's is better. I still got to watch
that one. But for me, and I believe for the
rest of the entertainment world outside of just some of
(34:53):
the media that has to just keep it going, I
think it's over now. Will did his thing. Chris did
his thing. It'll be something else tomorrow, Alexander, let's hear
from you, no the same. I definitely agree. Will did
his thing, Chris responded, and it's gonna be behind us. Honestly,
when the hype dies down. A lot of people like
(35:16):
you send mixed reviews on this one. But I mean
a lot of people are supporting him, saying like he
has a right to deal with it how he wants to.
People are saying, well, you know it's over and done with.
It's been a year. Why are we bringing it backed up?
But you know he's a comedian, and why not incorporate
that that's something that happened to you And if you're
(35:37):
okay with talking about it, then what's the big deal.
I've seen clips, I haven't watched the whole special, so
I can't give a full opinion on the actual special itself.
But I mean, he's in his bag. He got that
from Netflix and he's doing his thing. So respect to
him for handling it and the way he wants to
(35:58):
and getting a bag out of that. So him, Yeah,
that's that's if you don't mind one more thing. If
Chris had started fighting on that stage with Will, people
would have criticized. If Chris had gone on a media
tirade around the nation, people would have criticized. If Chris
(36:18):
did a deal with Netflix for forty mill and tore
into Will and Jada, people would have criticized. If Chris
said nothing, people would have called him an expletive, you
know what I mean. So it's gonna happen either way,
and people are gonna have something to say. I say,
get your money, get your bag, and continue on with
your life. If Chris ain't, if Chris ain't mad about
(36:41):
it anymore, and he's taking care of what he needs
to do, man, he's good. Yeah, you know, And that's
that's what I was thinking. You know, there's a lot
of people that are gonna say what they're gonna say
about this, But the one thing that hasn't happened to
any of those people is getting slapped in the face
in front of the whole world for doing a joke
(37:03):
that I believe he said that he did not he
was not aware that Will's wife had alopecia. He didn't
say that in the specialment earlier after that incident. And
so for him saying I can't wait to see you
in g I Jane two, alluding to the fact that
she's not involved, and then getting slapped in the face
(37:24):
for it, that's a moment that will live forever. And
how do you turn that negative into a positive? You know,
Will Smith got a chance to say his piece. How
he did he went I saw two apologies from Will
Smith plus an additional Instagram post where he had like
text and kind of apologized in the text. And Chris
(37:48):
Rock was more or less radio silent until his special.
And I think it would have been inauthentic for someone
who we've known for thirty plus years to be very
open and honest about his variances, about his personal life,
about all that sort of stuff, to have him get
up on his next special and then not mentioned. You know,
remember that day when Will Smith. I remember that day
(38:12):
when Will Smith slapped him at the Oscars. I went
on the air and on the podcast as well, and
I felt like two I said that, I felt like
two of my uncles got into a fight, right, meaning
I love Will Smith and I love Chris Rock. You know,
I have no reason not to. I grew up with
these guys, loving their comedy, being influenced by them, telling
their jokes, you know, dressing like you know Will at least,
(38:36):
and and on and on and so um. I got
love for both of these guys, and for Chris Rock
to be his authentic self, to tell his story how
he chose to tell it. And I don't think he
was overly mean. He was a person who was aggravated
and frustrated. Of course you get slapped in the face
(38:57):
like that comes with it. But he did say I
love Will Smith. I grew up loving Will Smith. He's like,
I went to his concerts that, you know, all this
sort of stuff. And then he told the story for
folks that didn't know. He's like, yo, Jada put their
business out there about her hanging out with their their
(39:20):
son's friend and getting into that entanglement with august Alcina,
her son's friend. And then she brings Will Smith into
the studio and says, yeah, I did this, How did
that make you feel? Has the mic out in front
of them like this, and the audience of course laughs
because it's such an awkward position in being right. But
and then Will Smith, of course the meme came from
(39:42):
that with him crying. The internet had a field day
with it, and they like, you know, just because their
businesses out there, everybody's criticizing or you know, whatever it
is folks are doing with this. And then at the
end of the day, Will Smith's frustration boils over at
the Oscars when Chris is not even talking about that situation.
