July 10, 2025 • 28 mins
On part 2 of today's podcast, Ramses and Q Ward highlight the increase of Black players being drafted in the NHL
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Still broadcasting from the Civic Cipher studios. This is the
QR code where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape.
Outcomes the man on the microphone. Who is my partner
in crime, Who is the pleasant voice that you hear
on your airwaves, who is just a brilliant human being.
(00:22):
He goes by the name of q Word.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Don't bleed in hype. It's over there.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I'm gone. I'm gonna keep bigging you up. I'd love you.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
It's over there with that fro. That's the one job.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Ye, Well, stay tuned. We got some more conversation for you.
We're gonna have some dialogue about a viral video from
a Karen falsely accusing a black team of stealing. This
is something that happens, and normally we don't get into
stories like this, but this one felt a little special
and every so often it's good to remind people with
a little bit of personal, first hand insight into what's
(00:54):
going on in the world. And also, we're gonna talk
about the NHL and their recent draft bringing on lots
of new black players and players of color. But before
we get there, it's time to hear from our very
own c Word and he's going to talk to us
about the hypocrisy of people who weaponize free speech arguments
to avoid accountability.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
You know, there's this thing that we have to do
almost constantly where we expose like racist distortions regarding our
people and regarding the oppositions kind of interpretation of the law,
(01:43):
interpretation of the constitution, and how they kind of circumvent
reasoning to make it fit them and ingest them. Yeah,
so calling out, you know, hypocrisies like this as people
weaponize you know, quote unquote free speech as a way
(02:05):
to just get off hate and bigotry. We noticed a
massive spike and hate speech after you know, mister Musk
declares himself a free speech absolutist.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Well it was documented, We notice the data.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
But yeah, so yeah, the loudest voices that are in
support of free speech, those that scream free speech never
really want to talk about the consequences of the things
that might be said or the type of impact that
might happen in these unpoliced spaces. They cry out that
(02:46):
they're being censored anytime you disagree with them, or anytime
they say something wildly offensive, anytime they lose a job
or a platform or anytime somebody pushes back, they scream
censorship it. But free speech doesn't mean you get to
say anything without anyone saying anything back. So let's be clear.
(03:09):
The First Amendment protects you from the government punishing you
for your words. That doesn't mean if you walk up
and say something wild to RAMS it's about Q, that
you won't get checked about it. It stops the state
from pursuing you or throwing you in prison for what
you say. Now, who knows how long protections like that
(03:31):
will last, considering what we're watching happen to our constitution now.
But the spirit of what it was supposed to mean
was that it does not guarantee you an audience. It
does not promise you a microphone. It does not guarantee
that people will nod along politely as you spread hate
and lies and misinformation. Freedom of speech is not freedom
(03:54):
from criticism, and it's definitely not freedom from consequence. They
talk about censorship, well, who actually gets silenced in this country.
RAMS teachers are told that they can't talk about racism,
They can't teach about history, slavery, the LGBTQ community, and
(04:14):
the lives of all those people that were impacted by
this country's history. Libraries are getting rid of books, taking
them off the shelves and punishing people that make those
books available. States are passing laws to keep kids from
learning about African American history, which is really just American history,
(04:36):
because they don't want people to feel bad. We have
seen protesters arrested, assaulted. We watched a journalist get shot
on camera just for being present at our protest. Whistleblowers
attacked and prosecuted for speaking out about things that the
(04:58):
government is doing. That's not right. That's actual censorship. When
you get booed off a stage for saying something racist,
that's not the same thing exactly. So again, Elon Musk
considers himself a free speech absolutist. Let's talk about people
like that that brand themselves in that way. They say,
(05:21):
I'm just asking questions while spreading wild conspiracy theories, and
they're right, they do ask questions, but they don't provide
any answers. They just stir the pot. They claim that
they're being silenced, but ram how many of them have
we seen buy social media platforms, sell books, start podcast
(05:41):
and even go on tour. Yeah, they talk about cancel
culture while they have millions of followers, So they want
you to believe that they're the victims here, but they're
cashing in on their fake censorship outrage right. They scream
cancel culture, make themselves out to be the ones that
(06:04):
are being ridiculed or held back or censored, and their
base gets excited and supports them even more.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Who wins from this manufactured cancel culture? Politicians, creators, podcasts, hosts,
Fox News, personalities that end up running entire federal organizations,
corporations that want to sell you ads and clicks and
views because they realize that that outrage is profitable. Division
(06:35):
is profitable, fear is profitable. Extremist movements have made themselves
to the mainstream, so hate has become mainstream. They launder
bigotry as free speech so they can recruit more angry people.
Here's the truth job. Free speech is important, it's vital,
(07:00):
it matters, and we need it. But free speech does
not mean free from responsibility. It does not mean you
get to lie without being challenged. It doesn't mean you
get to spread hate without people pushing back. If your
idea of free speech depends on shutting everybody else up,
(07:22):
if you need to bad books and have gag orders
and censorship to uncomfortable truths. That is not freedom. Once again,
that is tyranny. Yeah, we are not here to protect
anyone's right to feel comfortable in their hate. We are
here to protect the truth.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Well as always potent Ah, and I feel compelled to
say that you continuously show why you do more than
just work here. Indeed, you are the Q in the QR.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Don't believe it type, y'all?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
All right? Moving on. When asked some dialogue about a
viral Walmart Karen bossly accusing a black team of stealing.
