0:01

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey

0:05

everybody, what's going on. Welcome to another episode

0:07

of The Daily Social Distancing Show. I'm

0:09

Trevor Noah and it is now week

0:12

eight of us stay inside to

0:14

try and stop the spread of coronavirus. Here's

0:17

your quarantine tip of the day. Are you feeling

0:19

bad about not getting enough exercise? I

0:21

know, I am. Well here's a tip. Baking

0:23

cookies burns about one eighth

0:26

of the calories of eating one, so

0:29

you just have to bake eight times more cookies than

0:31

you usually would and then you won't gain any

0:33

weight anyway.

0:35

On tonight's episode, what Disneyland

0:37

will look like after Corona, Ted Cruz gets

0:39

a haircut and COVID nineteen

0:42

visits the White House. So let's get into

0:44

it. Welcome to the Daily Social Distancing

0:46

Show. From

0:49

Trevor's couch in New York City to your

0:51

couch somewhere in the world. This

0:54

is the Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor.

0:59

Lately, the news has been

1:01

darker than the inside of Rudy giuliani sarcophagus,

1:05

But every now and then it's nice to let some

1:07

brightness in. With an ongoing segment we call

1:09

Ray of sunshine.

1:17

Let's kick things off in Germany,

1:19

one of the first countries to reopen and

1:21

the place that ruined tiny mustaches for

1:23

the rest of us. One non human

1:26

victim of the coronavirus pandemic has been

1:28

Germany's famous clubbing scene. But

1:30

now there's a new club with Germans who can't

1:32

wait to get back to the dance floor but still

1:35

want to be responsible. Well, the clubs

1:37

are closed, but the beat goes on for partygoers.

1:40

At this drive in rave in

1:42

Germany, DJs pumped out the music

1:44

to the car bound crowd socially

1:47

just in dancing was allowed with no more

1:49

than two people per vehicle javon.

1:58

Because of Corona, Germans have started

2:00

attending raves in their cars,

2:03

which I guess explains the new options at their gas

2:06

stations. And I can't wait to see

2:08

all the new club dancers that are going to be inspired

2:10

by this ten on two ten and two

2:12

dudes a ten on two come on, y'arn. But

2:15

once again, Corona is making people

2:17

appreciate the things that we used to hate,

2:19

because you realize right now this is a driving

2:22

rave. But before Corona, we just called

2:24

that traffic. Yeah, look at that. You

2:27

can't tell if it's a rave will just rush out on the full

2:29

five. So that's the party scene for adults

2:31

in Germany. And the good news is in China

2:34

kids can also get back to having fun

2:36

too. Disneyland and Shanghai

2:39

just reopen today and this could pave

2:41

the way for Disney World in Orlando to

2:43

reopen. Give me an idea of what it to expect.

2:46

The park in China is going to be kept at less

2:48

than thirty percent capacity. Lines

2:50

and rides are going to be spaced out to meet

2:52

social distancing guidelines, and

2:54

visitors will be screened for fevers. Characters

2:57

also are no longer getting hugs or

3:00

fives, but visitors can still take

3:02

selfies. Yes, this

3:04

is great news. Disneyland Shanghai

3:07

is back in business, just with a few added

3:09

safety measures such as no hugging

3:11

the characters, you know, like Cinderella, Aerial

3:14

and snow Whites. And I know that's really gonna

3:16

suck for all the kids and their creepy dads.

3:18

And I think staying away from Disney characters is a great

3:20

idea, especially Donald Duck. I mean that dude

3:23

doesn't wear pants and he spits

3:25

when he talks. It's like a one man Corona factory.

3:29

Now, if Disneyland wants me to come back, they've

3:31

gotta add even more precautions. I'm not playing

3:33

with my life. First of all, Disneyland, you gotta get

3:35

rid of the Seven Dwarves. Yeah, I'm sorry, but

3:38

sneezy and sleepy. Those guys are not cute anymore.

3:40

Those are just coronavirus symptoms. Oh and also,

3:42

from now on, I said that nobody

3:44

should be allowed to open their mouth when they're

3:46

screaming on a ride. You just gotta hold

3:49

it in. And

3:53

finally, in Canada, people still

3:55

aren't able to go out and have fun, but

3:57

one province is offering at least some

4:00

help to families on lockdown. You

4:02

see, the old rule was that you were only allowed to

4:04

have contact with people in your household

4:07

bubble as it was called. But now

4:09

they're saying that families can choose to double

4:11

bubble by pairing up with another family.

4:14

So each household will be allowed to hang out

4:16

with members from another household, and

4:18

you can only choose one family, and that decision

4:21

is final. It's the perfect solution for all

4:23

those people who are tired of screaming at their own family.

