Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates
Courageous Leadership with Dr. Travis Yates Podcast examines what it means to be a Courageous Police Leader. Join us weekly as the concepts of Courageous Leadership are detailed along with interviews with influencers that are committed to leading with courage. You can find out more about Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates at: www.TravisYates.org
Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates
Election Special with Truth Teller Zeek Arkham
Prepare yourself for a riveting conversation with Zeek Arkham, a law enforcement officer unafraid to challenge prevailing narratives. Zeek unpacks his journey of courageously speaking out on social media to offer an authentic take on policing and conservatarian views, revealing the pressure of addressing grievances within the Black community. He shares insights on the importance of truth-telling, despite backlash, and the frustrations with unfulfilled political promises in Democratic strongholds like Chicago. Together, we explore how voting patterns persist amidst economic dissatisfaction and the necessity of making decisions grounded in facts over emotions.
Our dialogue extends to the realm of modern activism and media influence, where Zeek offers a unique perspective on how these forces shape public perception. We candidly discuss the impact of media bias on narratives surrounding political figures and racial incidents, using personal anecdotes and historical comparisons to highlight the challenges of today's socio-political landscape. Through this lens, Zeek reflects on the perceived exploitation of racial issues by prominent activists, drawing attention to the need for genuine connections and unity amidst societal divisions.
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So here I am. I'm now full of all this anger and I'm putting on a clinic or so I think for my family. You know my granddad's there who actually marched for Washington, my great granddad's there who I told you his history, and I remember my, my great granddad just put his hand on my hand to stop me and he goes always be the last person in the room to call something racist, because if you call everything racist, then nothing is racist. But if you save that accusation for when it really counts, it'll be so much more powerful. And then he just started talking about something else, Like just stop me right there, Dead in my tracks.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates, where leaders find the insights, advice and encouragement they need to lead courageously.
Travis Yates:Welcome back to the show. I'm so honored you decided to spend some time with us today. Remember to check out our sponsor of today's episode, safeguard Recruiting. They're owned and operated by law enforcement for law enforcement. They have the solutions to your recruiting needs. You can check them out at safeguardrecruitingcom. I'm excited about today's special episode Election 2024. And I couldn't think of anyone better to bring on the show than Zeke Arkham. Zeke's a police officer, bodybuilder, political commentator, but, more importantly, he's a husband and he's a father. He's one of the most influential voices on social media when it comes to politics, culture and the state of our union, and I'm honored to have him, zeke. How are you doing, sir?
Zeke Arkham:I'm good man, I'm good. Thank you so much for the intro. Thank you.
Travis Yates:Well, man, thanks for doing it. And you're in law enforcement. You have this big voice on social media. It's a voice that I think many people probably recognize, and I'm glad you're able to put a face to it and to hear you talk to us today. But you weren point for you right where you made a decision that you needed to start speaking out. It's a courageous decision we talk about courageous leadership here all the time and it's courageous because it's not easy. It's courageous because you get attacked verbally mainly, but so you probably had to make that decision, knowing the consequences. But was there an event where you made the decision to go? I'm going to be. I'm going to do something more than just complaining to my friends or family. I need to start speaking out.
Zeke Arkham:Well, I mean, yeah, basically I was on social media, I was on my personal Facebook page and I was very political, talking to my family and friends. I'm sure a bunch of them probably had me muted because they didn't want to hear about it anymore. Friends, I'm sure a bunch of them probably had me muted because they didn't want to hear about it anymore. But I kept hearing that I should take my views to a bigger stage just because I had a lot to say. And I looked around and I saw that there was really no one else with my perspective. You know, you had other guys out there who you know. You had Brandon Tatum out there, who is a cop, you know, who's a black man who was giving a perspective on law enforcement, who's a Black man who was giving a perspective on law enforcement. But there was no one really in the Northeast.
Zeke Arkham:I'm New York born and bred. I work for a tri-state agency now, but I was out there in the streets. I was out there putting my hands on people and I figured you know what, let me get out there and start telling my story. So I started telling my story, just from my perspective, and everyone always asks you know, how did you get such a large following? And my answer to them is always I have no idea. You know, I just started posting and more and more people started tuning in, and that's where it started. You know, I just figured there was a lot of lies and misconceptions out there as far as policing goes. A lot of people who presented themselves as law enforcement experts really had no idea what they were talking about. So I decided to just get out there and start telling the truth. No, there's not racism in the locker room. No, there aren't good cops hiding in the corner while the bad cops are openly plotting the nefarious deeds.
Zeke Arkham:Like you see in the movie theaters, you know, um, you know, there's this whole big misconceptions as far as policing goes, as far as being a conservatarian goes, and and I just just decided to tell my story, just to really put the truth out there there's no my truth or your truth, there's the truth. So I figured it had to be told and that's what I started doing.
Travis Yates:Well, I, for one, am thankful you're doing it. I wrote an article about Brandon way back in 2015 when nobody knew who Brandon Tatum was, and that thing went pretty crazy. Next thing, you know it's history, right. So Brandon's doing very well out there and he's also a voice. But, Zeke, you resonate with so many people and I got to tell you. You probably didn't understand how dangerous this truth is, because, I have to agree with you, you just call balls and strikes Right. You're just saying how it is. Why do you think so many people get upset by that?