So this video was was was wild. It's crazy that
these things are more commonplace. And again, typically we don't
do this every so often we have to just because
it's viral enough for it's like, okay, we should probably
(08:24):
talk about this. But for the most part, we try
to deal with larger questions. You know that we want
to make the changes at a higher level that will
ultimately tricker down, trickle down to you know, interactions like
the one we're about to discuss. But watching this one,
it's like, man, you know, I think that everybody always
(08:45):
thinks in their own mind that they're right. Nobody thinks, well,
maybe some people think. But but for the most part,
nobody thinks that they're they're wrong and they're going to
lean into it. You know, maybe people might find out
seventy five percent of the way through the ordeal and
might not have it out, you know, so they maybe
(09:07):
they'll back off the gas a little bit. But you know,
for the most part, people don't know that they're wrong, right,
And unless you speak to the preconceived notions that they have,
unless you get into like the deep seated parts of
people's minds or less, unless they do that work, they
(09:30):
do the introspective work, you know, we end up just
kind of bouncing into each other and having these moments
that you know, like you mentioned, these people are like, oh,
they're going to cancel me because they're filmed me. And
I didn't mean to be racist. He just happened to
be black. You know, this is something that we hear
a lot in the aftermath of these types of videos.
(09:51):
And then, of course the black people are the otherwise
marginalized people in these videos and these types of stories
are living a reality that is you know, it's their reality, man,
and I'm not going to take that from them because
it's also my reality, Like, I know exactly what this
looks and feels like. Right, So I'm gonna share this story.
(10:11):
Just bring everyone up to speed, and then we'll talk
about a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Viral Walmart Karen falsely accuses black teen of stealing all right,
This from the Black Information Network. A white woman has
been dubbed Walmart Karen after she falsely accused a black
teenager of stealing from her at the store. Video showed
by Penny Thompson, the fifteen year old boy's mother on
TikTok shows the exchange between her and the woman after
she made the false accusation about her son. In the clip,
(10:38):
Thompson and the woman argued over the theft allegation in
the parking lot of Walmart. As the mother was unloading
her purchases in the trunk of her vehicle. Thompson asked
two Walmart employees who were watching the heated exchange to
check the store surveillance cameras to prove her fifteen year
old son didn't steal anything. The mother accused the Karen
of racially profiling her son as there was no evidence
(10:59):
of the theft. The woman insisted her accusation wasn't related
to skin color, but stated that Thompson's fifteen year old
son looked guilty. Quote, I don't care what color you are.
He looked guilty. Unquote, the woman told Thompson, guilty of
what the mother responded. The woman then tells a man
(11:19):
accompanying her in a truck that she's waiting for Thompson
to hit her. When Thompson asked the employee to intervene
in the harassment, the workers allowed the exchange to continue
and suggested the mother put her items away in her car,
But why are they harassing me? Though Thompson asked that
I have no idea, an employee responded, the woman maintained
(11:41):
that the boy had stolen from her. Quote. You can't
act like it's because you're black, but it's not. He
knows he's guilty, the woman said. The video ended with
the woman appearing to take down Thompson's license plate. Okay,
so you know what cue, I'm going to say this,
(12:03):
Long before I had a show, Long before I had
enough money to take care of myself and in the
way that I do now and be able to live
more or less a comfortable life. Long before all those
things happened in my life. I knew that I was black.
I remember having this conversation with one of our good friends,
(12:23):
the ogo who I mean, we might have had this
conversation we were like fourteen around the bus. I remember
it coming from school. We used to play basketball in
high school. So and I was telling him, like, I'm black,
I can never steal because you can imagine how that
(12:46):
would reaffirm a stereotype that is associated with black people.
Right now, the fact is, poor people steal. Poor people
do steal. And you know why they still is not
because they have enough. It's because they don't have enough. Right,
But in this country, we don't have a narrative that
exists that suggested poor people steal. We have a narrative
(13:08):
that suggests that black people steal. We have a narrative
that suggests that Hispanic people steal. Right, that's the narrative
that exists, right And so I'm having this conversation on
this bus saying, listen, my blackness is what keeps me
from doing that, because could you imagine how hurtful that
would be for me to be the person that gets
(13:28):
caught stealing in front of all of the you know,
you know this took place in Phoenix, Arizona, so there's
not a lot at that time, especially black people work.
This is a direct quote from an old PD of mine.
Statistically irrelevant, a statistically insignificant amount of the population here.
(13:49):
So let's just say white folks was ore here. Imagine
me getting in trouble for stealing, and all the white
people can just walk by me in the mall or
you know police how they arrest, handcuff you, and they
sit you on the curb, and then everybody drives by
and they say, oh, look at the and and that
image reaffirms the narrative that exists in this country that
(14:11):
black people steal. Right, So that's what I said. I
could never do that, right, So I know what this
woman was dealing with in that video. Like listen, go
play the cameras, go look that. That's that's not I'm
not gonna say black people don't steal. I'm not gonna
say white people don't steal. Indeed, not for nothing. You
(14:31):
would remember this, Remember ad and I had that silver bike,
that silver GT. Yeah, I could tell you the race
of the person that stole that, and that was not
a black person. Why did they come so you know, uh,
you know, people steal, Poor people steal. If that guy
was a millionaire, he probably wouldn't take my little boy's bike.