4:25

Now you have a whole new family to scream at,

4:27

and let's be honest, there's probably gonna never

4:29

be a better time to bring your first

4:31

family and your secret family together.

4:33

Honey, I

4:36

have to confess something. I

4:38

have a secret family. What so

4:41

you're telling me that somewhere we could have gotten extra

4:43

purealitis whole time and you didn't say anything.

4:45

If I was in Canada, I would

4:47

choose to live with Drake. Yeah, no one s

4:49

thought of that. Have you seen the size of his house. It's

4:52

so big you could double bubble for months

4:54

with their mother, and the two of you would never meet last

4:57

side years, right side mine.

4:59

Okay, that's your ray of sunshine. Let's catch up

5:01

on today's headlines. All

5:04

over the world. Every country is grappling

5:06

with the billion dollar question, when

5:09

is the right time to reopen? Do

5:11

we just let everyone out of the house now and say

5:13

goodbye to Grandpa and that one friend with asthma?

5:15

Or do we stay inside forever and

5:18

become a race of more people who only leave the house

5:20

for more toilet paper? These are the only choices.

5:22

Well yesterday. Boris Johnson, British

5:25

Prime Minister and man who looks like he's just been

5:27

in a pillow fight, announced that Britain's

5:29

lockdowns will continue until

5:32

at least June, and

5:34

then he went on to lay out a possible plan for

5:36

slowly reopening. Now

5:39

that we went okay, But then

5:41

Boris also created a lot of confusion when

5:43

he changed the country's coronavirus slogan

5:46

from stay home to stay

5:49

alert, which nobody

5:51

really understands. Like to think about it,

5:53

stay at home makes sense. We all know what stay at home?

5:55

You stay at home, stay alert? What

5:58

does that mean? It's too general.

6:00

Stare look is something you say when you're boughting

6:02

an alien spaceship or when you're searching

6:04

for a parking spot. That's too broad. So

6:07

I understand why British people are confused.

6:10

In fact, they haven't been this confused since

6:12

they tasted seasoned food for the first time.

6:14

Good lord, what are these strange sensations

6:17

in my mouth? It's like my tongue

6:19

can say colors. Now. While Britain

6:21

is going with the slow and steady approach,

6:24

some parts of America are choosing a slightly different

6:26

method known as yippie Kia.

6:29

All of Colorado is currently under a

6:31

safer at Home order put in place by

6:33

the governor, and that's not stopping some restaurants

6:36

from defying that order and welcoming

6:38

customers inside. This restaurant was

6:40

packed yesterday. Video from inside shows

6:42

there was a line out the door, booths

6:44

were packed, tables were filled. Very few

6:47

of these customers were wearing masks.

6:49

Obviously there was no social distancing,

6:51

and the owner of C and C here has

6:53

made her feelings clear, posting these signs

6:55

all over the front saying attention,

6:58

Our freedom doesn't end where your fear begins.

7:01

If you are scared, stay home.

7:03

God damn, I've been to

7:05

brunches where I've said this food is to die

7:07

for, but I've never meant it. Like, when

7:10

did going to a restaurant become

7:12

an act of revolution? I missed

7:14

the days when the only political debate at

7:16

brunch was who invited Melissa,

7:19

and I gotta say, revolting against

7:21

the government because of brunch has

7:24

got to be one of the whitest things

7:26

I have ever seen. This is like a Khaki

7:28

short sale at a hockey game.

7:31

And it's not just Colorado's business owners who are

7:33

defining the rules. In Texas, a

7:35

Dallas putician was jailed after

7:37

opening her salon during the lockdowns,

7:40

and after she was released, Ted Cruz

7:43

rocked up to show his support. Texas

7:45

Senator Ted Curuz traveled from his home

7:47

here in Houston to Dallas to get a haircut

7:49

at a salon whose stylist was sent to jail

7:52

for violating stay at home orders. Crew

7:54

says he wanted to show support for Shelley

7:57

Luther. She was sentenced to seven days

7:59

of jail and given us having thousand dollar fine for

8:01

keeping her salon open. Against

8:04

the governor's initial orders, the Texas

8:06

Supreme Court ordered Luther's release. On Thursday,

8:08

Governor Greg Abbott changed his executive

8:10

order to remove jail time as a penalty

8:13

for violators. Are we doing when

8:15

there's a police staying trying to go after

8:17

beauticitions for trying to earn a living? I mean, I mean,

8:20

last I checked, there's some real criminals

8:22

in the world. What a twist. The salon

8:24

owner broke the law by keeping

8:26

her business open, and because of public

8:29

outcry, she's now a hero being

8:31

celebrated by Senator Ted Cruz.