Zeke Arkham:I think, because there's sort of an unspoken social order where you're not supposed to go against, quote, unquote your people, especially in the Black community. You're not supposed to say things that sort of, I guess, dispel the victimhood narrative. I remember I'll tell you a story I had a girlfriend way back in high school and she was Asian and I was complaining to her about another person who was Black and I was complaining to her about another person who was black and I remember an older black person or an older black woman pulled me aside and was like but you're not supposed to put our business out there to other people. And I was like, yeah, but this is my girlfriend. Yeah, but you're not supposed to. So I think there's sort of a social order where you're not supposed to put the grievances out and say, hey, listen, your house is dirty, clean it. And that's basically what I do on a daily basis.
Zeke Arkham:I don't fall for the victimhood narrative. I don't fall for the. You know I have to blame all of my problems on things that my great, great, great grandparents went through. You know, slavery isn't a millstone around my neck I have to carry. You know, I don't carry that chip on my shoulder. I'm out here the same as everyone else, getting up, putting my boots on, going to work, coming back home. Have a family I got to take care of, have a daughter I want to see, be safe, have dreams, aspirations.
Zeke Arkham:I guess I appeal to everyone just because I'm taking race out of it. I mean, except for when it calls for it. I have no problem calling anyone on their BS, but my story is the same as everyone else's. I'm no different. I think that's what resonates with a lot of people. Here's this guy who isn't falling for the victim narrative. He's this guy who's just out there talking about how he likes to barbecue on the weekends. And I got to go to my daughter's dance recitals and I'm bored for half the day because, you know, I'm just waiting for my daughter to get on stage. You know I'm talking about the same things as everyone else and I'm doing it from a blue collar perspective, which is, you know, what a lot of people identify with. So I guess that's where a lot of people just identify.
Travis Yates:And I think that has been. What is so troubling to me is seeing the divide in the country, the divide coming from politicians and the media, mainly because, unfortunately, there's people that still believe what the media tells them, still believes what politicians tell them, and I'm like you, zeke. I've traveled around the country. This divide doesn't really exist. Black, white, asian, you name it. Everybody's just trying to get along or trying to go to work or trying to raise their family, but the media and the narrative and the messaging is so opposite.
Travis Yates:I had a seminal event, uh, and it was I can't remember the year, but it was george bush's second term when, uh, he beat john kerry on the whole florida debacle, but that the election night I was at work. I'll never forget where I was because I didn't realize some of the things you just talked about, zeke. At the time I'd been on seven years on. The police department thought I'd been around the block. I clearly hadn't. I'm in a booth at a pizza place and I'm eating with a friend of mine on duty and there's a African-American family behind me mom, dad, kids that are sitting there and the TV's on with the election, and the mom's turns to the entire family and says we cannot have George Bush win.
Travis Yates:If George Bush wins he's going to try to come for all of us, the entire black race may end. And he starts going down this litany of things and I thought to myself what world have I been in? Because I got to tell you, zeke, you're at a disadvantage. I can vote for whoever I want to vote for and nobody's really going to get mad at me. I don't think people realize in the black community to vocally say you're going to vote for the Republican Party. That doesn't garner you a lot of favor and I think that is so unfortunate. I'll just be clear with you. I think that is sad that in America that is there Like people should be able to vote for whoever they want to vote for and not worry about repercussions. What's your thoughts on that? I agree.
Zeke Arkham:There's no set rule saying I have to vote for someone just because the majority of Black folk are voting for that person. There's no set rule, at least in my mind, that says I have to think, speak and act a certain way just because I'm Black. No, I do what I want to do. I go out there, I vote how I want to vote. I listen to whatever music I feel like listening to. I speak, talk, act, think the way I want to. Just because I'm free. I'm a free man. I do what I want to do. That's something I impress upon my daughter. That's something that when I mentored and I had a lot more time I could mentor kids from the community I worked in I would do such a thing. Hey, listen, man, there's no set rule that says you have to do something, and that's just the message I spread to everyone. That's the message whenever I post, whenever I do my podcast, whenever I do my video rants. That's something that I say over and over and over again and thankfully, a lot more people are starting to wake up and a lot more people are starting to say hey, listen, I don't have to vote for this person just because they share a skin tone with me, or because they share a melanin count with me, or because we have a common ancestor somewhere in Africa or who knows? Whatever you don't have to do that you go out there. You do whatever you have to do and thankfully, a lot more people are waking up. It's refreshing to see because, honestly, the narrative that I have to do something because it's the black thing to do or it's because it's the quote unquote right thing to do is tiring.
Zeke Arkham:I remember again in my personal Facebook page where I used to rant and things to my family, I had a cousin of mine say you know what you got to remember? You were black before you were a cop. And I didn't really at the time I didn't know how to respond to that. I knew it was wrong, I knew it was a logical fallacy, but I didn't know how to respond to that. So I brought to someone who I respect and I respect his views and his opinion, and this happens to actually be a white guy.
Zeke Arkham:I brought this to him, you know, just having a heart to heart, and he said yeah, that may be true, you were black before you were a cop, but the truth is always the truth, regardless of race or occupation or anything else, and that was something that always stuck with me. The truth is always the truth. The truth transcends your race or your career, what you think is the right thing to do, Like Oprah says, you know your truth. No, there's the truth and it transcends everything, and that's always the right side to be on.
