S3E3: "Spice & Faeries"

How has society affected the choices we've made as adults and how have they separated us from our identities? On this episode of the Melanated Movement podcast, Tess & Anne weave through women sports, intriguing royal secrets, pressing global issues, reflections on consumerism and speculative fiction with a pinch of fantasy. Join the conversation  and go onto this wild ride with us!   Have you joined the MMP Fam yet? 

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XoXo, Tess & Anne

 

 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Music.

(00:36):
What up what up what up what up,
hello my love hi how are you
girl hey girl i'm good how you doing i'm tired
girl oh my god we're recording at night
time that's how dedicated we are we you know it's funny
we say that like we didn't normally like we got so
used to like recording during the day they were were like night time but the

(01:00):
original the original thing was us recording like eight that like that's so
true oh my god research prep outline record listen to it again and then go now
it's like night time i'm dying.
Hey fam welcome to another episode of

(01:21):
the melanin movement podcast with attestant
and this is your girl and hey do you
guys hate that yeah honestly be honest we'll
probably we'll still do it but do you hate it oh my
gosh oh my gosh i asked my
partner the other day and she thought our um theme song was

(01:43):
corny because she was helping me like listen to a few
things you know how i get high like five four three
yeah and then and then you know when you go back and
you listen to so so many times i'm like wait is it
corny and she's like i mean i'm like what does that mean
it's not not corny but if
you think oh it's your signature i'm like that's right they're gonna just

(02:06):
we're just gonna enjoy the ride like it says right when it says you know it's
your signature like are you trying to see your like your signature is just to
be corny i mean i feel like makes sense but also no how dare you so i'm corny
what you're saying okay right i feel like that's i feel like that's That's what's being said right now.
And I don't know. I don't know. If I'm corny, that's fine. It be what it be.

(02:28):
Right. If I'm corny, babe, make sure it's Mexican corn because it's delicioso.
Delicioso. Delicioso. Mmm. Mmm.
Man man i feel like we miss you girl because she'd be like i'd be like this
see this is exactly what i'm talking about exactly what i've been saying,

(02:51):
you and your corny jokes both of y'all corny as fuck and that's okay i feel
like everybody has their tribe and you're my tribe and if we're corny we're
corny we're corny i mean we just you You know,
this is the embrace all that I am era.
Embrace all pieces of you. Exactly. Just be real, be true, be yourself.

(03:15):
All of that. All of that. So, how have you been?
How has Women's History Month, Women's Celebration Month treated you?
It was cool. I feel like I really enjoy the fact that everyone's been taking
time to, like, post different women.
Like different pieces of like women's history honoring
different women and people have had like conversations have

(03:38):
had events I just feel like it's been very like it feels like a warm hug I like
the way you said that it feels like a warm hug yeah yeah I like that that's
awesome it is yeah it is how has it been for you now that we're at the close
of it I feel like this an excellent question.

(03:59):
I unfortunately feel as though I haven't been intentionally participating and partaking.
Like it's almost like one of those things like, oh, it's there, right?
I feel like for Black History Month, for example, I was very much like,
yeah, I'm blackity, black, black, black, right?
And celebrating that.

(04:19):
And I feel like, I mean, maybe because I think of my blackness a whole lot more
than I think of my womanhood. Maybe that has something to do with it.
However, though, like I feel like I've also been taking part in.
Like event and activities that celebrate women but like for example like march madness,

(04:41):
i've been watching like some of the basketball games some of
them against my will but you know we're not gonna talk about that um to be honest
i've been waiting on you to give me the update i have i don't have enough time
in the world to sit down and watch something honestly yeah well you know what
is it like date someone who likes sports they said like it will be fun they
said but you You like sports, Ted.

(05:01):
I mean, I do. You are a sports head.
You know when the season starts, ends. You know when they're training.
You know when it's the D-League versus the... Girl, you know the stats.
Speaking of which, I don't know if you knew that the NFL has...
I mean, I don't think it's called a rivalry, but while we're off,

(05:24):
you know, in the offseason, There is another league that is owned by Dwayne
The Rock Johnson, actually.
It used to be the XFL and the AFL. Now they have merged to become the UFL.
And so they have spring football.
Yeah. I knew about the summer league. Your eyes are just glazing over.

(05:46):
My eyes have been glazed. My eyes have been glazed.
It's like 2 p.m. so their first
game is actually going to take place this sunday the
first game is on is this sunday and it's a spring league they have
they have like the this team that is represented that
d that is in based in dc is called the dc defenders so i'm actually looking

(06:08):
forward to that also so march madness been watching the ncaa women's season
now they're like down to the sweet 16 and that's where i'm like okay now we
can talk because it's like there are fewer teams teams that I have to keep up
with because it was just too much.
But now you're keeping up with 16? Yeah, there were so many.
I don't even know how many teams there are, but there is a lot.

(06:29):
I mean, if you think about the amount of colleges and universities there are,
and then think about like the majority of them have like a legitimate,
like a division one, I think is what they call a basketball team.
So like if you think about that and it's just kind of like dwindling,
like the top ones down to 16.
And then I think it's called sweet 16 and like eight and then four.

(06:50):
And in the finals or whatever.
So it's a lot. But now I'm going to start to like plug in.
And then the last thing I'm done talking about sports, but we're talking about
women's, but like celebrating women, right?
I went to my first women's soccer game last weekend.
Washington Spirit, again, a DC-based team.

(07:12):
Trinity Rodman, if anybody doesn't know, people don't know who Trinity Rodman
is, get to know who she is. She is Dennis Rodman's daughter and a freaking beast
on the field. I can only imagine.
Isn't that crazy? Yeah, so she actually is part of the U.S. women's national team.
Her along with this other woman, Kate Krueger.

(07:34):
And they both play for the Washington Spirit. And I got to see her play. And it was amazing.
And she's very good.
Like, I was honestly very impressed. If your dad is a professional,
like, sports player or a professional anything, if you end up in the same sport

(07:57):
or in the same profession as your parent.
You have a lot to live up to. You have a lot. You have large shoes to fill.
And there's big things to uphold too and there's probably
huge shoes to feel concerned the size of
some of these basketball players right can
you imagine oh my god did you ever
watch the stories how like dennis rodman talked about

(08:20):
how he broke his a third leg more than
once there's a story no don't say
the word i mean i
didn't say the d word i just said penis you can't say
that why not no youtube girl youtube's
like no words you gotta change your words for different
things now oh okay well his censorship is different.

