January 2, 2025 • 21 mins
CAN WE MAKE DENVER GREAT AGAIN? Today on X.com I saw two different tweets that make me incredibly sad for Denver. First off, we've got this gem, where a Venezuelan (yes, I am assuming nationality but it's a safe guess) "window washer" or as I like to call them "intersection nuisance" was not happy when a man took umbrage with them squirting water on his windshield.
He seems nice. And then there was this guy who shared his letter to his landlord about why they have to leave the house they are renting in the Highlands neighborhood. Read all of it to get the full effect of what's going on.
We all know that the Mayor doesn't see any of this. He simply touts the number of people he's gotten off the streets and into homeless hotels and talks about how THIS renovation of Civic Center park is going to be the thing that brings people back downtown in droves. I'm genuinely not sure what kind of action Denverites could take right now to demand some sort of real action that could positively change the lives of the people who live here. Suggestions? Anyone? Bueller? Taylor Romero joins me at 1 today to discuss.
He seems nice. And then there was this guy who shared his letter to his landlord about why they have to leave the house they are renting in the Highlands neighborhood. Read all of it to get the full effect of what's going on.
We all know that the Mayor doesn't see any of this. He simply touts the number of people he's gotten off the streets and into homeless hotels and talks about how THIS renovation of Civic Center park is going to be the thing that brings people back downtown in droves. I'm genuinely not sure what kind of action Denverites could take right now to demand some sort of real action that could positively change the lives of the people who live here. Suggestions? Anyone? Bueller? Taylor Romero joins me at 1 today to discuss.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This morning, as I was making my coffee, I was
perusingex dot com, as I often do as I'm making
my coffee, and I saw a post by a guy
named Taylor Romero, and it is an email that he
sent to his landlord yesterday said I live in the Highlands,
and I'm going to encapsulate it for you, though I
did put it on the blog today, so you can
(00:20):
go over to the blog and read it there. But
the long and short of it is, and I'll read
this one paragraph to get you started. Homeless and druggies
are now a common occurrence in the back alley, one
even going so far as urinating in the small space
between the house and the neighbors. I confronted him mid act,
and he hasn't been back. I could hear the girls laughing,
(00:40):
playing with a friend just feet away, but inside, so
they had no idea what was happening. Then he goes
on to talk about the last sixty days that he
and his family have had to endure, watching a young
woman be chased, watching little girls get her scooters stolen
in broad daylight, watching drug activity and things of that nature.
And I reached out out and Taylor has agreed to
(01:02):
join me on the show. He says he's just an
average dad and husband living in the Highlands who's hoping
things changed before they end up being forced to leave
the state. Taylor, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
First of all, yeah, Mandy, thank you so much for
having me.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
So how long have you lived in the Highlands?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Uh, cheesy, less than ten years?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
More than seven And it's been a while now. My
two daughters are kind of now comfortable to the area
of their friends in the area, and so those kind
of those commitments make it really hard for.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Us to mobile or to move. But it's it's been
maybe near a decade now.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
You talked about your wife being chased by someone while
she was walking around slungslake and you having to leave
work and go pick her up. That has to be very,
very unnerving. That was there one particular incident and everything
you laid out in this in this letter to your
email or a landlord, was there any one particular incident
or was it really an accumulation?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Gosh that that is such a good question.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
It's been an accumulation and I don't know how much
time we have, but I can, I can, I can
walk through the progression yeah, and share that. So the
first kind of experience that comes to mind was maybe
like four years ago. I'm on thirty second in Federal
heading West. I'm up next at the red light light
(02:34):
turn screen. I start to pull forward. I'm a halfway
two thirds away through the intersection.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And I get t boned. I get t boned hard.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
The car that hits me, it's big suburban, hits me
kind of banks to the to their right. So now
they're in front of me, and I start to do
what I think is kind of Carmen Harlance at this
point when you get hit, is to pull over. And
I started to see they were accelerating, and I was like, oh,
(03:04):
oh no, And so I think I'm going to take
out my phone and I'm going to take a picture
of the license plate.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
They don't have a license plate.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So they start to accelerate. I am like, well, I'm
just going to call the police and I'm going to
follow them.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
And I start to.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Press on the accelerator and my car's like nah and sputters.
So I call the police. A bunch of witnesses come around.
