My name is Joram van Klaveren, I'm from the Netherlands, and I used to be a member of the PVV. It's probably a party that you do not know, and if you do know that's something special to know. It's the party of Geert Wilders, maybe you've ever heard of him, the guy with the blonde hair. It's not a real hair color. I know. But he founded the party in 2006, and it's called the PVV, the Freedom Party of the Netherlands. And the main goal of that party was to make sure that Islam was not able to grow in the Netherlands. And later on the people was to ban Islam from the Netherlands in total. Well, I'll come back to that later. Maybe it's interesting that I introduce myself a little bit. My name is Joram van Klaveren, as I said, and I grew up in a very Orthodox Protestant environment. My mother and father were members of the Reformed Church. I have an older brother, a sister, another younger brother. We went to church. We read the Bible. We did all the things that normal Christian people do. But we were members of a very strict denomination of the Christian church. So other religions were gone astray in the opinion of the theologians of my church. So that's something that you, it was not explicitly said, but it's something that you learned during the days that you get raised until, let's say, 16, 17. So I had a certain religious bias towards Islam, not specific Islam, but other religions in general. But Islam was certainly not an option to look at in a positive way whatsoever. I studied religion, comparative religion. When I got older I went to university. But you take, of course, the things you learn in your upbringing with you, so that's something I did too. And I became politically active after 9-11, because September 11, 2001 was the first day of my study of comparative religion. So it was a strange kickoff. After that, we had a murder in the Netherlands. Maybe you've heard of Theo van Gogh. He was murdered by a jihadist, a lady who was active in the United States as well. Who's from the Netherlands. I am here, Shia Ali. She was in parliament when I was an assistant of a politician back then. So the whole sphere in a political sense and in a social sense was very anti-Islam. Of course, you had terrorist attacks in London, Madrid, etc. So there was a certain time that the view that people had when it came to Islam became more negative. And I think that another thing that's very important that played a role in the way I developed myself is the fact that in Europe there is a historical bias towards Islam because of the historical clashes. And we have crusades from the Christian church towards the Islamic world. There are attacks from Ottoman Empire, for example, on the Christian part of the world. There have been clashes for hundreds of years, one side, the other side, and the other way around. And the combination of those things, the start of my comparative religion study at September 11, 2001, the fact that Theo van Gogh was murdered, my upbringing and I think the historical bias of Europe when it comes to Islam, the combination of those things made me want to become politically active. And I was searching for a party who was most anti-Islam. Well, I found that party, it was Geert Wilders from the PCC. And I did everything I could when I became a member of parliament. It was in 2009, 2010. And that's way back in the last, I think, seven, eight years after that I did everything that I could to stop Islam from growing. I tried to get legislation to ban Islamic schools in the Netherlands to ban all mosques to prohibit reading the Quran. And one time we made legislation, or we tried to make legislation, to ban Islam in general from the Netherlands, of course. And Alhamdulillah, it didn't work. But that was something that we tried. And I left Islam, sorry, I left the political party, the PVV, in 2014, 2015. And that was because it was an anti-Islam party. But in 2014, 2015, Geert Wilders was active in a rally, a right-wing rally, and I asked the people, do you want more or less Moroccans? And the whole crowd shouted less, less, less. And then he said, okay, I'll make that happen. And that was, for me, was a point that I thought, okay, I'm still anti-Islam, but this has nothing to do with anti-Islam anymore, this anti-Moroccan. So I asked him to take his words back or change it or do whatever to play it down a little bit. He said, no, why should I? So then I left. And in 2017, I stopped politics in general. I did something, I do something else now. I work for the radio and teach other things, no politics anymore.  And I thought it would be a very important thing that all the things that I said and that anti-Islamic people and groups say that we have a theoretical basis with great grounds so we can point to the book when people have discussions and we would solve the dispute about Islam. Is Islam a religion of peace or is it something very wrong and evil when it comes to Europe or the West or the world in general? So I started writing the book. But I always had, as a Christian guy, my doubts on certain dogmas of the Christian church, for example, Trinity, the crucifixion of Christ. And I thought those were points when it comes to the Christian dogmas that are difficult to understand. But I was writing the book, but I tell it because it comes back later in my story. I tried to write the book and what I did was all the objections that I had, and those were, for example, Islam promotes terror. That's something that I thought Islam is anti-women, Islam is anti-Jewish, Islam is anti-democracy. Well, all the prejudices and all the stereotypes when it comes to Islam, I had. And what I did was starting to read and reread the articles and the books that I already read. But at some point I came across information that was at odds with the things that I was used to read and what I learned in the past. So I started writing letters to several ministers, to imams and to scholars. And one of those scholars was Abdul Hakim Murad. He's a professor from University of Cambridge. But I didn't know that. I just followed a line and thought, well, he's a scholar. So I wrote and I didn't know if people would write back because I put a little link from Wikipedia and my own page is in English as well. So I thought, okay, I give them at least the information so they know who they are talking or writing with. And after I find out who he was, I thought, well, he will never answer. But he is one of the greatest scholars in Europe when it comes to Islam. But he did. And I got a 17-page mail back with another, whoa. So I started reading and reading and reading and he asked me at the end how is it possible because you studied compared to religion at Free University where Abdul Hakim Murad also taught in the past. So he asked me what happened and what titles did you read and what's the information you got. So I gave him a list with titles. He said, okay, I know where you're coming from. I understand. And I explained that when I was younger and I was at university, the points that I mentioned earlier when it comes to the historical bias and upbringing, et cetera. But at one point in 2003, 2004, I went as a student to several mosques. And I asked several Muslims, well, what's up with Afghanistan, Taliban, et cetera, et cetera. And there was one guy who told me, well, that's what Islam wants. And he was a Muslim. And he said to me, yeah, well, I don't like it either, but that's what God wants. So we have to do that point. And then I thought, whoa, you're even more crazier than I thought. And that hardened my fuse when it came to Islam. And I told Abdul Hakim Murad as well. And he said, well, you know what the point is that you have a daughter of Islam. He said, it's a house of Islam.  And so what you have to do is get out of the barn, walk into the garden, look at the house, go into the house, and then we talk again. You can ask questions again. And that's what I'm asking. Well, I'm willing to get out of the barn if you give me some information out, a map. So he gave me some information. And I started reading and reading. And in the end, yeah, I thought, OK, Islam, the teachings of Islam, I thought, OK, that it looks very much like Christianity, be polite, of course, believing in God, believing in the prophets, et cetera. But in the end, the big difference, of course, is whether the question whether is Muhammad is a prophet or not. So I thought, OK, maybe Islam, the teachings of Islam are OK. But Muhammad is still, as I learned, an anti-Christ or he is a group or all the bad things you can imagine. That was still the view that I held when it came to Prophet Muhammad. What I did was comparing him not to Jesus, because a lot of people always say you have to compare him with Jesus. But I found that illogical, because Jesus had another mission. Even when I was still not a Muslim, I thought, well, it's more fair to compare him to Moses. Because I thought, well, in the Christian church, I was brought up. They called Moses the law giver. And I thought, well, Prophet Muhammad brought a law as well, the sharia. So I thought, well, we have two guys who say they bring a law. So it's more fair that I compare those two with each other. And I thought, well, one of my objections was Muhammad used violence. And I read, of course, Moses used violence as well. And especially the guy who followed Moses when Moses died, Joshua is a prophet as well in the Old Testament. He used a lot of violence. And I compared the teachings when it came to war between the Bible and the Quran.  But in the Bible, there are passages that say the opposite.  And of course, let's be happy that that's not what the most Christian churches teach. But there are passages in the Old Testament that say that you have to wipe out everything, even the grass. So everything has to be erased. So I thought, okay, when it comes to violence, I can no longer say that Muhammad because he fought a war and it was a defensive war. And that he is no prophet if I accept Moses and Joshua, for example. And then I went to another point and all the points that my objections against Muhammad when I compared it to other prophets, I had no grounds anymore. So in the end, I thought, well, maybe they are all no prophets. Or Muhammad is a prophet as well. That was a point for me that I had to look into my heart to see who I still believe in God. Well, if you believe in God, why do you believe God? There is a revelation if I believe in a revelation that the revelation is brought by someone or someone's. That's not an English word, but by people. And those people we call prophets. So I thought, okay, then Muhammad is a prophet. And then I realized, well, if I say Muhammad is a prophet and I believe in God, then there is a problem because then I would be a Muslim. And that's still something I didn't want to be. And so I talked to a lot of people and they say, well, if that's the case, you are a Muslim, whether you like it or not, or you must stop believing in God or something, but I couldn't. And then I thought, okay, I just park it and I don't do anything with it and I'll leave it for what it is.  And it was still so. I believed in God and I thought, yeah, I want to abide the laws of God. I want to do something that is good. So I had to do something with my new found information. And I started looking for a publisher to do something with the book. And the book was not already finished, but most of the parts that I found out and the new information I found out were in the book, but not yet my conversion because I didn't convert it yet. And I was looking for a Dutch, typical Dutch publisher. So it's called, in Dutch it's called the Kenneth's House. It means House of Wisdom. But they wrote it in an old style Dutch. And when you write it in old Dutch, it's typical Dutch, most nationalist guys write it in old Dutch.  