8:33

And you know it's funny how in America, if

8:36

you break the law and you look a

8:38

certain way, well then you're

8:40

a criminal. But if you break the law

8:42

and you look a different way, well, then the

8:44

law needs to be changed because you're just a freedom

8:47

loving American exercising your rights.

8:49

Now. I know some people think this

8:51

woman deserves to be in jail, but for me

8:54

having to cut Ted Cruise's head, that's punishment

8:57

enough. Like that should actually be everyone's punishment

8:59

for can shut down laws. You have to spend

9:01

an hour with Ted Cruz guilty back.

9:04

Actually didn't even know that Ted Cruz got haircuts.

9:06

I just assumed he ate it when it got too long.

9:08

And that's why I say, and

9:11

you know I'm not gonna lie. I find it bizarre that

9:13

haircuts have become one of the major

9:15

flashpoints of the debate over lockdowns,

9:18

Like this is the one time when people should look to Donald

9:20

Trump for leadership. He doesn't cut his

9:22

hair. He just folded over like a creepe.

9:24

And finally, for an example of how

9:26

dangerous it can be to reopen too

9:29

quickly, he has a story out

9:31

of South Korea. This morning, four

9:33

thousand clubs and bars and soul are closed

9:36

at testing sites. Long lines

9:39

as health workers try to track at least fifty

9:41

five hundred people who went clubbing

9:43

more than a week ago and might be infected.

9:46

They say. At twenty nine year old man went to at

9:48

least three nightclubs the night of May

9:50

one, wasn't wearing a mask, and

9:53

tested positive for COVID nineteen.

9:55

Last Wednesday, the city's mayor

9:57

ordering all nightclubs and bars to close

9:59

in definitely, saying carelessness

10:02

can cause the virus to explode. Daily

10:05

cases are now spikingt

10:07

this morning, the biggest dries since

10:10

early April. Wow. One

10:12

man in South Korea closed an entire

10:15

city's nightlife scene because he went

10:17

club hopping without a mosque,

10:20

And I guess that gives a whole new meaning to the term

10:22

shut it down. He's also a pioneer

10:24

because usually you don't catch a disease until

10:27

you go home from the club, if you know

10:29

what I mean. I don't know what that means.

10:31

I just said, which, by the way,

10:33

is why bouncers have to step it up in the age of Corona.

10:36

Yeah, they've got to be the one blocking people like

10:38

this. Hey, come on, man, come on, no shorts, no cap

10:41

Hey man, what you're doing here with a respiratory illness?

10:43

Man, you can't come in. I don't care how many girls

10:45

you gotta come on, get out of here. Man ship gonna

10:47

come in here with a respiratory illness, trying to trying

10:49

to affect people with Palmer in the embolisms and ship.

10:52

So you can only imagine that everyone in Korea

10:54

is probably mad at this dude. Although

10:57

the good news is I heard Ted Cruz

10:59

is still down to go clubbing with him. All right,

11:01

that's it for the headlines. Off to the break. Remember

11:03

how Mike Pence and Donald Trump don't like

11:05

wearing mosques, Well, that might

11:07

be coming back to bite them in the ass. We'll

11:10

be right back. Welcome

11:13

back to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Our

11:16

big story today is about the

11:18

White House, Donald Trump's home,

11:20

and Millennia's escaped the room.

11:23

For months, President Trump has been saying

11:25

the coronavirus pandemic isn't as

11:27

big a deal as everyone is suggesting,

11:30

But now the virus is responding by saying

11:33

knock knock be. The

11:35

Trump administration is fighting to contain

11:37

an outbreak of coronavirus sweeping

11:39

through the White House this morning. In forty

11:41

eight hours, two members of the White House staff

11:44

tested positive for the virus. First,

11:46

on Thursday, it was the President's personal

11:48

valet, A military service member

11:50

on the team that serves his lunch in the Oval

11:52

Office. Then Friday, the Vice

11:54

President's Press secretary, Katie Miller,

11:57

tested positive. Katie Miller is

11:59

married to Stephen Miller, President

12:01

Trump's senior policy advisor.

12:03

The president is now revealing that

12:05

his military valet was right there

12:08

with him the day before the valet

12:10

tested positive on Tuesday.

12:13

He was in the room and

12:15

very virtually. I don't think any

12:18

contact, but he was in the room. The valley's

12:20

duties included serving the president lunch

12:22

and those diet cokes he drinks all

12:25

day long. Oh snap.