They're like, hey, we'll hang out for the police. I
call the police and the dispatch says, asked me, did
you get a license plate?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
And I was like no, they actually didn't have one.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
And the person online goes, oh, well there's nothing we
can do. Sha, Well, are you going to you going
to send you need to send someone out or.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
It's like no, there's nothing we can do. Fill out
a report online. Okay. So I thought about this.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
What do you call getting t boned by somebody, having
your property damaged by somebody who is driving illegally and
the police being called but putting in zero effort.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I call it foreshadowing.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
So then the next I didn't know at the time, right,
I had no idea at the time. I thought that
this is really this is not awesome, and I fill
out a report online so I can deal with my
car insurance.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Sometime passes in the measure of months, and I am
walking on thirty second and Lowell in the little of
the shopping district Love that area, and I am I'm
confronted by a really nice young lady who I've helped
describe as a clipboard warrior. You've seen them out there
that's got their clipboards and they're trying to get you
(04:48):
to sign something or to fill something out.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
So I'm talking with her. There's a whole story about
my conversation with her.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
But about fifteen minutes into our conversation, or I think,
she starts to realize, oh my gosh, maybe I'm on
the wrong side of the clipboard here she I hear, help, help, help,
And I look up and I see two homeless people
grappling on the sidewalk in front of one of the
coffee shops that I don't think I think just went
(05:16):
out of business in the past week. And he's screaming help.
So why, I say, all right, I was awesome talking.
Excuse me for a minute. Someone's calling for help.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
It's uh.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
My wife hates it, like it's my instinct if someone's
in an emergency and asking for help to go investigate.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So I go.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I walk up, and I see these two homeless guys
on the ground, one on top of the other. Someone's
calling for help, and I'll never forget. I set my
backpack down. I start to walk over and one of
the shop owners steps in front of me, puts her
hand on my chest says, no, stop, just just stay
out of it.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Let them finish. And I was like, uh no, so.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
I lightly just kind of push her hand to the
other side. I straddled both of them. I did like
the weapons inspection, like, okay, I'm seeing knives on seething.
I grabbed the guy on top, got him into a
hole to kind of secure him, and it was like
a glass wall was broken because at that moment, three
or four.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Other guys jumped into help them, right right, And.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
So we pull them apart, we extract them, we de escalate.
We one of the ladies there says, I've called the police.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
They're on their way.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Five minutes past, ten minutes past, the guy who was
the attacker just gets up, walks away. Yeah, another five
minutes past, another ten minutes past, the guy who was
being attacked, I just turned him.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I'm like, I don't think they're coming, dude.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
And so we're all looking at each other like we
don't think the police aren't The police aren't coming, and
so we all just leave.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Taylor. This this is we call this is this is.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
I want to a couple of things about that story
that I want to just interrupt really quickly. You, first
of all, running towards danger, congrats ands off to you,
And I think that a lot of your neighbors needed
you to break that glass, right because they don't want
to be the first one in, but they will help
if someone else jumps in. Secondarily, that instinct will be
beaten out of you when nothing ever happens at the
(07:15):
end of it. You know what I'm saying, Like the
police not bothering to respond. And I know Denver police
has been undermanned, understaffed for a long time now, but
to your point, when it feels like they're not even trying,
it beats the instincts in citizens like you to try
and help.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
That's very frustrating to me.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Yeah, it changes like if we were like kind of
focused on what's the light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
It does not involve law enforcement.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
And I think that's good to know, at least in
my experience back to back, which is why we get
into my email all of these things that I'm seeing.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
We've stopped calling the police.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
And fact, after some of this stuff has happened, my
wife and I spoke, we said, well, shall we call
the police, Like what would be the point? Like, yeah,
file report online, like they're not going to do anything,
not going to show. Well, I was at Walmart in Lakewood,
and they have a fully like clothed, vested armed police
(08:20):
officer that is on duty there.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
And so I had.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Overheard him talking to one of the guys that worked
there about something with the holidays and his wife. And
so after he was done talking, I approached him. I said, hey, man,
I had a question as like a husband, and.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I don't know if you have kids. Is me talking
out if you have kids?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
But it's like a husband and as a father, like,
here's some things that are happening, what what do I do,
Like if i'm if, I'm if one of my responsibilities
is the safety and the protection of my of my
family and property.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
What do I do?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
And he says, well, you could, and he talks about
calling and reporting, and I responded, I said, man, none
of that, none of your answers. Did I hear any
confidence in what you were saying? Yeah, I like, give
me an answer. You're confident and no joke. He looks
me up and down. He goes, well, I think given
(09:16):
what you're wearing, you could probably have a concealed fire arm.