(08:41):
Okay okay he's popovich i don't
i don't want to go too too far but anyway if you go on to on on
fun it's funny because it's on youtube there's an animated version of
him telling his story i forget what show it is however there's
so one of the stories he tells of one of the times he has
he has broken his third leg more than once
which is wild to me because the

(09:03):
idea one time is already too much
for me you know what i'm saying so one of the stories he
was telling was he wasn't he was laying on his
back he was in the bed right and his partner
that he was with a woman was on the other like
she was standing imagine you're laying on your bed and you're
the door to your bedroom is across the room but

(09:25):
directly in front of your bed but like like enough room
to run and jump key right that's
the key right so old girl was
like oh let's try something new let's try something
fun because like you know rodman is into that
fun stuff so old girl runs from the
door of the bedroom to the bed

(09:47):
leaps into the air opens up to try to land on it are you being serious i'm dead
ass you can look it up right now i don't know oh my gosh are you but it's it's
a story that robin has told he literally said old girl jumped on his third leg and when she landed,
she landed wrong and his third leg broke.

(10:08):
Like, to the side. And he has to go to hospital to fix it. My whole thing is.
I don't think there are...
Any types of and and we've had an
episode on kane on different types of
kane before rodman king does that
even qualify though because like i'm trying to imagine like

(10:29):
what world in what world do you
think you know what would be a great idea if you
just did a somersault and tried to
land on my part on my third leg
like i feel that that's a song there's
a song about it not about about rodman it's wild so imagine
he he is an athlete he is a professional

(10:51):
athlete right he's probably gone through many different things probably messed
around with many different people so he's probably trying to add excitement
into his life he's like whatever you want to do babes i'm down right so you
never heard that song jump jump on it that's right sit sit on them no girl,
that's right i don't know if i should say fortunately or unfortunately if not but no No, I haven't.

(11:15):
Jump on it. I think it's Trina and Trick Daddy. That sings that one.
Okay. That's right. Jump, jump on it.
And then she goes, that's right. Suck on the C word. C-L-I-T.
That's right. Suck on it. Suck on it. But do you know that they're strange,
though? On the same topic of like Dennis Rodman and his daughter.
I mean, I don't know if things have gotten better since. What a way to segue

(11:38):
from a broken third leg to like, now let's put him and his daughter in the C sentence.
I mean, it's my fault for doing that story right after you were talking about
her. So I do apologize. But the segue was crazy.
Speaking of Rodman. Let me tell you about his relationship with his daughter.

(11:59):
You see? Okay. Here's my thing. No, but like, it came from a very innocent place.
And I'll tell you what. And I'll tell you why. Did it?
Because if you, yeah, no, like, I mean, I think so. I hope so.
Because I can be very, you know.
Oblivious to connection sometimes
my apologies but the whole thing
is like how do like how do babies come to be like how how does it happen right

(12:25):
it's through reproduction and how do you go about you know reproduction copulating
how do you do that by somersaulting onto somebody's third leg and succeeding
instead of breaking it you know and so imagine she's a direct.
Outcome successes his escapades yeah and that's probably why they don't talk anymore i don't know,

(12:47):
they're strange my understanding is that
they have been a strange like he has three daughters
if i'm not mistaken and they're they for the
most part they're like nah we're good nah we good i
mean i don't i mean you can i
don't know i don't want to who knows who knows
who knows wish you the best hey so what

(13:10):
do you want to talk about today so i appreciate you giving me a little snippet
of your life briefly of your escapades your your march madness escapades i can't
wait until the summertime where
i can have more screen time less school more work but still more like.
Brain if that makes sense more i love how you call

(13:31):
it screen time i really do love how
you call it yeah that more more let's have more screen time
yeah I feel really bad because you
just sound to me like you're you don't have yeah except
instead of parents it's just school like yeah so like for example when it comes

(13:51):
okay I am going to talk about screen time really really quick so like I work
on my computer I read on my computer I do my assignments on my computer whatever
and to break that apart like I've
been printing a lot of things that I'm reading for for like my courses,
which is a great idea outside the fact like sometimes they give you like a hundred
pages and the idea of printing a hundred pages just doesn't sit right with me.

(14:12):
You know what I'm saying? Yeah, it hurts my soul just hearing it. It does.
However, comma, I'm not gonna lie, I have been printing because flipping the
page is, I feel like I get more, like when I'm doing like research and I'm writing
and it's on my computer and I'm like going back and forth and comparing, I still do that.
But like it printed, I'm like, okay, okay, I can flip through.
I'm taking in the information but girl i read so much oh

(14:34):
jesus christ but yeah the screen time like the
computer itself has been giving me like crazy migraines so
i've been closing my computer and then just reading the paper so has that has
that helped oh yeah it has okay good it has i feel like by having the physical
paper it gives me a sense to kind of get away from my computer which i love
so like on my lunch break instead of bringing my laptop out with me on my lunch

(14:58):
break when i'm at at work,
I just take out my paperwork and I read and I highlight and I make my notes.
And then when I go to class...
I actually, I do take notes that when my professor is speaking on my computer,
I like to keep my notes together when it's time for me to study.
However, I have my paper next to me that I've been writing on.
I feel like it, like me writing physical notes really helps me like take it

(15:18):
in versus like typing on the computer. You know what I'm saying?
I get it. I get it. Yeah. But you got to do what works for you. Period.
During the summer, I just, this is so funny. During the summer,
I want to watch more movies. Like I want to watch more movies. I want to watch more TV.
I don't want to be lazy though. i do want to go out and have like
a good summer like i want to be naked on a beach somewhere however i

(15:39):
do want to watch like some movies well just
let me know i mean i don't have any movie recommendations right now
but if you need any book so i've been can i
say smut on who knows try it
okay i guess okay well it's already out so one
of the one of the most satisfying
findings of late for

(16:02):
me has been realizing like there's a
host of communities that are just very
much into reading you know and I put and I don't even want to put reading quotations
but I'm doing the quotation like sign because a lot of times when you're thinking
about reading and and apparently putting things in quotations allows for balloons

(16:23):
to start flow the screen anyway,
i wonder what else can be done anyway yeah sorry guys
get distracted it's crazy my
meds wore off so um they're
they're pushing through i doubled my shit hell yeah i'm gonna need i'm gonna
need an adjustment or maybe i should wait for like the sun to be fully out to

(16:45):
see like is it me jesus or like is it like time for seasonal yeah because let
me tell you the seasonal seasonal stuff was It was like real and it was scary and a lot.
I digress. And we've been doing that. What was I talking about?
Oh, literature. Reading. Yes. You're talking about reading.

(17:06):
Yes. So I've like, you know, scrolling social media or whatever,
realizing, you know, all the algorithm and also your phone is always listening to you.
And so for a very long time, I have been a, I have been a longtime subscriber to Spicy Books.
Oh spicy honestly truly confession and then like i feel the queer the better.

(17:30):
But i don't think because you're more into queer books and
i feel like i i don't read too many queer books
i read just regular i think it's just
an exposure thing too like yeah like something catches
my eye i read the back i like it i'm in it but
like it takes like word of mouth for me
to to go look for a book you know what I'm saying I don't

(17:51):
purposely go into the queer section looking for books I just I
literally if I want a book sometimes I just browse and then whatever catches
my eye like I'll grab and I read really yeah you are brave and I commend you
brave yeah because you just go and you you just pick a book at random I can't
do that I need to go down a rabbit hole and read like 500,

(18:13):
not 500, that's an exaggeration.
I need to read at least a solid 10 reviews for a book.
And yeah, at least in order to like get the, I look at the highest ratings first
and then I'm like, okay, well, what made somebody give it low ratings? And then I analyze it.
And then I'm like, okay, you know what? Is it worth my time?