12:27

The coronavirus is

12:30

now officially in the White House,

12:33

and that's scary. Although if it's

12:35

like everything else that lands in the White House, it

12:37

won't last more than a few weeks. And I won't

12:39

lie. I'm not surprised that this cluster

12:41

started in Stephen Miller's house. That

12:44

dude has always given off major bitten

12:46

by bat vibes. But it's not just

12:48

those two members of the White House staff, because

12:50

it turns out coronavirus is also

12:52

spreading to the Secret Service. At

12:55

least eleven Secret Service employees

12:57

are reportedly sick with COVID nineteen.

12:59

The asignments of the sick employees are not yet

13:01

known. This morning, the White House is looking to ramp

13:04

up social distancing measures, including

13:06

having more Secret Service agents wear

13:08

masks and space six ft apart during

13:10

meetings. Okay, I know this is bad,

13:13

but the fact that the Secret Service

13:16

has coronavirus and the President doesn't

13:18

just shows you how good they are doing their jobs.

13:21

Brovo team, We've got a close talker on

13:23

your six. I'm gonna intercept. Excuse

13:26

me out, I got

13:28

all the particles worth good and I'm not gonna lie. I

13:30

feel bad for Secret Service agents because

13:32

there's some of the only people at the White House who

13:34

can't work from home. There's not an option. I

13:37

mean, how do you protect the president if you're not there?

13:40

What are you gonna do? Send him a text? Look out, sir,

13:42

he's begging you. What? Who's begging

13:44

me? Yo? Hello? Oh?

13:47

Sorry? Auto correct, He's behind you. Now.

13:50

While the Secret Service may be stuck with Trump,

13:53

other officials have been able to get

13:55

the hell out of there. In fact, Dr

13:57

Fauci, the head of the CDC, and

13:59

the head of the f d A are all now under

14:02

some form of self quarantine for the

14:04

next two weeks. And I'll be honest,

14:06

I don't know who's happy about this, Trump

14:09

or the experts. Yeah, because I mean

14:11

they can finally say something scientific without

14:14

hearing in the background. So

14:16

Dr Fauci will be working from home as

14:18

opposed to Trump, who will continue not working

14:20

from home. And because this coronavirus

14:23

outbreak is a big deal, the White House is taking

14:25

a number of other safety precautions. For

14:27

example, they've announced that they

14:29

will now be starting what they call heightened

14:31

levels of daily cleaning, yeah,

14:34

which is something they haven't had to do since Bill

14:36

Clinton lived there. Now, despite

14:38

coronavirus spreading into Trump's in a circle,

14:41

Trump himself has not change his attitude

14:43

when it comes towards the virus. For example,

14:46

he's still refusing to wear a mosque. Even

14:49

when meeting a group of elderly World War

14:51

Two veterans, there were no masks

14:53

to be seen. As the President and First Lady Milania

14:55

attended a ceremony for the seventy

14:57

fifth anniversary of victory in Europe

15:00

in World War Two. They were careful, though,

15:02

to keep their social distance from the veterans,

15:04

who are all in their nineties. Mr

15:07

President, you were with seven American heroes earlier

15:09

today, these World War Two veterans, all

15:11

in their in their nineties, did you

15:13

consider wearing a mask when you were

15:15

with them? Given their Because I was very far away,

15:18

I appreciate the question. I

15:20

was very far away from them, as you know. I

15:23

would have loved her gun up and hugged them

15:26

because they're great. I had a conversation

15:28

with everyone, but we were very far away. Used

15:30

to uh. Plus,

15:32

the wind was blowing so hard at such a direction

15:35

that I if the plague ever reached

15:37

them, might be very surprised could have reached

15:40

me to You didn't worry about me. You only worried about

15:42

them. And that's okay, because I think

15:44

they're so pure it will never happen. All right, they've

15:46

lived a great life. Wow,

15:49

is it just me or to Trump go through all

15:51

the stages of stupidity in

15:53

one answer. I was very far from

15:56

them, and there was no danger. Even if

15:58

I wasn't far enough. The wind

16:00

was blowing in such a direction

16:03

that it was totally saved. You didn't worry

16:05

about me, You only worried

16:07

about them. But that's okay. Look, these

16:10

guys have lived a great life,

16:13

So look, man, whatever

16:15

Trump's excuse was, I just hope all

16:17

those veterans are safe, because can you

16:19

imagine surviving Hitler only

16:22

to be taken out by Trump? That

16:24

would be so anticlimactic. It

16:26

would be like if Batman beat Baine and

16:28

then died slipping on a banana peal. And

16:31

It's bad enough that Trump doesn't want to wear a mask,

16:33

but even worse is that he also

16:35

seems to be learning all the wrong things

16:37

from this White House outbreak? Mr

16:40

President, can you bring us up to speed about

16:42

a member of the Vice president and staff who

16:44

has now tested positive for coronavirus.

