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Midlife Revelations, Hawk Tuah Viral Fame, & Denver’s Creative Support
28 Plays5 months ago
Midlife Revelations, viral fame, and effective social programs are what is on Bruce Anthony mind as he marks his 44th birthday. In this installment, Bruce delves into a discussion on the impact of two renowned rappers, Kendrick Lamar and Drake, on music and culture.
Furthermore, Bruce investigates Denver's recent initiative of a basic income program for the homeless, pondering the potential benefits of this novel approach in reshaping societal support systems.
He delves into the sudden online fame of the 'Hawk Tuah Girl,' unraveling the story behind her internet stardom. Bruce also imparts personal reflections on midlife, sharing relatable insights. #unsolicitedperspectives #MidlifeReflections #viralreels #hawktuah #notlikeus
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Thank you for tuning into Unsolicited Perspectives with Bruce Anthony. Let's continue the conversation in the comments and remember, stay engaged, stay informed, and always keep an open mind. See you in the next episode!
Chapters
00:00 Welcome to Unsolicited Perspectives
00:57 A Much-Needed Break and Personal Reflections
02:09 Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake: A Petty Feud
03:47 Turning 44: Birthday Tales and Realizations
10:04 Middle Age Mishaps and Realizations
14:24 Denver's Innovative Program for the Unhoused
25:17 Addressing Privilege and Assistance Programs
25:52 Employment and Housing Services
26:51 Healthcare and Addiction Support
29:49 Financial Counseling and Childcare Support
34:18 Social Media's Impact and the Hawk Tuah Girl
41:25 Personal Life and Social Media Rumors
43:10 A High School Rumor's Impact
47:50 Confronting the Source of the Rumor
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www.unsolictedperspectives.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Preview
00:00:10
Speaker
Whoa. First of all, welcome. This is Unsolicited Perspectives. I'm your host, Bruce Anthony, here to leave the conversation at important events and topics that are shared for today's society. to Join the conversation and follow us wherever you get your audio podcasts. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch our video podcasts. Rate, review, like, comment, share, share it with your friends, share it with your family. Hell, you can share it with your enemies. On today's episode, I'm going to be daily down a little bit in the first segment. Then we'll be talking about a new program that is helping the unhoused. And then we're going to be talking about social media in the last segment. And I'm going to tell an interesting story from back in the day. But that's enough of the intro. Let's get to the show.
Reflections on Personal Life and Turning 44
00:00:57
Speaker
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back. We took a little little break. It was gone for a little two weeks. ah I guess you could say for the holiday. Also my birthday and I just needed a break. I've been burning a candle on both ends. This show is a full-time job and I also have a another full-time job that takes up a lot of my time. So it was a much needed break for me. A lot of things happened during this break. First thing that happened was the debate. I really don't have any opinion on it beat because I didn't watch it. This didn't watch the debate. I already know who I'm voting for. I don't know how anybody could watch the debate and change their mind. Basically, I don't know how there's any undecided voters right now. These are polar opposites. And I don't really care to comment about how one candidate was lying and the other candidate looked really old. They both looked really old to me. and
00:01:51
Speaker
They were both kind of lying a little bit, one way more than the other, but I really, I really, really do not care about the debate. I live in Washington, DC. I'm going to be getting my full share of this election. I'm just trying to enjoy this hot ass summer, you know? i Another thing that happened, Kendrick Lamar dropped another, he dropped a video, another shot against Drake. I don't know, man, this is getting kind of weird. I don't know why Drake holds that much space in Kendrick's head. I will fully admit I'm a Drake fan. I'm a Kendrick fan, but I'm more of a Drake fan than I am a Kendrick. I just don't understand how Drake has pissed him off this point. I mean, this has gone past Petty. Petty was running a song back five times during the Juneteenth celebration, right?
00:02:48
Speaker
this This video that was taking so really specific artistic shots at Drake, like I'm saying, man, this has gotten kind of weird. This has gotten to the point where this is straight bullying because, Kendrick, you won. You don't have to keep going on. You won. You can end this now. ah Look, the song is good. I mean, he's made a hit. It's ah it's a classic and he's really rubbing it in. I just think that it's gone a little too far now. I know there's going to be people out there that are just so petty. Like, no, you keep going, you keep going. I don't know. I'm one of those people like once you've won the fight, you don't smack a man and punch a man when he's down. and but But that's just me. and People still out there enjoying it. Hey, go for it. To me, this is getting a little weird.