So that's what it is. And I thought, okay. And the publisher wrote at Kenneth's House, so the House of Wisdom in old Dutch. And they were specialized in Islamic literature. So I thought it was an anti-Islamic publisher. And I wrote them, well, I've scripted and I got it back. And I said, maybe we can meet. And yeah, all of a sudden there was a guy against me and he was sitting in front of me and he was a Muslim. Oh, you look Muslim? Yeah, I am a Muslim. It's an Islamic publisher. It's an Islamic publisher. You called it Kenneth's House. You wrote it in old Dutch. Yeah, I know. We did it on purpose. Because in that way we try to reach out for people who think that Islam is not compatible with the West or with Holland in this case. So we start talking. I told him where I was that I believed that Mohammed probably was a prophet. And I still believe in God.  But you don't know it yet. So I started reading and it took a couple of months. And after those months we were eating at home by the publisher. There was an Imam with us and some other guys, also non-Muslims. And the Imam suddenly asked me, do you believe in God? Yes or no? I said, yes. Do you believe Mohammed was a prophet? Yes or no? I said, yes. I said, well, we take the Shahada now. Or is it something you do not want to do? And then I said, yeah. I think deep in my heart I want to do it. But I cannot do it because of course, because of your family. And yeah, because I was also a right wing nationalist. I cannot become a Muslim.  But I did. And yeah, it made me very happy. And I'm still very happy today. Unfortunately, a lot of people in our family, of course, are a little less happy when I did it. Some Muslims ask me, well, aren't you mad at your family? Or why aren't you disappointed? But I'm not because, especially my mother, she was very sad. She said, it's not because I'm sad because she became Muslim. She said, I would also be sad when you became a Buddhist because she thinks Christianity is the truth. So she was worried for my soul. So I couldn't be, in the first place, it's hard to be mad at your mother. But especially when somebody is mad or sad out of love. So that's something that I always try to remember. But there are a lot of, yeah, of course, the old supporters of the political party I was active in. Yeah, who are not so happy that the usual death threats and stuff like that. But that's not something that holds you back because it made me very happy. And the doubts I had is that what I told about Christianity, the doubts I had when it comes to the Trinity of God and the crucifixion, the fact in Christianity, people believed that God had to sacrifice Jesus Christ so he could forgive the world. But at the same time in the Bible it says that God is almighty and does what you want to do. And I always thought as a child, well, if you are almighty as God, why can't you just forgive? Why is there a son who had to die before you can say, OK, I forgive? So I thought it was illogical. And I still think Christianity is a nice religion. Only I didn't believe the truth with a capital T. It wasn't there for me anymore. And strangely enough, when I was writing the book, I got Islamic answers to Christian questions. And yeah, that was a point for me that I thought, yeah, it gave me a lot of rest. And my heart and my head resonated. And that's something that I didn't have before. So when I felt that, and of course you believe it, that made me in the end deciding to become a Muslim. And that's what I did. And I still am. I'm very happy. This is a short story. I don't know what the program is. Do you want to ask question people? Let's give them a round of applause for that. That was really touching. Wonderful. So we're going to do Q&A now. And we'll start with the sisters. And we'll ping-pong back and forth with the brothers. So first with the sisters, there's a mic going around. And brother, my boys, we'll come to you. Just raise your hand if you have a question, inshallah. And it looks like we'll go to sister Shah's first. This one. Salamu alaykum. So I guess what I wanted to ask you was, I personally am a reader to Islam as well. And I come from a household. My parents don't know I'm Muslim. My parents are both very Islamophobic. I think my dad is sort of probably similar to the man you once were. I still love him. It's not something I can talk about right now. It's my religion. So I guess my question to you would be, what advice would you give to someone, to your old self, maybe? And yeah, I guess I'd be interested to hear that. Thank you for the question. Is it, you can hear me? Yeah, it's a good question. What kind of advice do you give to yourself or your father or mother, maybe? Yeah, I think that one of the most important things when it comes to Islam is education and making people see that Islam is not what you see at the news or the things you always hear. And I think in America, I don't know America of course because I don't live here, but I think in America there is certain bias that we all also have in Europe because a lot of Europeans in the past went from Europe to America of course. So the historical aversion some people have against Islam because of the clashes there have been are also maybe in the American culture and especially after 9-11 of course it's bombings and terrorism etc. But at the other hand it's not like we think of Christianity when we look at the KKK for example. It's a Christian organization but it's not that most of the people don't see the KKK as a Christian organization but they claim they were or still are, I don't know if they still exist, but when it comes to Islam people do. They say okay, we see for example ISIS and that's Islam and all other Muslims are not real Muslims or they're pretending to be very democratic or law abiding etc. But it is a fact that Islam is something else and my story I wrote a book about it and I think in the Netherlands I think it's very important that people read my journey because most of the arguments people use against Islam are pointed out in the book and there's an explanation why it isn't correct and the book is being translated into English maybe if they publish it in a month or three you can give it to your father I'll send it to you and I'll write something for him in the book and maybe that opens the door and it would be nice of course if he became Muslim but if he doesn't at least he understands better what Islam is and what probably motivates you to become Muslim Thank you for your presentation, it was very insightful. The question that I have, first of all I've been to a great country and very nice people the question that I have is have you thought about going back to politics and maybe spreading what you've learned and essentially sharing with people and changing their view of the stereotype image of a Muslim Thank you Thank you for the question. I didn't think of politics and I still don't think of politics too much Of course you follow politics but I have no desire to go back I've been in politics for 12 years, you call it here the Senate and if you are in politics you have to have certain ideological motivations and I think a little bit of arrogance or being a little bit naive so you have to believe that you can change the world and I hope of course that we can change the world as a community but I have no longer the illusion that the political party can change the system and I think in the end it's not a political thing, it's something of the people and if people see that Islam is a positive force and that you contribute to a country that you contribute to your own community but also to other communities that the few of people will change if I can change and you don't know me of course but I was really anti-Islam so if somebody then told me well in about five years you will be a Muslim and you are sitting in the United States of America talking about your conversion to Islam I thought he was crazy but it did happen so I think in the end it's something that has to come out of the people itself not Muslims I'm talking about and I think that a lot of Muslims especially in Europe because I think it's a little bit different here also have to look at themselves and see why is it that people are always so negative because in the Netherlands there are a lot of Muslim youngsters, youth who are making a lot of troubles and when they are making troubles sometimes they shout Allah Akbar so non-Muslims associate Islam as a religion because they hear something with Allah and they see youngsters for example throwing in a window with a stone or whatever so the association is always violence Islam and of course they see the news, they see terrorism and they hear people like my old me telling on television well this is wrong, they are doing blah blah blah so the combination makes it very hard for non-Muslims to see Islam in a positive way and I think that the best group to show them the other side are Muslims because we are of course the ones who have to practice the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and I think if we really practice those teachings that we have a better world and it starts with yourself as a community so I'm not going back into politics but I've founded an organization it's called Anthony Jansson Association in the Netherlands and what we do or we try to do is to change by giving lectures going into the country, schools etc so we can show people that Islam is something else and that you see or what most people in Europe think and it's a I don't know if I have time but I don't know if you know who Anthony Jansson was so I never heard of him okay that's funny because it's an American yeah he became an American Anthony Jansson van Salleh his father was called Jan Jansson that means son of Jan and Jan is a typical Dutch name and it was around 1610 so a couple of hundred years ago he was a pirate for the Dutch Navy and he had to, we call it the Kaapen you have to rob Spanish ships because the Netherlands were a province of Spain then and in the end we wanted to be independent so what we did as a Dutch people we attacked Spanish ships, took their silver and gold and used it for weapons to fight against them so we used their own money to fight against the Spanish one of those guys who did that was Jan Jansson and one day he was with his ship near Spain and the Canary Islands it's near Morocco and his ship broke down and he was caught by pirates from the northern of Africa and they brought him to Salleh and that's a little place in Morocco and then they asked him well you can choose or you buy yourself free because you have a lot of money or you walk back well it's impossible of course or you become a Muslim and then he asked him what is a Muslim a narrative of a Muslim and they explained him and then he said then I'm already a Muslim and they were so impressed that they said well if you are a Muslim then you can choose or you join us you're free to go wherever you are and he said well I love the sea I love robbing Spanish ships whether you're part of your gang or whatever group it is so he became a pirate for Salleh and Salleh was a little republic and the Sultan of Salleh was so impressed with the things he did because he was a very good pirate and they robbed Dutch ships then and Spanish ships and they made him a president so he became the first president and then he married a Moroccan girl of course a Muslim as well and they got four children one of those children was called Anthony and that's the guy why my foundation is Anthony Anthony in English and he was sent to the new world with a lot of money from his father because his father became very rich and that the young son son the son of the father and the young son son Anthony Anthony Janssen van Salleh went to America because they called this new world and it wasn't America yet it was still a part of the British Empire and he went to a