(40:05):
He didn't bring that up he said, and especially he's
like I normally wouldn't even talk about this. He said, Jada,
I love you, can't wait to see you and g
I Jane two. And that's what set him off, just
because you know what I mean. And so he was
telling the story. Fully. I don't think it was unfair
because she's the one and he's the one that put
that content out there for everyone to know. And he
(40:29):
could have gone a lot harder held. This could have
been in court, this could have been like as you mentioned, John,
this could have been all over every news outlet in
the country. Chris Rock said, I'm not a victim. You
won't see me on Gail King. And so the conclusion
I believe is that Will Smith said his piece and
he apologized. Chris Rock addressed it. He did not necessarily
(40:50):
accept that apology. He said, He's not going to fight
in front of white people, which is something that I
have a tremendous amount of respect for, because I recognize
that that looks bad on every black person that that
white person observing me cold could ever encounter. I'll look
at them. They always behave that way. You know that
this is kind of the the thing that we push
(41:11):
back against We have to represent ourselves well when we're
in mixed company. So with that said, my hope is that,
if I'm honest, this isn't finally over. My hope is
that maybe in some years time we'll actually see both
of them together in a room, shake hands, give a hug,
give past it. But in terms of the most fiery
(41:34):
part of it, I believe that you're right, Alexandria, that
the worst of that is over. So as you know,
we're going to follow that and every other story that
we've talked about today. I want to thank you both
very much again for today's conversation. This was a good one.
Once again, our guests today our Black Information Network news
anchors John Marshall and Alexandria It Come On. This has
(41:58):
been a production of the Black Information Network. Today's show
is produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd like
to share, use the red microphone talkback feature on the
iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe
and download all of our episodes. I am your host,
rams this job on all social media and I'll be
hosting another episode of Civic Cyper this weekend on a
station near you for stations, showtimes, and podcast info. Check
(42:21):
civic Cyper dot com and join us Monday as we
share our news with our voice from our perspective right
here on the Black Information Network, Daily podcasts
It's been another busy newsweek and we like to review
the major stories of the week here on the Black
Information Network. Today we are joined by Black Information Network
news anchors John Marshall and Alexandria at Kamomee to discuss
this week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network
Daily Podcast and I'm your host, rams's job. John and Alexandria.
(00:20):
How you guys doing doing great? Man? Glad to be
here again. Yeah, man, we got hello. Happy to be
here are you? How are you doing all right? Well, shoot,
let's get to it. Obviously, very very sad news to
start us off today. A group of four Americans from
South Carolina were kidnapped this week at a Mexican border
(00:42):
border city. Two of them were killed in what is
being described as a case involving mistaken identity, and there's
gang rivalry involved as well. So Alexandria, you cover the
South Carolina market with the Black Information Network, so tell
us a little bit more about this story and then
John will get your thoughts on it as well. Yeah. So,
like you stated, four black people went to Mexico, two
(01:04):
were found dead, two were found alive, and they're back
in the United States. But the group were kidnapped was
kidnapped when crossing the border near Brownsville, Texas. Has happened
last week. Family members were saying that they went there
for a medical procedure. We know that the Mexico Mexican
president has confirmed that they were caught in the crossfire
(01:26):
between two armed groups. I'm also getting reports that they
were mistaken to be Haitian smugglers as to why that
they were really you know, taken, kidnapped if you will.
One person has been arrested in Mexico because of this.
But this also started the conversation about how going outside
(01:47):
of the country for medical procedures, whether it's serious or
for cosmetics, it's not something that's really a biased that
people do because it can be unsafe when you leave
the country. Sure, sure, John, let's get your thoughts on those.
Just following up with what Alexandria said. I have a
friend of mine that went out to the Dominican Republic
(02:08):
for one of those cosmetic procedures just recently, and I
was worried for her, Like, Yo, she's going out there
by herself. I was like, Yo, are you gonna be good?
I just I don't know a lot about that side
of things, and the concern and the worry is definitely there.
I do think, however, I don't believe in coincidence, but
(02:30):
I do believe in random acts of violence and things
like that. But I do believe that there's more to
this story that either isn't being told to us yet
or hasn't been made public yet that will make this
make more sense. I'm not pointing any fingers or accusing
(02:51):
anybody of anything, but I just I truly believe there's
more to this random cartel rival gang stray bullets. It happens,
but in my heart, I feel like there's something else
that's going on here that either people don't want us
to know or the media is trying to hold onto.
(03:15):
I don't know, but something feels off. This story was
kind of off putting for me a little bit, because
you just never know what's really going on until you
know what's going on. It's a very unfortunate and sad event,
and I hope that justice is brought to the people
that were involved in this because losing you know, brother, sister, friend, family, remember,
(03:37):
especially out of the country, and we know how other
countries deal with their legal issues outside of the US
dealing with their legal issues. They can sweep stuff under
the rug and just keep it moving. And this has
happened before with I forget the young lady's name that
got beat up, that got beat to death over in
another country, and they just kind of brushed it up
(03:58):
under the rug until the US came in and said, hey, nah,
we need somebody to answer for this. So I believe
that there's more to the story that hasn't come out
yet that I hope will come out so we can
get some real answers. Yeah, yeah, you know, there's a
part of this that felt a little sad when I
came across it, and it said that obviously the two
surviving travelers were able to make contact with their families
(04:23):
and everyone's really happy. But then they had to bring
back two bodies, of course, as you know, and there's
a process of repatriating the deceased into the United States.