(14:51):
But you know, he needed to get on down the
road and probably buy drugs or I don't know what,
I don't I don't get it. But I say this
to say that I understand the frustration here. I understand
what it's like to wear this skin whilst being accused
of the stereotypical behavior that's not necessarily based in valid facts.
(15:16):
I mean, I guess you could show data that lacks context,
but anything that lacks context is not really valid in
my opinion, right, context kind of tells a better story
than numbers alone, which hence the nature of this show.
But I just I say this to say I understand
that frustration, and I understand those of us that don't
(15:37):
necessarily need to resort to the worst behaviors in order
to get by, thrive, survive, whatever. Those of us who
have not normalized these criminal activities because of our necessity
are our drive and desire to thrive into to exist
(16:01):
comfortably enough, we get to look at this stuff and
cringe like ick. And I know I've said a lot,
but I wanted to make sure I said that you
anything that you can provide around this out for me.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
I mean you said it already. Man. We have to
live our life in our skin, and we don't get
to be you know, apolitical. We don't get to to
not carry what it means to be black in this
country into every room that we walk in. So when
when we are in public spaces, we speak a little quieter,
(16:39):
you know, we try to dress a little nicer, you know,
we behave less suspicious, we comply with the police. We
have to go out of our way to be less threatening,
to appear less criminal, to be less yeah, yeah, to
to not make anyone feel the slightest bit of discomfort,
because we know they will use the skin that we're
(17:00):
in to justify the mistreatment, the oppression, the unaliving, the assaulting,
the just comprehensive unfair treatment of people in black and
brown skin. So stories like this are almost not almost,
they're always far more damaging than you realize when you
(17:23):
read the headline, because you read the headline so often
it's like, okay, this again. But it's not just that
singular moment. It is a deep seated confirmation, biased thing
that happens, and people get to keep pointing at us like, yeah, see,
we told you. And when people completely lie and make
up stories like this, because of that deep seated hatred,
(17:44):
because of that fear, because of that mental conditioning, people
are ready to believe it, even when it's blatantly untrue.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Well, I wish they had data for incidents like this,
but these aren't. This isn't the sort of thing that
data tracks. So we have to kind of again deal
with higher level data and hopefully the conversations we have
trickled down and create the changes that we want to
see in day to day lives. So we'll keep trucking along.
Moving on to entertainment. I like this story, all right.
(18:14):
This is from Black Enterprise. The National Hockey League's recent
draft highlighted increasing diversity within the sport, marking a notable
shift in a league where just three years ago, eighty
four percent of players, coaches, and front office staff were white.
In twenty twenty three, the NHL launched its version of
NASCAR's Drive for Diversity campaign, the Hockey Diversity Alliance, a
(18:35):
group whose seeds were planted in the wake of the
twenty twenty murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The
initial chairs of the group were former NHL players PK
Saban and Anson Carter, both of whom are black. The
aim of the group is to create a more inclusive
and welcoming environment so that one of the NHL slogans,
Hockey is for Everyone. Is more than an advertising campaign
(18:58):
on Draft Night that the Diversity Alliance has put in
over the last two years bore fruit, as more than
twenty future NHL players from diverse backgrounds were selected in
the NHL Draft. Okay, I want to offer another couple
of things too. Some of these players were drafted at
(19:19):
like a high level in the draft, which you know, Q,
and I Q just informed me how drafts work because
of Dion Sanders' son and some other people that played
for Deon Sanders. So he kind of explained the kind
of how the draft works. So I'm catching up. But
when you're drafted higher, of course, that means that you're
(19:40):
a more desirable pick. That part I kind of knew.
But some of these black pairs were drafted at really
high levels in the draft, right, and so that means
that this was more than just a diversity initiative. This was.
I think this illustrates what diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
(20:04):
were supposed to bring about in the world. Right it
wasn't because a lot of people rework and have a
bad faith conversation I suppose about kind of the merits,
or rather the disadvantages of diversity equity inclusion. It's a handout.
(20:24):
Didn't earn it. They're they're giving these opportunities to people
that don't deserve it, and as a result, you end
up with less qualified people in jobs that should be
for the most qualified people. Well, I think that the
draft suggests that people who are just disqualified or more
qualified can come from diverse communities. But it takes people saying, hey,
(20:48):
we need to look beyond the blinders here to find
that talent, because some of this talent beyond our blinders
is more worthy and more capable than even the talent
that we've hyper focused on over the years. And in
doing that, not only do we create opportunities and areas
(21:12):
of advancement for communities of color, historically marginalized people, people
that we really want to be able to participate. I
think a lot of people who really initially champion DEI
initiatives were well meaning, well intentioned people. But you know,
the right is very good at re chronicling narratives and
relabeling language whether or not it sounds good. It could
be defunding police, or it could be diversity, equity and inclusion,
(21:34):
which is a very good, positive sounding thing. They're really
good at just taking this stuff and turning it into
like a bad word. It's crazy, but I think that
this here shows exactly what the benefit can be. And
add to that that if hockey is indeed for everyone,
now you have the potential for everyone to come to
(21:56):
hockey games. Hockey games maybe can have more people come
out and enjoy them because it doesn't feel like such
a I mean, I don't live in a cold place,
so you know, there's nobody around here playing hockey. Well,
I guess there's some hockey fans, but you know, for
the most part, I don't. There doesn't snow where I live,
so it's not like a thing I'm you know, But
(22:19):
there are people around this country who maybe they don't
like espouse hockey in the way that they do like basketball, football,
things like that, because they maybe don't see themselves in there.