00:03:36
Speaker
um But it might be getting weird because I'm getting older. Like I said, we took a break because I needed a little time to to recharge my batteries. And I'm just getting older. I turned 44. I am officially in my mid 40s. I'm no longer in my early 40s. I am officially middle aged. Will I make it to 88 years old? I don't know. I didn't even know that I was going to make it to 44. You asked me at 18, 16, 18, would I make it to 44? I don't know. I was pretty reckless. So this is pretty fantastic to even make it to this age. Couple of things that I found out on my 44th birthday, tummy troubles. That was one of the main things that happened. So
00:04:19
Speaker
Typically on my my birthday, I get Red Lobster. I didn't do it this year. There's this taco place not far from me that I really, really enjoy. And I had every intention of going down to that restaurant that afternoon on my birthday and getting some tacos and tequila and just kicking it. Well, my day got started kind of late and I got back from the gym because I'm still 44. But now, you know, i still want to I still want to look good, you know, even if I'm 44. So I worked out on my birthday and it was getting kind of late. And I said, I'm just going to order it. Uber eats home because I got tequila at the house because a lot of my ah friends got me bottles of tequila for my birthday. I got so much tequila. Well, not that much tequila anymore because I was killing the bottle. I got bottles of tequila and I just said, I'll just have some tacos here at the house.
00:05:07
Speaker
So I got this queso with some chips um because this particular restaurant has to the best queso to me. And I got basically four tacos. um They're like street tacos and they're not too big. And immediately after about a queso, all the queso and chips and two tacos, my tummy started hurting. And it was really bothering me for a good few hours. And I mean real tummy troubles. I'm not going to get too graphic, but it was real tummy troubles. The tequila.
00:05:41
Speaker
Helped. Settled my stomach. Didn't know. It's probiotic. It just lets you people know out there you can take a probiotic every day or you take a couple shots to kill every day. I don't recommend that. I'm not a doctor. Do not follow my medical advice. But I had tummy troubles. I was dead set on having prime rib for dinner that night. And there's this place that's not too far from my house when the weather is not too hot. I like to do this walk. It's about a three mile walk through this neighborhood that has shops and restaurants and all this type of stuff. And in that and that center, there's a restaurant that has prime rib. And then I went online and I said, yeah, I'm gonna get some prime rib from this. I'm gonna do my walk um and I'm going to stop off at this restaurant, get the prime rib and go on home. I was originally intending on going to the restaurant, sitting at the bar, eating at the restaurant.
00:06:41
Speaker
But the day was long, the time of troubles was real. Even though the tequila started helping, I decided not to do that and to go ahead and get it to go. So I'm doing my walk and I get to the restaurant and lo and behold, they are out of prime rib. Can you believe that? Out of prime rib. So I'm pissed off because it's hot. It was hot. It was above 90 degrees. So I'm sweating. I'm burning. I'm dehydrated because of all the tequila I've been drinking. I'm still got slight tummy issues. So I'm on Uber, walking home, sweat pouring in my eyes, trying to find a place that I can order prime rib. I'm going to a bunch of different restaurants because not only do I want prime rib, I want mashed potatoes. Hey, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it all the way right.
00:07:31
Speaker
So I'm trying to find a place to get prime rib and mashed potatoes. And prime rib is not easy. And I'm not going to Longhorn Steakhouse for my birthday dinner. I found a place. I ordered the prime rib. Was it good? I don't know. I enjoyed it. I guess I was really drunk. All I know is I ate it and the mashed potatoes. And then what did I have for dessert? Oh, yeah. No, I got some butter pecan ice cream that my sister keeps joking on me about is definitely an old person's ice cream. But I did not eat it because my tummy started hurting again. So I just drank tequila, stayed up too late. And then finally with the bed, I had a really long phone call with my father, ah two hours, just chit-chatting. It was a really long phone, really good phone call. My mom FaceTimed me in the morning.
00:08:22
Speaker
And this was another sign that I'm getting old because you know, when you FaceTime older people. And then they want to show you something in the FaceTime. So they got to flip the camera around and they don't really do it that well. Well, I've been a professional ah camera flipper for the iPhone for the last 10 years. you know FaceTime is my thing. I prefer to FaceTime than I actually do talk on the phone. If you're going to call me, if you got to call me, you better FaceTime me because I am not about to just hold the phone like this and talk. And it I did the
00:08:59
Speaker
the video representation of you guys are watching on YouTube, which, by the way, please watch on YouTube. Then you saw me put the phone signature up to my face like you're talking on the phone. But I'm trying to flip the camera around and having a little trouble. I'm pushing the wrong buttons ah because I got this new artwork that I put on the wall and lights shooting down on artwork is very dope. And I wanted to show my mom, but I'm having really difficult trouble. flipping the camera over to show my mom. I'm showing my face. I zoomed in on my face. i'm done I opened up my pictures by accident. i don't I didn't even know you could do share screen on FaceTime. I don't know if you can or not, but I figured out a way to do it. Basically any and everything other than flipping the camera around so I could show my mom my artwork.
00:09:49
Speaker
And I was like, ah, this is 44. Like I'm here now. And I guess it's just a rite of passage when you hit middle age, when you hit old people age and technology, you don't know how to work FaceTime. And the topic all off almost died. OK, so let me just tell the story. I was taking a shower like I do twice a day every day. I was taking a shower and somehow my shower head broke.