And that felt very grim and very sad, And so,
you know, to your point, there is obviously a strong
(04:45):
need to exercise caution whenever you're moving around. And this
is coming from someone I've been all over the world.
I've been in all fifty states. I live in Arizona.
So I go to Mexico all the time, to dj
or to vacation or for whatever reason. A lot of
my friends go back and forth, and I'll go with
them because they're from next goor to have family there,
(05:05):
and if I'm able to let folks know, then I will.
These incidents are certainly rare, but they do happen, and
it is something where as you mentioned, John, it's it's
it's we definitely need to exercise caution and really be
(05:26):
mindful of the wise and any risks associated with it.
With that said, any risks are always going to be
infinitesimally small, but that's that's not zero. So just something
to keep in mind. But we'll keep following the story,
and if there are any more people that get brought
to justice, which is our hope always in this country,
(05:48):
then of course we'll be happy to report on that.
Black Information Network News anchors John Marshall and Alexandria Kimoni
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. Moving on,
this was a new one for me. I learned a
little bit so this month, millions of Americans experienced the
(06:10):
reduction and their SNAP benefits as the federal government ended
the pandemic assistance portion of this program, and I had
never heard of SNAP before. And then when I read
a little bit into it and I found out that
it had to do with like EBT, I was like, oh,
I definitely know what EBT is. But anyway, let's go
into this a bit more. How is the reduction in
(06:31):
SNAP and if it's impacting black communities? John, this time,
let's start with you, all right, cool? So I have
two sides to how I feel about them taking the
extra benefits away. So let's start with what the extra
benefits are. So the emergency allotments, and I'm getting this
from the government website. The emergency allotments allowed all SNAP
(06:53):
households to receive an additional ninety five bucks and benefits,
or an additional benefit valued to the maximum benefit for
their household side, whichever value is greater. Now, that's for
food and different things that families need if they are
on these SNAP benefits. So my two different sides. Number one,
(07:15):
my father has always told me to have compassion for people,
and I believe it is the responsibility of those who can.
I believe it's the responsibility to help those who are
in need and who need help. If you're on snap
and like you said, Ramsay's EBT that that's all kind
of round up in one thing. You need some help.
(07:37):
And again I believe it is the responsibility of those
who can help to help. This increase happened because of
the pandemic. The pandemic by definition is some issue, something
big that has happened that is worldwide. In this case,
it was a virus that killed millions of people, that
kept people from going to work. That really just flip
the world upside down. You need help, whether you are
(07:59):
up middle lower below the poverty line. Everybody was affected mentally,
a lot, physically and financially, so help was needed. So
my compassionate side says, these people still need help because
there are long term effects of COVID, not just the
physical long term effects, but the financial ramifications and ripple effect,
(08:21):
and that's going on right now. So it's hard to
take back the help that is being given by the pandemic. Now.
The capitalistic and no excuses side of me says, at
some point in time, we're not in a pandemic anymore.
(08:42):
The government has said we are no longer in a pandemic.
That means that we're not inside anymore. You can and
you can go out, you can work, you can get
a job, you can do all these things like that.
And if nobody's gonna tell you, hey, stop giving me
free money, nobody's ever going to say that. So at
some point in time, somebody has to be the bad
(09:04):
guy and make the decision say, Okay, y'all, we're already
in trillions of dollars of debt. Taking ninety five bucks
from people on snap is not going to put that
much of a dent in it, But you have to
turn it off at some time. When is the right
time to turn it off? If not now? Again, I
wouldn't want them to take my money from me either,
but somebody has to. We are not in the pandemic anymore,
(09:25):
So when is it time to stop? What I say
to do, which doesn't matter because it's already been done.
They've already stopped it. What I say to do is
to really take a look at the numbers of the
people and the households that are on these benefits and
really crunch some numbers to see how that it is
affecting their household, their life, and their quality of life.
(09:48):
When you take this money away, Alexandria. Again, the money's
already been taken away. But if I had to, if
I had to make the call, I would do a
lot of research to figure out is this the right time.
So I have my compassionate side, but I also have
my Ay, look y'all, it's over. We're going back to normal.
We're not taking all of them away. It's going to
(10:09):
sound very harsh. Go out, get you a job. You
know what I'm saying. But you know I have two
sides to it. Sure, sure, alexandre I know you're you're
waiting to chime in. Go ahead, Yeah, No, I understand
where he's coming from. I do respect where what John
is saying, for sure, But my heart also goes to
(10:30):
the compassionate side of the fact of like he mentioned,
you know the economic standpoint. Honestly, we are in times
of inflation. We've done stories about eggs being eight dollars
like these. This is not normal. So people really do
need that money, People really do need that assistance. Of course,
there are people out there who abuse what it's there for.