(18:35):
No. Do I want to find out and be disappointed?
Yes let me find out but in terms of
like my love for queer books i blame this author and
i blame him in the best ways because like she really opened up my eyes but
also casey mcquinston like the spite like
spicy queer books casey for sure red red white and royal blue and it's like
and it's adapted into a movie and it's on prime okay i watched the movie i couldn't

(19:00):
it's really good oh my god i get the book i mean and tess was like what do you
mean you didn't get it I mean.
I feel that it's it has its audience and they got me, you know, just knew what to write.
And I think like there's something about writing that I feel like if it's like
the more like the more it's set up in prose, like the more I like it.

(19:24):
And it's like the way that they write, the way Casey writes is absolutely incredible.
And I just like got me down this rabbit. but I'm like what else can
I do to satisfy this void that I now feel and that
I must fill as soon as possible and and that like hence my
journey towards that but authors like Adam Silvera who
also like writes very like young adult

(19:45):
but very like poignant hard like
reality type books but are just like really good is
also a really great author but it what made me
feel really good and in order to wrap this up what makes me
feel it was very satisfying to discover and maybe
my phone was listening to me or my phone was just like the algorithm was
always listening always listening always listening absolutely

(20:06):
absolutely wild so like in some ways
i'm like thank you because now i've discovered
that a lot of people are like when people say oh do you like to read
it like oh yeah i love to read and digging like self-help books
and you know very serious like non-fiction is
a great self-help book uh oh i do like you i like you are a badass i also like

(20:27):
oh the secret the the subtle art of not giving an f yeah by but i read those
back to back and it's really good also untamed by glennon doyle phenomenal.
Furiously happy i forgot who wrote it but anyway and
like those are sparks like you know like they're like kind of peppered in
to like my very long relationship with

(20:50):
spicy romance like i love a good
like happy ending story but
you know the spice in between like is also like great and
finding out that a lot of people and i mean a lot
of people like that fictional stuff
but also with with spicy pepper and people are like give it
to me like there's a there's this huge audience for like fairy smut and it's

(21:13):
huge audience for like magic smut and dragon smut and i feel like we're just
like the adults who never grow up and like who let us be adults because these
are the kinds of things that we're into and we love reading and love escaping into.
Yeah the dragons grew up too. I feel like there is a big audience.
Yeah did you see the dragons grew up too?
For sure. I love you you so much this I mean the same dragons

(21:36):
you're reading about when you're younger when you get older you don't
have to change your preference in what you like to read
it's just good for you to expand it I feel like as
we get older we're like oh we need we need to read the self-help books
we need to do all these things organize our lives and our minds and
then whatever I mean you should not should you can because
I feel like it's it's always good information that you can take or leave

(21:57):
or put certain things in your toolbox and leave the rest whatever it
is however if you like to to read about dragons girl read
it do not let
society change the things you like because of the expectations
that we put on ourselves once we get to a certain age
that is the validation that i
needed to hear without knowing that i needed to hear so thank you for

(22:18):
giving me permission i shall continue on my quest oh i
wanted to say i one way i do look for
books because i do like to to find like black authors I
do like to find like female authors or whatever so I'll follow a few like book
pages on Instagram or something like that or a book talk or whatever and I'll
see what they recommend and I'll screenshot it and if it's available in the

(22:41):
library near me like that I that's what I'm saying like word of mouth is really
a big thing for me but I don't.
Go to the point of looking for reviews outside of
the first like you're like hey read this it was amazing
period i'm gonna go that's all you need to
say less yeah it's i am impressed thanks but
i'll go and i'll find the book and i mean and

(23:03):
i always read the back i read the first few pages see if i'm getting in the
mood for it pick it up i know thing is really crazy you like that book that
book gonna be done in like two days and then go back and give the next one the
list i just that is that's been my thing i loved it when i used to work next to the library,
that library card active all the

(23:25):
time that i need i feel like i need to
go to library more libraries more see the
thing about it is also that we have
gone into such a big like consumerist type of society that even those things
have become like obsolete i feel that that even like looking at videos of like

(23:47):
book talk or like reels or like people who absolutely love to read, they show these,
oftentimes they'll show like these like crazy elaborate libraries or a mountain of books.
And there's even, there are even videos of like, there's a difference between
loving to read and loving like the books.
And it's just a bunch, it's just the people buying a bunch of books.

(24:08):
And I mean, nothing wrong against it. I just think about like.
Like take it like what it would what would that feel like again,
like building that sense of community is like, oh, I have this book and I loved
it and I want to share it with you and then sharing. And I feel like that's
the whole concept of a library.
And we're not helping with those institutions remaining afloat.

(24:30):
Right. And I'm part of the problem, too, you know. And so like you mentioned the library.
I'm like, oh, you know, it's a great idea. I should
I should rely on those more instead of
just every time I want to read something either I get
in like kindle unlimited or something or I go and buy it you know so thank you
for thank you for bringing that up I like libraries I like going to them I feel

(24:53):
like it's something that I like to do things that take me out of my norm because
I feel like it focuses my brain so when When I go to the library,
I feel like now, like, it just gets me to zone in.
Also, I am someone, I also do the audiobooks to the library as well.
So, like, I'll go and I'll either go pick up the book or I'll listen to the audio.

(25:14):
Like, if I'm obsessed with the book, I have the physical copy of the book. I have the audiobook.
The audiobook will, like, play in the car, like, when I'm driving to work, from work, whatever.
Get home, open the book, and keep reading. or like
if I'm like hanging out like at home or
whatever like I'll play the audiobook and I'll have and I'll
physically flip through it especially if I've like read it before I

(25:35):
just want to hear it or touch the pages I like to do that
so I use the like the library has
so many apps now to where you can do the audiobook checkouts so
like I'll do the audiobooks I get the physical books and we
just make that thing put that thing on rotation I
love that another another genre
and I think we're we've been talking about books for a while which

(25:56):
just speaks to how corny and nerd and nerdy we
are we tend to talk about a book or two i i
also really love i love poetry and i
love like discovering new artists and speaking of black authors
this one her name is upile chisala
and she wrote oh my
god i forgot the name of the book but i actually took

(26:18):
a make did a took a screenshot of this and
it's a very and it's a very it's a
very short one but she said they
said stay love will grow your
heart said go you don't know the first thing about gardening i love that right
right i it's i feel like such simple prose and yet it's like it felt like a

(26:45):
bit of a gut punch you know what's the name of the book No.
Her name is Usile Pusala. How do you spell that?
It's U-P-I-L-E. And last name is spelled C-H-I-S-A-L-A.
She only has like the one major publication.

