Episode 055: Hungry 4 Uninhabited Justice

Are you hungry for justice yet find that it’s a state far too often uninhabited? The quest to make things right can leave you feeling empty-handed, but don’t give up. Be willing to fight for what you think will balance the scales of justice. The first place that many of us encounter the notion of crime, punishment, and authoritarian rule is in school–the prime indoctrination ground of our society. This week, Heit & Cheri embark on a notes-free version of The Axiom Amnesia Theory. Get ready for an “off-the-cuff,” totally improvised discussion. Heit & Cheri kick off the show talking about the UN General Assembly meetings, and continue with a heavy focus on the educational system, followed by a host of other topics.

Other topics discussed include the song that gets Heit amped up for the show, spanking students in school, calorie limits on school lunches, high schools offering vocational programs, Emanuel Cleaver’s statement that nonvoting Blacks should “give us their color back,” changing race or gender, Lil Wayne’s deposition video, explanation on how cities/towns are formed, animals in captivity, the far side of the moon, a man claiming ownership of the moon, the Boston lab scandal, the unfortunate final determination in the Chavis Carter case, and more!

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Segment 1

• Discussion about the UN General Assembly. Obama spoke on 9/25/2012.
• Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to speak on 9/26/2012.
• Discussion about people criticizing Obama for not personally meeting with world leaders during the UN meetings. He decided to make an appearance on ABC’s “The View,” instead of meeting with international heads of state.
• Heit discusses listening to Amped Up by Max Minelli (Produced by Jondo) in order to get amped up for the show.
• Discussion on how to properly pronounce Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• Madonna said, “We have a Black Muslim in the White House,” then encourages people to vote for him. This must be for publicity.
• Discussion about celebrities who say outlandish things to get publicity.
• Discussion about school officials beating children in school (with parents’ permission).
• Discussion of the recent case where a female high school student received corporal punishment from a male assistant principal–at her request–to avoid in-school suspension. Should she be able to exchange a beating for suspension–even with her mother’s permission?
• Heit & Cheri discuss teachers whooping students in school when they were growing up. Heit confesses that he received school spankings for talking too much in class.
• Discussion about the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, backed by Michelle Obama, which dictates the caloric intake range for school lunches.
• Should school lunches have calorie restrictions? Children have different calorie needs on the basis of their individual circumstances, and having a calorie cap doesn’t account for individual needs.
• High school students have an allotted calorie range of 750 to 850 calories for lunch.
• What about people who are involved in athletics or have other reasons for requiring additional calories? What if the student has missed meals?
• Perhaps it would be better if they balanced their approach by expanding the lunchroom offerings. Rather than totally eliminating “junk” food, make more healthy foods available.
• This policy might sound good on the surface, but it really is government control over peoples’ lives.
• What if more money was focused on funding team sports and other things that would promote more exercise?
• Discussion about the Wii game, which allows people to play and get physical activity at the same time.
• Heit explains that he first played the Wii while deployed in Iraq. The troops had a place where they could go and spend their money while they are serving.
• Cheri first saw the Wii while living in Guadalajara, Mexico at a Best Buy store. They used attractive young ladies to lure people to watch them dance on the game.
• Maybe people ought to start a petition to have Wii-type video games in high schools.
• Why is it that people start a petition any time they want things to change? This is what they have been socialized to do.
• A group of high schools students decided to make a video, protesting the lunch policy. The song follows the melody and music of “We Are Young” by FUN:
  