place called New Amsterdam and it was New York and in New York some people say well it's founded by the Dutch New Yorker they have still typical Dutch names for example Brooklyn it's Brooklyn, it's an old touch city and it's true it was founded by the Dutch but the guy who did that was a Muslim because Anthony Janssen van Salleh was the guy who founded the Bronx he developed Brooklyn they gave him, he asked them is there some land somewhere that I can buy they said no you can't because you're not a Christian they didn't want it and then he said well I pay three times what you normally ask buy the land and he gave the end and those Bronx for example and Brooklyn really were one of the first places in the New World, in New Amsterdam were developed and it was developed by Dutch Muslim so even America in the core there are and I'm not talking about slaves a rich man, a successful guy was a Muslim who was one of the founders of New York still today and another funny fact maybe is the fact that the first Koran ever brought to the United States was brought by this guy Anthony Janssen van Salleh a Dutch Moroccan guy who was a Muslim brought the Koran to America it was very funny and I thought well he was a very positive guy and when he was in New York and he was doing his thing he was of course confronted with a lot of people who didn't like him because he looked different but also because he was a Muslim but he was very steadfast and he did what he had to do he helped for example a little group called the Quakers there were Christian people who were persecuted by other Christians and he said no we have religious freedom here and it's a new country nobody is the boss of someone else so they can live on my land so he gave them room to practice their religion he bought slaves etc he did a lot of good things and I thought well that's a nice name for the organization because of the history of his father, the history of himself and the things he did and with that name I'll try and story a lot of people in the Netherlands don't know the story as well I always tell it to show people that the beginning of the United States and that's of course one of the mightiest countries in the world was also Islamic in the Koran it's always nice to show people that there's something familiar and it's not something so strange when it comes to Islam in Dutch it's Afalige and it means apostate and I choose the title because I'm an apostate of Christianity of course but it's also a wink because of the discussion about apostates in Islam As-salamu alaykum First of all thank you so very much I'm originally from what became New York what became New York was New Amsterdam and people there are a lot of Dutch names that are well known around the Hudson River and I think the Hudson was the explorer was Dutch and the Rosevelts the two president Rosevelts Dutch ancestry there's a lot of history but nobody mentioned in America that they're Dutch anyway welcome and many people don't know that the word California comes from the word Khalifa so this is another part of the Muslim history on the west coast I'm wondering when you speak to people what reaction you get do you speak about Islam do you find people are curious or more hostile are you able to change hostile people to be open minded what's your experience of course in the beginning and there are still people who are very anti-me because I don't understand but in general I have to say that most people are more interested than angry so what happened to you why so that's I think it's a good thing because you have there's space and room to start talking to each other and most of the time I ask what is your biggest problem with Islam and most of the time we try to discover while talking what his or her issue is with Islam and yeah I even got some emails from people that said well after you after I read your book of course I'm not a Muslim and I still don't like Islam but I get it so that's a little improvement so I think there's a lot of room and it's up to us as a community to show people otherwise and I think in the end as I'm still positive I think that it's possible that a lot of people will change and I think it's something else in Europe and I don't know how it is in America there's the secularization so people start believing in God and in Europe people in other parts of the world think that in Europe everybody is Christian but most of the people especially in the Netherlands aren't religious at all and the fact that they lost their religion not only in a cultural way but especially in a religious way yeah it creates a hole in people's hearts because there's a famous guy a religious scientist Eliades his name is that people are always religious and it's not that you have to be a Christian or Muslim or whatever but there is something that calls out for something bigger and he said because you are designed like that there is always you you pray for God in what form isn't so important now but he said well people and if people lose God they're going to search for something else and I think in Europe they want to they want to fill up the gap in their heart with for example nationalism but also with drugs or with partying all the time they do things to to fill the emptiness in their heart and that's something else I see big chances for Islam because I think Islam is the last real religion and a lot of people especially when I talk with Christian Protestant Christians who are very angry all the time when it comes to Islam but when you talk to them for real in a calm way they realize very fast that for example the things I my problems, theological problems with Christianity for example Trinity they they feel what I mean so that's what I always say you know that it's it's illogical well maybe it's illogical but so I see big chances for Islam as a religion to grow in a positive way especially in places where people lost faith in God maybe that's a mission we don't know but it would be nice in my day job I've had the pleasure of going to Holland quite a few times in the last few years and like many international travelers I've used Uber to get around the city in Amsterdam in particular but I was really disturbed by something and this is what I was curious about your perspective as it relates to anti-discrimination laws in the Netherlands as it relates to discrimination against Muslims as they're trying to integrate into the workforce in particular I met a Dutch young man who was driving in Uber he said he was a college grad born and raised a Pakistani descent born and raised in the Netherlands and he said that every time he goes into a job interview he's asked about his prayer habits and other things that we would in the US we would find that those are non-starters nobody gets asked about those kinds of questions here and he said to me do you think I'm driving in Uber because I choose to I can't get a job anywhere I go I'm facing these kinds of discrimination issues and then he said ultimately I identify first as Muslim then as Pakistani and then third as Dutch even though he was born in Holland and I find that as you know in this country we have at least at least we start from the premise that there are anti-discrimination laws that protect people when they are applying for jobs are there similar protections in the Netherlands or are they coming because I worry about that this large Muslim Moroccan population for example is being or Pakistani is being isolated in a ghetto where they are a mental ghetto where they really are not able to contribute more faithfully to society as a whole and are identifying with their ethnic background as opposed to like you are for example of the people and contributing broadly to the Netherlands yeah very good question yeah in the Netherlands there are a lot of anti-discrimination laws of course we have a constitution as well and the first article of the constitution is that all people should be treated equal no matter of race religion etc etc so there are a lot of laws like that in the Netherlands but there is also discrimination and I think that discrimination is something that you see all over the world all minorities minorities I talked to some people from Lebanon yesterday told me that people from Syria who fled to Lebanon are discriminated because they are from Syria and they're refugees and they're a burden for them the same is what you see in Turkey and in the Netherlands you see that with Moroccan people or Turkish people and they are not refugees but I think most of the time the majority in countries is skeptical about minorities in general but fortunately we have laws that have to prevent people from discrimination but that's not always enough because when it comes to especially commercial companies they can always say no they didn't have the papers that we were looking for or yes a weird smile or whatever that is a big problem it is and I don't have an answer for that problem but in the end you see that especially the third and fourth generation in the Netherlands are doing so much better people starting their own companies you have Islamic lawyers, Islamic doctors engineers so in the end it takes a lot of time and that's not a nice thing of course but it takes a lot of time to walk through the institutions as they say in Dutch and I believe it will change it takes so much time and that's something that a lot of people aren't willing to wait for of course and in the other side of the story is that you see especially in Eastern Europe there is a very anti-Islam movement now and it's not only in Eastern Europe but because the anti-Islamic groups are uniting in the European Union now so it became one powerful force in politics now so that's something that's very worrying and it gives a lot of the normal people as you can say the people in general in different European countries an excuse because they say well we have one third of parliament saying Muslims are wrong or create problems so it isn't that bad if we discriminate because we know they cause problems so it's something that works on several ways and it's very worrying but I think the most important thing is educate people telling people that it's wrong what they are doing and I think it's also important to promote Islam and help each other so if there is a guy with a successful company who is a Muslim you can always help other Muslims for example when it comes to we call it stashes I don't know the internships for example so you can help each other as a community it's an obligation so wouldn't you do that so I don't have a complete and satisfying answer but this is what it is Peace be upon you I have two questions about me during the discussion you were mentioning that you had Christian questions and you found actually Muslims answers could you share with us a few of those where you think these are the ones that made it for you and the second question is with your involvement with the political field and being maybe actually prior anti Islam sorry with your political movement and being anti Islam prior to you being Muslim you have mentioned that maybe most people will look at Islam based on maybe some of these terrorists around the world and maybe in Europe these actual terrorists or maybe these are actually like movements by certain governments in Europe that Islam are phobic maybe that should make Islam look bad what's your take on that actually as being involved in anti Islam movement back then okay that's a big question the first half of the question was about Christian doubts yeah my doubts had to do with especially with the Trinity because in Christianity we believed that God exists as one being but in three persons God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and I always found it very hard to understand the concept because in Christianity Jesus Christ dies on the cross but he is God so God dies