(10:52):
But we cannot, you know, different here and be able
to separate the two. So we need to make sure
we help who we can help, and it's just unfortunate
for people who really need that extra money. But I'm
hoping that something can happen where eggs are not costing
eight dollars anymore. We know, like that's an exaggeration, but
(11:13):
we need something to It really does bring the inflation
down a little bit. Yeah, I think that that's uh.
When when I was kind of researching this, I saw
that the people who were most affected by this, or
the elderly, and I obviously, John, you're absolutely right. You know,
(11:33):
at some point this has to end, and ideally it
would end when things return to normal. But a return
to normal, in my estimation, is different for different people.
A government decision maker might think that because the viruses over,
things have returned to normal, But an elderly person where
(11:57):
you know, as you mentioned Alexandria, you know costs skyrocketed
and so forth, you know they're normal, might not have
a rived just yet. And so you know, to your point, John,
your compassionate side, I could definitely see a mixed approach
where you're accounting for the nuance. I think that would
(12:19):
be a little bit more strategic and beneficial to the
people that are actually impacted by these snap benefits and
the decisions. One of the points that I learned about
the pandemic, and it's very sad, is that it was
(12:39):
a massive transfer of wealth from poor people, and you know,
black people are overrepresented in those numbers. The massive transfer
of wealth from poor people in this country to rich people.
We sought across the board, and there's no two ways
about that. We saw the same thing happen in two
(13:01):
thousand and eight with the recession. We've seen it happen
time and again in this country, where it's been a
bit more directly impactful on black and brown people. And
all of these things have happened under the guise of capitalism.
It's often a catch all. I'm often very critical of capitalism,
(13:26):
so that means that I need to be a bit
more informed than the average lay person in terms of
what capitalism is, what socialism is, what communism is, and
the mechanics and the invisible forces that are at play
with respect to capitalism and these other isms that people
(13:46):
often tend to be afraid of, and what the benefit
is and what the goal is. And I think that
when you are a person like me, who part of
the reason why I loved having you on the show,
John is because you're your belief system oftentime challenges my own,
(14:07):
and those challenges are welcome because it helps me to
know whether or not I am based in a shared
reality or if I if my ideas or my beliefs
have married. But towards this end, my beliefs are that
a society should function collectively and with a government that
(14:32):
pursues happiness, human happiness and anything that is that any
anything else in terms of priority should be second to that.
And so asking your asking the question are the people happy?
How can we make them happier? What is it that
makes people happy? That being the fundamental core of a
(14:54):
society like this is I think something that everybody would
agree with. But in practice, capitalism does not put happiness
above profits. Capitalism does not put people above profits. In fact,
capitalism Opten bulldozes over people. And that's not to say
that we live in a purely capitalistic society. The truth
(15:15):
is we live in a socialist society. That is, you know,
capitalist capitalistic in some of the worst areas in arenas.
But if we did not have socialist programs, we would
not have any BT program or in US now benefits
program either. So I love your point John about they're
needing to be a more strategic and more nuanced approach
(15:39):
to these sorts of things because the people that are
disproportionately affected by it are Black people, and as we've read,
elderly people. And the last thing that I love I
want to think about is an old Black woman who
has responsibilities, who maybe cannot participate in the job market,
(16:02):
and who is dealing with the lasting benefits of the
pandemic and her world has not returned to normal just
yet and was really depending on these benefits and her
being forgotten. So I appreciate you pointing out the fact
that a mixed approach would have served the community a
little bit better. Black Information Network news enters John Marshall
(16:25):
and Alexandria Akimoni are here. We thus discussing this week's
major stories. I get the feeling we might have done
with this next one. In Atlanta, twenty three people were
arrested are originally charged as agitators during protest over the
opening of a new police training facility. Now the charges
have been upgraded to include domestic terrorism. Alexandria, this time,
(16:49):
let's start with you. Bring us up to speed on
this story. Yeah, so Atlanta is my hometown as well
as John is going to put that out there, so
we definitely know all about what's going on in the
city of Atlanta. So nearly two dozen people were arrested
in the city for their violent protests of the construction
(17:10):
site that's supposed to be a new public safety training
center for officers as well as first responders. But I
will say people forget the first responders part, only think
of the officers that have to train there. And they
have given this training facility the name Cops City. So
(17:31):
there have been multiple protests about it. This has been
going on for some time now. Well this was just
the latest incident and the latest protests. But police were
calling this one a group of agitators, and they actually
released videos showing the group of people throwing large rocks, bricks,
fireworks and more at police officers. Another video shows police
(17:55):
equipment destroyed. Thirty five people actually were arrested, but only
three were charged with domestic terrorism. And I wanted to
point out that the people who are charged are from
all over the country. This has been a thing that
has got the attention to people nationally. Only two of
the people who are facing who are facing I should
(18:16):
say that domestic terrorism charges are from Atlanta, so everyone
is really getting involved in the protests of what many
call cops. City. John give me with both barrels, Alexandra,
I am glad that you brought that up, because these
are not eight aliens that are doing this craziness. I
(18:38):
believe that everybody that was there throwing fireworks, throwing bricks
and all that stuff like that need to be in jail.