• Discussion about alternatives some students may have to reliance on the school cafeteria.
• Heit & Cheri discuss their favorite school cafeteria meals. Heit’s school had red beans and rice, and chicken tenders were popular at Cheri’s school.
• Heit explains that they weren’t allowed to bring outside food into the cafeteria.
• Cheri said that she hated bringing her lunch in school, because all the kids used to have better lunches than her.
• There should be more field trips in school so that students can see the real world.
• Discussion about students who leave high school and don’t have much idea of what they want to do with their lives. Part of this is because of a lack of exposure to different careers.
• A recent article mentioned that more than half of high school graduates won’t make it in college.
• Discussion about the importance of apprentice programs that give high school students a change to experience jobs in different fields.
• Discussion about high schools that offer vocational programs, such that students have skills when they come out of high school.
• This reminds Cheri of the debate between the philosophies of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois.
• The pressure from the parent for the child to be “better than them” often leads to children entering careers that they really aren’t passionate about. Furthermore, who determines “better than?” Society?
• Understanding how education is administered is important because it is the number one tool of indoctrination in this society.
• Discussion about Black GOP supporter, Mia Love’s speech at the GOP convention, and how she got called out for her position on immigration. Her parents were Haitian immigrants who had her in order to solidify the family’s ability to stay in the country–just like the implication of the “anchor babies” she is in favor of deporting.
• Discussion about Mia Love being a Black Mormon–a member of a church that, until recently, viewed “blackness” as a curse.
• Discussion of Congressional Black Caucus chairman Emanuel Cleaver saying that Blacks who don’t vote “ought to give us their color back.” How ridiculous!
• Discussion of the idea of whether you would change your race or gender if you could. This is a complex question that is not based solely in an issue of self hate.
• Heit says that he cannot imagine change his race, because his whole life experience has been as a Black person.
• Imagine how your mannerisms might change if you switched gender.
• Heit & Cheri play a word game.
• Discussion of the following deposition with Lil Wayne, concerning his court case with Quincy Jones III:
  
• Discussion of the point that Lil Wayne makes that “image is self described.” He says that he is just who he is, not a portrayal of any other image.
• Discussion of Wayne saying that “in the real world, that guy right there, he can’t save you in the real world.” This is true, because the proceedings of the judicial system follow different rules than those of the street. In a court, you have an authority over the conversation, but on the streets it’s not so.
• Discussion of him saying that he doesn’t “have to do anything.” Just because these are proceedings doesn’t mean he is forced to do something. Cheri brings up the old saying, “I don’t have to do nothing but stay Black and die.”
• Discussion about how there are “rules” for every circumstance. The system is set up in a way that if you don’t play by the rules, then you will pay a heavy consequence.
• Discussion of the woman who had a food program for children that was shut down by the local government because they wanted her to pay them to file for a zoning change. You have to go register, and pay them a fee to do business (or non-profit) there.
• Discussion about how cities are formed. You must incorporate to form a city or town. Someone or a group comes in and claims to be an authority. They incorporate, then set up the laws for that area. All the people in that area then fall under their jurisdiction.
• Most of the unclaimed land in the world is uninhabitable. You at least need some basic infrastructure to come and go from it.
• Discussion of the effects of humans on the environment in the context of the baby panda that died in a zoo. If you are destroying their habitat, how can you expect these animals to thrive in a zoo?
• People are trying to setup artificial nature. They tear down nature, then beautify it with faux nature.
• Discussion of zoos keeping animals in captivity for the enjoyment of humans.
• Cheri recounts an experience of seeing the traveling circus’ animals that were not well taken care of–skinny and emaciated.
• Keeping animals in captivity–including humans–ruins their psychology and makes it impossible for them to ever really be free.
• Discussion about a man who claimed ownership of the moon via a loophole.
• Discussion of the far side of the moon. Would you buy a plot of land on the moon?
• Do you need special permission to build and launch a space ship? Use of the air space might be a problem.
• Heit & Cheri vow to get to the bottom of the whole “dark side of the moon” question.
• Discussion about the case in Boston, in which a lab tech purposely contaminated lab samples which were used to convict people. She mixed the samples to create a positive result to tie the “suspect” to the sample. 1,100 samples are in question.
• This brings all of the labs’ credibility into play. How can people be locked away for life on the basis of results that cannot be verified as accurate? These labs work for these law enforcement agencies.
• Discussion of the Chavis Carter case being ruled a suicide. It’s case closed, and nobody is questioning the findings.

Audio Credits:

“Amped Up” – Max Minelli (Produced by Jondo)

“Lil Wayne Deposition Interview” – via YouTube

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