Travis Yates:Yeah, and I guess it attacks people's worldview, right, if you thought a certain way, because I've turned around that booth and tried to talk logic, they would not have heard of it, right? So I guess truth, when it attacks the worldview, people want to defend that, Right, they want to defend that worldview. But I think that's why your voice resonates, zeke, is, you are a free man. You're speaking what a lot of people, quite frankly, in the black community believe, but you're speaking out about it. I do sense a swell of people that aren't buying into this narrative, right, and I think it's people like yourself and Brandon and others that had the courage to speak out to make other people feel like, ok, I can do this, I can do this or that, but the vast majority of African-Americans still vote one way. That's certainly they're right. But I've always been amazed at the, the reasoning, because when you look historically, things don't oftentimes, they're just not. The promises are false. Right, the promises are false, and I'm not saying Republicans could improve it. I think some of the policies and ideas definitely can improve it.
Travis Yates:But I look at a city like Chicago. You know they voted Democrat, I don't know. 60 years and the city is just getting worse and worse and worse. Does it ever? Is there ever like a trigger that says, okay, nothing's getting better. Every four years we get promised this, but it's nothing's getting better? Maybe we should think a different way. Sometimes it takes someone like you to make them think that, but people will? People come to this on their own, based on this like how bad does it have to get? How bad does it have to get before people change their mind? We're liable to see it tomorrow, tuesday, that people are going to vote based on how bad it is. What's your thoughts on that?
Zeke Arkham:Honestly, I wish I had more of an answer for you. You know, because me personally, looking at it, you know. If you destroy things and screw things up royally for eight years, why would I then turn around and want to vote for your predecessor or someone that you're endorsing, or someone that you're saying, yeah, you know what, vote for this guy. He's going to do the exact type of job I've done. Why would I do that? You know? Why wouldn't I vote for the guy who turns around and says you know what? Vote for me. What have you got to lose? Things are already bad. What have you got to lose? Things are already bad. What have you got to lose? That makes sense to me. You look at what Biden has done over the past four years and you look at Kamala Harris, who is sitting right next to him as he was doing it, and you have people who complain about how high the gas is or how expensive groceries are or how high the mortgage rates are. You have people who are actively complaining about that, who still want to turn around and vote for the same person who directly contributed to that, and they look for ways. They do mental gymnastics in order to somehow justify why they're voting for this person. I don't understand it. I don't get it. But maybe it's not for me to understand. Again, maybe it's just like you know what. I'm not supposed to understand it. It's not supposed to make sense to me.
Zeke Arkham:I look at things logically. I look at things through a lens of the truth. I don't vote based on feelings. I don't do anything, except for when it comes to family issues do anything when it comes to feelings. I look at facts, I look at logic, I look at what's the sensible thing to do going forward, and the sensible thing to do would be to vote for the person where, during his time in office, gas was cheap, groceries weren't as expensive, mortgage rates were lower, unemployment was down. You got to look at these things. You got to look at them sensibly. I don't care about felonies through a weaponized justice system. I don't care about what someone did in their personal business. I care about what they did for the country while they were in charge.
Zeke Arkham:If you look at Trump love him or hate him while he was in charge, things were pretty good in this country. Things were pretty good around the world, and then, as soon as Biden showed up, you have Russia acting out. You have China acting out. You have terrorists in the Middle East acting out. Do you think Kamala Harris is going to go there with strength and confidence? She can't do one of her own realities with strength and confidence. She can't attract 200,000 people to a venue like Madison Square Garden by herself. She's got to get Beyonce to help her out. She's got to get Taylor Swift to help her out. She's got to get people who are showing up for the Beyonce concert. And then afterwards, you know, here are a couple of words from the person you're supposed to be here to see. No, trump shows up and Trump can pack someplace like Madison Square Garden on his own. No-transcript.
Travis Yates:Yeah, I was cracking up last week when her surrogate was floating to the media that she's in negotiations with Joe Rogan. I looked at my wife and I said she can't do Joe Rogan, she can't sit there for three hours and have a conversation. I go. They're just throwing that out there to make it seem like they're trying. I go, there's no way they're going to do it. Of course they aren't going to do it.
Travis Yates:And, Zeke, I'm obsessed with what makes people courageous and, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, you are unique in that you're willing to stand boldly on the truth, no matter the consequences and maybe the consequences are just people call you bad names, but there's still consequences. Right being in law enforcement, there can be consequences, telling the truth, and so I'm obsessed with people that have your character and the things inside of you, because when you talk about I mean, you remind me so much of myself, and I've been in plenty of trouble telling the truth. In fact, one of the big principles those have been paying attention to us here at Courageous Police Leadership is it's facts over emotion. You must make decisions based on facts, because emotion rarely anything good comes of it. You just mentioned that.
Travis Yates:What do you think it is about you that makes you different? Whether you know it or not, you are different. There's very few Zeke Arkhams out there. Was it how you were raised? Was it your education? What do you think it is inside you that makes you go? I've got to stand for the truth, no matter what.
Zeke Arkham:Honestly, I don't think anything really makes me different. I think people just see a lot of themselves in my posts, that I'm saying things that they're thinking. That's why I said the thing about the truth is just people recognize the truth. You don't have to bend to the truth. You don't have to do mental gymnastics in order to justify the truth. You don't have to sort mental gymnastics in order to justify the truth. You don't have to sort of work your way around. The truth is just there. You put it out there.