You should probably go that route because and this is
a quote unquote unfortunately that's where we are.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Dang so you know, So, how did you are? You
sent this to your landlord? The letter, and again I
linked to it on the blog, so if people want
to go read the whole thing. But I think anybody
who lives in Denver who has been continually gaslt about
what is actually happening in neighborhoods, and that's one of
the reasons I wanted to have you on.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I need more.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Denver Rights to come forward with their story because what
I think is happening is that a lot of people
feel very isolated when they are experiencing some of these things.
They don't want to be the neighbor to call the police,
or they don't want to be that neighbor that seems
judgmental or whatever. There's a whole bunch of like social
pressures that go into this. But I think that Denver
(10:07):
Rights have to stand up and say this is enough.
We're not going to put up with us anymore. What
did your landlord say when he read the letter or
she read the letter?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Uh, well, no joke.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
I got their response, Uh just before we start our call.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
So I have not read it yet.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Oh God, surely they know.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
I mean, surely if they own the properties, they know
what's going on in the neighborhood, you know, and it's
got to be incredibly infuriating for the landlords who are
who are probably understanding of your position while also needing to,
you know, keep keep people in their in their properties.
So it's you know, it's a very difficult situation. And
where are you looking to move to? Have you even
(10:49):
thought about it?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
We want to get some more closer to golden Yeah.
So one of the things and I have got so much,
there's so much to share here, but I've one of
the things I've seen is that wealth disparity is a
precursor to violence. And when the people who run your
city import an immense amount of people in a different
(11:16):
socioeconomic bracket, violence is inevitable. And uh, for the for
the first time ever, And I and just like young
me can't even believe I'm saying anything like this is
I need my family and my family we need to
be at a place with there is not wealth disparity,
because what ends up happening is when you bring in poverty,
(11:38):
you import poverty, it makes.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
For a good justification for violence. Oh they stole your jacket, Yeah,
but they couldn't afford one. Yeah, they hurt and broke
into your house. Yeah, but that's because they don't have one.
So once you end up in a situation.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Where, uh, you have really good reasons for really bad things,
it gets it's really hard because and we've I think
felt this just more generally over the past at least
four or or more years, where it's like just saying
common sense things can get you attacked, like hey, maybe
we shouldn't be like stealing things from little girls.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
But then when the response is yeah, but those people
have nothing, you start this debate of justifying aggression, violence
and theft, and and so I actually think I might
I kind of think the situation Denver is in is
really interesting because the people that run Denver no doubt
(12:38):
have a good reason, noble purpose for everything they're doing. Unfortunately,
my family and my family safety is the sacrifice, and
I believe they believe it is a worthy sacrifice. It's
okay if a middle income, middle American family has to
run because we were able to house x amount of
(13:01):
people or feed y amount of people. And there's this
false dichotomy that I think a lot of people, especially
I would describe as the political class, get themselves in
where they think that the sacrifice of the average citizen
is a worthy sacrifice.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
So it's like, I don't even know. I don't think
that they don't know.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Well. I think they just see it and go, yeah,
but you've had a great life, So let me give
someone who needs it more.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Let me give you a little more perspective from perhaps
further down on the right side of the aisle, just
to give you a little bit of this.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I think you're absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
That people are justifying criminal behavior because of the circumstances
of the people that are committing it. However, most of
the time those people are not being impacted on a
daily basis they themselves, And I would say that my
frustration with the City of Denver. First of all, I
think they're pursuing some measures that are short term effective
(13:59):
at one thing, long term failures and others. When we're
talking about housing, people living on the streets and things
of that nature. I would do all this differently, just
to get that out there. But that being said, you're right,
their intentions are very very good. Their intentions are that
they want to prove that we are a welcoming city.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
We are a welcoming country.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
But they do so because they're not living with the
daily impacts that you and your family are living with.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
And that's the frustration and the.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Disconnect, and that is what Denver rights across the spectrum
who are dealing with this need to be emboldened and say,
we too, are compassionate. Nobody wants the family to starve,
nobody wants the family to suffer. You can look at
some of these people coming across the border with little
children and your heartbreaks, but you.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
Also have to enforce the rule of law.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Because those people are being victimized too. Right, it's not
just white middle class Americans. We've seen what's happened in
these apartment complexes. We're the same people that we're supposed
to feel sorry for are the.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Ones being victimized.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
So we we have to get back to establishing the
rule of law and order so we can have a
society that is capable of supporting the people that need
our help, because what happens is the schism starts to
happen where normally people who would one hundred percent say
this is great, we're compassionate, we want these people here.