They don't feel like it's for them, it feels like
elitists or exclusionary or whatever the case is. And the
NHL bringing in twenty new people from diverse backgrounds, I
(22:43):
just applaud that, man, this is what human beings should
look like. And it takes these diversity initiatives sometimes in
order to actually again look beyond your blinders. And I
don't I don't know how better to argue that to
people who feel like diversity somehow costs companies cost them directly.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
You know.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
It's I think that in a perfect world, here's your meritocracy,
here's your meritocracy right here, if you indeed open up
the playing field for everybody to come to the table,
right And I would argue that in a true meritocracy,
you will have had to address historic injustices that may
(23:33):
have disadvantaged different communities. In a meritocracy, I think that
the foundational premise of a meritocracy is that all men
are created equal, and all men can develop their skills,
and those who develop it the most, those who practice
the most, of those who do the most to study
the most, whatever the case is, rise to the top,
and everyone else falls in the stratification framework where they
(23:55):
fall right. But again, with historical context addressed, then you
have a more equal society. So in other words, you
need equity to address the past injustice is in order
to get to where a society is equal, and then
you can have your meritocracy. Right. So these are my thoughts,
(24:15):
of course, and I'm not the only speaker here. This
is the QR code, and you know, the brilliant mind
and voice that awaits will share some perspective and will
certainly enlighten me even further. I hope it enlightens you
as well.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Q Well, you know what, aram's not even just specific
to hockey, but in sports in general. The closest thing
that we have to true meritocracy is sports, okay, yeah, yeah.
And one of the reasons why is because everyone participating
and everyone watching knows the rules. In board rooms and
(24:54):
politics and the corporate infrastructure, there's so many different games
you can play, so many way you can weave you know,
everything from you know, the family and friends, old Boy
network to just there's just different way to manipulate the
rules of how the game is being played. But every
basketball courts the same length, every football feels the same size,
(25:16):
every hockey rink is the same, it's the same distance
and all the rules are the same across the board
for every player. So the truest thing we get to
meritocracy is sports, and I think that's why people gatekeep
and try to discourage, and you know, finances and money
have always been a hurdle that you know, people that
come from poor, underprivileged communities and impoverished communities. The access
(25:40):
to be able to participate in those sports is money
for equipment, for travel, for tryouts, for skates, for sticks,
for pads, for cleats, and you know, games like basketball
where all you need is the ball have kind of
always had a lower barrier for entry for us. But
you have to have access to skates and ice rink,
(26:03):
you know, someone to teach you a set of skills
that are not as natural as just bouncing a ball.
And giving access and creating an on rap for players
of color to get into this space doesn't mean we're
coming to take everybody's opportunity. It just says, hey, we're
just as good as the people that are here. Just
(26:25):
give us a chance, and you can see that, and
that is sincerely all we argue.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Across the board the whole time.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
We are not saying, treat other people less fair to
make a way for us. Just treat us fair too.
That's it, you know. So you know, kudos to the
National Hockey League, Kudos to anybody who's willing to get
everybody to give everybody a fair, equitable opportunity. And notice
(26:53):
I didn't say the word equal, because again, there are
communities and people who have so many strikes against them
and so many in front of them, and are so
far behind the finish line already. Just let all of
us have the same opportunity and create spaces where we're
allowed to thrive as well.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Yeah, that's so crazy, because I would have never in
a million years thought that I'd be having a conversation
about the NHLs let's be frank, diversity, equity and inclusion
initiatives in twenty twenty five and Trump's America where they've
drafted twenty players of color into the league. I would
(27:34):
have never thought. That's just I would have never seen
that on my BEINGO card. And you know what, I hope,
I hope that they thrive beyond measure. I hope that
the costco effect happens here because this not only would
they thrive just because the increased intendance, but just the
enthusiasm around that. I think that this is really a
human expression and I think it's time for human beings
(27:58):
to support human expression. So I'll be watching hockey if
I can. And you know that's saying a lot so
that in mind. Uh, thank you c for always doing
this show for me. I know that today was it
was kind of a tough day, but you inspire me
and I man, I love you. I couldn't have a
(28:20):
better brother doing the show with me, So thank you
for that.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I love you too.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Man.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
It's you know, I don't do the show for you.
I do the show with you.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
With me.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Yeah, well, I this is not a this is not
a favor.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Well no, I just realized I complicate things.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
This means just as much to me. Man.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Yeah no, I'm just I'm saying I complicate things. But
in any event, that's it for us on the QR
Code Today show of Course, was produced by Chris Thompson.
Check the red microphone talk back feature on the iHeartRadio
app to download this in previous episodes. Find us on
all social media at Rams's jaw qward, I am qword
Sorry and at Civic Cipher and until next time, y'all peace.