Zeke Arkham:I think what makes my story unique is that I'm telling a story from someplace where I've actually been. I've actually been in police locker rooms. I've actually spoken to cops all around the country. I've actually been in places that people only see on TV. I'm actually able to tell the truth of what goes on in these things, and I'm not saying it because someone told me. I'm not saying it because I read it in a book somewhere. I'm not some professor who I'm thinking about what could possibly happen. I have this perfect scenario in my head and I'm going to say this and I think that this is how it should be. No, I know things go sideways. Any cop can tell you yeah, you can talk about it in a classroom, you can describe what you think should happen. You can go on based on what you saw in a movie somewhere, but until you're actually on scene, you have no idea what's going to happen. You have no idea. You'll have no clue as to what it takes to actually solve that crime, to bring everything together so that you can get someone to justice.
Zeke Arkham:I remember I had training in Alabama and I knew nothing about Alabama at the time. Here I am, this New York guy, the city slicker, who had only really traveled to a couple of spots in the South and I had training in Alabama. My first thought was oh my Lord, there's going to be places I can't go to. There's going to be sundown towns, there's going to be all kinds of things happening. I'm going to get called all kinds of names. And I got in the plane, I get down there and I found out that these were some of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. I'm hanging out with some of the instructors who were native people from Alabama, who were some of the coolest people I've ever met. At the last night they invited us out to a barbecue at one of their houses and I, to this day, remember that night just because it was one of the best times I've ever had.
Zeke Arkham:You're sitting there, you're eating barbecue, you're talking to people from around the country, you're talking to people from other countries, and I just want to recreate that time.
Zeke Arkham:Every time I talk to people or I have a podcast and I'm talking to someone from a different part of the country, or I'm talking to someone who may not even think the same way I do, but you know, we can agree on certain things I just want to recreate that because it was such a cool moment, such a great time, and I learned that day that I shouldn't judge people based on where they come in from or their background or, you know, if they were raised differently than I am.
Zeke Arkham:You know, you, just what brings us all together is that we're Americans. And if you love this country, if you're a patriot, if you want the best for this country, if you have children who you just want to leave them a better country, even if you have nieces, nephews, stepchildren, whatever, and your goal is just to leave them a better country, or even if you have no one and you look around and you just want to do the best thing by the country, great. That's the foundation we can start on. That's the foundation we can build a friendship on. And we're not going to agree on everything, but you know what we can agree on on some things, and that's the best part of it well what you just described.
Travis Yates:I mean, I think I've got a few years on. You have more than a few. That's kind of how things were, man, like growing up in the 80s and and starting my career in the early 90s, and that was kind of how it was. I I think it switched in 2011, 2012. It's been a good decade now, where you don't have to agree with everything the other person says. You can still get along. You have more in common than uncommon. You could vote for one person, I could vote for the other. We can be on opposite sides of the aisle. You could be gay, I could be straight. We could still get along. What happened in this country to where you now have to hate the other person if they don't agree with everything? You have to say or or or. You know the. The word inclusivity means you better agree with me, or else. I mean. What do you think happened with that phenomenon?
Zeke Arkham:I think what happened is what I call the rise of the activist. All of a sudden, everyone was an activist. All of a sudden, you were an activist for this. You were an activist for that. You know you have to be an activist for I don't know children in Rwanda. You had to know somebody, you had to become an activist. And I remember I read an article. I don't remember who wrote the article or where it was from, but basically the person who wrote the article said that people nowadays are in a position where they need something to fight for.
Zeke Arkham:A good friend of mine, leonidas Johnson, has a book where he described St George the Dragon slayer, where the legend of St George was that he was the best dragon slayer out there and he wound up slaying all the dragons out there. So there were no more dragons to slay. So now he finds himself to be irrelevant because all the dragons are gone. So now, in order to get relevancy, everything became a dragon. If there's a broken windmill, that's a dragon. If the well ran dry, that's a dragon. Now, everything, he made everything a dragon. And that's basically what's going on now with kids in the Gen Z generation, and everyone wants to be an activist They'll create problems in order to be the one who solves them. Activists, they'll create problems in order to be the one who solves them. And even if there are no problems, even if you have a great life, even if you're comfortable, you have to create a problem because now you have to be the one to fix it.
Zeke Arkham:It's no longer something where, in the generation of my parents or grandparents, there was a civil rights struggle, where they were bona fide, fighting for rights that they didn't have. That's kind of how I red-pilled my mom. I said, ma, what rights don't you have right now that white people have, that anybody else has, what rights don't you have? And my mom actually really had to think about that because, as someone who grew up during the civil rights struggle, she was used to just having that perspective and she had to think about it and she said you're kind of right, there's nothing I'm fighting for. I said, yeah, ma, so why have this stance? And she kind of got red-pilled off of that and that's usually just what I tell people nowadays what rights are you fighting for right now?
Zeke Arkham:We're not talking about individual racism, because people are allowed to be individually racist or have whatever biases they have fine, but what systemic biases, what systemic racism is out there where you have to overcome this hurdle. Now they're not lynching people in the South anymore. The Klan is a joke nowadays. There is no real white supremacist group out there or any sort of supremacist group out there where now you have to actively fight them, because they're actually out there trying to kill you. What's out there? Nothing. So stop turning everything into a dragon. But you have these activists out there who now want something to fight for, who need something to fight for, because they want to give themselves some sort of relevancy. And that's where everything starts to fall apart. Because you gave people like Al Sharpton a renewed voice, you gave Sean King a voice, you gave all these other people the Rachel Dolezal, all the you know man you're.
Travis Yates:Sean King cracks me up the idea that he's got me blocked on social media, so I have no idea what he says. Now the guy that dumb can make a dollar drives. I mean, that's the beauty of America. Right there, Sean King can make a living. To be honest with you, man, oh man.