Then go, but wait a minute, my daughter's scooter just
(15:21):
got stolen.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
So your heart starts to turn, your.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Heart starts to harden, and that in the long run
becomes a huge problem for the very people that we're
here to help. So to your point, I think you're
totally right. You're absolutely right that there are justifications being
made for this criminal activity. Whether it is they're addicted,
it's mental illness, so they can't help it.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Great, then we need to help them. We need to
help these people.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
We need to do this, but we need to do
it in a way that doesn't sacrifice our own safety
as a community. And I think that's kind of what
you just said in a different perspective.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
So, you know, so.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
What are you.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Looking to do now?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
You said you want to move closer to golden but
that ultimately doesn't necessarily solve the problem.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
Did you put this why did you put this letter out?
Let me ask that question.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, I think, well, so, I think there's a part
of me that is hopelessly optimistic, and I've seen that
in the process of solving a problem, it has to
start with discussions, and.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
So let's talk.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
And I think the problem is a major problem is
that there's no way to talk about this without being
embroiled in the ideological battle of our time, and so
what happens is I am I would say if anybody
(16:53):
very apolitical, I actually haven't even voted since Obama the
first time. I have a lot of reason for why
that was my I'm out of this moment.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Yeah, a lot of people feel that way sometimes.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Yeah, But you know, does this inspire you to pay
more attention at least at the local level. And this
is something I talk about on the show, Like I
could talk about federal elections all day every day, But
the reality is the people we put on the city council,
the people we put on the school board, the people
we put in these boards and commissions at the local
level have far more impact on your day to day
life than anybody at the federal level.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
You know.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
It's like the people whoever's president is going to have
way less impact on you as a citizen of Denver
than the Denver City Council or or the Denver Police Department,
like finding out what's going on there. So I'm really
glad and I hope that this inspires you to be
a little more engaged, because you're great at presenting what's
going on in a way that I think a lot
(17:49):
of people would go, yeah, that's pretty damn accurate. That's
what's happening in our communities, and we don't know what
to do about it.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Yeah, well I will say, yeah, we give a little
like a little framing as a thought experiment, because it'll
really capture what I'm facing when I talk when I
speak about this stuff. So, okay, imagine this. Imagine we
went to a time machine. We jump back three four
hundred years into into the UK and the and the
(18:20):
ideological battle the time was Protestants and Catholics.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
So imagine we go and we talk to someone.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
And and they ask us, well, do you think that
a married couple should be allowed to get a divorce?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
And we would say yeah, and they would respond.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
With what are you Protestant?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And it's like, well, no, no, no, I'm a time
traveler from the future who's not captured by the ideological
battle of your time. Okay, so fast forward to today.
I say things and someone says, what are you a
Republican or what are you a Democrat? And I go, no,
it might be best to think of me as a
time traveler from the picture who is not captured by
(18:58):
the ideological battle of our time. I do not care
what your belief system is. I care that, like I'm
having to get a can sealed carry license now, and
that I'm not the only dad in a group of
fathers that I hang out with now and again talking
about the armed defense of our family.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yeah, and so I.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Can't speak about this without being called the amount of
times that's something Republican would say.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
What does that have to do with anything?
Speaker 5 (19:28):
Yeah, Well, as a go ahead, I say, it just
kills the conversation because once I'm an out group, I
can be branded and villainized, and then there is no
conversation to be at.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Taylor, That's what I am seeing.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
Taylor Ramiro is my guest. I would strongly are.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Do you to go look at his letter to his
landlord about why he wants to move out of the
Highlands after living there for almost a decade. Taylor, I
think you are great at this conversation. I'm so happy
I reached out to you, because again, I just want
to empower people to feel like they can say things
are not okay and we need to fix it. Things
are not okay, and this is you know, we need
(20:06):
to make Denver great again.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
That's what I said on the blog Let's make.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Denver great again, because I think the health of Denver
is so critical to the overall health of the state
of Colorado that no matter where you live, you should
be rooting for Denver. You really, truly should be rooting
for Denver. And Taylor, I appreciate you coming on the show,
and as a concealed carry permit holder myself, two pieces
of advice.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Inside the house, you.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Want a shotgun for home defense, Mary forgiving, won't go
through the walls, won't hurt anybody, you don't intend, and
it's hard to miss. But practice practice practice. If you
get your concealed carry permit, do not be one of
those people that gets it and never goes to the range. Again,
just practice practice practice, Taylor. I appreciate your time today.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Man.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, Mandy, thank you so much. It just does give
me hope. We'll see.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
I'll know we're on a good path when any of
the mainstream media and Denver's having this conversation, we shall see.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Hopefully they'll call you soon, Taylor. Taylor Ramiro, thanks for
your time, man, thank.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
You, thank you so much. Man. You talk soon.