so I asked the minister when I was 12 or 13 how is it possible that something that is infinite infinity God is infinity or infinite how is it possible that it dies because then it is ending so that's impossible and then he is alive at the same time that's something like a square circle that's impossible and then they said well it's a mystery so yeah but you have to believe it but if I try to believe it I can't because it's a mystery and I don't found that very satisfying so that's something that and there are a lot of theologians who have very nice concepts but in the end it's coming back to the question is the God of Jesus Christ is it 1 or 3 and in the whole Bible there is no sentence in the Bible that says God is 3 and it isn't there and the parts that are referring to something that could be interpreted as 3 are added later and it's even in the Christian Bible you can see that it's almost always between we call it Hakki quotes not the one and in the Bible it says the sentences between those things are added later so in the Bible there is no there's no a reveration to God as 3 and there is even a sentence that Jesus Christ says here oh Israel your God is one well that is exactly the same as Prophet Muhammad said there is one God that's Allah so it wasn't logical for me so I the 3 thing was an issue for me and another thing I talked about earlier short it was about whether there should be a murder before God can forgive and I found that not logical because in the Bible there's a story about the protocol son it's a story that there's a father and he has two sons and it's a very rich father and it's a very successful company and one of the sons goes away and he says well dad if you use a rich and one day you will die and if you give me the money I'll get when you die you want that here is the money and he goes away and does everything he shouldn't do he's partying all the time going to hookers and I don't know what he does and he comes back totally wasted and he doesn't feel like a man anymore and he says well what am I doing suddenly I wish I've never gone away he regrets it very much and after a few years he goes back to his father and his father sees his son coming and he says to his assistant well bring him the best clothes that you have put a silver ring on his finger and let's celebrate that my son my lost son is back but the other son says well ho ho I was working all the time for you I did everything that I had to do I abide you I abide the law we pray together to God and weird really there goes and does everything wrong and you're celebrating his return and it's a story that Jesus tells in the bible and the apostles the people the Jesus followers okay what's the point here and Jesus says well the father is happy that his son returned after he did so much things wrong he still accepts him and there is no condition there's no son or whatever who had to die first or there's no slapping or no screaming there's nothing he just forgives his son and it was for me I thought well the prodigal son story that Jesus tells it's almost 180 degrees opposite of one of the dogmas of Christianity because if Jesus tells this story to show the of God how is it that the Christian church teaches that God wants to see someone gets killed first but there was another point for me that I thought well the Islamic narrative is much more logical and it's in a sense even more Christian than the Christian teachings the other part of your question I forgot sorry some of these suicide bombers were they actually suicide bombers or these are just a slow-mo-phobic movement they're actually trying to advertise actually for these people being around you know it's part of actually a proper gandale okay now well in the Netherlands I think terrorism is a real problem because you see for example Theo van Gogh Theo van Gogh he was murdered and he was murdered in the town where I lived by a guy who was very known in the area in Boucherie and he killed him we literally seen the guy doing it he was shooting with a gun after that he slid his throat he pulled a sword in his stomach he was butchered in the same in France for example in Paris in Belgium and other parts of Europe well of course in the United States as well so I think terrorism is a real problem I think there are Muslims who call themselves Muslims who do very bad things but that's not a reflection of the religion and that's what I told earlier it's the same that there were in the United States were white guys, Christian guys who burned black people and burned crosses in their backyard and lynched people hanged them on trees etc and they said well we are real protestant Christians they even hated Catholics but that's not a reflection of the teachings of the Christian church so it's of course unfair to judge a whole religion and more than 1 billion people on the the sick things a small marginal part of the group is doing and I think that it counts for all religions I think most of the religions reflect something good and of course I think the whole truth with capital T is in Islam but still I don't know I still don't think that other religions are totally wrong or people should be killed etc etc and when it comes to terrorism I think it's a real problem I think that people should be punished who act like terrorists and at the same time I think it's not a reflection of Islam there are psycho people in the world and there are Christian psychos there are Buddhist psychos in Myanmar there are people in China who are treating Uyghur Muslims as beasts those people are psycho so there are a lot of psycho people in the world but it's not a reflection of the religion not of Islam and not of Christianity and I don't think it's a reflection of Buddhism as well how they treat in Myanmar Muslims okay let's give a round of applause to our special guest thank you


Thanks for checking out this movie review video and this is for the 2020 film at tremors shrieker island Yes, yet another tremors and Burt Gummer is back, baby. You know, I'm excited about it. You can probably tell from my Graboid shirt, which I got from Freight Rags, which is awesome I've become a big fan of the tremor series ever since I binged it a bunch of months ago Well, not a bunch just a few months ago and just kind of fell in love with the whole series I mean even as the films get less fun and less good it is still it's still fun because Burt Gummer's through all of them And Burt Gummer is in this one front and center as usual and I will say I actually do think that this film is better than Number six, which is a cold day in hell number five Which is bloodlines and certainly number four, which is the legend begins, which is the worst film of all of them So basically what I'm saying is this is the best tremors film since tremors three back to perfection, which is quite good So this is definitely worth it if you like the first second and or third tremors film I think this is one you should definitely watch it is on Netflix at the moment I think it's some other places, but Netflix is where I ended up watching it. It is it's a joy Now since this just came out, this will be a no spoilers review But you don't really need spoilers for a tremors review And that said you also need to know that I have a playlist on my channel of the reviews of all the tremors films as well As the tremors TV series that was done for sci-fi Some time ago. I can't remember exactly when it was but it's in the video, but so check it out This one is directed by Don Michael Paul who did films half past dead. Who's your caddy? Kindergarten cop to death race for beyond anarchy the scorpion king Scorpion king book of souls and tremors five bloodlines and tremor six a cold day in hell So this is his best directorial tremors film To date in my opinion There's also written by Paul, but also Brian of brightly who wrote scripts for Liars all Home run which has strong William Scott in it interestingly enough man camp and Inside man most wanted. I've not seen any of those films Now obviously Michael gross is back as Burt Gummer and he is exceptionally Burt Gummer in this film He is such a steady actor. He always embodies that character the same way And I think over all the scripts for the series they've done a good job of writing him you know All the time as Burt Gummer and giving him lines that feel like Burt Gummer lines And this one is by far no exception Now jamie kennedy is not in this jamie kennedy was playing his son travis recently in in uh number Five and six, but he's gone. I think a lot of people didn't like him. I was totally fine with this acting I thought he was good in the movies that he was in But he's not in this anymore and in his place is john heater Who was in such films as obviously best known for napoleon dynamite But also in blades of glory the bench warmers and he's actually been doing a lot of voice acting for animated shows So yeah, so he's still been working and then probably the best Oh, by the way, john heater does a good job in this. I like john heater in this his acting is good And for the most part the acting in this film is solid to good So, uh, it's nice The one of the best additions to this film by the way is the villain played by richard break Now richard break has been known for things such as handable rising halloween 2 the Rob zombie halloween 2 game of thrones.  He really choose the scenery when he's in there And he's an awesome addition to this film and to see richard break and michael gross in the same scenes It's pretty nice. I gotta say Uh, this film was initially called island fury, but obviously that changed to shrieker island I think shrieker island island is a better is a better title by the way There is a scene in this this doesn't really This doesn't factor into the film really at all But there's actually a scene in this where burt gummer eats a grub now a little bit of trivia michael gross actually ate that grub For for filming this just so you know And apparently there was a promotional video that went up on youtube for this film to get people hyped for it Of burt gummer announcing his candidacy for president of the united states for 2020 Funny, I mean that's a good way to do things So what's the synopsis on this? Obviously, there's graboids obviously There's shriekers in it because it says shriekers on the title now It's a situation where there is a uh someone from I believe it's silicon valley a very rich individual Who's purchased a private island? He has bred graboids and has them on this island to bring other rich people from silicon valley out To hunt graboids. It's big game hunting at its pinnacle basically and obviously As we would assume it's not a good idea because things get out of control and then burt gummer has to be called in So there you go. That is the synopsis of it. You would probably assume that it's it's not a big It's not a big deal to tell you the things I told you it ruins nothing about the film It's a high energy start to this film with intense music and the music by and large is is pretty good and well matched throughout the film There always needs to be at least one scientist type in these films because there always is pretty much And john heeter's character kind of ends up being the main one Although there are other ones as well. So it's a little bit more of a science cadre showing up in this one The setting for the film looks really nice and tropical and it's a very new setting for these types of films And that's one of the things I really like about it. They took graboids and they took them from the desert In the sixth one, they were in a you know colder environment But now they're in a tropical environment and that's very new and that adds a really great visual component to the film because Honestly just taking graboids and shriekers and stuff like that and putting them in a new setting Is good. It keeps things a little more fresh for the film franchise So there's an explanation as to why travis is not involved in this film. It's a very quick explanation But you know, it works well enough. It's not anything that people be like, oh, that's a really good explanation It's like, okay, that's an explanation. We can move forward. We're fine Um, like I said before it but it bears repeating richard break is very good in this. He is an awesome villain He always is. I mean, that's what he plays. He he does it extremely well Love him in this The group of tourists provides some interesting scenes to this And I think that kind of speaks more to the overall experience of Other characters who show up in this film are actually not bad characters.  