Zeke Arkham:No, listen. In a righteous society, he would be broke. Al Sharpton would be broke, but you know what, though, I mean. But Booker T Washington described that way back during his time. He said there's a class of Black person who they profit off of racism. I'm paraphrasing, of course, but they profit off of racism. Sean King, who's a writer, isn't that much of a writer. I've read his stuff that has nothing to do with race. He's not a good writer at all, but he needs to profit off of race. Al Sharpton has spent his entire life profiting off of race. All these other people Tariq Nasheed, all of them profit off of race. They need racism to be a thing, so it gives them some sort of relevancy. If I were to snap my fingers today and say you know what? All racism is gone, these people would fight with everything they had to bring it back. So this is what we're dealing with right now, and this is why things are so divided.
Travis Yates:Yeah, I kind of called that probably 10 or 15 years ago. When you know you look around and you go, man, things are pretty, pretty good. I mean, you know it was very hard to find, like I said, there's individual races, but it was sort of really you had to look and I told my wife I go. This is the most dangerous time because there are people that profit off this, that have to keep this going. So you're going to see the hoaxes. You're going to see the noose in the NASCAR that ended up not being a noose. You're going to see the Jesse Smollett's. You're going to see all this stuff continue to happen and that is extremely unfortunate. You said something a few minutes back, zeke, and I know why. You have your own podcast, man, you are good, so I'm glad you can take over for me one day, for sure tomorrow. But you talk about the civil rights era and the kids today, the. You talk about the kids today needing to be activists. They literally have no clue.
Travis Yates:I set my kids down every Martin Luther King day and we watched Selma together as a family Incredible movie. I recommend it for everybody and I'll never forget the first year my kids watched that. I mean, my oldest is 24, so they're not too young. They looked at me. They said this happened, like they have no idea. No idea, and I would assume that's all. All.
Travis Yates:Everybody in that generation like the idea that there is inherent issues in this country. When you look back to when there were extreme inherent issues, I had to explain to them yeah, you, why some blacks were different water fountains. They couldn't go and of course they. We watched a jackie robinson movie about 100 times one of my heroes, that and frederick douglas not. A Jackie Robinson movie about 100 times one of my heroes, that. And Frederick Douglas Not a lot of people know about Frederick Douglas, one of the greatest orators of our time. But the kids today, you're right, they almost have to manufacture it because they literally the uneducation of what we have come from. The idea that we're having this kind of conversation, zeke after the history of this country, says how great this country is, is it not?
Zeke Arkham:I mean, listen, here's a story I love telling. I tell it every chance I get just because it shows the wisdom of the past compared to the present. But my great granddad grew up in 19, I forget the year, I think 1930s, 1920s Virginia in North Carolina, where he experienced bona fide racism I mean like racism that I've only read about in books. And I remember I just graduated from college and I thought I'm putting on a clinic for my entire family. You know I graduated from college. I'm full of all kinds of anger and activism. You know myself. You know I fell victim to it because I had a couple of professors who made it their business to make sure that we were all activists. I had two in particular who your final grade was based on how angry you were when writing your final paper on activism and things like that, activism and things like that. So they made sure you graduated a certain way and thinking a certain way.
Zeke Arkham:So here I am. I'm now full of all this anger and I'm putting on a clinic or so I think for my family. You know my granddad's there who actually marched for Washington, my great granddad's there who I told you his history, and I remember my, my great granddad just put his hand on my hand to stop me and he goes always be the last person in the room to call something racist, because if you call everything racist, then nothing is racist. But if you save that accusation for when it really counts, it'll be so much more powerful. And then he just started talking about something else, like just stop me, right Dead in my tracks. You know, and I'll admit, for a week I was butthurt, for a week.
Travis Yates:What a powerful statement, man. What a powerful statement, yeah, of course.
Zeke Arkham:But this is. You know, for a week I was mad until you know you get that voice in the back of your mind. Like this guy experienced bona fide racism, the likes that you don't have. You have no idea what it's about. So who are you to tell him what's racist and what isn't, or what he should be mad about? And I think at that moment I just I stopped. You know, that was the last time I ever unnecessarily called something racist.
Travis Yates:And well he, he was a prophet. Sadly, we're in those times right. The racism thing doesn't even affect anybody. Now, I mean, zeke, who would have known then that you'd be called a white supremacist on Twitter, right? Who would have known that?
Zeke Arkham:Oh, I get called a Nazi. I get called a black, white supremacist all the time. Crazy man so much that. It just, you know, my great granddad was right. It means nothing. Now you know, and that's actually a huge insult to people who experience bona fide racism, because now, if they're calling something out, it's ignored. So these people, these activists, are doing a disservice to people who are actually experiencing it.
Travis Yates:Yeah, I made the mistake of pointing out a Roland Fryer study one time, and, man, you'd have thought the world was ending when I did that. It's a peer-reviewed research, fellas, that did not matter for sure. But Zeke, the source of this, how much do you put on the media? I mean, I'll tell you my point of view first. I think that if we ever have, if we ever look back in America and talk about the democracy we want, we want to wear which I hope doesn't happen it will be because of the media. I think they're probably truly one of the most horrific stains on our society today, the way the mainstream media acts.