This morning, as I was making my coffee, I was
perusingex dot com, as I often do as I'm making
my coffee, and I saw a post by a guy
named Taylor Romero, and it is an email that he
sent to his landlord yesterday said I live in the Highlands,
and I'm going to encapsulate it for you, though I
did put it on the blog today, so you can
(00:20):
go over to the blog and read it there. But
the long and short of it is, and I'll read
this one paragraph to get you started. Homeless and druggies
are now a common occurrence in the back alley, one
even going so far as urinating in the small space
between the house and the neighbors. I confronted him mid act,
and he hasn't been back. I could hear the girls laughing,
(00:40):
playing with a friend just feet away, but inside, so
they had no idea what was happening. Then he goes
on to talk about the last sixty days that he
and his family have had to endure, watching a young
woman be chased, watching little girls get her scooters stolen
in broad daylight, watching drug activity and things of that nature.
And I reached out out and Taylor has agreed to
(01:02):
join me on the show. He says he's just an
average dad and husband living in the Highlands who's hoping
things changed before they end up being forced to leave
the state. Taylor, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
First of all, yeah, Mandy, thank you so much for
having me.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
So how long have you lived in the Highlands?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Uh, cheesy, less than ten years?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
More than seven And it's been a while now. My
two daughters are kind of now comfortable to the area
of their friends in the area, and so those kind
of those commitments make it really hard for.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Us to mobile or to move. But it's it's been
maybe near a decade now.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
You talked about your wife being chased by someone while
she was walking around slungslake and you having to leave
work and go pick her up. That has to be very,
very unnerving. That was there one particular incident and everything
you laid out in this in this letter to your
email or a landlord, was there any one particular incident
or was it really an accumulation?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Gosh that that is such a good question.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
It's been an accumulation and I don't know how much
time we have, but I can, I can, I can
walk through the progression yeah, and share that. So the
first kind of experience that comes to mind was maybe
like four years ago. I'm on thirty second in Federal
heading West. I'm up next at the red light light
(02:34):
turn screen. I start to pull forward. I'm a halfway
two thirds away through the intersection.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And I get t boned. I get t boned hard.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
The car that hits me, it's big suburban, hits me
kind of banks to the to their right. So now
they're in front of me, and I start to do
what I think is kind of Carmen Harlance at this
point when you get hit, is to pull over. And
I started to see they were accelerating, and I was like, oh,
(03:04):
oh no, And so I think I'm going to take
out my phone and I'm going to take a picture
of the license plate.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
They don't have a license plate.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So they start to accelerate. I am like, well, I'm
just going to call the police and I'm going to
follow them.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
And I start to.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Press on the accelerator and my car's like nah and sputters.
So I call the police. A bunch of witnesses come around.
They're like, hey, we'll hang out for the police. I
call the police and the dispatch says, asked me, did
you get a license plate?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
And I was like no, they actually didn't have one.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
And the person online goes, oh, well there's nothing we
can do. Sha, Well, are you going to you going
to send you need to send someone out or.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
It's like no, there's nothing we can do. Fill out
a report online. Okay. So I thought about this.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
What do you call getting t boned by somebody, having
your property damaged by somebody who is driving illegally and
the police being called but putting in zero effort.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I call it foreshadowing.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
So then the next I didn't know at the time, right,
I had no idea at the time. I thought that
this is really this is not awesome, and I fill
out a report online so I can deal with my
car insurance.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Sometime passes in the measure of months, and I am
walking on thirty second and Lowell in the little of
the shopping district Love that area, and I am I'm
confronted by a really nice young lady who I've helped
describe as a clipboard warrior. You've seen them out there
that's got their clipboards and they're trying to get you
(04:48):
to sign something or to fill something out.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
So I'm talking with her. There's a whole story about
my conversation with her.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
But about fifteen minutes into our conversation, or I think,
she starts to realize, oh my gosh, maybe I'm on
the wrong side of the clipboard here she I hear, help, help, help,
And I look up and I see two homeless people
grappling on the sidewalk in front of one of the
coffee shops that I don't think I think just went
(05:16):
out of business in the past week. And he's screaming help.