Uh, they add to the film whether it's adding story-wise adding Because you kind of like the character or adding comedically or adding as just good fodder for grabboids and triggers Uh, it's it's nice Burt gummer is the same guy we all love Thankfully, I mean, that's the main thing that keeps keeps people coming back to the tremors films and it delivers The weapons in this the Burt and Jimmy use are really fun. Jimmy by the way by the way is John Heeter's character in the film The the weapons they use especially initially when they go out trying to solve the issues here Very fun very fun. And I don't think that's been used before Maybe one other time in the franchise, but I think this is the first time There's a scene that's supposed to be done in a kind of disorienting way because of something that happens But the way it was actually executed kind of makes it more confusing and a little bit off-putting For me personally now people will probably know what i'm talking about once you Eventually see it, but or if you've already seen it, but it's um I see what they were going for there, but I just didn't feel like it worked It became annoying more than anything. I didn't like it The CGI of the creatures in this actually look pretty good And they are updated for a newer film, which I think they look more menacing Which obviously is a good thing the grabboids look more menacing the shriekers look I think significantly more menacing than they have in the past. So I really like that touch Usually in the film when you're seeing them as CGI It's none of them are done in practical effects. So whenever you're seeing them, they are CGI So when you're seeing them, it's usually relatively quick They're not on the screen a lot, but there are a few ones where it's More prolonged shots of them, but they still look pretty good. Honestly. They really do So I like the shriekers and grabboids on those There's good action sprinkled in this film with comedy as well Well, there's a lot of action to it, but there's really nice comedy kind of sprinkled throughout the film It's not heavy in any part, but it comes in here and there and it for the most part the comedic aspects land They're actually pretty solid I like I like the characters for the most part like I already said and I think the writing is pretty solid for this It's I mean you'd look at this film as a whole step back And if you're looking at it compared to a bunch of other films, you're like, this is a decent film But if you're looking at it compared to other films in the tremors franchise and for it being the seventh installment in the tremors franchise It's really well written for that I mean it over performs in my opinion for being the seventh installment in the tremors franchise It's a welcome film to this to add to this franchise I love it when it rains grab void guts Uh, I've said it before in my other reviews and I'll say it again I love it. Love it. Love it when it rains grab void guts and chunks It's one of my favorite things that happens in the films Um, some people may not like the ending to this film But I thought it was personally a good ending especially when you pair it with what they end up doing during the ending credits And you'll know what I'm talking about once you see it. Um, yeah, so I think You know, the it was petering out the franchise was petering out, obviously, you know When it got to five a lot of people didn't like I thought five was okay when it got to six Six was the worst one since four even though four is like the the worst I'm sure you lost a lot of people after four But I'm sure there are a lot of people like I won't go any further force terrible But I think five is better than four and six is Probably still better than four but not as good as five now seven is better than all three of those So that is encouraging and awesome and it makes me want an eighth tremor film. Yes I just said that I know some people are probably shaking their heads, but for me personally, I'll take more. Let's go I'm ready for it more. Graboids I want it So certainly the best looking and directed Since tremors three actually not only story wise but looking and directed. So I think paul, uh, this guy, uh, Don michael paul has been doing Better jobs. He's getting better. Like you see this guy evolving as a director So good good on him The heart of this film speaks to what happens when rich people think they can do whatever they want And not ever worry about consequences And then it's up to others to kind of step in and clean up their messes Which obviously that happens in real life. So we're taking a real life issue A real life concern and inserting it into a story with graboids and shriekers. So Totally good. I'm down At times it has a bit of a Jurassic park flavor to it And then it goes to having a bit of a predator flavor to it Which i'm all for and you'll if you go into the film thinking about those things Jurassic park and predator You'll definitely see it in this film They definitely drew inspiration from those things and it was a good thing. They didn't use it to corny effect They used it well. So yes So anyway, that's basically all I have to say about tremor shrieker island. Obviously, I'm a fan of it I liked it. It's not the best film ever, but I'm gonna give it a solid rating So out of five stars with half stars in play. I legitimately think this is a 3.5 It is like three and a half star film And if you are if you've liked any tremors film, you should watch this one in my opinion And if you love burt gummer Soak it in you are going to be in your glory when you watch it So I definitely recommend this for people who like tremors even some people who are just curious about tremors You don't need all the backstory. Honestly, if you haven't seen any other tremors film, you can watch this It's still fun. It's still a really fun time and one of the big Like fight scenes action scenes towards the end Real fun So anyway, uh, that's all I have to say about this. Let's talk in the comments spoilers go ahead Let's talk spoilers about this film and we'll get nerdy. Do me a quick favor though Hit that subscribe button Because that is the way I keep motivated going through this. I don't get paid or anything to do this I make no money.  I want to talk about horror and I hope that people find these videos and find value in them So whenever you subscribe, it really drives me further and it you know It's a form of showing gratitude for what I'm doing. So I would appreciate that But also hit that notification bell and then that way, you know when I'm putting up new review videos Or unboxings or doing live streams But thanks regardless for taking your time to watch this and until next time keep it brutal


Mom was there while allowing her male friends to do these things on him. Some of them starting at the age of seven. And so, or grandfather as well, when her grandfather did that. And even for the males, you know, I have one now.  Listen, it's the message right here. Black boy, tell me how you really feel. Because I just want to build with you.  I want to keep it real with you. I want to live better, eat better. I want to love better, sleep better. Yeah, I want to feel so aligned. Black love. What does that mean to you? So when I say what does that mean to you?   So yeah, what when you even hear the phrase, what does it mean? Honestly, when I hear black love. The first image that pops up on my or my parents, they have been together longer than I've been alive. And yes, they've had their ups and downs, which is to be expected. But they are there for each other. They support each other when one is at 20, the other is at 80% holding everything together. And so for me, just going off of that, I just, black love is strength, patience, nurturing, sometimes silent. The positive side of things, having that cheerleader, having like your very own cheerleader that you know, if I want to try this out, it might be in a whole different field than what you're already working in, but you have that person that's going to say, OK, all right, you know, let's, you got it. If you want to do it, I'm here for you. But let's make sure you have X, Y, and Z lined up and, you know, let's do it the right way as it pertains to my field. I just feel like a lot of the kids that I've encountered. The abuse has come from the hands of their parents or, you know, family members that they trusted. And just building that back up specifically in Black kids. It's, oh, my goodness, it's, it's a, I have no words. It's very interesting, very difficult. It is it's a whirlwind of emotions. And I just think of this one Black girl. She was 13 when I first started my internship. And she was just very, you could tell she had been over sexualized because that's how she she portrayed herself. And so I went. Then we were coming off of 13. I went in. We were still the math. I think the mass mandate was still so, you know, and I'm always changing my hair like every few weeks.  So I'm like, this is who I am. So I can still do my job effectively. How I look, you know, it doesn't matter.  So you got your nails for a while.  What? And she went and I don't know if she did it herself. She probably didn't know she wasn't supposed to do it. But she went and she, you know, she pierced her nose and, you know, ended up getting the same kind of jewel in her nose. And I had a specific hairstyle at that time. And she was like, I want my hair like that. You want my hair like that? So I, you know, after talking, talking it over, I feel surprised and making sure everything was OK. I feel surprised.  I'll give you the car. You can go and purchase the hair and, you know, we'll make it happen. But I told her it was contingent on your behavior, you know, when you're in school and, you know, when you're here at home. But I say all that to say once we got to the point of her doing her hair after that, I was going out of the home, I was leaving for the night. And she was like, you know, bye, Miss Tay, I'll see you.  And then she told me that she loved me and it pulled on my heart. She was like, oh my, oh my God.  Like she would fight at the drop of you just could look at her and you might just be glancing her direction and she's she's on you before you knew what had even happened. So I was like, OK, so I'm getting through to her in some way. And so I just without thinking, you know, I was like, I love you too. And I was like, you know, I'll see you on such and such whenever I come back. So whenever I would come back, her behaviors for that day would be better than they were before, or if she had an episode because she was the youngest in the home, she felt like the staff just were not paying attention to her. And they would let other kids get away with things that she wouldn't. Instead of blowing up, she would come to me and she was like, Miss, I need to talk to you. Can we go around? Can we go in and talk? And I'm like, yeah, you know, what's going on? And it could be from something a little like, OK, I like this boy at school, but he didn't like me.  