Still broadcasting from the Civic Cipher studios. This is the
QR code where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape.
Outcomes the man on the microphone. Who is my partner
in crime, Who is the pleasant voice that you hear
on your airwaves, who is just a brilliant human being.
(00:22):
He goes by the name of q Word.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Don't bleed in hype. It's over there.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I'm gone. I'm gonna keep bigging you up. I'd love you.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
It's over there with that fro. That's the one job.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Ye, Well, stay tuned. We got some more conversation for you.
We're gonna have some dialogue about a viral video from
a Karen falsely accusing a black team of stealing. This
is something that happens, and normally we don't get into
stories like this, but this one felt a little special
and every so often it's good to remind people with
a little bit of personal, first hand insight into what's
(00:54):
going on in the world. And also, we're gonna talk
about the NHL and their recent draft bringing on lots
of new black players and players of color. But before
we get there, it's time to hear from our very
own c Word and he's going to talk to us
about the hypocrisy of people who weaponize free speech arguments
to avoid accountability.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
You know, there's this thing that we have to do
almost constantly where we expose like racist distortions regarding our
people and regarding the oppositions kind of interpretation of the law,
(01:43):
interpretation of the constitution, and how they kind of circumvent
reasoning to make it fit them and ingest them. Yeah,
so calling out, you know, hypocrisies like this as people
weaponize you know, quote unquote free speech as a way
(02:05):
to just get off hate and bigotry. We noticed a
massive spike and hate speech after you know, mister Musk
declares himself a free speech absolutist.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Well it was documented, We notice the data.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
But yeah, so yeah, the loudest voices that are in
support of free speech, those that scream free speech never
really want to talk about the consequences of the things
that might be said or the type of impact that
might happen in these unpoliced spaces. They cry out that
(02:46):
they're being censored anytime you disagree with them, or anytime
they say something wildly offensive, anytime they lose a job
or a platform or anytime somebody pushes back, they scream
censorship it. But free speech doesn't mean you get to
say anything without anyone saying anything back. So let's be clear.
(03:09):
The First Amendment protects you from the government punishing you
for your words. That doesn't mean if you walk up
and say something wild to RAMS it's about Q, that
you won't get checked about it. It stops the state
from pursuing you or throwing you in prison for what
you say. Now, who knows how long protections like that
(03:31):
will last, considering what we're watching happen to our constitution now.
But the spirit of what it was supposed to mean
was that it does not guarantee you an audience. It
does not promise you a microphone. It does not guarantee
that people will nod along politely as you spread hate
and lies and misinformation. Freedom of speech is not freedom
(03:54):
from criticism, and it's definitely not freedom from consequence. They
talk about censorship, well, who actually gets silenced in this country.
RAMS teachers are told that they can't talk about racism,
They can't teach about history, slavery, the LGBTQ community, and
(04:14):
the lives of all those people that were impacted by
this country's history. Libraries are getting rid of books, taking
them off the shelves and punishing people that make those
books available. States are passing laws to keep kids from
learning about African American history, which is really just American history,
(04:36):
because they don't want people to feel bad. We have
seen protesters arrested, assaulted. We watched a journalist get shot
on camera just for being present at our protest. Whistleblowers
attacked and prosecuted for speaking out about things that the
(04:58):
government is doing. That's not right. That's actual censorship. When
you get booed off a stage for saying something racist,
that's not the same thing exactly. So again, Elon Musk
considers himself a free speech absolutist. Let's talk about people
like that that brand themselves in that way. They say,
(05:21):
I'm just asking questions while spreading wild conspiracy theories, and
they're right, they do ask questions, but they don't provide
any answers. They just stir the pot. They claim that
they're being silenced, but ram how many of them have
we seen buy social media platforms, sell books, start podcast
(05:41):
and even go on tour. Yeah, they talk about cancel
culture while they have millions of followers, So they want
you to believe that they're the victims here, but they're
cashing in on their fake censorship outrage right. They scream
cancel culture, make themselves out to be the ones that
(06:04):
are being ridiculed or held back or censored, and their
base gets excited and supports them even more.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Who wins from this manufactured cancel culture? Politicians, creators, podcasts, hosts,
Fox News, personalities that end up running entire federal organizations,
corporations that want to sell you ads and clicks and
views because they realize that that outrage is profitable. Division
(06:35):
is profitable, fear is profitable. Extremist movements have made themselves
to the mainstream, so hate has become mainstream. They launder
bigotry as free speech so they can recruit more angry people.
Here's the truth job. Free speech is important, it's vital,
(07:00):
it matters, and we need it. But free speech does
not mean free from responsibility. It does not mean you
get to lie without being challenged. It doesn't mean you
get to spread hate without people pushing back. If your
idea of free speech depends on shutting everybody else up,
(07:22):
if you need to bad books and have gag orders
and censorship to uncomfortable truths. That is not freedom. Once again,
that is tyranny. Yeah, we are not here to protect
anyone's right to feel comfortable in their hate. We are
here to protect the truth.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Well as always potent Ah, and I feel compelled to
say that you continuously show why you do more than
just work here. Indeed, you are the Q in the QR.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Don't believe it type, y'all?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
All right? Moving on. When asked some dialogue about a
viral Walmart Karen bossly accusing a black team of stealing.