So why, I say, all right, I was awesome talking.
Excuse me for a minute. Someone's calling for help.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
It's uh.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
My wife hates it, like it's my instinct if someone's
in an emergency and asking for help to go investigate.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So I go.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I walk up, and I see these two homeless guys
on the ground, one on top of the other. Someone's
calling for help, and I'll never forget. I set my
backpack down. I start to walk over and one of
the shop owners steps in front of me, puts her
hand on my chest says, no, stop, just just stay
out of it.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Let them finish. And I was like, uh no, so.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
I lightly just kind of push her hand to the
other side. I straddled both of them. I did like
the weapons inspection, like, okay, I'm seeing knives on seething.
I grabbed the guy on top, got him into a
hole to kind of secure him, and it was like
a glass wall was broken because at that moment, three
or four.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Other guys jumped into help them, right right, And.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
So we pull them apart, we extract them, we de escalate.
We one of the ladies there says, I've called the police.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
They're on their way.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Five minutes past, ten minutes past, the guy who was
the attacker just gets up, walks away. Yeah, another five
minutes past, another ten minutes past, the guy who was
being attacked, I just turned him.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I'm like, I don't think they're coming, dude.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
And so we're all looking at each other like we
don't think the police aren't The police aren't coming, and
so we all just leave.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Taylor. This this is we call this is this is.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
I want to a couple of things about that story
that I want to just interrupt really quickly. You, first
of all, running towards danger, congrats ands off to you,
And I think that a lot of your neighbors needed
you to break that glass, right because they don't want
to be the first one in, but they will help
if someone else jumps in. Secondarily, that instinct will be
beaten out of you when nothing ever happens at the
(07:15):
end of it. You know what I'm saying, Like the
police not bothering to respond. And I know Denver police
has been undermanned, understaffed for a long time now, but
to your point, when it feels like they're not even trying,
it beats the instincts in citizens like you to try
and help.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
That's very frustrating to me.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Yeah, it changes like if we were like kind of
focused on what's the light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
It does not involve law enforcement.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
And I think that's good to know, at least in
my experience back to back, which is why we get
into my email all of these things that I'm seeing.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
We've stopped calling the police.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
And fact, after some of this stuff has happened, my
wife and I spoke, we said, well, shall we call
the police, Like what would be the point? Like, yeah,
file report online, like they're not going to do anything,
not going to show. Well, I was at Walmart in Lakewood,
and they have a fully like clothed, vested armed police
(08:20):
officer that is on duty there.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
And so I had.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Overheard him talking to one of the guys that worked
there about something with the holidays and his wife. And
so after he was done talking, I approached him. I said, hey, man,
I had a question as like a husband, and.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I don't know if you have kids. Is me talking
out if you have kids?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
But it's like a husband and as a father, like,
here's some things that are happening, what what do I do,
Like if i'm if, I'm if one of my responsibilities
is the safety and the protection of my of my
family and property.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
What do I do?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
And he says, well, you could, and he talks about
calling and reporting, and I responded, I said, man, none
of that, none of your answers. Did I hear any
confidence in what you were saying? Yeah, I like, give
me an answer. You're confident and no joke. He looks
me up and down. He goes, well, I think given
(09:16):
what you're wearing, you could probably have a concealed fire arm.
You should probably go that route because and this is
a quote unquote unfortunately that's where we are.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Dang so you know, So, how did you are? You
sent this to your landlord? The letter, and again I
linked to it on the blog, so if people want
to go read the whole thing. But I think anybody
who lives in Denver who has been continually gaslt about
what is actually happening in neighborhoods, and that's one of
the reasons I wanted to have you on.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I need more.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Denver Rights to come forward with their story because what
I think is happening is that a lot of people
feel very isolated when they are experiencing some of these things.
They don't want to be the neighbor to call the police,
or they don't want to be that neighbor that seems
judgmental or whatever. There's a whole bunch of like social
pressures that go into this. But I think that Denver
(10:07):
Rights have to stand up and say this is enough.