00:10:20
Speaker
as I'm washing my face. So there is face cleanser that's in my eyes and it's starting to burn a little bit. And I've got water spouting everywhere and I can't really open my eyes because there's facial cleanser all on my face. So I'm trying to put my hand up towards the shot, the broken shower head that to figure out, to stop the water from blasting me in my face as I'm doing that. The soap from the liquid bottle, the liquid soap, fell on top of the tub from the from the blast, from the water, from the broken shower head. It leaks out on the tub, which makes the tub slippery. So now I'm slippering. I grab ahold of the curtains. The curtains break a little bit. I try to grab ahold of where you there's a little bar on the middle part of the shower. um I have a tub.
00:11:17
Speaker
But there's a bar in the middle part in the shower. That's where I put my washcloth and stuff. That's where I assume what you that, you know, I put washcloths and stuff and I grab ahold of it to stop it and I break it and I fall. I don't hurt anything. I don't break anything. But I'm at that age now where like, hey, if I slip and fall in the shower, it can can be some real consequences. um to the situation. Safe to say that I took water and splashed my face to get the facial cleanser at least out of my eyes so I can see to pull myself up to try and fix the shower head, but the shower head was broke. I mean, the cable, I have an attachment, a shower head that detaches, that has a little cable so you can move the shower head around. I'm a big guy. So, you know, this is a way to clean areas that, you know, regular shower hair can't reach. And that little cable, like, broke,
00:12:11
Speaker
And water was starting all over that so literally i had to finish my shower. like I was hosing myself off. There was water everywhere. When I got out of the shower, the water had gotten out of the shower when it sprayed from the shower head, breaking. There was water all over the floor, almost busted my ass when I got out the shower for the second time. I mean, I'm not in pain right now. And this was a little while ago, um not like a little while ago today, but a couple of days ago. So I'm not in pain right now, but that could have turned left real fast. And these are all signs that I'm in my middle ages.
00:12:47
Speaker
I'm just i'm i' I'm getting older and it sucks. I can't move like I wanted to move anymore. I can't eat what I want to eat anymore. I got tummy issues for no strange reason. Oh, and and the drinking. I can't drink like I used to. I was in a coma the the day after my birthday And I went out with a friend and was drinking all night again and was in another coma that night. I just slept heavy and didn't wake up too great. I don't know about you guys, but when I wake up in the morning now, it takes a good hour or two for my eyes to adjust. I'm getting older. And the thing that hurt the most during this whole birthday week celebration that I took is that the young women don't find me attractive anymore.
00:13:35
Speaker
I'm not talking about like R. Kelly young women. I'm talking about if I'm 44, 30-year-olds, 35-year-olds aren't really looking at me like that anymore. And it just kind of just happened all of a sudden, just like overnight. And that sucks, because I don't know. I don't like people that most people my age don't. you know They look kind of old sometimes, especially if you've got kids. Kids will age you. Ladies and gentlemen, This is 44. But up next, I'm going to be talking about a really dope program that Denver used to help the unhoused situation. We're going to get into that after we pay some bills.
Exploring the Denver Basic Income Project
00:14:25
Speaker
So I came across a pretty cool article from the Business Insider that talked about this new program that Denver used to help its unhoused program. So Denver has has launched a program called the Denver Basic Income Project, DBIP for short, which provides direct cash payments to people experiencing homelessness or the unhoused. For the purposes of this conversation, we're gonna say homeless or homelessness, just know that I call them unhoused. But a lot of the direct quotes from this article use homelessness because, you know, the business insider is not so progressive to know proper terms. But anyway, the program was the participants received payments over a 12 month period.
00:15:12
Speaker
Then this was started in December 2022 and involved around 800 people. The participants were divided into three separate groups. Group A, which received $1,000 per month. Group B, which received $6,500 upfront and $500 per month afterwards. And Group C, which received $50 per month as a control group. ah The program aimed to study the impact of these payment payments on homelessness, food insecurity, shelter use, and employment.
00:15:44
Speaker
Early results had been pretty promising. It increased housing stability. Group A saw a 26% increase in participants staying in housing. They rented their own, while Group B saw a 35% increase. Remember, Group A received $1,000 per month. Group B received $6,500 upfront, and then $500 per month afterwards. So 26% of Group A, the people receiving $1,000 per month, stayed in the housing that they rented or owned, which meant that it really helped.
00:16:16
Speaker
a quarter of them ah succeed and and improve upon this situation. For the group B who received an upfront payment and $500 a month, it was even a bigger increase, which was more than a third, 35%. This reduced unsheltered homelessness. The rates dropped significantly across all groups. So all groups saw an improvement in their situations as far as the unsheltered or the homelessness. and improve their overall well-being. Participants reported being able to secure our housing, pay off debt, and even save money for the first time. This project is part of a broader trend of cities experimenting with a universal basic income to address poverty, homelessness, by trusting people to know their own needs.