Travis Yates:I put a lot of this on the media. You know people, kids are influential, people watch the news. I mean, they're clearly. It's a brainstorming mechanism, right, or a brainwashing mechanism, and the CIA has been involved in this through the years. We won't go down that track, but the CIA has been embedded inside the mainstream media for the last 50 years in this country to send out certain messages and people fall for that. So I don't I put more blame on the messengers than I do, the people that receive the message and get fooled, so to speak, but I put a lot of this, what we just talked about on the media. What about you?
Zeke Arkham:Oh, absolutely. Joseph Goebbels, who was Adolf Hitler's minister of information, would be astounded at what is going on today. Even him, because he was the, I guess, the godfather or grandfather or whoever of using a state-controlled propaganda. But it's nothing like what goes on today. I think my wife was astounded to look at the fact that 90% of the coverage towards Trump has been negative and over 90 has been positive towards Kamala Harris. They definitely are putting themselves into this struggle. They're definitely putting someone as the good guy, as the bad guy. I mean, just look at when a white cop happens to shoot a Black perp. The white cop could do everything correctly, but the media is still going to put out there a white cop. They'll make sure they highlight and bold his race.
Zeke Arkham:A white cop shot a black unarmed person. When people ask me about this, my response back to him is always hey, listen, I'm six foot two, I'm 275 pounds. I work out a lot, you know. You would say I'm stronger than the average person walking around out there. If I get into a fight with a cop who's 5'10", 170 pounds and I'm pummeling him, it's going to hurt. And if he pulls out his gun and shoots me as a last resort because there's no stopping me. He's justified my opinion, you know. But what the media does? They say, oh, this white cop shot this black person. And then they'll get my picture from high school, where you know I'm sitting there, you know just everyone.
Zeke Arkham:And if they could put an angel halo around my head and some wings, they would do so, or they, you know. They go out and they find the people who are closest to me and go. No, he was a great person. He was such a wonderful, loving person. This shouldn't have happened to him. No, look at Mike Brown. He had literally just finished robbing someone when he got shot Like literally just finished robbing someone. You look at the rest of these perps out there who get themselves shot by cops. They're not good people, but they go out, they find their high school picture or they find their wedding photo. You know they get. You know he was such a wonderful. No, he wasn't. He was a criminal.
Travis Yates:you know Well it's so maddening because, I was teaching a college class just the other day and I went through all the litany of lies. You know Breonna Taylor and Michael Brown and you thought I mean these kids had never heard that. And what frustrates me is is that there's not a debate there. I mean, I'm quoting grand jury testimony from Breonna Taylor. I mean, there's no accountability, like they can sit there and turn this narrative on. It's, of course, debunked a year later, two years later. Every year we still brought Michael Brown's birthday from all the politicians and they know it's a lie. They know it's a lie and they're able to keep doing it and it's done so much damage.
Travis Yates:Zeke, going back to roland fryer, he's shown that there have been more african-americans killed with deep policing. Uh, based on this narrative. Deep policing comes from a media narrative. Um, they call it. The ferguson effect was the other thing. They call it. But um, I don't have any answers other than convincing the public. You've got to stop watching the mainstream media. You have to stop watching the mainstream.
Travis Yates:In fact, anybody that's listening to this or watching this that has a question. When they get sued for defamation, do you know how they get out of it? They say it's opinion. So your mainstream media channels you're watching. They don't even admit in court. It's news. They say it's their opinion, so they're protected. That's how they can get away with doing all this. They couch it as opinion. The problem is they don't start off by saying this is my opinion. They say it's the news and I don't know an answer, because I think they've killed themselves.
Travis Yates:Most people don't trust the media. I don't know how they're in business. Obviously, podcasts like yours and others are much more popular, but they're still in business and they're going to be financed by the people that want to finance it. So they'll probably be around. But the only answer I know, zeke, and I'm sure you've told others you've got to stop. You've got to stop watching this. You know I tell my kids hey, don't ever get your news from one source. Figure out the truth. You have to watch, unfortunately, multiple newscasts to do it and dive deeper into it, because they're lying to you predominantly. But the damage they're doing I just need our audience to know and you've said it's a in law enforcement in our country is insurmountable. The damage they've done.
Zeke Arkham:Well, you look at what's going on in major blue cities across America in Chicago, la, new York, baltimore, st Louis. You look at what's going on in major law enforcement departments, and they're all having staffing problems because no one wants a job anymore. You look at the military they're having staffing problems because no one wants that job. So what are we going to do? We have no military, you have no police. What are you going to do? I said this last week on my podcast. Actually, do you know how many people would just would crap themselves if there was an actual purge? Do you know how many people would if the government just said hey, listen, we have no more cops, so from 7 pm to 7 am, we're not answering any phone calls. You can call 911 all you want. We can't show up until the next morning. Do you know how many people would panic themselves into the worst conniption they've ever had in their lives because there's no cops? Well, guess what? This is what you're pushing yourself towards when you vote for people like Kamala Harris, who had her Minnesota Freedom Fund, when you vote for Tim Walz, who allowed his state to burn because people were rioting during the BLM Summer of Love riots of 2020, when you elect these Democrat socialists who run on an anti-cop platform. This is what you're voting for. You're voting for a potential purge.
Zeke Arkham:People don't realize that. They think there's always going to be cops they can just pick on and beat up on and protest for and walk down the street and think that they're fighting for justice. Yeah, well, guess what, when no one wants the job anymore and there are staffing problems, like what's going on in a lot of commands I'm talking to across the country, I have cops reaching out to me from across all over the country saying, yeah, I've worked doubles and triples because there's no one else to be there to replace me and take my place. I'm turning out roll calls that I used to be able to turn out 20 cops out into the streets. Now I'm lucky if I have 10.