They need to be charged with domestic terrorism, all that
stuff like that. You can have peaceful protests, and I'm
all for that. And we know the climate of police
and our community right now, and it's been that way
(18:59):
for a while. It just seems to keep getting worse
and worse. So I understand that, and I am on
our side when it comes to that. But these people
are not from Atlanta. They come to these different cities
and they start agitating, and what it does it dims
the message of what we're the protesting is supposed to
(19:22):
be about. The same thing with Kyle Rittenhouse drove to
a two and a half hours to go kill people,
saying he's protecting businesses and stuff like that. These people
are not from here, and they are coming here and
they're causing a chaos, and they're causing a ruckis and
it's again, it's diluting the message. And I really don't
(19:45):
think that they well I can't speak for them, but
there are other ways to go about doing that. And
to be honest with you, protesting ain't really getting us
anywhere right now. It's it's really not getting us anywhere
right now. Are they crucial and necessary, yes, But there's
(20:05):
so much more that has to happen in order for
change to truly happen. Has to happen in legislation, It
has to happen with electing black leaders and leaders of
all color that will fight for us. Throwing a brick
at a cop city is not going to get you.
You're going to get arrested, bro' You're not going to
(20:28):
get your point across. Now you're charged with domestic terrorism.
That's a federal charge. So you know, I hate the
fact that the city gets painted or kind of overshadows
the thirty plus people who aren't even from here that
come here and start trouble. We can handle our own stuff.
(20:49):
We don't need y'all coming down here. You know what,
I'm saying, throwing bricks at our police and protesting and stuff.
We can handle our own. So I mean, I don't
have any sympathy for him. It's like it's like, uh,
drug dealers, right, if you deal drugs, you know what
comes with that. You can either go to jail. You're
gonna live a fast life, You're gonna have the nice
cars and the pretty girls and all that, but jail
(21:11):
comes with that. And that's just a part of the game.
If you go agitate and throwing bricks and fireworks at
police and calling it protesting, jail comes with that. So
it is what it is. Just leave our city alone.
Well I appreciate that. That's uh about what I expected. Um,
(21:32):
you as you as you know, and as as I'm
sure some of our listeners know. Um, these folks, these
agitators or domestic terrorists or whatever they're being branded as. Now,
this is kind of like, uh, this is a group
of people that I tend to empathize with. I tend
to understand their frustration. I think it was doctor King
(21:54):
that said a riot is the language of the unheard. Um,
all these people being from around the country. I suspect,
having talked to them personally, but I suspect they were
responding to calls for alas ship and support and solidarity
because I'm familiar with and maybe you two can help
(22:16):
me out. There's a settlement in the woods somewhere in
Georgia where protesters and activists have kind of taken over
and they like kind of are relegated to the trees,
but they are in their mind holding the line, bringing
attention to this sort of cop city thing that they've
(22:39):
branded this effort or initiative or enterprise. I'm not sure
exactly what they're doing, what the police are doing, but
you know, I recognize that there are people there who
are well aware of the fact that they will ultimately
be arrested. They feel they'll be arrested for the cause,
(23:02):
you know, and they know what comes with it. A
lot of people, a lot of our heroes have been arrested.
That's why we have all the lug shots and that
sort of thing. So they feel like they're going to
be on the right side of history by bringing attention
to what they believe is police overreach, police injustice, the
political establishment doubling down on funding the police, giving the
(23:23):
police more power, more tanks, guns, weapons, and the police
and their estimation are the ones that are often terrorizing
black and brown communities, and most of these folks, they
would like attention to be focused on programs that actually
prevent the necessity for crime in the first place. We
were talking earlier about snap benefits and what happens if
(23:44):
those go away. There are people that can't afford what
do they do? They figure out other ways to make money,
or they just take food, as any creature endowed with
consciousness would do with a nervous system and consciousness would do.
And then you committed a crime, and then they're police
there to arrest you, but there are no programs to
(24:07):
provide food. So there are programs in these people's estimation
that could exist that again could prevent the necessity of crime.
And so to see communities double down on giving the
police more resources when the police are often bad guys
and their stories can be incredibly frustrated, frustrating. The one
(24:29):
thing that I did notice is that, as you mentioned Alexandria,
they're throwing rocks and cocktails at equipment, and they're throwing
it's like firepackers or something like that, But there were
no shots. You have any guns They're not trying to
murder in any lives anything like that. So sure riot,
you know, destruction of property is there things that have
(24:50):
happened many times in many cities for many decades in
this country, and this is a new version of that.