00:17:02
Speaker
Basically, to be eligible for this program, you had to experience homelessness. This includes those who were unsheltered, staying in shelters or in temporary housing situations like couch surfing or living in motels. They had a connected service provider. Applicants must be linked with the organizations that partner with the DPPI. Everybody had to be 18 years of older and applicants should not have severe unaddressed mental health or substance abuse issues. In addition to the cash payments, the DBIP provided participants with access to a variety of support services. These services are ah designed to help individuals stabilize their lives and improve their overall wellbeing. Some of the key services provided were housing assistance, employment services, healthcare care access, financial counseling, childcare support, food assistance,
00:17:59
Speaker
And these all these all were provided through partnerships with local organizations with aiming to help these people that were experiencing these issues achieve greater stability and self-sufficiency. In other words, this program is not just a giveaway. People are receiving money as well as services to help them get back on top, ah get get their head going in the right direction. Not their head going in the right direction, but start heading in the right direction with a little bit of help.
00:18:40
Speaker
How was all of this funded? Because I know a lot of people go, yeah, well, where's this money coming from? OK, so private donations and foundations, a significant portion of the funding came from private donors and charitable foundations. For example, the Colorado Trust and another anonymous foundation contributed $3 million to this program. The city of Denver, contributed money to the program. I committed about $2 million dollars from unspent federal pandemic aid dollars. This funding was specifically approved by the City Council to support women, transgender, and gender non-confirming individuals who have experienced a rising levels of homelessness during the pandemic. This is something that really doesn't get talked about
00:19:23
Speaker
for people in the LGBTQ plus community, especially for people in that are trans or non-gender-conforming, is that we have so much anti-trans legislation, so much anti-trans sentiment that a lot of people were being kicked out of their homes or being displaced because of the society as a whole. So this program, the specifically the city of Denver said, hey, look, we got all this pandemic aid that we haven't used. Let's vote on this. Let's help the people that are less fortunate and give them a chance to get a leg up. ah That's what I should have said earlier, a leg up, oh to to move forward and um to improve their situation. And I really thought this was a really dope program.
00:20:17
Speaker
the founder of the DB. IP, Mark Donovan initially used his own money to kickstart this project and has since secured over $10 million dollars of commitments. So once again, they pulled money from all over the place to help fund this program that was funding 800 people basically from December 2022 to December 2023. So this program was used
00:20:49
Speaker
to help people that need help. And I know a lot of people are like, well, these social programs, you need to pull yourself by the bootstraps.
Privilege and Educational Challenges
00:21:01
Speaker
A lot of people don't realize just how privileged and fortunate that they are. A lot of people feel like, well, I did it all on my own, not realizing that there were factors that helped them get to where they were. Most people are not Let's put it this way. How many people out there in life were born with nobody to take care of them and had to fight and scratch and claw to make it in life?
00:21:31
Speaker
Because that's truly pulling yourself by the bootstraps. And even along the way, they had people helping them. But let's just go from the initial premise. From birth, you got nothing. I mean, we typically have nothing. We have people that that help us and take care of us if we're lucky and fortunate, which, by the way, is a privilege. that you may think, well, no, you my parents had me and they just took care of me. No, that's a privilege. That's a benefit. You would at least get help from the very beginning. Everybody is different on the help that they get, but that's a privilege. Some people don't have that.
00:22:09
Speaker
You know, I talk about kids that are in the foster care system. They are passed from group home to group home to foster ah house to foster house. They don't have any stability. Are you trying to say that you're not more privileged than them when you had at least a semi-stable household? yeah your mom may Yeah, your mom and dad may have fought. or your mom and mom or your dad and dad. Maybe they even split up. Maybe they even got a divorce. Maybe they were shuffling you through back and forth. Maybe it wasn't your parents that raised you. Maybe it was your grandparents. Maybe it was your aunt, your uncle. You had somebody.
00:22:44
Speaker
You had somebody, and there's other there are people out there that the start, the start that they get from life, they don't even have that. What did that mean when you're moving all around the place? Your education is shoddy at best. Let me tell you a story about what happened to me. I moved from Virginia to Maryland in high school. In Virginia, basically during the 90s, they had a three-class structure as far as like each grade level. So if you were in a ninth grade, you were either in lower level classes, right? Average classes or accelerated classes. I, thankfully, was in accelerated classes, okay? So I wasn't in average or below average. Not to say that when I started in Virginia, I was in below average classes.
00:23:41
Speaker
because they thought I had a learning disability, which maybe I do. But a lot of times it was just they were putting me in these classes that were so easy that they were boring to me and I didn't pay attention. And so my mind would wander until I had to take a test and then I would take a test. And then eventually they found out in middle school, oh, Bruce is not below average. He's not even average because I think by late elementary school, I moved myself up to average. They said, oh, he's above average. Let's put him in accelerated programs to the point where I was taking high school courses in middle school. So anyway, I'm in high school and we're sophomore year.
00:24:23
Speaker
In the way the sciences programs leveled up in Virginia, it was sciences and social studies, there were certain subjects that you took in each grade level. They didn't measure up in Maryland. So when I moved to Maryland, the class I had to take was US History. That's what was for juniors in the state of Virginia. In Maryland, it was for freshmen. I had to take U.S. history from my requirement, which means I was a junior that they put in freshmen. And the next year in government, I was a senior that they put in sophomore classes, right? I actually had a really good education. Now, imagine that foster kid going from one section of the city to the next section of the city.