16:47

This is now the second staffer in

16:49

the West wearing katie. She tested very

16:52

good for a long

16:54

period of time, and then all of a sudden today she tested

16:56

positive. So she tested positive

16:58

and they blew. This is the whole concept

17:00

of tests aren't necessarily

17:03

great. Okay, I'm sorry, but this this is

17:05

just insane. This dude literally just said

17:08

that the reason why tests are useless

17:10

is because they work. Like

17:13

does Trump also get mad at the White House metal

17:16

detectors? These metal detectors

17:18

make no sense. Every day we

17:20

scanned for the guns, but there's

17:22

no guns. Then today we found

17:24

a gun. So this whole

17:27

concept of metal detectors is

17:29

not great to me, folks. And you know what's

17:32

most concerning about this whole thing is that you

17:34

would have hoped, you would have hoped that

17:36

Trump, seeing the effectiveness of testing

17:39

firsthand in his own house,

17:41

would have convinced him that testing

17:44

is the best solution for the rest of America. But

17:46

somehow Trump came away with the exact

17:49

opposite lesson. And that's a pretty

17:51

bad sign for America. But I guess

17:53

it's good news for Donald Trump's health because

17:56

if he's this immune to common sense,

17:58

well, then what chance does Havers have?

18:00

All Right, I gotta go take my bread out of the oven.

18:03

But when we come back, Dulce Sloan is gonna

18:05

school us on the Census. So stick

18:07

around, Welcome

18:10

back to the Daily Social Distancing Show.

18:13

We all know that is an election

18:15

year, but this year is also the year

18:17

of the Census, something that only

18:19

happens every ten years. But

18:22

why should Americans spend time on the Census

18:24

while the country is dealing with the pandemic. Well,

18:27

dul Say Sloan sat down with the former

18:29

census official to help us find out why

18:36

during quarantine had me getting two things. D

18:38

m s are dudes checking and see if I'm as stocked

18:41

up, and reminders to take the

18:43

census, and I know just

18:45

who the called and make it stown ba

18:50

heydas, Why are you se in me? Honest

18:53

me? How to do something on the internet. This

18:56

is the first time the Census has been

18:58

done online and it only takes ten

19:00

minutes. Listen during this quarantine, I got so

19:02

much on my plate trying to work on these dating profiles.

19:05

I'm in the middle of two bus speed quizzes. And

19:07

they got all these new Instagram filters. I

19:09

mean they got wanted to make you look

19:11

like Frederick Douglas. Well, that's gonna

19:13

be a problem. Takes ten minutes, ten

19:16

minutes for school lunches, for highways,

19:18

for schools, for healthcare. While

19:21

I hate to admit it, Bob may have a point.

19:23

Every ten years, the US Census tries

19:25

to count how many people live in America. It

19:28

uses those numbers to decide how to split up

19:30

federal funding for things like fire stations,

19:32

schools, and hospitals. These numbers

19:34

even determine how many representatives

19:36

each state has, which is why the Census

19:39

has made so many ads to convince you to

19:41

get off your ass and fill out their little survey.

19:44

The Census really is about money

19:46

and power. Come on, dog, you said

19:48

ten minutes, got out? Internet show

19:50

me So the census firents

19:52

signedists My Census

19:55

scott Gov. That's the official

19:58

census website. Got you? So if I

20:00

get taken to my Census Dot Bigger

20:02

Titties tomorrow dot info, that's

20:05

not an official site. That is not

20:07

the Census Bureau. Looks. Uh?

20:12

What am I split my times into places?

20:15

Like? I have a man friend. I sometimes stay

20:17

at his place, which is technically

20:19

a defunct food truck. Right.

20:22

The Census attempts to count everybody

20:24

in the country. Some of these people

20:26

live in mobile home and I told him there's no market for

20:29

condiments, only food truck. But he

20:31

makes his own decisions. You know. Can't

20:33

help you with that one, Dulson. We run

20:35

account everyone just once, and

20:38

only once, and then the place where they usually

20:41

stay, because that will

20:43

be the basis of all the effects

20:45

of the census. That's easy enough

20:47

for me to answer. I'm a citizen,

20:49

But for some how many people live here

20:52

is a loaded question. I hear that. You

20:54

know, there's people that are concerned that they're gonna report to

20:56

ice, that they're gonna report to the

20:59

cop and it's going to affect people's

21:01

status or citizenship. Well,

21:04

there's no citizenship question on the On

21:06

the that I

21:08

think people distrust stems from

21:11

we don't believe that a government agency

21:13

cannot communicate information

21:15

to another government agency, and

21:18

that's not allowed. With this, it's even better

21:20

than that. It's against the law

21:23

to reveal your answers identified

21:26

with you to anybody once

21:28

it's in the sense of spirits protected. Ah.