But at you know, to your point, John, I think
that a lot of these people responded to a call
for solidarity support and all I should, and that's why
we ended up with so many people from all over
the country are taking im dedmonstration ramses. If people who
(25:14):
came up to the Civic Cipher headquarters and started throwing
molotov cocktails and bricks and rocks through your windows, man,
that's that's mark you you brought up, king Uh, peaceful protesting,
that's not peaceful protesting. Throwing molotov cocktails and bricks and rocks,
(25:35):
that is not peaceful protesting. That's that's violence. That's violence.
Let one of those molotovs hit the wrong person or
or set ablaze to whatever equipment they have, there's something explodes,
et cetera, et cetera. I really believe that their intentions
are I'm just gonna I don't know this, but I'll
(25:57):
say this. I believe their intentions are good, maybe not
all of them, but I believe their intentions are good,
but the direction that they are taking is not correct.
One of my favorite quotes is by Pastor Andy Stanley,
and he says, direction, not intention, determines your destination. Their
direction was molotov cocktails, bricks and rocks. Their destination was jail.
(26:17):
Whether they intended to agitate in the way they did,
some of them may have said, I'm going to jail
for the cause. I just think they went about it
the wrong way, and don't be everybody's human, right. We
know what we're dealing with with police, but it's not
all of them. It's not all of them. So I
(26:38):
just think they went about it the wrong way, man,
because they can seriously hurt somebody doing that, the same
way police have seriously hurt us. They can seriously hurt somebody,
and now they're in jail for manslaughter or murder or homicide.
You know, no this, you know the call for solidarity
actually resulted, if I remember correctly, from the police killing
(26:59):
one of the protesters of the one of the guys
died and let them tell the story. He was completely interesting.
In fact, I saw his photo earlier this morning, So
I think that might have been some time last year
when his life was taken by the police. So yeah,
the stakes are definitely that high. He's remembered as a
martyr now. And then, you know, to your point about
(27:23):
going about it the wrong way, that's another fair point.
You know, there's a lot of people that have a
lot of different ideas on how black people and oppressed
people should go about getting their rights or seeking their
customary freedoms. That were people who had opinions on what
women should do to get the right to vote, and
what black people should do to get the right to vote,
and to sit on a bus. You know, don't do
(27:44):
it this way, don't do it that way, don't protest,
don't you know. There's a lot of folks that have
a lot of opinions on how other people should pursue
justice in the world. And it's people like this that
don't listen to that, that do their best to move
the needle forward, whether or not they're successful, that my
heart goes out to. You know, I'm obviously not one
(28:05):
of those people. I use a different stage, a different platform,
and I do my best to have conversations and dialogue
and that can be effective. But that's not to say
that this sort of stuff that they're doing doesn't get
attention to and doesn't generate a response to. I would
never condone that activity, but the fact of the matter
is that we're responding to it right now, and so
(28:26):
there's no response. And then as far as people you
know coming to attack, you know, civic cipher where that's
a bit more of a no. I appreciate the question
because it's valid. I love these questions. I'll never I mean,
you were just in the spotlight for something, you know
what I mean, you were in a national spotlight for
(28:48):
a while. I'll tell you the truth. There are people
that text me the address of my little boys school,
like and my lawyers told me to consider that threat.
Have to go talk to the principles, because people are
threatening my child's life, you know. So I've been through
that and I know that that's what comes with it,
you know, and I prepare for it and I deal
with it. The difference is that I am not an institution,
(29:08):
I'm not a government. I'm a private citizen, and so
the nature of the threat and the intention behind the
attack is very different. If someone wants to end my life.
This is the path that I walk. Doctor King gave
his sermon, he said, I've been to the mountaintop, I've
seen the promised land. I may not get there with you.
(29:30):
That's the truth that I had to come to terms
with when I started my show. Now, if somebody wants
to come and end my life again, that's a very
different dynamic than people protesting a system that they feel
is oppressing them. And so I think that you know,
when you look at it, really what it is, it's
apples and oranges. With that said, I recognize in respect
(29:51):
that there are people who feel differently. There are people
who are big fans of the police. They think police
are everything and they can do no wrong, and they
completely look over all of the injustices, all the thin
blue wall of silence, and all of the police misconduct
in the police brutality in the years and decades and
eons of systemic oppression on black and brown communities. There
(30:13):
are people who look right past it and put a
blue flag stripe on their coat, rocket and put a
sticker on their card, you know, full speed ahead. Those
people often take issue with the things that I say
where I'm being critical of the system that I believe
could be better. Again, my approach is different from these protesters,
but were protesters just the same. They just have a
(30:35):
different platform. And when I say that, these are kind
of people where I can empathize with, I understand and
respect their frustration. Their tactics are not my tactics, but
I recognize and I can see the source of that.