00:25:09
Speaker
During school years and school semesters and grading periods, grades all over the place, these are the points that I'm trying to make, is that you think, I didn't come from any privilege, I wasn't rich, and you are. They're all people that have more privilege than you. But to say that you don't have any privilege and to assume, well, I did it all myself and I didn't have any help is a lie. So what this program is doing in DBIP is what is doing is those people that are falling down on their luck, they're saying, hey, we're going to give you this money.
00:25:45
Speaker
But we're also going to give you services that is going to help you get on your feet. What were the services again? I'll run through them. Housing assistance, right? Support and finding and maintaining stable housing. Employment services help with job searches, resume building, and connecting with potential employers. Now, if you're unhoused, Everybody has gone out for a job and interview. Let's say you go in and you fill out an application. It's been decades since I've filled out an application, right? Decades. Almost three decades since I've walked into like a retail store and filled out an application. In order for them to contact you to come in for an interview, if you don't get an on-spot interview, you'll need a phone number.
00:26:33
Speaker
Now, could some of the unhoused people have a cell phone number? Sure. But probably not. You need a place of residence to get a job. So that's what employment services is doing. Healthcare care access, assistant assistance in accessing medical, mental health, and substance use treatmentment treatment centers.
Addiction, Mental Health, and Financial Counseling
00:27:02
Speaker
Yes, a lot of people are falling on a hard times because of mental health issues, because they have a problem with addiction, whatever that addiction could be. And let's let's talk about addiction, right? let's Let's talk about that. I know I'm going all over the place, but I'm i'm trying to hit a point that everybody can kind of understand and identify with to see how beneficial this program is. I'm going home but i'm going about it in many different ways to try and trying to hit a chord with with
00:27:32
Speaker
the majority of the people that are listening and watching this podcast. Okay. Addiction. I recently had to tell a friend that they're working out too much, that they were addicted to working out. And I know what you're thinking to yourself. Bruce, that's crazy. Not crazy. Crazy. How can somebody actually be working out too much? It's true. You can overwork your body and it can be a detriment to what you're actually trying to achieve. Did you know that if you work out more than a certain period of time, anywhere between 45 and 75 minutes, if you work out then more than that, you start to
00:28:08
Speaker
stop fat burning and started to go into weight loss, which is essentially storing fat and feeding off of your muscle mass. You might lose weight, but you're not going to look leaner. You see what I mean? There's a difference. And I had to explain to the person, hey, you're overworking yourself. Your body has to have rest. This was an addiction that this person had. And it is, they're listening to me somewhat, but I have to beat it in their head. Not literally, but I have to reiterate it all the time. Hey, relax, chill. Some people are addicted to working. I had to talk to a recent friend of mine. Went on vacation. I was like, you're going on a vacation to go on vacation, right? No work? Yeah, yeah, yeah, no work. Texted them while they were on vacation. Hey, close the laptop.
00:29:03
Speaker
Go enjoy the beach. How did you know? Because I know you. You're addicted to work. So there's all these different things that that people are addicted to. Now, will that lead to ah being unhoused? No, that won't lead to being unhoused. But the basic point is everybody faces addiction. It's not a thing that anybody should look down upon, that any anybody should be ashamed of. They all face it. Sometimes people need some help. like these people who have substance abuse issues. Some of them, not all of them, have substance abuse issues. Some people have mental health issues. Hell, just about everybody out there has some mental health issues, right? We are tripping out here in these streets. Get some point, the debate and the discussion around the debate, but I said I wasn't going to talk about that, so let's move on.
00:29:50
Speaker
They're going to get these people also get financial counseling that is guiding guidance on budgeting, saving and managing finances. Look, i there are three of us as far as our siblings and we fit every single parameter as far as dealing with our finances. One of us is really, really a spin thrift and saves their money and just locks their money in. One person be balling to the wheels fall off when they're broke as hell. And another person is right in the middle.
00:30:28
Speaker
We all have different ways of dealing with our finances. Some people out there listening and watching this show know people that spend well above their means. That are literally living paycheck to paycheck. I know people that are living paycheck to paycheck and I know they make $250, $300,000 a year. In the Washington DC area, that is not hard to find people that make and absorbing an amount of money and live in paycheck to paycheck. And we know people who make 35, 40,000 dollars a year are always going on trips. They're smarter with their money. So this program is also helping with financial counseling. Childcare support, resources to help participants find and afford childcare. Yo, I don't know if y'all really realize it for those people that don't have kids, but kids are expensive.