21:32

So it's a no snitching law. It's

21:34

a big time no snitching law. I

21:37

get it. Count everyone in the government will do

21:39

right by us. There's just one problem.

21:41

Not all of us are getting counted. So

21:44

I've seen a lot of articles about how the census is

21:46

bad accounting black people. Why

21:48

is that The kinds of folks

21:50

who end up traditionally being undercounted

21:53

are those who are renters versus owners,

21:55

for example, households worth multiple

21:58

families in them. All of these

22:00

conditions are more common

22:03

to poorer populations, And

22:05

the unfortunate part is African Americans

22:07

tend to be poorer than others. I

22:10

don't know why I wasn't act like Black people are hard

22:12

to count when the police are always found in this

22:14

in a sea is always know where where a That's

22:17

the big issue, doul Sae. Those

22:19

communities who don't trust

22:21

governments confuse

22:24

the census request as

22:27

another way that they might be harmed

22:29

by government, and it's just not true.

22:32

So if the census traditionally and accounts us,

22:35

and the government has shown us multiple

22:37

time that we can't trust it, why

22:39

should we take this? I get it, dol

22:41

say, But you've gotta understand that

22:45

participating in the census allows

22:48

your community it's fair share

22:50

of over eight hundred billion dollars in

22:53

support for education, health,

22:56

school lunches, highways. If

22:58

you don't respond, your

23:00

community is going to get cheated. So if

23:03

I don't do this, my community is gonna get cheated. And

23:06

they may get cheated otherwise, but if they don't do this,

23:09

then they're definitely gonna get cheated. You're

23:11

right, Well, say this is commercial.

23:14

We need you on a commercial. Dulson. Hey,

23:18

black people, look, I can't

23:20

promise great things will happen if you take the senses.

23:23

But if you don't, I can promise is

23:25

white people are gonna use those low numbers to

23:27

cheat you out of the schools, hospitals

23:30

and representation that should be yours.

23:32

So take the damn senses and let them know. Hey,

23:35

how know you see me? Thank

23:38

you so much to say. When we come back, I'll

23:41

be chatting to Bacary Sellers about his brand

23:43

new book and we'll get into the killing

23:45

of Ahmad Aubrey. Stay tuned, we'll

23:47

be right back. Welcome

23:51

back to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Earlier

23:54

today I spoke with former South Carolina

23:56

lawmaker but Cary Sellers about his

23:58

new book, My Vanishing Country. Mccari

24:01

Sellers, Welcome to the Daily Social

24:04

Distancing Show. Look, thank you for having me. It's an

24:06

awesome opportunity. I like how your bid

24:08

has come in. It's a it's a very majestic professorial.

24:11

You've got like a like the full Corona

24:13

beard going on. This is denzel ish,

24:16

That's what I like to call um.

24:21

Let's let's jump straight into talking about

24:23

your book, which unfortunately

24:25

feels more timely than ever. You've written a story

24:27

that is a memoir of your life, but in many

24:29

ways it feels like it's also the story of America

24:32

as well. My Vanishing

24:34

Country. Tell tell me what the title of the book

24:36

means, and if you really feel that way about

24:39

America, well sure, I mean my life

24:41

has been booked in by tragedy. I say

24:43

that with a heavy heart. UM from the

24:45

Orangeburg massacre and my father being shot in nineteen

24:48

six to the Charleston massacre. UM

24:50

And throughout the book we talk about different

24:52

um different traumas, and different

24:54

heartaches and different systems of oppression that people

24:57

of color have to live through that I have lived through

24:59

in so now with coronavirus and it ripping

25:02

the band aid off, the health care disparities we

25:04

have, I'm able to parallel that with growing

25:06

up in a community where we don't have clean water, where

25:09

we don't have in hospital, where we live in a food desert.

25:12

And then you layer that with the sad

25:14

case of a mad Aubrey Um and

25:17

you just talk about the perpetual trauma

25:20

that people of color, particularly black

25:23

men, have to live through. And so my

25:25

Vanishing Country it means a few things

25:27

that we give the word country some meaning, being

25:30

a boy from the dirt roads of

25:32

the South, but even more importantly, those

25:35

those truths that we that we hold to be

25:37

um something that all Americans can realize

25:40

seem to be fleeting, especially for poor people,

25:42

immigrants, and people of color in this country. You

25:45

would think that people would just go, yes, this is

25:47

America's history and these are some of the effects,

25:49

the systemic problems that still affect black

25:51

people today, and yet it seems

25:53

like people disagree on it more than ever.