(27:05):
So if you just type her name, like you will be able to find it.
I did take like a picture of her book, but I can't seem to find it right now.
We'll find it. Yeah, really good.
I mean, I have it. I own the book. I bought it. I went, oh, my God.
So when I was I was in Portland recently for work and I heard about like one

(27:26):
of the largest bookstores in the country.
Haven't checked if it's in the
world, but it takes up an entire block and that thing is full of floors.
And I was like, how am I going to fit all of these books?
And I managed to buy like four or five of them. and that's
i and one of the books that i purchased was actually from her um
and i got two more and i got um pablo naruda's love

(27:49):
poems and it's like hitting the
spot anyway okay i'm done we'll put the pictures of the books because we do
have a little highlight on our instagram that is called book recommend book
recommendations so the books that tess is recommending we're gonna put them
on our our highlights that way if you guys are interested in joining i guess

(28:09):
the reading circle with Tess. Yeah.
You can check it out and see what you think and then also let us know what you
think. See if your taste is a little bit similar to Tess.
Yeah. I mean, we should do a book club, guys. Like, let's just like all start
reading. I promise there will be above the belt, like, you know.
Good books like they'll be appropriate to all audiences nothing

(28:31):
nihilistic unless you're into nihilism nothing nothing
about like nothing doomish there's no
capitalism no globalization well maybe a little
bit of capitalism it doesn't hurt anybody if you're
into like japanese like an like arcane type of history esoteric
stuff like she became the sun is one of the books that Russell picked up and

(28:52):
it's oh my god oh my god you've heard of it I heard about that one it's really
good good see I don't only read spicy books you stepped up you stepped out of
the once in a while once in a while you're gonna be like let's see what's out there.
Tess I feel like you have these major categories you

(29:13):
read like really deep like educational books books ask tess
about any theorist in sociology and she like she
brightens up girl listen i'm gonna call you after this he's
like can you help me um because i'm but also like my situation also very much
into like he pinned him against the wall and whispered in his ear or something

(29:34):
not the whisper i mean you gotta whisper something sometimes i'm saying what did he whisper tess,
run from mine that's a common one that is just like you're mine i'm like well
you better say that you're mine too right that's a feminist in me it's like
you better you better talk back say you know about his property,

(29:56):
life for a life.
Oh my gosh i was gonna say whisper to
me um run from the other side of
the room and jump on my third leg i feel
like we're writing we're pretty much writing the book for dennis

(30:16):
rodman he actually does have
i think he does have some books out but i think they're more so about
his career than his escapades but
there's plenty interviews about his escapades though
so i'm sure i'm sure if you guys are now you're
gonna have me go down a rabbit hole as you should i feel like that rabbit
hole is kind of fun because you like the smut right there's smut

(30:37):
in there i don't think i want to picture him specifically
though with that like there's a certain like aesthetic like how
tall is kind of how you'd hear now i want to
talk about the height i've seen the movie bridesmaids which is like i climbed
that like a tree i'm not into that
that type of like that category fair there's
a specific like aesthetic like

(31:00):
they have to be kind of like ethereal like very maybe like
again fairies you know magical beings i don't know like things like that it's
very it's gonna be very specific i don't like men's no more oh i'm delivered
i said on my face i said i like fairies i'm delivered.

(31:25):
For real you know i'm not gonna say this because we're related but fun fact
i have a i have a fairy tattooed on me wait is it the one that's in your i have
a big tattoo yeah it's a beautiful one by the way and you got it done pretty
like pretty early on. I got it done over a decade ago.
I need to actually redo it. I would love to get my whole bag done.

(31:47):
What was the inspiration behind that?
It's more so it's me guiding my own way. It's freedom.
It's my own interpretation of St. Michael or Archangel Michael.
It's like, because the thing is, I got it right after I had my son,
right after I found out I was deploying, like right
after all these major things and because I

(32:09):
had like I was really independent for a little while
by then I was like I'm definitely like with
God leading of course I'm the one that's like making like
these decisions and guiding which way I'm going and it's
like with this angel on my back I feel free and I feel protected and then and
then I like the fact that the wingspan goes across like my shoulder blades so

(32:30):
it feels like almost like the cross if you look at it because Because her legs
are together and one is kind of up and then her arms are out and then she's looking out.
So it's spiritual, but in my own version.
When I first got it, I just thought about it as freedom because I got it when I was 19.
Then somebody stopped me and my mom when we were walking.

(32:51):
And they're like, you have the symbol of Archangel Michael on you. It's on your back.
I had a random person I never met this
person and I was like cool and the
thing is too our family has like really amazing like
connections we're very spiritual and Archangel Michael
was very very like prevalent like within my grandmother on my dad's side my

(33:14):
mom my older brother like they're all into Archangel Michael specifically and
so when they said that I like it's like I went into like myself and I started
like thinking about things but also it happened like right Right before I deployed.
So it also gave me another sense of like, all right, I'm protected and I'm good.
So, I mean, all my tattoos have a meaning, but that one was a really big one for me.

(33:38):
That's a fantastic story. Thank you for sharing. Of course. Do you have any
tattoos? You don't have any tattoos, right, Tess?
No, I do not. You're more the holes, the piercings.
I said the holes. The holes. Yeah, I got into piercings quite a bit for a few
years. And now I think all but three have closed again.

(33:59):
I don't know. Like I wanted to, you know, I don't know if I,
I mean, you know my story, but I don't know if we've shared if it's something
that's been shared publicly.
But when I went into the military, I ended up finding out while in basic training
that I had a tumor in my chest.
And so I got it operated.
Everything's fine. But I really, I mean, it was quite a journey and it's something

(34:24):
that significantly impacted my life and also really impacted my faith.
And I wanted to put something, I wanted to get the scar tattooed over.
And for a long time, I kept debating, like, what should I put?
And I know it had to do something with my own spirituality and my faith.
But then I forced it to do, like, I don't know, like the more I waited to make...

(34:51):
To make that decision, the longer I waited, the less interested I was in pursuing that.
And then I'm just like, at this point, what time is it? I feel like I've been
vibing without them for as long as I have.
Also very skittish. Don't really like pain. You know, like I don't want to volunteer

(35:12):
for a painful experience. And I've heard some things.
Some of them feel really good. like the one really like with
my eyebrows up i'm really good some of
them feel really good like spicy
good like third leg good like third leg good like the one on my back there's

(35:32):
portions where they're on my back and like my whole body was tingling it was
so good because there's something there's something even like as they do like
reflexology for example like or even like like acupuncture,
like I feel like some of those, some of the points that you hit and like that,
that are very closely, like your nerve endings, like some like are directly

(35:55):
connected because to, to some of those receptors,
replicator is sort of mirror an orgasmic experience. Can I say orgasm for you too?
Okay. I mean, yes. Shan Boodram is on, is on YouTube and she says all kinds of things,
but it's just like most recently, like YouTube has

(36:15):
been putting out like certain things like to monetize like you
just can't say certain words and you can't there's all kinds of things all kinds
of rules and i'm just kidding it's i i agree i agree and shall comply and shall
comply all right ladies and gents boys and girls everything in between we're
going to jump into our current event current event.