00:31:18
Speaker
I was reading something 10, 15 years ago that said when you had a kid, just imagine a $25,000 expense a year. And I've come to find out talking to my friends, yeah that's just childcare. That's not any of the other stuff. That's not like food and and you know clothes and diapers and all that stuff. 20, think about it right now. For all those people that don't have kids, $25,000 just in childcare. There are people that I know that are paying more in childcare per month than they are in their mortgage. This program will help with that. And then food assistance. Me and my sister have already talked about the food scarcity in this country. And this is the help that people that were in this program was receiving. So it is not all, we just gonna give you money, see how you do. It was, we're gonna give you money,
00:32:13
Speaker
and resources to help you improve your life. And I think it was a beautiful program. And I know what everybody is is going to say, right? Well, you know, people, people always get a needed handout. Yeah. Yeah. Rich people get handouts too. Rich people get handouts too. Don't believe me? Tax breaks and subsidies. Wealthy are always benefiting on tax breaks and subsidies, especially people in the oil and gas business who receive significant subsidies, which benefit their wealthy investors and and the financial institutions that are ah backing them. And don't forget about the bailouts that happened, right? During the financial current crisis, the government bailed out all those banks, all those banks who had wealthy
00:33:04
Speaker
executives and shareholders. When it was their fault, the financial crisis was due to the housing crisis. It was the banks that screwed over everybody. They got bailed out. So don't talk to me about people need to help themselves. Now, sometimes we need to help people. And this program was pretty cool. I'm sure there are going to be some flaws. It wasn't 100% effective. I don't think anything is ever 100% effective. But the fact that there's a large number of people that improved upon themselves through the kindness and generosity of other people is letting us know.
00:33:46
Speaker
You know, maybe there is some hope for this country. If we can all get on board and help one another, I don't know. That's what I think.
The Dual Nature of Social Media
00:33:54
Speaker
I don't i don't know if if i if I'm in the minority or the majority, but i would I'd like to hope that I'm in the majority. I'll tell you what I definitely was in the majority on, paying attention to social media, especially with the hawk to a girl. I'm going to get into that next.
00:34:19
Speaker
You know, I often talk about the ills of social media, and it's more specifically about trolls and commenters that really are just, social media can be an absolute cesspool. I need to do a better job. ah talking about the benefits of social media. And I've done it a little bit about you can really learn if you take the initial spark that social media gives to you and then go do your own research. There are a lot of things I've learned because social media has sparked an interest in a particular subject that I'm going out to research more and expand upon more. It also gives people who are very, very talented an opportunity to showcase their talent
00:35:08
Speaker
in ways that probably weren't presentable before social media or the internet. And one of those such things, you know, we we did, many of my sisters talked about the the main series of Marisa Tisa, and she actually, I saw her doing an interview show, not an interview show, or standing at the red carpet doing interviews for something on Netflix or something like that. Like she parlayed that ability to tell a seven hour story and keep people engaged, which is the talent. She parlayed that into a job. Ain't like a real tangible job. And for a couple of weeks, there was this young lady who's known as the Hot Tua Girl who went viral on social media. So her name is Haley Welch, also known as the Hot Tua Girl. She became an internet sensation after a street interview during a CMA fest in Nashville, went viral. In the interview, she humorously showed
00:36:07
Speaker
answer the question. um What makes a man go crazy? And she said, you got a hot toy on that thing. And and it went nuts.
00:36:18
Speaker
He hears some key stuff to know about Hailey. One, her background. So Hailey is from Belfast, Tennessee and worked at a spring factory before before her viral moment. Her viral fame, the video quickly gathered massive attention and and and leading to billions of media impressions and significant following on social media. She did a career shift following her new foul fame. Hailey quit her job and started capitalizing on her internet popularity. She has since appeared on stage with celebrities like Zach Bryant and hasn't been involved in various media appearances. Hailey, if you would love to come on this show, let me know. We'd love to talk to you about some of the stuff I'm going to get into later.
00:37:01
Speaker
after I get into the particulars here, but we'll continue on with the particulars. so um She's doing merchandising and earnings. Hailey has a profit from merchandise sales, such as a feature for her viral catchphrase, Hot To It. And then there she's in discussions about potentially launching her own reality show. But here's the problem. so This thing went viral, and I thought I found it extremely interesting. And I, like other people, tried to find her on the internet, but all of her social media was shut down. So there were all these different types of stories that were going around that people didn't know if they were true or not true. And me being the person that I am, the fake journalist that I at least attempt to be.
00:37:54
Speaker
I tried to Google, but we didn't know her name. So it was just hot to her. So I tried to Google and find any type of any credible news source about this young woman before anybody else could. But what we had were a lot of salacious stories. One of the stories was what our occupation was, right? People were saying on the internet that she was an elementary school teacher who had been fired because of the viral ven video. She confirmed she was never a teacher, never worked for a daycare or anything like that. Didn't work with kids. She worked at a spring factory. But everybody was saying, oh, she was an Allen Richards school teacher, and she got fired her from her job from because of this video. Because the video is sexually explicit when she's talking about a hot tour on that thing. Don't get me wrong. Ladies, I love a hot tour. Sorry, mama, but I do. I love a hot tour.