And then she went through a period where she had to tell her, OK, let's do her positive information because she just kept saying I'm ugly. She was she was darker skinned and she's like, I'm ugly. You know, I'm just nobody's ever going to like me. But when I started till I started doing groups with her and I would ask her, OK, do you want a whole group or you just want one or one? And she was I just can it just be you and I? I don't want I don't want anybody else. So she and I, you know, we would talk and I would come in, you know, first day I come through the door, you know, whatever day after or even like months later and she would I got to tell you what I did. So I looked at him here today and I told myself that I love myself and that I'm beautiful and she, you know, she would have her brain. She was like, you know what, I am I am. And every time when I would leave, because I was going there four days a week, she would always tell me that she loved me. And so that because I would always just think. Love like just parents, you know, or when you're that romantic love. But working with at risk youth, specifically African-American at risk youth, made me realize, yes, I already know that you guys missed a lot of what you should have had because of your situations. But just in me being myself and showing up how I was showing up. That just warranted her feeling like she was being seen, like she was loved. And so in Lord, let me if I forgot or I didn't hear her if I was doing something else that she told me, she loved me. Um, excuse me. Excuse me, Miss Kay. And it got to the point where she didn't want any of the other kids to hug me. She didn't want them to do groups with me. She became very territorial. And so the other girls, they, even though they weren't African-American, they picked up on it and they're like, OK, so what, what Miss Tay got that, you know, why you always want to be over there with her? And another girl came in and it was like her second day. And, you know, the first one she was like, you know, Miss Tay, it's cool. Like, you don't like her. And that new girl was stuck to my hip. She would not respond to anyone else in the group on, even though there were more African-American staff and she would start saying, I love you. I love you. And she's like, OK, this is all right. So I think you just having just knowing your meaning of Black love and how you can be, you know, you might not even go into having a relationship with someone or building that rapport with them, thinking that it's going to, you know, transpire into them, telling you that. But just being what you can for that person. It's just, it's just a big thing in itself. What is your take on the gender war, the Black gender war that we see on the Internet? Barber shops, beauty shops. And how can you tie that to our childhood? And as you said, our PTSD is Black men and Black women. Oh, boy. Oh, God, that's that's a loaded question. Take your time. Oh, that's a loaded question. Oh, gosh. Loaded questions is kind of what this is. That's my genius. Oh, gosh, OK. We see, for instance, the niggazine ship phenomenon. Right. Right. For a lot of even young girls, like my little brother is 18. That's their default setting. They start with niggazine ship and then go from there. Yes. A lot of young boys, I remember I was in Miami. A couple of months ago and this boy was standing out on the strip. He had to be like 13, 14. He was telling us he was like, yeah, man, these hoes, they out here. And if you got some money to go with you, this, this and that. And it was one of those boys who you can tell comes from poverty. You can tell comes from PTSD in the whole night. So with you working with these kids and the inception of their trauma, how do you think that leads to some of the narratives that they latch on to about men, about women? The environment definitely plays a part. And I guess the one thing that is just like coming to mind is the whole nature versus nurture concept, you know? If you what people don't realize is. Unfortunately, kids are more or youth are more resilient than adults think they are. And they should not have to be in certain situations, you know? But at the same time, they're also paying attention to everything that's around them and I'd say it, but they're soaking it in. And if they don't have. That outside, you know, more positive or the opposite of whatever they're experiencing, they're going to internalize that. And that's how they're going to, you know, they're going to go through life. That's going to be a persona that they take on. But society doesn't help first off social media. And even the girls at the group should not have cell phones, should not have access to Facebook, Snapchat, all of this, they still do even when they're in care. So that is you're still getting that influence from the outside, whether you want them to or not. And being, you know, 12 and being around adults, being around men. Even when I was younger, just wanted to be around the women, the older, you know, the teenagers, you know, when I was younger in like elementary school or whatever, wanted to be around them.  They're just you're going to pick up on what they're saying. And I just feel like it's the way that African American men and women are being perceived amongst themselves, not even how other races are seeing them. Just how they're being perceived amongst themselves and the titles that they're giving each other.  What is it? You got to be what I see mostly on social media is Lord, please send me a, a guy that's a man that's six feet tall. Six feet tall. Yes, yes. I'm like, what? And so if you don't have that, if you don't fit into that mold, then that's what causes you to be called something differently. Or women have this idea, black women have this idea.  And so if you're not rough and ragged or, you know, putting them in their place, then.  And that just, it causes a wedge between the genders. And I feel like what I've experienced among my kids is it's a lack of respect that they have for the opposite sex. And it really bothers me, like the, the girls, they'll say, well, I just want him for his money anyway. Like, I mean, he don't have to do nothing else with me. I just, if I want this, I want him to go buy it for me.  And he's a 10, 12. Yeah, that's good. It would help draw or paint the picture of where is this coming from? Right, right. So most of them that I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with their victims of sexual abuse by fathers, uncles, cousins, you know, or mom was there while allowing her male friends to do these things on them. Some of them starting at the age of seven. And so or grandfather as well, one, her grandfather did that. And even for the males, you know, I have one now.  And then also his cousin, but he had an uncle that did that to him. And so he now has two kids, but how did he 16? Yes. And he is so just he's so outgoing and he has a good head on his shoulders. He's like, you know, I want to go into the to the military. And, you know, he's like trying to get a job now. But he will even sometimes make statements about not feeling loved, not if someone doesn't want to hug him or if they're not being, you know, physical with him, then he feels like he he's not worth anything. And the same with, you know, some of the girls, they'll be like, well, and then she was 14 and the dude she was talking to was 25. And she saw nothing wrong with that. And so I said my piece and I left it alone. But just from hearing her talk about like, well, you know, he he buys me such and such.  I'm like, OK, well, what else? What else? But that I have to remember.  And so if you don't get that help that you need mentally, then you're going to be thinking that this is this is right. No, yeah. Yeah. And yes, normal that everybody's normal is different. This is what they've experienced. So this is what they've internalized. And until they're actively ready to make that change, to kind of work to alter their mindset, this is what it's going to keep being, you know, this is what they're going to keep doing. These are the type of people that they're going to keep going after. But it's still just really it's really frustrating because I'm a huge impact.  On a platform where multiple people can see what you're saying to each other, you know, like, let's just let's not do that. But then when you have that audience, you know, and then you have it, I guess, in the sense being reinforced by the African American community, you know, in society or African American in society, then you're going to keep doing what you're doing because you're getting that, you know, you're getting that backup. You're getting that. OK, yeah. Like, you know, from for the men, it's like, yeah, she is a hoe.  Yeah, she's a hoe. Or, you know, we ain't got to show her love. We don't got to do this. You just, you know, by her six people or whatever, and she's fine. And then for the women, it's just like I don't have to be committed to him. You know, yeah, we said we're going to be monogamous or whatever the case is, or just using your body to get you what you want.  You want to be in a committed relationship. You want to feel loved. You want to feel supported and encouraged. But then in the same breath, you know, or the same instance, then, you know, you just shaking your behind on camera or, you know, which is that's what you want to do. That's your prerogative. And I believe in self expression. That's how you express yourself. That's great. But knowing exactly what it is that you want and how you present yourself. But if that's all that you know and that's what you've seen and if it, in a sense, works for you and has been working, then that's what you're going to continue doing. But it's just I don't know if sickening would be the term. But it kind of just blows my mind because, you know, men, African-American men, some, not all, that's what they're drawn to.  Or, you know, with women, African-American women, you're saying that you want this from a man and he does it. And then you're you're talking trash about him. So your homegirls, like it's just it's an evolving cycle. And I feel like it's gotten worse over the years. And I guess that's why with with my African-American girls. I know the the boundary of, OK, I'm not trying to be your mom.   And to this day, my parents would tell you they did not like him because they felt like, you know, he changed me. And I even felt like he did because I gave into a lot of things that I shouldn't have. And so I think just having that experience. And when I see these, you know, the gender wars and just all of the extra things that come with that going on among my kids, male and females, I try to just, OK, let's let's let's sit down and talk about it. You know, let's what's going on. Like I'm never just going to bark at you and say you need to be doing this, you need to be doing that because I didn't respond to that. So I know you're not going to respond to that. So let's let's just talk. And sometimes it helps.  So and with what they're going through, of course, they're not going to be like, well, I experienced this when I was such a such age. So I think that's contributing to this. You know, they don't have those breakthroughs. It's just more so of not wanting to go into like one girl, she didn't like to take showers because that's where the sexual abuse was happening. And, you know, I completely got that. But then she also became very, very promiscuous with boys at school. So just understanding that your inner child, if you don't heal or work towards healing that inner child, or just, I guess, bringing them into focus because we all know the inner child is there.  The African American community, they're getting better with it now and, you know, having that realization. But there's still quite a few that don't really. They're not trying to hear that, you know, I think that's the point blank period.