So this video was was was wild. It's crazy that
these things are more commonplace. And again, typically we don't
do this every so often we have to just because
it's viral enough for it's like, okay, we should probably
(08:24):
talk about this. But for the most part, we try
to deal with larger questions. You know that we want
to make the changes at a higher level that will
ultimately tricker down, trickle down to you know, interactions like
the one we're about to discuss. But watching this one,
it's like, man, you know, I think that everybody always
(08:45):
thinks in their own mind that they're right. Nobody thinks, well,
maybe some people think. But but for the most part,
nobody thinks that they're they're wrong and they're going to
lean into it. You know, maybe people might find out
seventy five percent of the way through the ordeal and
might not have it out, you know, so they maybe
(09:07):
they'll back off the gas a little bit. But you know,
for the most part, people don't know that they're wrong, right,
And unless you speak to the preconceived notions that they have,
unless you get into like the deep seated parts of
people's minds or less, unless they do that work, they
(09:30):
do the introspective work, you know, we end up just
kind of bouncing into each other and having these moments
that you know, like you mentioned, these people are like, oh,
they're going to cancel me because they're filmed me. And
I didn't mean to be racist. He just happened to
be black. You know, this is something that we hear
a lot in the aftermath of these types of videos.
(09:51):
And then, of course the black people are the otherwise
marginalized people in these videos and these types of stories
are living a reality that is you know, it's their reality, man,
and I'm not going to take that from them because
it's also my reality, Like, I know exactly what this
looks and feels like. Right, So I'm gonna share this story.
(10:11):
Just bring everyone up to speed, and then we'll talk
about a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Viral Walmart Karen falsely accuses black teen of stealing all right,
This from the Black Information Network. A white woman has
been dubbed Walmart Karen after she falsely accused a black
teenager of stealing from her at the store. Video showed
by Penny Thompson, the fifteen year old boy's mother on
TikTok shows the exchange between her and the woman after
she made the false accusation about her son. In the clip,
(10:38):
Thompson and the woman argued over the theft allegation in
the parking lot of Walmart. As the mother was unloading
her purchases in the trunk of her vehicle. Thompson asked
two Walmart employees who were watching the heated exchange to
check the store surveillance cameras to prove her fifteen year
old son didn't steal anything. The mother accused the Karen
of racially profiling her son as there was no evidence
(10:59):
of the theft. The woman insisted her accusation wasn't related
to skin color, but stated that Thompson's fifteen year old
son looked guilty. Quote, I don't care what color you are.
He looked guilty. Unquote, the woman told Thompson, guilty of
what the mother responded. The woman then tells a man
(11:19):
accompanying her in a truck that she's waiting for Thompson
to hit her. When Thompson asked the employee to intervene
in the harassment, the workers allowed the exchange to continue
and suggested the mother put her items away in her car,
But why are they harassing me? Though Thompson asked that
I have no idea, an employee responded, the woman maintained
(11:41):
that the boy had stolen from her. Quote. You can't
act like it's because you're black, but it's not. He
knows he's guilty, the woman said. The video ended with
the woman appearing to take down Thompson's license plate. Okay,
so you know what cue, I'm going to say this,
(12:03):
Long before I had a show, Long before I had
enough money to take care of myself and in the
way that I do now and be able to live
more or less a comfortable life. Long before all those
things happened in my life. I knew that I was black.
I remember having this conversation with one of our good friends,
(12:23):
the ogo who I mean, we might have had this
conversation we were like fourteen around the bus. I remember
it coming from school. We used to play basketball in
high school. So and I was telling him, like, I'm black,
I can never steal because you can imagine how that
(12:46):
would reaffirm a stereotype that is associated with black people.
Right now, the fact is, poor people steal. Poor people
do steal. And you know why they still is not
because they have enough. It's because they don't have enough. Right,
But in this country, we don't have a narrative that
exists that suggested poor people steal. We have a narrative
(13:08):
that suggests that black people steal. We have a narrative
that suggests that Hispanic people steal. Right, that's the narrative
that exists, right And so I'm having this conversation on
this bus saying, listen, my blackness is what keeps me
from doing that, because could you imagine how hurtful that
would be for me to be the person that gets
(13:28):
caught stealing in front of all of the you know,
you know this took place in Phoenix, Arizona, so there's
not a lot at that time, especially black people work.
This is a direct quote from an old PD of mine.
Statistically irrelevant, a statistically insignificant amount of the population here.
(13:49):
So let's just say white folks was ore here. Imagine
me getting in trouble for stealing, and all the white
people can just walk by me in the mall or
you know police how they arrest, handcuff you, and they
sit you on the curb, and then everybody drives by
and they say, oh, look at the and and that
image reaffirms the narrative that exists in this country that
(14:11):
black people steal. Right, So that's what I said. I
could never do that, right, So I know what this
woman was dealing with in that video. Like listen, go
play the cameras, go look that. That's that's not I'm
not gonna say black people don't steal. I'm not gonna
say white people don't steal. Indeed, not for nothing. You
(14:31):
would remember this, Remember ad and I had that silver bike,
that silver GT. Yeah, I could tell you the race
of the person that stole that, and that was not
a black person. Why did they come so you know, uh,
you know, people steal, Poor people steal. If that guy
was a millionaire, he probably wouldn't take my little boy's bike.