(36:43):
So tess and i were talking about a few things that are going
on some serious and not and some not so
serious and we were talking about like what's
that called media what's that called when media when media is
being controlled to where they show you what they want to show you
so like there'll be this big thing going on the
next thing you know we're like following kate middleton around and

(37:04):
oh my god she's been found and so who
planted that that got me i think i
think i was just minding my business you know living my
life minding my business you know trying to
stave off the seasonal affective disorder and
all of a sudden across social media platforms supporters started asking where

(37:26):
where the heck she was i think for me it started on on x on twitter i feel I
cringe whenever I say X on Twitter and I would look on there and then people
just started speculating and then they started developing like these conspiracy theories.
Next thing you know, of course, like the moment you click on one thing,
then it becomes like this very like ubiquitous, like pervasive thing is all over. And so...

(37:49):
I started like reading, like seeing more videos about it. And then people started
making like some outlandish, outrageous comments.
And where did she go and all that stuff. And then it's just the next thing you
know, like it took a life of its own. Right.
Until to the point where, you know, a homegirl had to make a statement the other
day about the fact about by why she had gone into the shadows for a while.

(38:14):
I didn't even know she was missing. Like.
Right. right when did you okay so okay what
where did you know she was missing when she made the statement
or did you okay there was
like all this hoopla last week sometime when
they're like oh they found kate middleton she's out with prince
whatever it is i'm just like well isn't.

(38:37):
She normally out with him or like aren't like
i understand everybody has like their duties as princess duchess whatever
it is so i'm like if you don't see her with you
know her husband been i would imagine she's out with some type of
like royal people i don't check
for it for for that so for me i was
like all right cool she was missing now she big i didn't and

(38:57):
i just move on but it was a
frenzy it was on everything everywhere every news
station on twitter on instagram on tiktok
people were making all kinds of things and then there.
Was um like rumors that coming out saying that she had
cancer i'm not even sure i mean
she she does she did so okay just let

(39:18):
me feel your anger because i was part of this thing from the beginning okay
i got you
i got you we just talk about like you know
marxism and existentialism and it's
like oh my god did you hear about k middleton anyway right so
i guess at like some point
around around december wasn't like didn't catch on

(39:41):
and for me like on my end until probably a month
ago maybe where people were like i think
it was like the last time she was seen people were saying that it
was december like december she was seen publicly december 2023
okay so let me tell you let me tell you sorry so then
so then about like a month ago i got caught on
but i had been taking like taking a life like

(40:03):
like little by little people were like wait a minute it's like like especially
Americans I think it's like one day we're just like eating their breakfast cereal
or something and then goes into like went into an introspection like where's
Kate Middleton you know it's like one of those things you know when you're just
like taking your morning dump or something and you're like wait a minute you
know what I haven't heard about lately.
The princess of Wales, you know, like saying something like that. And so, right.

(40:27):
So what happened was, yeah, so people started talking about like how they didn't see her.
So the her, like the entourage and like, I guess like the royal,
like either royal family, like somebody,
started like, instead of just like addressing anything, which by the way,
I feel that whether you are a public figure or not, you have right to your own privacy.

(40:50):
You have the right to take the the time that you need to take care of yourself,
to take care of your family.
You do not owe the public every single piece of yourself and every single piece of your life.
That's not the case, you know? And I feel like, again, it's a very entitled thing to do.
But I guess since people were talking about how they hadn't seen her,

(41:11):
like two things came out.
The first thing was like a video that people saw up and down where it was photoshopped,
because I guess it was like a photo with the family during the holiday or something
like that where the three kids were around her and she was in the middle but
then like I guess the fingers were crooked or like something would happen it
was like a bad photoshop job is that why there was an apology for the photoshop.

(41:32):
Yeah so right yes that's exactly why
it was like it was fingers clothes hair like.
People like when I tell you people took the time and like
took the time to dissect that thing i couldn't see
any different again i was kind of like oh let
me dip my toes in and like i went and again i got i went out of
it right and then the second thing

(41:53):
that happened was like another one where they were like oh kate
middleton out and about going to like the market or
something and then it was like a lady anyway it
didn't like okay apparently she was taller didn't really look
like her people like don't play with us you know don't play with
us great brand like what do you mean you know they're like this ain't
like we're not the ones right and so apparently i

(42:16):
mean we kind of know this but the prince
of wales is you know he's
he's a little player apparently and then like had this
apparently had a whole affair so people were
thinking like is it why like she's in the back or
like she's like in the back like she hasn't come out and it's because like there's
all this stuff going on and anyway like people

(42:37):
went ham when i'm telling you people went ham people went ham and then
even like some celebrities were like making jokes about it like
photoshop some things I know like Blake Lively was over
that was one of them but for example she's like oh my god sorry guys I know
I haven't been I have you haven't seen me in a while and she like badly photoshopped
her fingers on a drink ad that she was doing she posted on her Instagram she

(42:57):
apologized later on so I knew all of that stuff was happening so finally I guess
it got to a point where we're just like so outrageous.
I mean, it was so big that she went ahead and I think it was either earlier
this week or I think it was earlier this week actually. Yeah.
Where she actually had like a special like release, like and she went on by

(43:19):
herself and she explained what was going on.
She had stomach surgery back in
December or January, at which point they discovered that she had cancer.
And so she has been undergoing cancer treatment, which is why she's,
you know, taking the time to be with her family, to be with her kids,
be with, you know, her hubby or whatever.

(43:40):
And that's what's been happening. But the
fact that she you know poor lady had to leave and like make her
own like to make that statement was wild but anyway
that's what's been happening imagine imagine you you
get all of this because the thing is like ever since a documentary with
prince harry and what's well what's her name megan and megan came out about

(44:02):
how intense like the media is i feel like it really did make my feelers go up
to like where there is always a lot of media with the royal family and yeah
yeah the The idea of all this conversation over,
like, Photoshop fingers to me is just, it's wild.
The distraction, the thing is, though, seriously, I gotta send my prayers first to her.