We're not going to put up with us anymore. What
did your landlord say when he read the letter or
she read the letter?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Uh, well, no joke.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
I got their response, Uh just before we start our call.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
So I have not read it yet.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Oh God, surely they know.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
I mean, surely if they own the properties, they know
what's going on in the neighborhood, you know, and it's
got to be incredibly infuriating for the landlords who are
who are probably understanding of your position while also needing to,
you know, keep keep people in their in their properties.
So it's you know, it's a very difficult situation. And
where are you looking to move to? Have you even
(10:49):
thought about it?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
We want to get some more closer to golden Yeah.
So one of the things and I have got so much,
there's so much to share here, but I've one of
the things I've seen is that wealth disparity is a
precursor to violence. And when the people who run your
city import an immense amount of people in a different
(11:16):
socioeconomic bracket, violence is inevitable. And uh, for the for
the first time ever, And I and just like young
me can't even believe I'm saying anything like this is
I need my family and my family we need to
be at a place with there is not wealth disparity,
because what ends up happening is when you bring in poverty,
(11:38):
you import poverty, it makes.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
For a good justification for violence. Oh they stole your jacket, Yeah,
but they couldn't afford one. Yeah, they hurt and broke
into your house. Yeah, but that's because they don't have one.
So once you end up in a situation.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Where, uh, you have really good reasons for really bad things,
it gets it's really hard because and we've I think
felt this just more generally over the past at least
four or or more years, where it's like just saying
common sense things can get you attacked, like hey, maybe
we shouldn't be like stealing things from little girls.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
But then when the response is yeah, but those people
have nothing, you start this debate of justifying aggression, violence
and theft, and and so I actually think I might
I kind of think the situation Denver is in is
really interesting because the people that run Denver no doubt
(12:38):
have a good reason, noble purpose for everything they're doing. Unfortunately,
my family and my family safety is the sacrifice, and
I believe they believe it is a worthy sacrifice. It's
okay if a middle income, middle American family has to
run because we were able to house x amount of
(13:01):
people or feed y amount of people. And there's this
false dichotomy that I think a lot of people, especially
I would describe as the political class, get themselves in
where they think that the sacrifice of the average citizen
is a worthy sacrifice.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
So it's like, I don't even know. I don't think
that they don't know.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Well. I think they just see it and go, yeah,
but you've had a great life, So let me give
someone who needs it more.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Let me give you a little more perspective from perhaps
further down on the right side of the aisle, just
to give you a little bit of this.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I think you're absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
That people are justifying criminal behavior because of the circumstances
of the people that are committing it. However, most of
the time those people are not being impacted on a
daily basis they themselves, And I would say that my
frustration with the City of Denver. First of all, I
think they're pursuing some measures that are short term effective
(13:59):
at one thing, long term failures and others. When we're
talking about housing, people living on the streets and things
of that nature. I would do all this differently, just
to get that out there. But that being said, you're right,
their intentions are very very good. Their intentions are that
they want to prove that we are a welcoming city.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
We are a welcoming country.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
But they do so because they're not living with the
daily impacts that you and your family are living with.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
And that's the frustration and the.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Disconnect, and that is what Denver rights across the spectrum
who are dealing with this need to be emboldened and say,
we too, are compassionate. Nobody wants the family to starve,
nobody wants the family to suffer. You can look at
some of these people coming across the border with little
children and your heartbreaks, but you.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
Also have to enforce the rule of law.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Because those people are being victimized too. Right, it's not
just white middle class Americans. We've seen what's happened in
these apartment complexes. We're the same people that we're supposed
to feel sorry for are the.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Ones being victimized.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
So we we have to get back to establishing the
rule of law and order so we can have a
society that is capable of supporting the people that need
our help, because what happens is the schism starts to
happen where normally people who would one hundred percent say
this is great, we're compassionate, we want these people here.
Then go, but wait a minute, my daughter's scooter just
(15:21):
got stolen.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
So your heart starts to turn, your.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Heart starts to harden, and that in the long run
becomes a huge problem for the very people that we're
here to help. So to your point, I think you're
totally right. You're absolutely right that there are justifications being
made for this criminal activity. Whether it is they're addicted,
it's mental illness, so they can't help it.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Great, then we need to help them. We need to
help these people.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
We need to do this, but we need to do
it in a way that doesn't sacrifice our own safety
as a community. And I think that's kind of what
you just said in a different perspective.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
So, you know, so.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
What are you.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Looking to do now?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
You said you want to move closer to golden but
that ultimately doesn't necessarily solve the problem.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
Did you put this why did you put this letter out?