00:38:54
Speaker
And although I am 44 years old, if you are in the age range of 30 to 44, you want to hot tour that thing. I'm just playing. I'm just playing. I'm just playing. But yeah, so that was the first law, the lie. The second lie was there was a rumor going around and her father was a preacher. Once again, every time that I read something like this or there was a comment, I would Google to try and verify it. And not one credible source, not one news organization was reporting any of this, but it was spreading on the Internet like wildfire. And I would have friends of mine coming up to me saying, did you hear she got fired from her job? And I would just like, wait a second.
00:39:39
Speaker
I heard that. I tried to Google define if that was from any credible source. I did not stop spreading this because we don't know if it's truth or fiction. Right.
00:39:54
Speaker
and who came out to all be false. Another one there are things with social media presence. After going viral, many fake accounts and impersonations of Hailey appeared online. These accounts often misspelled names and misappropriated photos, which Hailey found unsettling. There was a young woman that people thought was Hailey and it had gotten bombarded to the point where she had to come out and say, that's not me. And people didn't believe her. ah Ladies and gentlemen, how dumb are we in every single time this happened? And I know I'm in the minority when it comes to this and I don't think I'm better than anybody. I feel like this is something simple that anybody can do. Google for real news sources, not blogs, not something, something, not dot net, not
00:40:51
Speaker
Oh, i ah somebody commented on this. Those are not credible sources before you go out and spread information. Because if people are coming to me saying word of mouth, this is what I found out. Of course it's spreading like wildfire on the internet because the people are coming to me saying that they heard about this are coming to me as if it is fact. And every single time I said, I don't know that to be the case. because I haven't found any credible information, maybe we should just stop and take a break and figure out all this stuff. And then there was her personal life, right? All these different accusations about her personal life. One of them was rumors about her love life and that she had just broken up with a guy and was heartbroken. Other personal details started i started s spreading about her, but she's kept her private life pretty private, you know? And if you watch the video,
00:41:50
Speaker
Going back to how social media helps propel certain people, both good and bad, but she definitely has talent. I mean, you watched this interview and it just, from what we've been told in some of her interviews that she's done since this has gone viral, actually her giving answers to what is true, A lot of this stuff with this joke was turning tongue in cheek and to come up with that type of stuff the way she said it was comedically fantastic. Like she has comedic talent. And so for her to potentially be in talks for her own reality show, and I know that she was picked up by a management company and and she's she's got a team now.
00:42:39
Speaker
I think that's really dope. I think it's really dope that she set the record straight. ah though I think that's really dope that a person that was working a little, 20, young, 21, 22, 23 year old working in a spring factory. can now go get money because a talent that she has has been discovered by the masses. This is what social media can do. Social media can also spread a whole bunch of lies about people and damage people's life. Let me tell you a little story about a lie that spread about me in high school.
00:43:19
Speaker
And I know, I'm not going to say the name of the person, but the young woman that is a feature in this story definitely follows the podcast. So you know who I'm talking to. You you know who I'm talking to.
The Impact of False Rumors and Misinformation
00:43:39
Speaker
So when I was a junior in high school, I had moved from Virginia to Maryland. And for the first half of my junior year, I went to a private school. I transferred out of that private school and went to the local public school. And, you know, it's it's really tough for a person to make friends when you're coming in as an upperclassman, when most people have kind of like grown up with each other, right? You're coming in as an upperclassman and in the middle of the school year.
00:44:13
Speaker
It's kind of difficult, but also there's this brand new shiny thing, right? Because everybody knows everybody else, but there's this brand new shiny thing. And not to, you know, to my own home, but your boy was holding it down back in the day. Just, you know, just to be honest, I was holding it down back in the day. So I got take attention from certain women, one particular woman. Like I said, I didn't have a ah lot of friends and I was transferred and I was on the basketball team. But the basketball players, some of them didn't rock with me. um They felt threatened. The private school that I transferred from was known for basketball. So they knew that I must be a really good basketball player. Some of them felt threatened and and didn't want to get close. And me naturally, who I am being naturally reserved, I didn't get close to them.
00:45:04
Speaker
not until the following year, not until that summer, but then get close to them. So my friend groups were and kind of different and because I'm a person that could just be friends with everybody. And remember, I'm in accelerated classes. it's It's just a weird dynamic all around. But I'm a friend of a young lady. Who was my lunch buddy? Right? Because we could leave campus and and go across the st street to the local restaurants to go have lunch. And I went to this Mexican restaurant every single day. This is another sign that I got older because I don't remember having tummy issues in high school. But I went to this Mexican restaurant every single day. I had lunch and she would always join me. I found out we're going to call that that young lady lunch girl, lunch woman.