(44:25):
Because cancer is tough, for sure. Sending prayers to her and her family.
The idea of her husband cheating, one, is expected because he's the prince, right?
I feel like that's part of, like, royal tradition is to cheat, right?
I feel like that's part of their tradition. because like you
saw what his dad did and like with princess diana people

(44:45):
were saying that you know oh my god i hate that the first anecdote like the
first example that i have is always like from marvel and i'm so sorry i haven't
been watching marvel lately but anyway in thor ragnarok there was this scene
where like in the very beginning actually where the father was he like Like,
his life force was what was keeping Hela,

(45:07):
their sister, who's, like, stupidly evil.
He was, like, his life force was keeping her at bay. It was keeping her, like, imprisoned.
And so the moment that he ended up, like, dying, nothing could hold her back.
And so she came back with a vengeance, right?
And then started, like, wreaking havoc. People are saying and speculating that

(45:30):
the Queen, may she rest in peace, the Queen's life, like being alive,
was keeping all of the karma for the British families.
Like, from the beginning of time, like, all of their wrongdoings,
especially the specific lineage, was keeping their wrongdoings,

(45:53):
like, you know, at bay, was keeping them from having karma come and bite them in the butt.
And now that she's no longer alive to fend those things off, all of a sudden, like...
All this stuff is like resurfacing and they're saying like princess diana is
coming from depths of like wherever she's at and saying like my turn cracks

(46:14):
neck start to wreak havoc you know and you know i mean we love to i mean we
love a good a good revenge story you know.
A good revenge story is hilarious but i
feel like so the i feel like her story and
the things they they make up i feel like
her her story right now i feel like she was forced to

(46:35):
tell the public that of her cancer 100 like it's
absurd right but the thing is like y'all wasn't given
a care before but all of a sudden you guys care when there's so many things
that are erupting right there's so many things that are erupting and they need
to make major decisions on between like overseas seized decisions with Ukraine

(46:58):
and Russia and what's going on in Palestine and what's going on in Congo,
what's going on in Haiti.
And then for us within the States with our elections coming up and with global
warming and all the things that are now on the Congress desk that they're not
fucking signing, excuse me, they ain't signing nothing, man.
They not doing nothing right.
They They rather make adultery no longer illegal in some states than look at

(47:26):
the unemployment within our states.
They rather outlaw homeless people sleeping outdoors in public spaces than look
at what's going on with our inflation.
They'd rather look at all these other things that are so unimportant versus
focus. And the best way for them to distract us from actually focusing on the

(47:47):
things that we want is to highlight things that make no sense.
Like this princess and the things that she's going through is a big thing.
However, for all its attention and then the Photoshop thing was unnecessary.
Necessary and look i do i mean i
hear you and i agree with you and i think like distraction is like
the biggest form of like like

(48:08):
diversion from the cruelty and all
of these absolute awfulness that's happening i do
have to say specifically with this particular crisis with
like kade gate was i think yeah i
think it i think honestly it
it stemmed from the public i think it really released them
from the public and it got really big and I think

(48:30):
that the the media outlets tried to cover
some things up but then ended up like making it
much worse like I I don't I don't care about that family like I genuinely don't
but then if somebody's gonna be like yo where has she been since like twin like
twin where have you been for a minute oh my god that song has us like by and

(48:52):
it's so cold so cold tiktok oh my goodness anyway,
I feel like in the moment that one person raises that question and maybe it was a plant, right?
Maybe it came from like somebody high up in the ranks of what's happening in
the world or whatever or government or whatnot.

(49:12):
And kind of like planted that seed and just like left and waited for it to catch
fire and sprout and then catch fire.
I think that but it really essentially stemmed from the public.
Somebody came and was like, yo, where has she been? and then
next thing you know people like you know what good point even
i somewhere i was like interesting i guess
she hasn't been around and then that turned into more people asking questions

(49:36):
and then people taking to and you know we have social media yeah and like just
just set on fire and it's immediate right it's like wildfire essentially and
so they just kind of spread and it could no longer be contained and then they
try to contain it and then they were like nope you you can't fool us anymore.
Hence why they want to like ban certain, you know, social media platforms now

(49:57):
because the, like the ability for us to just like, Google is not even the number
one way like to search for information.
I wouldn't call it a search engine because like TikTok is not a search engine.
It's like, it's a really like, it's a social media platform,
but it provides so much education that like people are not.

(50:17):
And I, and I caught myself doing it too, like looking for for like vacation,
you know, ideas or whatever, boom, TikTok.
And so it's, you can't expect to contain something that people were just really behind.
And I honestly feel like that distraction that you just spoke of,
it is, do you think some of it is from like, is our own doing in terms of we

(50:39):
are so overwhelmed and we need, we need some sort of release.
And so we kind of like, Like, let's laugh about this because otherwise we're
just going to keep crying forever.
What do you think? No, I think we've been groomed this way because regardless
of how hectic or how stressful like your life is, you do look for like a source

(51:01):
of like relief. Like you're going to look up a TV show.
You're going to look up a song. You're going to look up something. thing however the
idea of like what we consume it being
so controlled and manipulated and we're
groomed to see certain things and we're groomed to accept it
the way it is and i i feel like we have become this because they've made us

(51:22):
this way not so much because we're looking for an outlet but that's what we're
now feeling is the outlet however everything can't be that like we can't We
can't just be doing fun stuff all the time.
Like we have to discuss serious things, especially how they're like directly
impacting us. So I just feel like it's just something that's been...

(51:43):
We were groomed to be oh you want to hear a fun fact tell me
you ever hear how like people were like oh like
the the the weather is controlled by a weather machine right
right so like there's
been plenty of movies that says that we have a weather machine or whatever
at this point in time i believe that
there's a weather machine but not in a

(52:03):
like in a literal way but in
the sense of like over like over time how like
we we've been impacting like the world in major ways how
we're like killing the earth and by us killing the
earth like we're causing like all these different changes to
happen that would normally happen and instead
of us like instead of us saying you know there's global warming global warming

(52:25):
is attached to a lot of different things like us getting sick all of a sudden
all this new bacteria the way our skin feels we're all this shit right all these
things so like people are not realizing
how we're impacting the weather so you're in a state of the Lulu,
thinking that you can get all these Amazon packages and you thinking that it's
not going to affect the weather.
We are the ones turning the knobs on the weather machine, right?

(52:49):
We're the ones that's really making the weather what we want it to be.
We're the reason why all these things are happening.
So I had this like aha moment when we were talking about globalization earlier.
And I was like, literally, like we are the ones that's turning the knobs.
Next thing you know, Matrix is going to come out and be like everything you thought about.
And he just was It was like, I'm not going to think about it.

(53:10):
DeLulu, you got to then take that thing back and put it in the front of your
head and be like, I knew I had the answer.
No, but yeah, I just thought about it. No, those are some bars, Anne.
Like you dropped knowledge. No, no. But honestly, if you think about it,
like the way that you were able to.
Speak to that in like in in such an

(53:32):
illustrative way but like figuratively speaking that
is exactly what we've been doing i mean i i deleted the
amazon app off my phone recently because i
felt that i was like i'm part of the problem like we're like cogs in the machine
and we're like we're headed full speed toward towards our own destruction and

(53:53):
we're like no no more no more But then we're also kind of like pressing on the
gas at the same time and doing it like subconsciously.
And it's it's so engulfing even as we talk about the wealth disparity.
Right. I mean, I was looking at speaking of Amazon, for example,
I was I was looking at the net worth and how it has doubled over the last year

(54:18):
for like trillions of dollars.
And I'm talking about the trillions have doubled. I'm not saying the billions
and then turns to trillions. I'm talking about trillions have doubled.
Not him being worth $199 billion, Jeff Bezos.
He's worth... Yeah. And Amazon itself is worth... I forget how many trillions.