Zeke Arkham:You know when you have people, you know when you have departments who are facing these kinds of staffing problems, all it does is backfire on your community. But keep voting these. Keep voting the AOCs in there who openly hate cops. Keep voting. You know these. The rest of these Democrat socialists out there who run on these anti-cop platforms. Keep voting squad members in there who have more sympathy towards the robber than the person they robbed. Keep voting for these judges who think that these hardened criminals just need a warm fuzzy and a hug. Keep voting for them, because the purge right now is on TV, but it can definitely wind up at your doorstep if you keep voting the way you vote.
Travis Yates:Yeah, if you don't think leadership matters, there actually is communities right now in this country, one of them being in St Louis, where the police don't even respond, and it's coming. You have more and more municipal agencies that are having to contract with sheriff's departments because they can't handle it. There's a sense of this, steve. That's being done on purpose, right, when you talk about defund police, when you use the federal government to do consent decrees to run cities, 14 of the top 20 most violent cities are ran by the Department of Justice as we speak. My fear is it's being done on purpose to destroy the profession. So then guess what the federal government does? Oh, we have your answer. It's called a national police force or whatever. That's when it really happens. You follow the history of Nazi Germany. That's how they were able to accelerate that. They. They decommissioned many of the local agencies. They made a national police force. I go on and on. Very spooky, but we haven't even gotten to the election. Let's get to it real quick.
Travis Yates:Donald Trump, kamala Harris, it's tomorrow, man, everyone's nervous, everybody has anxiety. I think what troubles me more so much is grown adults just flat out lying. I mean, you look at the hoaxes they've done on Donald Trump. These are hoaxes that you could literally watch a 15 second soundbite and immediately go well, that's a lie. I mean they just they just turned up. I just saw on MSNBC they're talking about another russia hoax. Right, this is russia hoax number three.
Travis Yates:What is going on in people's heads, zeke? I mean because clearly it's almost half the country. Clearly it's almost half the country. I hope it's not half the country. I hope it's about 49.9 of the country and 51.1 is voting the other side. We'll find out tomorrow. Why are people being so duped and just falling for these lies? Is it a self-confirming prophecy? They just hate Donald Trump. So, whatever is said about him, they're just going to jump on it, because you know the fine people hoax, the bloodbath hoax, the Russia hoax. There's more hoaxes, but that's all the Democratic Party is leaning on. They're not telling us what they're going to do. They just keep coming back to these hoaxes and the media has their back.
Zeke Arkham:What? What do you think is going on where people are so easily just falling for this? Because it's like you said, the media is out there putting out a certain narrative. You know, I've talked to my friends, my family, about the actual facts out there and they don't believe it until I have to show them receipts. No, he didn't say there were good people on both sides when talking about actual white supremacy almost riots and protests that were taking on in Charlottesburg, virginia.
Travis Yates:He actually disembowels white supremacy in the sentence before that. Yeah, to say that.
Zeke Arkham:Yeah, but the media cuts it down to literally a three second soundbite and they're trying to make him look like he's on the side of these white nationalists. Like he's on the side of these white nationalists, you have a comedian who shouldn't have even been invited to Madison Square Garden, but makes a joke, and now, all of a sudden, they're trying to attribute it towards Donald Trump. No, trump didn't say that and his people disavowed the joke.
Travis Yates:Yeah, hinchcliffe was up there like five hours before Trump. He was like the opening guy five hours before the president went up and I can guarantee you Donald Trump does not know who Tony Hinchcliffe is.
Zeke Arkham:I guarantee you that she's actually intelligent and would have something to say. But again she turns around, she's a huge liberal and calls it a white supremacy rally at Madison Square Garden. But yeah, okay, I didn't know Byron Daniels was a white. Byron Donalds excuse me, was a white supremacist. I didn't know Vivek Ramaswamy was a white supremacist. I didn't know all the Jewish people and Hispanic people and Black people and Asian people and everybody else who showed up, all the different ethnicities who showed up to Madison Square Garden were all white supremacists. I didn't know white people who don't have a racist single bone in their body were white supremacists. So this whole narrative has to stop.
Zeke Arkham:People don't look up facts anymore. Like I tell people all the time listen, I'm not an influencer. I don't want to be an influencer. I want to try to point you in the right direction of where you can get your facts from, but don't let my opinion be what you see as fact. You have to go out there and look it up for yourself. That's exactly what I did. I went out there and I looked it up for myself. That's how I came to my conclusion. I want people to go out there and look at things for themselves.
Zeke Arkham:Don't trust one source. Don't look at Fox. Don't look for something that's just going to back up your point of view. Look at different views. Look at why people feel the way they feel. Look at what this person is presenting as facts and see if be your own fact checker. Don't look at Snopes. Don't look at Politifact. Don't look at anything else. Look at the facts that are in front of you and make the decision for yourself. If you're calling an MSG rally with a bunch of different ethnicities a white supremacist rally, there's something wrong with you.
Travis Yates:We didn't even know that there was a 1939 rally at the Madison Square Garden until the Until the media tells us that Actually I did because I do read a lot of history. Okay.