(14:51):
But you know, he needed to get on down the
road and probably buy drugs or I don't know what,
I don't I don't get it. But I say this
to say that I understand the frustration here. I understand
what it's like to wear this skin whilst being accused
of the stereotypical behavior that's not necessarily based in valid facts.
(15:16):
I mean, I guess you could show data that lacks context,
but anything that lacks context is not really valid in
my opinion, right, context kind of tells a better story
than numbers alone, which hence the nature of this show.
But I just I say this to say I understand
that frustration, and I understand those of us that don't
(15:37):
necessarily need to resort to the worst behaviors in order
to get by, thrive, survive, whatever. Those of us who
have not normalized these criminal activities because of our necessity
are our drive and desire to thrive into to exist
(16:01):
comfortably enough, we get to look at this stuff and
cringe like ick. And I know I've said a lot,
but I wanted to make sure I said that you
anything that you can provide around this out for me.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
I mean you said it already. Man. We have to
live our life in our skin, and we don't get
to be you know, apolitical. We don't get to to
not carry what it means to be black in this
country into every room that we walk in. So when
when we are in public spaces, we speak a little quieter,
(16:39):
you know, we try to dress a little nicer, you know,
we behave less suspicious, we comply with the police. We
have to go out of our way to be less threatening,
to appear less criminal, to be less yeah, yeah, to
to not make anyone feel the slightest bit of discomfort,
because we know they will use the skin that we're
(17:00):
in to justify the mistreatment, the oppression, the unaliving, the assaulting,
the just comprehensive unfair treatment of people in black and
brown skin. So stories like this are almost not almost,
they're always far more damaging than you realize when you
(17:23):
read the headline, because you read the headline so often
it's like, okay, this again. But it's not just that
singular moment. It is a deep seated confirmation, biased thing
that happens, and people get to keep pointing at us like, yeah, see,
we told you. And when people completely lie and make
up stories like this, because of that deep seated hatred,
(17:44):
because of that fear, because of that mental conditioning, people
are ready to believe it, even when it's blatantly untrue.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Well, I wish they had data for incidents like this,
but these aren't. This isn't the sort of thing that
data tracks. So we have to kind of again deal
with higher level data and hopefully the conversations we have
trickled down and create the changes that we want to
see in day to day lives. So we'll keep trucking along.
Moving on to entertainment. I like this story, all right.
(18:14):
This is from Black Enterprise. The National Hockey League's recent
draft highlighted increasing diversity within the sport, marking a notable
shift in a league where just three years ago, eighty
four percent of players, coaches, and front office staff were white.
In twenty twenty three, the NHL launched its version of
NASCAR's Drive for Diversity campaign, the Hockey Diversity Alliance, a
(18:35):
group whose seeds were planted in the wake of the
twenty twenty murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The
initial chairs of the group were former NHL players PK
Saban and Anson Carter, both of whom are black. The
aim of the group is to create a more inclusive
and welcoming environment so that one of the NHL slogans,
Hockey is for Everyone. Is more than an advertising campaign
(18:58):
on Draft Night that the Diversity Alliance has put in
over the last two years bore fruit, as more than
twenty future NHL players from diverse backgrounds were selected in
the NHL Draft. Okay, I want to offer another couple
of things too. Some of these players were drafted at
(19:19):
like a high level in the draft, which you know, Q,
and I Q just informed me how drafts work because
of Dion Sanders' son and some other people that played
for Deon Sanders. So he kind of explained the kind
of how the draft works. So I'm catching up. But
when you're drafted higher, of course, that means that you're
(19:40):
a more desirable pick. That part I kind of knew.
But some of these black pairs were drafted at really
high levels in the draft, right, and so that means
that this was more than just a diversity initiative. This was.
I think this illustrates what diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
(20:04):
were supposed to bring about in the world. Right it
wasn't because a lot of people rework and have a
bad faith conversation I suppose about kind of the merits,
or rather the disadvantages of diversity equity inclusion. It's a handout.
(20:24):
Didn't earn it. They're they're giving these opportunities to people
that don't deserve it, and as a result, you end
up with less qualified people in jobs that should be
for the most qualified people. Well, I think that the
draft suggests that people who are just disqualified or more
qualified can come from diverse communities. But it takes people saying, hey,
(20:48):
we need to look beyond the blinders here to find
that talent, because some of this talent beyond our blinders
is more worthy and more capable than even the talent
that we've hyper focused on over the years. And in
doing that, not only do we create opportunities and areas
(21:12):
of advancement for communities of color, historically marginalized people, people
that we really want to be able to participate. I
think a lot of people who really initially champion DEI
initiatives were well meaning, well intentioned people. But you know,
the right is very good at re chronicling narratives and
relabeling language whether or not it sounds good. It could
be defunding police, or it could be diversity, equity and inclusion,
(21:34):
which is a very good, positive sounding thing. They're really
good at just taking this stuff and turning it into
like a bad word. It's crazy, but I think that
this here shows exactly what the benefit can be. And
add to that that if hockey is indeed for everyone,
now you have the potential for everyone to come to
(21:56):
hockey games. Hockey games maybe can have more people come
out and enjoy them because it doesn't feel like such
a I mean, I don't live in a cold place,
so you know, there's nobody around here playing hockey. Well,
I guess there's some hockey fans, but you know, for
the most part, I don't. There doesn't snow where I live,
so it's not like a thing I'm you know, But
(22:19):
there are people around this country who maybe they don't
like espouse hockey in the way that they do like basketball, football,
things like that, because they maybe don't see themselves in there.