25:56

If somebody is saying to you, in good

25:58

faith, really hate Bakari, I don't

26:00

understand why black people seem

26:02

to think things are bad in

26:04

America when they've gotten so much better. How

26:06

do you respond to that person if indeed genuinely

26:09

they don't see it and they're trying to see it. Well,

26:11

this is the first of all, this is probably the most

26:13

difficult conversation that this country has

26:15

to have. It's a conversation of race and

26:18

and take for example, the amount

26:20

of very case. Um. This is not

26:22

a Trump error phenomenon um.

26:25

This is not something that just started to happen

26:27

with the racism that eminates from the White House. Instead,

26:30

I think about Mega Evers, I think about Emmett

26:32

Till, I think about Jimmy Lee Jackson. I

26:34

think about the four little girls in in the in the Birmingham

26:37

in the Birmingham Church. Um, and so

26:39

when when you think about the totality of these circumstances,

26:43

you realize, um, that we've made a

26:45

lot of progress, but we still haven't. We still

26:47

haven't reached that quote unquote mountaintop. We

26:49

have not made it there. One of the funny

26:51

things that people like to bring up is, oh, my god,

26:53

we had Barack Obama left the president. You

26:56

guys have made it. And that's not the case

26:58

when you talk about these layers. I'm not concerned

27:00

about somebody calling me nigger. I'm not. I'm

27:03

more concerned about the systemic um

27:05

levels of oppression that people of color live

27:08

in today. A broken health care system,

27:11

a broken environmental justice system,

27:13

a broken criminal justice system, a broken

27:16

educational justice system.

27:18

Because in this country, you're punished because of the zip coach

27:20

are born into and all of these pressures,

27:23

Um, just just they

27:26

just rest on you and they build your anxiety.

27:28

And now we have Corona and now we have these never ending

27:30

traumas. It seems like you're just trying to breathe

27:32

sometimes. What do you think it says

27:34

about America that so many people used

27:37

the video of Ahmed Aubrey um

27:39

in that empty house, the house that was being constructed

27:42

as a justification for his death. Oh,

27:44

he's killing rab I should say, Ahmad Aubrey

27:47

did something that people do all the time. Helped

27:49

me and my wife do it. He walked

27:51

into an empty home. He was looking

27:53

around an empty home. That's not a crime

27:56

that that requires the death pity, But even

27:58

more importantly, those those two men

28:01

who were on that good old fashioned Um South

28:03

George your father's son lynching, they lift at

28:05

him as less than human. And that's

28:08

that's the hard part for me and raising

28:10

twins Um, and raising a fourteen year

28:12

old daughter, and I have sixteen month old twins um,

28:15

teaching them that they can be a

28:17

doctor, that they can be a lawyer, that they can be the

28:20

host of the Daily Show, but also telling

28:22

them one day that you know, they have to be

28:24

cautious about the way they interact because

28:26

there's a segment of this of this public that doesn't

28:29

believe that they're human and doesn't want to give them a dignity.

28:31

And that's something that I was intrigued to read

28:34

and and and and understand from your point

28:36

of view, because I wondered, how do you talk

28:38

to your kids and say to them you can be

28:40

anything? You want to be. You do have these opportunities,

28:43

but at the same time, there are certain things that are gonna

28:45

hold you back, and they're gonna be certain things to be afraid

28:47

of, Like which which which part do you take

28:50

as a parent? Do you you

28:52

know, do you say to your kids, Hey, if you see the police,

28:55

just try and be as calm as possible, trying not

28:57

to engage, trying to like which talk do you have with

28:59

them? Because some people go like, you know your rights, you fight

29:01

fear rights. I'll just say like, hey man, now it's

29:03

not the time. Now was another time to fight about

29:06

your rights. Which which attitude have you taken as

29:08

a parent? I mean I come from

29:10

And one of the one of the themes that I talked about in the

29:12

book is I'm a child of the civil rights movement. My

29:15

father was a member of snick Um. He was shot

29:17

in February nineteen sixty eight by law

29:19

enforcement protesting in the Orangeburg

29:21

massacre. And so my father always

29:23

taught us growing up, I think, having to do

29:26

with his interactions with law enforcement, that

29:28

you should always uh, you know, you never you

29:30

never stop in a dark area. You always drive

29:32

to the next exit. You always go to a well lit

29:34

area, will will fight those those battles

29:37

in court. Um for me with

29:40

these, with these twins now, my

29:42

job is to hopefully make

29:44

sure they have a better America than the one that

29:46

I inherit. It's the same dream of my father had,

29:49

the trouble that I have, and the reason that I wrote My

29:51

Vantage in Country. I talked about it in one of the lad last

29:54

latter chapters is you know five

29:57

years ago, almost five years ago, I was standing in front of a

29:59

church. Mother Emmanu Clemente Peintney

30:01

was a friend of mine. He actually let Dylan

30:03

Ruf into his church. They had a full

30:05

hour of Bible study, and then Dylan Ruth killed

30:08

nine people because of the color of their skin.