Zeke Arkham:Excuse me, so I actually knew about that. But what people don't know is that Woodrow Wilson screened Birth of a Nation, which is basically a love letter towards the Ku Klux Klan. At the White House, people don't go at Woodrow Wilson like that. What I do know is that Lyndon B Johnson was a racist. What I do know is that he's the one who stopped the original Civil Rights Act, which had a lot more teeth.
Travis Yates:The Democratic Party stopped it.
Zeke Arkham:The Democratic Party yeah, they didn't vote for it, no, but he directly stopped it because he didn't want to destroy his party. And then he came out with another civil rights act that didn't have as much of a bite to it. So a lot of people don't know that, but a lot of people, you know they like to think oh well, the party switched, oh well, this happened.
Travis Yates:Oh, that's the craziest one right there. So yeah, there was obviously. I don't know what you're talking about. That's the craziest one to me, everybody about. That's the craziest one to me, everybody abraham lincoln, republican on. But it's justified by this weird party switch. Explain that to our audience, because that's the craziest one I've ever heard.
Zeke Arkham:Well, apparently at some point in time no one can actually point out when this happened, but apparently at some point in time democrats looked at republicans. Republicans looked at democrats and went, hey, uh, do you mind if we pull one of these moves? And everybody agreed and shook on it. And if you were a Democrat, you're now a Republican, if you're a Republican, you're now a Democrat.
Travis Yates:And of course they say that because Republicans championed abolishing slavery, Republicans championed the Civil Rights Bill. The Republicans championed all of this. So the only way you can justify this now is this weird switch thing right.
Zeke Arkham:Yeah, In my opinion, some dummy came out and said it and it just took off. Crazy. My thing is did a couple Democrats become Republicans? Sure. Did a couple Republicans become Democrats? Sure. I'm not going to dispute that, but to say there was a party switch where they all kind of looked at each other and went yeah, we're going to you know, yeah, this whole logic thing I'm going to take your office, you take mine. We're going to do all this. That didn't happen.
Travis Yates:See, this whole logic thing has gotten you in a lot of trouble, I know, but I want to put it in a pill and give it to people. Man, I really love it and we're get down to it. Man, tomorrow's a big day. Give me your, give me your prediction. Give me your prediction. We'll live forever in history on podcasts, right? What do you think is going to happen on Tuesday?
Zeke Arkham:I think I have to believe Trump's going to take it. I have to believe that just because I'm looking at the early numbers, they look really good for Trump. I'm hoping he does a full sweep of every swing state out there. I can see they're already trying to cheat. It's already out there. But I think the problem with what they did in 2020 is that they can't replicate it in 2024 without people catching on early and going hey, hey, what's going on here? And people getting themselves way more involved.
Zeke Arkham:The problem with when you beat someone in a fight is that if they're smart, they learn from it. Now, do I think the GOP has learned from it? No, do I think regular Americans have learned from it? Yes. So regular Americans are going to be way more vigilant this time and look at any kind of shenanigans and fully way they're going to be like, hey, listen, we're not going to have this go on. So I think Trump is going to take it. I think Trump is going to win.
Zeke Arkham:I have to believe that because if we're looking at four years of Madam President, kamala Harris which I almost threw up saying just now if we're looking at four years of that, this country is screwed. The rest of the world is screwed, and if people are foolish enough to vote for Kamala Harris, then they better be ready for what comes along with it. We're talking about World War III. We're talking about Russia being bolder. We're talking about China being bolder. We're talking about North Korea being bolder. We're looking at terrorists being bolder. We're looking at a worldwide economic disaster. People are going to have to understand what comes along with a Kamala Harris presidency. If you want to save this country, if you quite literally want to save this world, vote for Trump.
Travis Yates:Well, and you're not mixing words there, and you're correct. What people don't understand is if you think censorship is bad now, if you think using DLJ to go after political opponents is bad now, if you think that there'll ever be a fair election ever again, vote for that person. Kamala Harris yeah, put her in office, because you've already seen what they've done with some power. You give them all the power. I mean you've got the DLJ right now fighting Virginia to let illegals vote. I mean they're showing you everything they're going to do, which is pretty crazy.
Travis Yates:I'm going to give my prediction real quick, zeke. You can call me and laugh at me if I'm wrong. I say Trump takes six of the seven swing States and he picks off a surprise. That's what I'm going to say. There's going to be a surprise state. He's going to pick one of those off. That's my prediction. Uh, zeke, harkin, man, I, I know we talked about a lot of stuff. I, if I didn't say it already, I want to say I appreciate your boldness and courage. You don't see it that way. That's the way creative people are. They just who you are. But that's what we're trying to do here. We need people to stand up, not for a political party, not for a person free. And my faith tells me there is one truth. There's not multiple truths, there's no my truth. There is one truth you are a light in a sometimes can be a very dark, dark world, sir, and I certainly appreciate you. Thank you for being here.
Zeke Arkham:Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate your words. Thank you so much.
Travis Yates:And before we forget, where can people reach out to you at? Where are you at? At? How can they contact you?
Zeke Arkham:uh, on twitter or x, excuse me x. Uh, zeke arkham. Z e e k a r k h a m. That's my main social media platform. I'm also on instagram same handle, zeke arkham where I do my video rants. But, uh, if you really want to reach out to me, anybody who wants to contact me twitter's excuse me, x is is the way go, because I do most of my trash talking right there.
Travis Yates:All right, thank you so much, sir, and if you've been watching, if you've been listening, thank you for doing that. And just remember, lead on and stay courageous.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates. We invite you to join other courageous leaders at www. travisyates. org.