Let me ask that question.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, I think, well, so, I think there's a part
of me that is hopelessly optimistic, and I've seen that
in the process of solving a problem, it has to
start with discussions, and.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
So let's talk.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
And I think the problem is a major problem is
that there's no way to talk about this without being
embroiled in the ideological battle of our time, and so
what happens is I am I would say if anybody
(16:53):
very apolitical, I actually haven't even voted since Obama the
first time. I have a lot of reason for why
that was my I'm out of this moment.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Yeah, a lot of people feel that way sometimes.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Yeah, But you know, does this inspire you to pay
more attention at least at the local level. And this
is something I talk about on the show, Like I
could talk about federal elections all day every day, But
the reality is the people we put on the city council,
the people we put on the school board, the people
we put in these boards and commissions at the local
level have far more impact on your day to day
life than anybody at the federal level.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
You know.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
It's like the people whoever's president is going to have
way less impact on you as a citizen of Denver
than the Denver City Council or or the Denver Police Department,
like finding out what's going on there. So I'm really
glad and I hope that this inspires you to be
a little more engaged, because you're great at presenting what's
going on in a way that I think a lot
(17:49):
of people would go, yeah, that's pretty damn accurate. That's
what's happening in our communities, and we don't know what
to do about it.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Yeah, well I will say, yeah, we give a little
like a little framing as a thought experiment, because it'll
really capture what I'm facing when I talk when I
speak about this stuff. So, okay, imagine this. Imagine we
went to a time machine. We jump back three four
hundred years into into the UK and the and the
(18:20):
ideological battle the time was Protestants and Catholics.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
So imagine we go and we talk to someone.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
And and they ask us, well, do you think that
a married couple should be allowed to get a divorce?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
And we would say yeah, and they would respond.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
With what are you Protestant?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And it's like, well, no, no, no, I'm a time
traveler from the future who's not captured by the ideological
battle of your time. Okay, so fast forward to today.
I say things and someone says, what are you a
Republican or what are you a Democrat? And I go, no,
it might be best to think of me as a
time traveler from the picture who is not captured by
(18:58):
the ideological battle of our time. I do not care
what your belief system is. I care that, like I'm
having to get a can sealed carry license now, and
that I'm not the only dad in a group of
fathers that I hang out with now and again talking
about the armed defense of our family.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yeah, and so I.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Can't speak about this without being called the amount of
times that's something Republican would say.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
What does that have to do with anything?
Speaker 5 (19:28):
Yeah, Well, as a go ahead, I say, it just
kills the conversation because once I'm an out group, I
can be branded and villainized, and then there is no
conversation to be at.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Taylor, That's what I am seeing.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
Taylor Ramiro is my guest. I would strongly are.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Do you to go look at his letter to his
landlord about why he wants to move out of the
Highlands after living there for almost a decade. Taylor, I
think you are great at this conversation. I'm so happy
I reached out to you, because again, I just want
to empower people to feel like they can say things
are not okay and we need to fix it. Things
are not okay, and this is you know, we need
(20:06):
to make Denver great again.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
That's what I said on the blog Let's make.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Denver great again, because I think the health of Denver
is so critical to the overall health of the state
of Colorado that no matter where you live, you should
be rooting for Denver. You really, truly should be rooting
for Denver. And Taylor, I appreciate you coming on the show,
and as a concealed carry permit holder myself, two pieces
of advice.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Inside the house, you.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Want a shotgun for home defense, Mary forgiving, won't go
through the walls, won't hurt anybody, you don't intend, and
it's hard to miss. But practice practice practice. If you
get your concealed carry permit, do not be one of
those people that gets it and never goes to the range. Again,
just practice practice practice, Taylor. I appreciate your time today.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Man.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, Mandy, thank you so much. It just does give
me hope. We'll see.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
I'll know we're on a good path when any of
the mainstream media and Denver's having this conversation, we shall see.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Hopefully they'll call you soon, Taylor. Taylor Ramiro, thanks for
your time, man, thank.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
You, thank you so much. Man. You talk soon.
The Mandy Connell Podcast News
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