And you know, these things and other things have moved
the cultural narrative in this country forward time and again.
(30:56):
These are not the first people to throw molotov cocktails
in this country. They're not the first people to throw firepackers.
Nobody's life was ended. They didn't go there with the
intent to kill, maybe to harm, I don't know. But
no guns were there. The only people were guns were
the police. You know. Unfortunately the police didn't kill anyone else.
And so you know, this is another story. We're just
(31:18):
going to have to wait and see, you know, what happens.
But domestic terrorism, as you mentioned, that's federal, and you know,
maybe they that's what they signed up for, you know,
and if that's the case, then a person like me
looks at that and respects what they're trying to do.
Black Information Network news anchors John Marshall and Alexandria Ikimoni
(31:39):
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. The
reviews are in or the network like the Netflix special
that Chris Rock did, and they've been mixed. He finally
responded to last year's Oscar Oscar's altercation with Will Smith.
(32:00):
So we're gonna get take from both of you guys,
But first let's start with you, John. What is your
reaction to Chris rocks special and slack program in the
world and is it finally over? Cool? Cool? So I
watched these special live. I think that was last weekend
when Netflix did their first live broadcast. Ever, let me
(32:21):
preface this with saying, I can't stand and it really
hurts to see two black men or two black anything man, woman, woman, woman.
I hate seeing us battle each other, right, especially especially
like Chris Rocks said at the end of his special,
(32:43):
don't fight in front of white black people. Yeah, you
know what I'm saying. So I hate seeing that. I'll
preface that with this, However, it happened, so it has
to be addressed, and it has and it's out there.
Will Smith, I believe, had a moment of emotion and
a moment weakness from an emotional weakness and acted out.
(33:05):
He got his lick in, and I believe Chris Rock
played it cool and got his lick back to the
tune of forty million dollars for two specials with Netflix,
and I mean really just tore into both Will and
Jada at the end. Was he going hard? He was
going real hard. Me personally, I love it from an
(33:27):
entertainment value perspective, but that was a very real situation
that happened. A grown man got slapped by another grown man.
Two that are two of the best to do it
in the entertainment industry. Again, very unfortunate to see. So
once it's out there. Chris Rock is a comedian, and
(33:47):
when you are a comedian, you get sort of a
pass to say things that people don't normally say. Bernie, Matt,
you say it all the time. I say what you
can't say. I say what you want to say. So
you get a chance to say things that people want
to say, don't or can't say. You get a chance
to be politically incorrect, and you kind of get a pass.
But what comes with that is the opportunity to get
(34:11):
slapped in the face sometimes by people who don't want
to who don't want to hear, or are not gonna
put up with that, or don't think it's funny or whatever.
That's what happened. That's what comes with being a comedian.
Same thing. Like I said before, if you're a drug dealer,
you know what comes with it, the fast cards, the money,
and the girls. But jail does too. Sometimes you go
(34:31):
to jail. Chris Rock went to proverbial drug dealer jail
by getting slapped in the face by Will Smith. He
got his lick back again to the tune of forty million.
I like what he did. I enjoyed the special. Everybody's
saying Marlon Wayne's is better. I still got to watch
that one. But for me, and I believe for the
rest of the entertainment world outside of just some of
(34:53):
the media that has to just keep it going, I
think it's over now. Will did his thing. Chris did
his thing. It'll be something else tomorrow, Alexander, let's hear
from you, no the same. I definitely agree. Will did
his thing, Chris responded, and it's gonna be behind us. Honestly,
when the hype dies down. A lot of people like
(35:16):
you send mixed reviews on this one. But I mean
a lot of people are supporting him, saying like he
has a right to deal with it how he wants to.
People are saying, well, you know it's over and done with.
It's been a year. Why are we bringing it backed up?
But you know he's a comedian, and why not incorporate
that that's something that happened to you And if you're
(35:37):
okay with talking about it, then what's the big deal.
I've seen clips, I haven't watched the whole special, so
I can't give a full opinion on the actual special itself.