They don't feel like it's for them, it feels like
elitists or exclusionary or whatever the case is. And the
NHL bringing in twenty new people from diverse backgrounds, I
(22:43):
just applaud that, man, this is what human beings should
look like. And it takes these diversity initiatives sometimes in
order to actually again look beyond your blinders. And I
don't I don't know how better to argue that to
people who feel like diversity somehow costs companies cost them directly.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
You know.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
It's I think that in a perfect world, here's your meritocracy,
here's your meritocracy right here, if you indeed open up
the playing field for everybody to come to the table,
right And I would argue that in a true meritocracy,
you will have had to address historic injustices that may
(23:33):
have disadvantaged different communities. In a meritocracy, I think that
the foundational premise of a meritocracy is that all men
are created equal, and all men can develop their skills,
and those who develop it the most, those who practice
the most, of those who do the most to study
the most, whatever the case is, rise to the top,
and everyone else falls in the stratification framework where they
(23:55):
fall right. But again, with historical context addressed, then you
have a more equal society. So in other words, you
need equity to address the past injustice is in order
to get to where a society is equal, and then
you can have your meritocracy. Right. So these are my thoughts,
(24:15):
of course, and I'm not the only speaker here. This
is the QR code, and you know, the brilliant mind
and voice that awaits will share some perspective and will
certainly enlighten me even further. I hope it enlightens you
as well.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Q Well, you know what, aram's not even just specific
to hockey, but in sports in general. The closest thing
that we have to true meritocracy is sports, okay, yeah, yeah.
And one of the reasons why is because everyone participating
and everyone watching knows the rules. In board rooms and
(24:54):
politics and the corporate infrastructure, there's so many different games
you can play, so many way you can weave you know,
everything from you know, the family and friends, old Boy
network to just there's just different way to manipulate the
rules of how the game is being played. But every
basketball courts the same length, every football feels the same size,
(25:16):
every hockey rink is the same, it's the same distance
and all the rules are the same across the board
for every player. So the truest thing we get to
meritocracy is sports, and I think that's why people gatekeep
and try to discourage, and you know, finances and money
have always been a hurdle that you know, people that
come from poor, underprivileged communities and impoverished communities. The access
(25:40):
to be able to participate in those sports is money
for equipment, for travel, for tryouts, for skates, for sticks,
for pads, for cleats, and you know, games like basketball
where all you need is the ball have kind of
always had a lower barrier for entry for us. But
you have to have access to skates and ice rink,
(26:03):
you know, someone to teach you a set of skills
that are not as natural as just bouncing a ball.
And giving access and creating an on rap for players
of color to get into this space doesn't mean we're
coming to take everybody's opportunity. It just says, hey, we're
just as good as the people that are here. Just
(26:25):
give us a chance, and you can see that, and
that is sincerely all we argue.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Across the board the whole time.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
We are not saying, treat other people less fair to
make a way for us. Just treat us fair too.
That's it, you know. So you know, kudos to the
National Hockey League, Kudos to anybody who's willing to get
everybody to give everybody a fair, equitable opportunity. And notice
(26:53):
I didn't say the word equal, because again, there are
communities and people who have so many strikes against them
and so many in front of them, and are so
far behind the finish line already. Just let all of
us have the same opportunity and create spaces where we're
allowed to thrive as well.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Yeah, that's so crazy, because I would have never in
a million years thought that I'd be having a conversation
about the NHLs let's be frank, diversity, equity and inclusion
initiatives in twenty twenty five and Trump's America where they've
drafted twenty players of color into the league. I would
(27:34):
have never thought. That's just I would have never seen
that on my BEINGO card. And you know what, I hope,
I hope that they thrive beyond measure. I hope that
the costco effect happens here because this not only would
they thrive just because the increased intendance, but just the
enthusiasm around that. I think that this is really a
human expression and I think it's time for human beings
(27:58):
to support human expression. So I'll be watching hockey if
I can. And you know that's saying a lot so
that in mind. Uh, thank you c for always doing
this show for me. I know that today was it
was kind of a tough day, but you inspire me
and I man, I love you. I couldn't have a
(28:20):
better brother doing the show with me, So thank you
for that.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I love you too.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Man.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
It's you know, I don't do the show for you.
I do the show with you.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
With me.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Yeah, well, I this is not a this is not
a favor.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Well no, I just realized I complicate things.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
This means just as much to me. Man.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Yeah no, I'm just I'm saying I complicate things. But
in any event, that's it for us on the QR
Code Today show of Course, was produced by Chris Thompson.
Check the red microphone talk back feature on the iHeartRadio
app to download this in previous episodes. Find us on
all social media at Rams's jaw qward, I am qword
Sorry and at Civic Cipher and until next time, y'all peace.
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