(54:39):
Oh, Amazon. No, they're in the trillions. Yeah, they're in the trillions. I'm legit, trillions.
And they were able to double that. They had a dip as expected in 2021,
and then it just skyrocketed. And I'm like, I'm complaining about,
you know, monopolizing, monopolizing cultures and like colonial capitalism.
But I am very much like very involved in that. And that's just not healthy.

(55:02):
And so when you pictured it that way, because people were like,
oh, it is like we control the weather. But aren't what movies like aren't.
Movies specifically designed for that though
like they provide you with these literal tangible
examples of how planets and
societies can be destroyed and then but they have this subliminal message underneath

(55:24):
right underneath that sometimes can go right over our heads because if you think
about it you're looking at the movie you're like okay well we don't have one
of those but we are yeah machine yeah so yeah it was beautiful and at this point and now it sounds again,
self-destruction maybe not self it's not
self-preservation at all it's the opposite of that i'm like take
me out no don't take me out in the first wave

(55:46):
i i do have a question for you though right you
know i'm sort of like world ending apocalypse let's say
zombies are you going to fight a
zombie zombie apocalypse or like some
sort of like widespread virus hell not i'm gonna take you out of the first wave
right nah i'm more like a prepper like if i see homies turning into no johnson

(56:12):
and johnson zombie let me tell you bro so when it was time shout out to.
Johnson and johnson when it
came time to get those covid vaccines i told like
i was like no my son my mother all of us we
may have the same vaccine because whatever the zombies that
we turn into to we have to be able to coexist because it because my brother

(56:34):
got a johnson and johnson vaccine he can't stay with us i'm so sorry you cannot
bunk with us you cannot i turned into a vaccine snob and i was one for a very
long time you didn't you didn't use pfizer or bust period.
Meanwhile people are just getting the vaccine so they can go back into

(56:55):
the capitalistic lifestyle all of going to work we mean
what we're like you didn't get pfizer like what do
you mean moderna what is that i don't know her we don't know her let me tell
you how they ran out of pfizer and they're like oh we have moderna i was like
pass let me know when you get the pfizer back okay let's get to know that we
can room together period if you have the same vaccine you can stay,

(57:20):
anywho when it comes to the zombie stuff i'm i would become a prepper as soon
as i hear whatever as soon as I hear the growling.
I'ma load it up I'm saying what would you hear the rawr the rawr.

(57:42):
I want to make this a sound the johnson
and johnson grow so funny as soon
as i hear that no babes i i'm gonna but i am gonna be prepared like i'll fight
if i have to but i ain't gonna i cannot let a zombie take me out my pride is

(58:04):
too i i'm too prideful my ego is too big who's gonna take you out oh what do you mean,
you mean you cannot let us off i mean i
feel like i feel like we've watched a lot of like
the walking dead and you know world war
z to think that we have a chance
at fighting those things off and actually survive

(58:24):
i'm surviving i'm a like beyonce
said or doesn't you tell i'm a survivor you gonna
make it i'm gonna make it i'm a
survivor keep on surviving period ain't
nobody about to bite my neck take a chunk out of my liver no thank you i'm good
i'm good on that i will eat every last canned bean on earth before i let you

(58:50):
take a bite out of me i do not taste good please no take a bite go for it man
i'm not trying to survive.
I'm not trying to survive all that i mean have you seen this the state of the world right now,

(59:16):
for real the zombies will take you out
those polar ice caps will cause them things is melting babes
if you don't know how to swim you better learn i
remember this vine where this mother took her daughter to the beach and i don't
know why i had me dying but she's like happy birthday nevaeh and then like pan

(59:37):
to the girls like i can't swim and the absolute terror in her on her face,
i don't know why you brought me out here knowing full well i will not make it
if you get me in that water,
that you told me.

(59:57):
There's gonna be us in front of those melting ice I can't shout out to the navy
for forcing me to yo I might make it a couple miles now let me tell you oh my
god I have to explain my swimming to people,
if you have to explain it is it swimming no,
no it's not back into my

(01:00:20):
yo let me tell you i i like again like
we had to do the swimming test or whatever to jump into
this 14 foot pool with like a gun over
your head yep swimming and
my soundproof you know listen
i think people have now realized i am the clumsy one

(01:00:40):
my mic falls my soundproofing falls
like my shit will disconnect like it's
tragic you're you're completely fine i mean i'm
holding my cup on my left ear right
now because i broke it trying to take all of
my stuff with me i feel like i need to have specific equipment equipment
bag so i had to like

(01:01:01):
i have two bags i have to make it into one bag with
like a roll with wheels anyway so my
i swimming so we get tossed in you're in 14 foot 14 feet of water in the pool
right and you have to pass this test there's multiple variations swimming with
just like bare shorts and shit swimming with your full uniform swimming with

(01:01:22):
like a helmet and your weapon right so.
They're like can you swim private and i
was like like no drill sergeant
i cannot see what
happened was they told me army
was on land facts that's exactly that's

(01:01:43):
exactly what i think i'm like i did not join the navy because i know they
had to swim but are you asking me to swim right now
is you're asking for too much but no but you're required to
swim or you won't pass that phase like you will stay in that pool for the
next 10 weeks if you have to so i believe me
i know i was trekking four miles back and
forth for weeks please teach your

(01:02:07):
kids how to swim like honestly truly teach them
how to swim teach them how to swim from a very young age it is
a survival thing too like you can help people we can drown in like two inches
of water it's important like and i've seen a lot of parents be very proactive
like Like they have like month old babies in the pool learning to like float

(01:02:28):
and not drown all that stuff in case they fall. And I think it's absolutely crucial.
I think culturally we're shifting the tide as well.
One, as like a black, you know, black community to as a Haitian community.
We need to know how to swim.
We need to do that. I feel like Haitians can swim though.
Haitians can swim. I think Haitian Americans probably can't swim. Right.

(01:02:52):
I know a lot of nations I could swim. And I was there for the first 16 and a half years.
That's true. You were there much longer than me. I was only there for like five years.
I did not know not one person who was going to say, you know what I'm going to do this weekend?
Actually, I did know one person because they talked about it.