30:11

I was standing in front of that church about a week

30:13

later with my father and tears

30:15

were rolling down my faces. I was explaining to the country

30:18

that we were having many of the same, same

30:20

shared experiences. He was thirty, excuse

30:23

me, I was thirty and he was seventy. And

30:25

so for my twins, what I have to do, what

30:27

we have to do, what everybody watching has to do, is

30:29

continue to work to make sure that they inherit

30:32

a better country than the one that

30:34

I did, and right now, that's tough. Those conversations

30:37

are tough because as their eyes sparkle,

30:39

you do know that racism

30:41

is real, systems of injustice are real. Not

30:43

getting the benefit of their humanity is real. And

30:46

I just don't want them to be on the front of a

30:48

T shirt or us to have to wear another hoodie

30:50

to march for them, or us to have to you

30:52

know, get Arizona iced tea and skittles,

30:55

or us to have to draw two miles for

30:57

them. You know, I'm living for all of

30:59

those people whose lives were cut short so one day

31:02

my children can be free. How how

31:04

do you feel about the discussion

31:06

in and around sharing these videos online? Because

31:08

there's there's clearly a rift. Some

31:11

people think these videos should never be shared

31:13

because all they do is further the the

31:16

you know, the the almost joy of lynching

31:18

that white supremacists may engage in, and seeing

31:20

the videos it furthers that narrative. Others

31:23

would say no. Without the videos, then

31:25

oftentimes there is no justice and it

31:28

feels like an argument where nobody's

31:30

wrong, but but an argument

31:33

that people are having. Nonetheless, do you have any thoughts? Yeah?

31:35

No, I think we have to show those videos. I mean,

31:37

there are a couple of things. First, let's just deal with the oar

31:40

Very case, because if we did not see

31:42

that video, see they saw the video. It

31:45

took seventy three days for the arrest, not because

31:47

of the video it's but but because we saw

31:49

the video, that the American public saw

31:51

the video. And so I think

31:54

that that's necessary. Um.

31:56

I remember the Walter Scott case, the young man in Charleston,

31:58

South Carolina, who was shot in the back. But for

32:01

that young man who was at the barbershop filming that incident,

32:03

there would have been no arrest. And so we

32:06

have to make sure we do that. But it again

32:08

of that parallel with the civil rights movement. There's one

32:10

glaring image that people remember. It's

32:12

the picture of Image Till, who allegedly

32:15

whistled at a white woman. And I challenge

32:17

for those individuals who haven't who haven't seen

32:19

that picture, to go google it. His his face is

32:21

beaten and he literally has no bones

32:24

left in his body. And that picture, that image,

32:26

before images could go viral, it stimulated

32:29

a whole generation. And so I think those images

32:31

are necessary, not necessarily for justice,

32:34

but just so that we can have transparency and to be

32:36

completely honest to make white folk uncomfortable,

32:39

because we have to be uncomfortable

32:41

to have this discussion. And unless white

32:44

people literally see these injustices,

32:46

sometimes there is a connection that they don't

32:48

really happen and they do. Maccari,

32:51

thank you so much for your time. Uh, congratulations

32:53

on an amazing book, and hopefully we'll have you back on

32:55

the show against soon. Thank you so much, dude, have a going

32:58

Thank you, Thank you so much.

33:00

Sprecari sellers My Vanishing Country.

33:02

The book is available for pre order now.

33:04

I suggest you go out and get it. Well, that's

33:07

our show for tonight, but before we go, the

33:09

COVID pandemic has also taken a serious

33:11

toll on many people's mental

33:13

health, and here in the United States, the

33:16

Disaster Distress Helpline is trying

33:18

to address this crisis. They've got

33:20

counselors who are trained to address the mental health

33:22

needs of this unique situation. And if you are

33:24

able to help them, then all you need to do

33:27

is donates whatever you can. And if

33:29

you'd like to support New Yorkers in this crisis, please

33:31

donate to NYC Well, which

33:33

is also providing free confidential

33:36

mental health support until

33:38

tomorrow. Stay safe out there, wash

33:41

your hands, and remember stay

33:43

emotionally positive and coronavirus

33:46

negative. Boom The

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