But I mean, he's in his bag. He got that
from Netflix and he's doing his thing. So respect to
him for handling it and the way he wants to
(35:58):
and getting a bag out of that. So him, Yeah,
that's that's if you don't mind one more thing. If
Chris had started fighting on that stage with Will, people
would have criticized. If Chris had gone on a media
tirade around the nation, people would have criticized. If Chris
(36:18):
did a deal with Netflix for forty mill and tore
into Will and Jada, people would have criticized. If Chris
said nothing, people would have called him an expletive, you
know what I mean. So it's gonna happen either way,
and people are gonna have something to say. I say,
get your money, get your bag, and continue on with
your life. If Chris ain't, if Chris ain't mad about
(36:41):
it anymore, and he's taking care of what he needs
to do, man, he's good. Yeah, you know, And that's
that's what I was thinking. You know, there's a lot
of people that are gonna say what they're gonna say
about this, But the one thing that hasn't happened to
any of those people is getting slapped in the face
in front of the whole world for doing a joke
(37:03):
that I believe he said that he did not he
was not aware that Will's wife had alopecia. He didn't
say that in the specialment earlier after that incident. And
so for him saying I can't wait to see you
in g I Jane two, alluding to the fact that
she's not involved, and then getting slapped in the face
(37:24):
for it, that's a moment that will live forever. And
how do you turn that negative into a positive? You know,
Will Smith got a chance to say his piece. How
he did he went I saw two apologies from Will
Smith plus an additional Instagram post where he had like
text and kind of apologized in the text. And Chris
(37:48):
Rock was more or less radio silent until his special.
And I think it would have been inauthentic for someone
who we've known for thirty plus years to be very
open and honest about his variances, about his personal life,
about all that sort of stuff, to have him get
up on his next special and then not mentioned. You know,
remember that day when Will Smith. I remember that day
(38:12):
when Will Smith slapped him at the Oscars. I went
on the air and on the podcast as well, and
I felt like two I said that, I felt like
two of my uncles got into a fight, right, meaning
I love Will Smith and I love Chris Rock. You know,
I have no reason not to. I grew up with
these guys, loving their comedy, being influenced by them, telling
their jokes, you know, dressing like you know Will at least,
(38:36):
and and on and on and so um. I got
love for both of these guys, and for Chris Rock
to be his authentic self, to tell his story how
he chose to tell it. And I don't think he
was overly mean. He was a person who was aggravated
and frustrated. Of course you get slapped in the face
(38:57):
like that comes with it. But he did say I
love Will Smith. I grew up loving Will Smith. He's like,
I went to his concerts that, you know, all this
sort of stuff. And then he told the story for
folks that didn't know. He's like, yo, Jada put their
business out there about her hanging out with their their
(39:20):
son's friend and getting into that entanglement with august Alcina,
her son's friend. And then she brings Will Smith into
the studio and says, yeah, I did this, How did
that make you feel? Has the mic out in front
of them like this, and the audience of course laughs
because it's such an awkward position in being right. But
and then Will Smith, of course the meme came from
(39:42):
that with him crying. The internet had a field day
with it, and they like, you know, just because their
businesses out there, everybody's criticizing or you know, whatever it
is folks are doing with this. And then at the
end of the day, Will Smith's frustration boils over at
the Oscars when Chris is not even talking about that situation.
(40:05):
He didn't bring that up he said, and especially he's
like I normally wouldn't even talk about this. He said, Jada,
I love you, can't wait to see you and g
I Jane two. And that's what set him off, just
because you know what I mean. And so he was
telling the story. Fully. I don't think it was unfair
because she's the one and he's the one that put
that content out there for everyone to know. And he
(40:29):
could have gone a lot harder held. This could have
been in court, this could have been like as you mentioned, John,
this could have been all over every news outlet in
the country. Chris Rock said, I'm not a victim. You
won't see me on Gail King. And so the conclusion
I believe is that Will Smith said his piece and
he apologized. Chris Rock addressed it. He did not necessarily
(40:50):
accept that apology. He said, He's not going to fight
in front of white people, which is something that I
have a tremendous amount of respect for, because I recognize
that that looks bad on every black person that that
white person observing me cold could ever encounter. I'll look
at them. They always behave that way. You know that
this is kind of the the thing that we push
(41:11):
back against We have to represent ourselves well when we're
in mixed company. So with that said, my hope is that,
if I'm honest, this isn't finally over. My hope is
that maybe in some years time we'll actually see both
of them together in a room, shake hands, give a hug,
give past it. But in terms of the most fiery
(41:34):
part of it, I believe that you're right, Alexandria, that
the worst of that is over. So as you know,
we're going to follow that and every other story that
we've talked about today. I want to thank you both
very much again for today's conversation. This was a good one.
Once again, our guests today our Black Information Network news
anchors John Marshall and Alexandria It Come On. This has
(41:58):
been a production of the Black Information Network. Today's show
is produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd like
to share, use the red microphone talkback feature on the
iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe
and download all of our episodes. I am your host,
rams this job on all social media and I'll be
hosting another episode of Civic Cyper this weekend on a
station near you for stations, showtimes, and podcast info. Check
(42:21):
civic Cyper dot com and join us Monday as we
share our news with our voice from our perspective right
here on the Black Information Network, Daily podcasts
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