(01:03:14):
But they didn't even learn how to swim in Haiti. They learned how to swim here.
Yo. You know what's funny? I don't know. i feel
like like my brother was thrown in both of my brothers were thrown in
and that's how they learned how to swim when we were really young just like thrown
in by my uncle and and then for
me i learned how to swim when i joined the army and you
have to take the test you have to graduate from guppy to being

(01:03:36):
able to like fucking save yourself you need to save yourself
like so the way that i explain to people
is i can save myself fully dressed if
i'm in the pool fully dressed i will
not drown because i know tactics of how
to get out if i'm slick i mean if i
panic i'm gonna drown if i'm calm i'll be fine i almost drowned in an eight

(01:04:01):
foot pool because my son was like mom if you let go of all the air and you can
you'll be able to sit at the bottom of the pool and he's a strong swimmer he's
done a triathlon and everything very very strong swimmer i was like Like, I ain't damn shit.
We on, we're on vacation. Let's do it. This child goes to the bottom of the
pool, does his thing, swims out. Me.

(01:04:21):
He's an excellent swimmer, by the way. Amazing. A fish.
Periods from side to side. It won't come up for air. Me, I go down.
The ladder stops two feet above where the bottom of the pool is.
So there's two feet of me not being able to do anything.
Yeah. No anchor, nada. Nothing. And I'm away from the ladder because I'm like,

(01:04:45):
if I go into the pool and I go down because I'm too confident in my swimming
abilities, I thought I could just get out. Oh, my God.
So I sunk and I was trying to get back up and I wasn't getting up and I started to panic.
But then once I relaxed. It's the worst thing you can do. Yeah.
Once I relaxed and I remembered simple, basic things, I swam out.

(01:05:05):
And my son had the odd dad. And I was like, I told him, you didn't see me?
Why didn't you throw anything in for me? And he's like, oh, you were drowning? Is that what that was?
I was just like, I thought you were just very excited. So much so that you were
just flapping, flailing.
Flapping through the water, just enjoying and having a good old time.

(01:05:27):
He didn't even realize that you were drowning? No, bro. He popped out of the
pool, wrapped himself in his towel, and went to go lounge on the pool chairs.
And the pool chairs are right- My mama is like, straight up drowning.
I'm so sorry. He probably just looked at me and was like, all right, she died.
But she's like, you're the parent. You know what I'm saying?
I feel like they kind of expect until they're older they don't realize that

(01:05:47):
you're not an expert at everything i know you do have your limitations just
enough just enough and i'm scared i think it's because i've almost drowned so
many times damn man don't be like nevaeh.
Happy birthday nevaeh and that can't
swim you want to hear something good tell me

(01:06:11):
did you like my distraction we distracted ourselves
right from all of the topics
of conversation and we ran out of time period
i hope you guys enjoyed this conversation it's been like it's been
eerie we did want to quickly just send
our prayers out to anyone that was affected with the
bridge collapsing in baltimore baltimore my goodness that key bridge within

(01:06:34):
the cargo bridge assuming the cargo ship and the bridge and everything that's
going on to those families we did want We wanted to send out our prayers to
them because that was really unbelievable. It was absolutely awful.
I mean, it's like, what, an hour from me?
But we checked on our family because we have family in Maryland to make sure
nobody was in that bridge at 1.30 in the morning.

(01:06:55):
But, you know, it's such a, I do have to commend like the rapid response and
a rapid effort because they did sound the alarm immediately and it allowed for
like responders to just kind of stop traffic as quickly as they could.
And my heart really goes out to those six that are presumed dead at this point
because search and rescue efforts stopped and they were not recovered.

(01:07:18):
So absolute tragedy, absolute tragedy.
But yes, that's tough.
Along with that there's a lot of different things happening globally and we
won't touch on everything but we wanted to just make sure that everyone knew
that we were thinking about them and you're in our prayers if you guys enjoy
this conversation make sure that you you like it you share it you comment you

(01:07:40):
subscribe on our youtube you join our fam on our different platforms,
we're on a few different social media platforms we're on
instagram we're on x we're on tiktok if you
want to find all of it we have our link tree available absolutely everywhere
if you look it up to be honest link tree melanin movement however if you're
on instagram you can go to our instagram and click the link tree everything

(01:08:01):
is listed on there our youtube and a different platform that you can find not
only this episode but all the other episodes that we've made public,
that's right yeah i do want um,
that's right.
Okay we're tired you tell we're just

(01:08:22):
like anyway i did want not to finish in a somber note or anything like that
but i my heart has been really breaking seeing the lack of well first of all
seeing like the absolute unspeakable violence that is happening in in our in
our home in our home country, Haiti.
It really is. It's absolutely awful.

(01:08:44):
And I just wanted to kind of share in this moment of sorrow with all of our,
you know, fellow Haitians. Wanted to really.
Show our solidarity and and and support and
understanding that this is we don't this is
not something that we're just ignoring it is awful it's

(01:09:07):
very difficult because i've always i still do want to to go home again soon
like i would do something i i want to show my partner where i i grew up yeah
and i on all that stuff and it's just something that just felt it just feels
more and more like it just feels further and further away you know from from from from happening.
And then the last also piece is that the United Nations withdrawing aid to Gaza

(01:09:33):
and with this like absolute genocide and humanitarian crisis that's going on there.
So a lot of, again, our fellow brothers and sisters are starving,
do not have any aid, and there's a lot,
there's a lot happening so again just
my our thoughts our prayers our fight they're all with the countries and the

(01:09:58):
regions and the places that we just mentioned and and the ones we didn't mention
as well yeah there's so much going on there's a lot going on there's so much going on in ukraine.
So geez we we always think it's important to just highlight these things because
there are things things that constantly run through our minds.
And like we've talked about during this episode, distraction is part of us existing

(01:10:22):
and coping with the things that are happening around us, but definitely take
a break from your DeLulu once in a while to just, I guess, catch up.
Yeah. Yeah. We need to survive.
Excuse me. And I think biologically, our brains cannot sustain chronic level
of stress and raise cortisol levels and adrenaline.

(01:10:44):
And so it will do whatever it can to adapt itself to situation.
And we'll take, I mean, that's why Stockholm syndrome is a thing, right?
And like kidnapping, like I'm just giving an example here. And so I do know
and understand and I want everyone to know and understand the importance of
like taking a step back and practicing,

(01:11:06):
you know, self-care, but also community care and finding joy in the things that
you enjoy, like that you maybe find peace in.
Um for me like puzzling has been really good and like of course
like listening to audiobooks and reading and and podcasting with
you and podcasting i was like what's coming up girl you
know um and like all
of those things right or just like there there are ways for us

(01:11:29):
not only like to connect to connect back to ourselves but connect to each other
as well and and really just lean lean lean on our communities and on our on
our collective so that is important however you can only stay stay in Dululu
for so long because at the end of the day, if you're not listening,
if you're not informing yourself, when you're not having these difficult conversations,

(01:11:50):
you're a little complicit in what's happening.
Just, you know, it's just a thought here. Just a thought. Don't be complicit.
Anywho, we do appreciate you guys going on this journey with us.
I hope you had a good time. I hope you joined the conversation while you were
in your car or at work or wherever you are.
Again definitely let us know what you think on all of our platforms linktree.com

(01:12:13):
for slash melanated movement again this has been the melanated movement podcast with tess and erin.
Music.