Mario Kart. A game that I'm sure most of us have played, so really there's no need for me to explain the basics of it to you now. What I do feel the need to explain is the difference between people like me and you, versus people in online ranked with over 21,000 points. When you get to point totals this high, the racers all have perfectly spawned in items with the greatest RNG, and the maps also have a chance of spawning in with 200 CC. This is the sweatiest Mario Kart you can possibly play, which is why I decided that me and my friends were going to hop into online ranked matches and try it out to see if we could get any wins at all. If you like these kind of videos, definitely make sure to leave a like and subscribe to the channel, but for now, we have some Mario Kart to play. You're not in, right? Yeah, I'm not in. I'm IBSHPECT8. I get to watch you get cooked, though. Do you think I'm getting cooked by a 28k? 28k race? I think you will get anywhere between 9th and 12th place. Editor, pull up my rank. Pull up everybody else's rank in the lobby around me. Yeah, I'm not losing. First place coming up.  Well, you're off to a good start. You do have you have two you have two ones in your place right now. Bro got double first place. That's because I'm getting first at least twice in this video. Cap with a couple of tricks.  Bro, how did you almost ended up under that? You really think I'm not him? I'm only watching you. I'm about to be super critical of your gameplay.   Bro, run it into walls. No, that's embarrassing. Because I messed up there. I messed up there. I could tell. That's because I got two laps to clean it up. Oh, look at that. That was clean. Damn, I'm saving it. I'm going to save much. I got to be critical of this gameplay. I save much for my save. You're under water, so I guess you could say it's moist, critical. Shadow turn. Bro, win. Don't go under the eel. I've never been under the eel. This is actually embarrassing.  Bro, I've actually never been down there. This just isn't me. It's just isn't me. I don't know who I am right now, but it's sort of boom, boom. And it's me again. It's me. I'm back. Say it, bro. Anybody who uses a bullet bill at any point in a race. Oh, oh, into the lightning. This is a 20k right, lobby. And I'm just him. Bro, you're so lucky. I'm just him right now. I'm going to cartoonishly fumble this. I'm actually him. That first play shell about to hit different. I'm actually just him right now. No, how do you fumble? But my bomb actually clutched up. You're still first. You're still first. No shot. No shot. No shot. Damn. Come on, third place is still respectful. Give me a mushroom. I needed that. I needed that. Bro, I was just looking at people behind you with fucking. No, why did you use the horn on me?   Hey, you did one place better than I expected. I thought ninth through 12.  All right. Yeah, man. Bro, I'm trying to go to Singapore. Bro, why are you doing the big long maps? I don't know what this map is. It's new to me. I've never played it. Yes. No. Yes. See, it is a new Mario Kart and we're doing it 150cc. These are the big times. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Dotto, step aside because I'm the second lowest rank in the building now. You're trying to take my underdog shine. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Bro, it's rare that I'm the underdog, but I love it. I love it. I don't know what this map is, bro. So somehow I still feel like I'm the underdog. I'm a week. I think this map is actually beautiful, by the way. Like unironically, they have this map in the dictionary next to beautiful. Then why didn't you pick it? Because I forgot about the DLC stuff. Let's go. I'm racing. I got a mushroom. I'm not sure where the best place to use a mushroom is, but I've got to see the code. Oh, we got a little launcher. The guy from Blue Lockup. That's me thinking of my best Mario Kart course. Look at this. Look at that. Oh, listen to this. OST, which I should have turned off. I don't know how the map works. I just, I just, I cartoonishly drove off the edge. This is my first time on the map. Give me, give me some slack. It's me versus me out here on these streets. 28k ranked. I'm trying to get first. No, not the green shell. Please. I can't get taken out by a random green shell. This can't happen to me. There's a wall there. I made, bro, is new to the map. Bro, I don't know what this map is ever. I'm in third place right now. I'm cooking. Let me cook. Let me be me. Let me be me. Look at this. Look at this. Oh, I'm on the conveyor belts right now.  We got a blue shell to mix it up. We got a blue shell to mix it up. I'm a ninth, but this is a fluke, bro. I don't, I don't have map, I don't have map knowledge. If we can get another blue shell.  Can I ever get a bullet ever in my life? Who needs bullets to win? Who's behind me with the star? Who's behind me with the star? I was fighting for third place down my way. The thing about me and green shells is I don't, who's got the bullet bill? Damn. All right. I've clearly got to pick up the pace. That green shell was threatening my life. I can't even turn. The green shell bleeds. I'm getting cooked. I'm getting cooked. I'm getting cooked. Okay, I'll take it fourth. That's respectable. I'll take it. I'll take a respectable fourth.  Bro, I don't know. I don't have to match up knowledge.  It ain't going to happen. It ain't going to happen. How do I turn off the music? Oh, you backed out? I backed out. I have Kenzie in there to hold my spot. I don't think you can turn off the music. Step aside and let the true Mario Kart King cook. Go ahead. Count me down mean mean mean mean only dubs. I've always been him. Nothing less. I'm watching bro. You're in eighth place. Are what are you? What are you hoping to accomplish here? Deon? I had to leave to see if I could get the OST back. But now that I'm just watching your perspective, what are you hoping for? I'm hoping to accomplish. What do you mean? Yes. Victory. You want a first place here? Easily. Also shout out to my girlfriend also in the race at a respectable fifth place right now. He was holding on a spot for us.  I wasn't a fan. I'm not going to lie. Bro was looking at me like I was groceries. Which way? This way. Bro, this isn't even a new nude map. You've got to have memory on this one. I don't. I should, but I don't. I like how I got the dramatic angle on you. Damn. I got a fucking. Hey, come here. Come here. I miss. That's going to be a nice draft. That's going to be crucial because now I'm going to get it with a red. So yeah, here comes. Here comes. Okay. It's now you're fine. You're fine. You're fine. Oh, you've got a green shell for protection as well. Respectable third right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, my God. That was a game changer. Three mushrooms in the back pocket green shells everywhere. He manages to dodge them all. Yeah. A little old for instinct. Don't hurt nobody. Which way? Well, why would you go right, man? Green shell off the rim. Of Luigi. Which way?  I can't even blame him. I'm not very partial to the red arrows either. That was unfortunate. That was classic. Because it was a different path last time. Yeah, it was. And I personally, I don't like these kind of stages, but that's just me. And he's fallen back to 10th, 11th. Hey, it doesn't show me. It doesn't show me your place. What are you finishing? What are you finishing? Fifth. Okay. Fifth is not so bad. I feel like fifth is like the last thing you could be like. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. It's where it's like right in that zone where you don't feel good, but you don't necessarily feel awful. Yeah. I think fifth is like just fine. But now that I know that, yeah, I'm, please, I'm back in the lobby. What are we thinking? Dan, we don't have no new maps, bro. Mario circle. I know. I know. I'm also good. Yeah. Mario circle. I want to see if this 28K racer can really handle the OG. The fundamentals. Exactly. Like they really voted ice, ice outpost. Is this what it takes to get to 28K ranked points? Bro, is that supposed to be an owl? The one who picked random?  A bird? Haha. It kind of looks like an angry bird. I'm not going to lie. Yeah. It looks like he has like his hands on his hips. Like, huh. Interesting seeing you here. He does look like he has his hands on his hips, but he also looks like he has like a little penguin feet out in front of him. Yeah. No. Yeah. That's just, yeah, exactly. We're seeing the same, we're seeing the same image. I just wonder if that was the goal. Bro is kind of chilling. He's kicking his feet up.   This is like that one image of like all the white guys at the baseball game. How many ranked points am I about to get for this first place? Also, I'm getting at least two in this video. I'm getting at least one. I'm not going to lie. I think one of us is going to get first place at least once, and then it's not going to happen again. Yeah. Yeah. I for it for me. All right. All right. I just saw your car burn out. Rust art, rust art, rust art. You can't have that in these kind of ranked lobbies. No, no, no, no. No, it was fine. It was fine. I just wanted the good. I got a separate from the pack. I've got a separate from the pack. The anti gravity is going crazy. This is actually ranked Mario Kart right now. We are scrapping. The fights are crazy up here. Two mushrooms. I've got to separate myself. I'll separate myself. I'm taking the inside track. That was a nuts trick. I actually don't recommend that to beginners. All right. I just got attacked. I just got attacked. Honestly, I think it was racial. Not going to lie. Oh, no, I'm getting. Oh, are you ever like in first for a little while?  Bro, no shot. You just passed me. What? Yeah, bro. You passed me, bro. Stop. Yeah, innocently, innocently. I wasn't at no malicious intent. I didn't sense any malicious intent, but it's still kind of hurt. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no malicious intent at all. Wait, fire guy got to stay behind him. I didn't grab the double box. Insanely bad RNG. Let me see if I can't steal a mushroom off this guy. Give me that. You got to give me that. Too far for you now, bro. I'm right behind you. I can see the whole thing transpire. I can't catch up. I have no item boxes right now and I need. I'm going to need a miracle actually win this. All right. I couldn't get the double because this Yoshi player is actually just huge distrust.  My Mario Kart rage is coming out. I got a double box off the items. This is crazy. There is a bomb in front of me, but she misses. I'm going for a huge skip here to get first in the last seconds of the coming hour. It's going to be me. It is a huge skip to save the day in 28K RANK lobby and he clutches up and he does it again. 32 points. 32 points. All right, now I got to get first twice. Bro, but that bro, come on man. You was with me in the trenches the whole time. How did you do that? I was until I saw my opening and I took it. You know what? I know my mistake. I'm playing as Donkey Kong. I got to be me for real. Nah, what I got to do is I got to do a little Merry Holiday Christmas special right now, bro. I'm picking the Christmas map. For some reason, the DLC maps are few and far between. But Royal Raceway was an S tier map on the Sierra Ex tier list for Mario Kart, bro. Are you sure? I added a bring up, bring up the onslaughts and opinions on the Royal Raceway. Royal Raceway. Like Royal Raceway may be unpopular, but I'm putting this S tier. That's a perfect map. I love Royal Raceway. One of my favorite maps. It's just a perfect map through and through. And I'm not going to lie. You ever heard the heaviest the head that wears the crown, bro? That's how I'm feeling looking back right now. I see a bunch of hungry competitors behind me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have a feeling you're going to get humbled this time. I just got to do a bad start last time, man. That's all it was. Look at all the people in front of me that don't know I'm throwing right now for items. They don't know that I got one mushroom. Never mind. I'm a humbling experience, but whatever. Okay, I'm going. I'm going in front. Oh, what's up? Oh, I see you. I see you switched back to you. Yeah, I'm being me for real, bro. You thought I was lying. Okay, okay. I thought you were just speaking metaphorically. I saw that. Don't throw that backwards. Don't throw that back. And there it was. I had already moved. I had already moved. Bro, relax. I'm going on the outside for the double box. I don't regret it. Hey, hey. Three green shells. Holy moly. That was bad. Red shells? I think that was Barry, too. Can you talk to her for me?  Bro, bro. Oh, battery on a controller. That's fine. I can readjust. Ever since I got hit by that one red shell by your woman, I've been getting cooked. Oh, my yucks and my labs were not.  That I'm going to be left with nothing. Nobody. I'm going to go for the outside double box. I see you took the single. This is not lap three, though. No, no bigger bullet bill. I've got a bullet bill. I'm flying out without the odd. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt you and the blue shell just. I'm just a hater. That blue shell was for no reason. I'm in eighth place. Blue shell is not going to help me, but it's going to help somebody. Oh, no. He tripped you up the odd. No. Who robbed my mushroom? Damn. It gets intense in a 28 K and right lobby, huh? Right. No, man. He's got me scrapping over every second, separating first and like ninth place. I know. It's it's it's always competitive. Oh my God. Go for the steel. Go for the steel. Coming up fifth. Coming up fifth. No, it was actually the closest race I've ever seen. It was the closest race. Fuck. Hey, what happened to you two? Bro, bro, I'm about to beat you in a New York minute. Hmm. Is New York minute new? Yeah, let's see New York minute. What do you mean? Is it new? But it's I don't I don't know if it's latest DLC pack. Was it on the tier list? No. So it's so it's new to you.  It's the red arrow type map. I'm I'm I'm I'm gonna drive the wrong way. I know it. Here we go. We're racing away. Let's go.   Bro, I got that Frank Sinatra music playing which way? Oh, I'm down bad. I'm down bad. New York minute. This is a hard map. I'm like, oh, I'm getting kind of blown back. Music kind of sounds like, uh, I don't know. It's giving me like toy story, but it does sound like I was like, we're walking into Andy's bedroom back in 1998. Bro, this is definitely something he played while he like pretending that like, what was the guy pig pork chop? Like pork chop was like a horse. That's this kind of that's this kind of tune. All right. Respectable force. Wait, that was the end of the bro. You distract me with toy story. I was like, I was like, I was like together. I was like, after this toy story joke. I'm going to this toy story joke. I'm just going to really take off. But I never got my time. Look at that. I don't I always, I always forget that instead of like the state or like JPEG models they have in the crowds like these guys are actually 3d that cat on the left making me uncomfortable right now. He looks like a stated like a Chuck E cheese animatronic. He does five nights at Freddy's DLC. That's embarrassed. God damn. I keep doing. I'm embarrassing myself as a former first place ever. This is embarrassing. Are you locked into that? Give me a bullet bill. We do get lucky. Got a little Christmas in my cross. You know, that's that's kind of cool. I did not look into that. That was actually all still look at. Please don't run out. Start. Please don't run out. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Don't boom right me.  We should have. We should have just had kids each other. This car called for this one might as well.      Oh, damn. I just got raw dug. I just got dp'd by green shells. I mean, in a red shell. Bro, you dragon punch by the way. No, I do not. I mean, good old fashioned. I mean, good old fast. I am fighting for every inch right now. It's it's seventh place. I'm with the pack of bullet bill just flew by. Give me a mushroom. Three mushrooms. I might be able to make work. Come on, baby. Come on, baby. I'll take it. I'll take a mediocre fifth. That's fine. Damn, you got third. What do you get? OK, I clearly need to step it up. We're kind of locking horns. I'm not going to lie. Yeah, we're kind of y'all are kind of fighting for that one. I didn't beat 28 K Matsu. Nothing change. All right. Well, then you better hope it changes because we're going into the last race now. Oh, it's a joke.  Oh, brother. Of course we got this map. I know this is a classic. Honestly, you look kind of sweet today, bro. The way I'm about to go. OK, well, I appreciate the compliment, but my car burnt out at the beginning. So I'll catch up with you guys shortly. Oh, brother. I just got passed up by walking Phoenix, bro.  That was my red shell. Sorry. Oh, brother. I got a banana in seventh place. Feed me. Somebody feed me something, man. This can't be happening, man. It's trying to feed you a banana peel, brother. This can't be happening to me. Feed me something to me. Dad, I'm just letting you know that it's personal. Bro, I don't. Oh, my God. I just barely dodged those green shells and I don't need any more personal attacks against me. Oh, no, no, no, no. Lake, why? Why, man? Why throws it backwards? You're in seventh place, dipshit. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I'm bad. I'm actually turbo bad at the game. I saw you mess up the donut skip. Yeah, the donut skip with a star, bro. I just ran into the donut. That was embarrassing, bro. Don't laugh. I'm stealing somebody's. It's pretty funny, bro. I'm stealing somebody's something. I'm actually in the last place. Yes, lightning. I needed that. Oh, I just hope everybody's going slow as hell right now. We are. Even with lightning, I'm actually behind. The light, this, I'm not even going to lie. These are the most competitive lobbies I've ever seen. Yeah, this is insane.  Can I take my turn on the double block? I got it. Give me something. Two mushrooms. Yes. No. I saw you slip on a banana peel.  All right, the final race. A hamburger has just arrived. Oh my God. We even got secret service members walking up. I see London loops not very popular with the crowd. He's not at all, but I believe in Mario stadium. I believe it's going to land on yours. Let's do it. That's us. That's us right there. And now, and now we got to win. And by we, I mean me, not you. I could use a second first place and my car burnt out again. I am just, I'm just bad. The twenty eight player also waited to go though. She didn't burn out, but she didn't use her full potential. Wait, what? What's she doing? Did the twenty eight K player just go in a loop? Wait, what? What? I need to study this. What are you doing? Are you doing it?  I just, maybe she doesn't know where to go. Or maybe she knows the faster path. What was that? My God. She just took a different path. That's for me. I got three mushrooms. So I'm skipping across those. Yeah. No. What is that? Damn. I'm dodging bullets like UI Goku.  Oh, me too. Actually, that was sick. And then I almost got pushed in some grass. Don't hit me. I'm a snark.  I should have used my last mushroom.  Nobody's ever tactically used the fire item ever. I actually agree with that.  Please. I got three. No, who did this? Oh, it's not. It's not final lap. It's not final lap. And who's on Golden Mario? Bro be playing the game. Oh my God. He just got taken out by a bullet bill. Oh my God. She's got taken out by a green shell. That's the first. Damn. Now I'm on the whoa. How much time do we have left?   Bullet bill. What? No, this does nothing for me. I got to kick it into gear. Come on. I can't catch up. Everybody else is driving too fast. Damn it. Everybody's driving too fast. I couldn't catch up. And I still, we're in such a high lobby that I still got four points. And Matsu actually came in second. She's definitely not even trying. That person only tries on the last lap. No shot. I think that person just never stopped playing and just constantly plays and then the numbers just add up. Crazy how she never stopped playing, but the video just stopped right now. Like and subscribe button. What?