00:45:51
Speaker
we're going to call another young woman, Crush Woman. So Crush Woman, there was another young woman in the same grade as me that had a crush on me and let it be known through various channels that that she had a crush on me and wanted to know if I was interested. Me being the passive person and non-confrontational person when it comes to women, still to this day, was not interested in Crush Woman and wanted to get that information out there without having to directly tell her. And so I'm relaying this to the lunch woman and she says to me, I'll tell her. And me, stupidly said, you will. I get so excited, you will. She says, yeah, I'll tell her. I said, okay, cool, you tell her. So a lunch woman goes to Crush Woman
00:46:51
Speaker
And she tells her that I'm not interested. I didn't know what exactly she said. But all I know is that the job was taken care of. Like I said, I did not know exactly what she said. And then I found out later. But I'll tell you guys right now, she was not She was not, ah what's the word I'm looking for? Gentle or delicate in her description of my lack of feelings for Crush Woman. She was really explicit. I found out later, because once again, I'm an idiot, that Lunch Woman had a crush on me too. but And then when Lunch Woman found out that my feelings were not the same, she stopped hanging out with me.
00:47:42
Speaker
But like I said, lunch woman told crush woman that I wasn't interested in a very, very negative way. How does this come back to bite me? How does misinformation get back and hurt people? There's a third woman and the third woman is the feature woman. That's the reason why I'm going to call her feature woman. that I had been crushing on since I started the school year. She's a grade below me, but I had never in my life seen a woman that's my age as beautiful as this in my entire life. And it felt like she was unfounded. It felt like nobody else knew what gym this was in front of me until I started saying, hey, y'all been seeing feature woman?
00:48:30
Speaker
yeah She's really cute." And then I was like, yes, she is. So one day after school, I actually built up the courage, the courage on the way to the buses, because she took a different bus than me. I took up the courage to walk up to her. and say, hey, feature woman, I would love to hang out with you sometimes. She's like, yeah, that's cool. I was like, cool, cool. You know, maybe we can go to the movies, you know, whatever type of things that you do for dates. You know, that'd be really cool. Whatever you want to do, we could do. She said, oh, I thought you were gay. I'm going to repeat that, ladies and gentlemen. Feature woman looks me dead in my face and said, I thought you were gay.
00:49:17
Speaker
I say, what the hell? I'm not gay. What would make you think that I was gay? I didn't know I was giving up. This is 1997. So I was not evolved in my thinking. I said, I don't know what impression I gave off to make you think that I was gay. I need to switch up or do whatever. Why do you think that I'm gay? Oh, that's what the word is going around. What? That's the word that's going around. What do you mean, like, other people besides you think that I'm gay? Yeah, everybody thinks you're gay. What? I said, OK, I'm not gay. um Would you like to hang out sometime? Wait a minute. I don't even think I finished that. I stormed off because I went to go ask people. As a matter of fact, I don't think I ever finished.
00:50:06
Speaker
ah I don't think she ever knew officially. what I mean, eventually she did know officially. I was asking her on a date. But I don't think I ever officially got an answer. That was 28 years ago? Yeah, it was 28 years ago. I can't text her now. She is fully married with a lot of kids. well and I can't text her now to find out what would have been. But anyway, I storm off to get to the bottom of this. Like, what the hell? And yes, as I'm talking to people, people are saying, yeah, I thought you was gay. Which, let me just talk about how progressive this particular school was in the 90s that and well also i was a big I was a big kid, so maybe nobody would confront me or joke on me about that. There's nothing funny about ah being gay. I'm just saying in the 90s,
00:51:00
Speaker
It that was a slur that was used as the rock. Well, not even in the 90s. It's still people using that as derogatory term towards men, ah but nobody nobody. did that with me this whole time. and And supposedly this rumor was not weeks. It was months that this rumor had taken place. Finally, I zeroed in and the source of the rumor was Crush Girl, who was upset that I had turned her down. You see how rumors and people not fat checking can really hurt somebody.
00:51:39
Speaker
feature girl could have been the mother of my kids. I could have missed out on the love of my life. I don't believe that was the case. But still, nevertheless, rumors, spreading rumors can hurt
Conclusion and Audience Appreciation
00:51:50
Speaker
people. And I'm lucky for Hailey Welch, not hot tool girl, but Hailey Welch, that the misinformation and the rumors didn't hurt her like it hurt me with feature girl. But still to this day, I still don't know. I still don't know if she would have gone out on a date with me. She thought I was gay. She's like, I never looked at you like that because you were gay. And I'm like, I'm not gay. I'm fully heterosexual. wow That's the reason why I'm asking out on a date. Beautiful. Telling y'all.
00:52:18
Speaker
Beautiful. Still beautiful. Still beautiful. Anyway, that's the end of this story and this show. I want to thank you all for all the support that we've received on the show. We've got more interviews. We've got more sibling happy hours. We've got more shows that are coming. So thank you for the support. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. And until next time, as always, a holla. That was a hell of a show. Thank you for rocking with us here on Unsolicited Perspectives with Bruce Anthony. Now before you go, don't forget to follow, subscribe, like, comment, and share our podcast wherever you're listening or watching it to it. Pass it along to your friends. If you enjoy it, that means the people that you rock will enjoy it also. So share the wealth, share the knowledge, share the noise.
00:53:12
Speaker
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00:53:56
Speaker
clearly listened to and that you can clearly see. So any donation would be appreciative. Most importantly, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you for listening and watching and supporting us. And I'll catch you next time. Audi 5000. Peace.