Hour 3: Thinning the Human Herd | 04-08-26

The Other Side of Midnight with Lionel. Entertaining and informative. On the Red Apple Podcast Network. All righty, Lionel with you. And this is The Other Side of Midnight. And we are discussing the interstitial, the rudiments of warfare. At this particular time of the day, I have the opportunity to do a couple of things here. First, to walk around and go through people's desks. I kid, of course. But I get to watch, for the first time, a lot of cable news because I just don't watch any. I don't watch any of it. I don't know anything. But I don't want to watch the same stuff because I know what they're going to do. But I also flipped through it. I got my clicker. We call it the clicker. My family, we call it the clicker. I don't know. That's what I call it. And I was watching, you know, it had Key and Peele on, which is so brilliant, it's not even funny. And then I was watching other things, too. where they have these, what is called the aging heart. You know, these anti-inflammatory ointment ads, you know, three in the morning. But now I'm watching on channel something or other, there is a huge, I might be recorded, but a cricket match that is just absolutely, they are going berserk. And I don't know anything about cricket. You know, wickets and all that other kind of jazz. and batters, and what have you. But it is warfare. It is warfare. It is 100% a group of people trying to mimic clobbering each other. And it's not enough for me to say, hey, I'll bet you I can hit this ball farther than you can. Yeah, okay. Hey, that's good, Matt. Hey, it's good, buddy. I'll try it too. Hey, that's good. That's not the way we do it. We say, I'll bet you I can beat you, and you suck. You're like, wait a minute. Hold it. What are you doing? Let's have points. And for the last three times I beat you, I say, can't we just play? No. We're not going to play a game without keeping score, without a time limit. No. I want to beat you. I got to get my trophy. I understand I got my trophy. Do you ever go like into your high school and you go to these trophies? Like an old football from 19 foot. It's like, what is the point of this? Who cares? But you know what that football represents? The other team went home with nothing. And to this day, they've never gotten over that. Just like Jimmy Breslin says, he would always go to the locker room of the losing team. Everything that we do is not, we're not interested in doing stuff. We just, we're just like them. And then women want to come along and say, we can do it too. Yeah, okay. No, we can do it. Yeah, no, I know you can do it. Why, what's the matter? No, nothing. What are you getting at? What, are you suggesting our sports aren't as interesting? Yeah. Yeah. Name one thing or two things. The women's sports are better than men. Where you say, you know what, let me, I prefer to watch. women's sports do this. What is it? Good luck. Think about that one. Think about that one. You say, you know what? No, no, no. But the point is, women try to use this pugnacious, bellicose, war I'm going to beat you, we're going to beat you. Even if here in New York, opening day at Yankee Stadium, I'm going to beat you, we're going to beat you, we're going to kill you, you suck, I hate you, I got a big foam number one. I'm number one. You mutant. Get at it. It's what we do. It's what we do. There are people. Remember in the old days? It was actually during the. If you think about it, it was during, I think, maybe Medellin cartel. Where they shot. I think it was Columbia where they shot the ref or something. It was a soccer game. They killed him. They didn't like his ruling. I mean, this is very serious stuff. So what I'm saying is I think there might be something to the fact that this is kind of who we are when it comes to war and the like. What do you think? Let's go back to the phones, back to the phones, because I like you're able to do this very, very well. Kurt in Brooklyn, you're on the other side of Midnight with Lionel. Yes, hi. The longbow put it into like the nice and shining armor. I found that out when I was reading one of the author of Sherlock Holmes series, Arthur Conan Doyle. Yep. And it's called The White Company. The rich and what do you call it? Dukes and Earls. Yeah. You know. Aristocracy or the landed. Yeah. Right. Right. But the English longbow could be used by a common soldier and it was a long distance weapon. Yes. It would hit the knights and penetrate their armor. Right. Far off from them. So it kind of democratized the soldiery. But it also separated the up close and personal, the personal nature of war. You didn't have to see really what you were doing. Oh, but it's absolutely wonderful. They're just clip-clopping away in the field, and all of a sudden there's a hail of arrows coming from nowhere. So, yes, you're right about that. Do you think, Kurt? And the horses had armor also. That's right. They certainly did. Because otherwise they would collapse, and the knight would be just standing alone, maybe surrounded by a bunch of savage. Kurt, between you and me, my friend, between you and me, I would go right for the horse. I don't know about the guys. The horse I could hit, the guy with it. I don't know. Let me ask you this, Kurt. Do you think there is something in humans, in us, do you think there is something that we have a tendency, a penchant, a predisposition towards violence and war? Yeah, but not only that, but honor, glory goes with it, like for combat warriors and so forth, especially in ancient times. How does honor, explain to me, honor and glory in killing? I understand the answer, but isn't that interesting? Honor, leave it to us humans to say this is honorable. Fascinating. Fascinating. Let's go to, let me see, in the order. Ah, yes, Martin in upstate New York, on the other side of Midnight with Lionel. Good morning there, Lionel. How are you this morning? Good, sir. All right, I think you're trying to get at the psychology of it all. Nothing gets by you, Martin. Nothing gets by you. You are sharp as a tack. Yeah, you know me. So the thing is about war, we are right and they are wrong. Correct. We are good and they are not. Correct. You've got it. You've got it. They are an existential threat to our continued existence, and it's either us or them, and they have to go. You know what? I cannot tell you how perfectly that was stated. Absolutely perfectly. Michael, Staten Island on the other side of the band, I would Lionel. Hi. One point before I did it, that soccer game that you're talking about, it was not a ref. It was the Colombian goaltender. Okay. Who committed what was called an auto goal. He accidentally kicked the ball into his own goal. Yeah, the own goal. Yes, yes, yes. You were correct. And then obviously that cost somebody a lot of money. I stand corrected, good sir. Now, when I was growing up in the 60s, my father and all my friends' fathers were veterans of World War II. Yes, sir. And we used to play war not because of anything ingrained in our DNA. We were assassinated by the stories. And then, like, Mattel Toys had a whole industry. Every toy store had the rifles and the machine guns. But wait a minute. You kind of sloughed over, or you skipped over that. It wasn't. For you to be fascinated by something, there had to be something in you. You weren't fascinated by fathers who came home and played, you know, with their kids. You didn't, your friends didn't mimic playing dad. Your friends didn't say, let's be a teacher. No, it was war. And one of the reasons was either because of something inherently either pugnacious in your being or maybe there's something that's masculine. Maybe there's something, but it was something internal. Absolutely. Oh, okay. I get that. But, okay. So, look. So, how about this? Historically, humans went to war to gain territory, power, and wealth. Simple as that. And on the other side, they went to war to defend themselves. Yes. However, there were people. This is the most important thing in the world. It is the leader. It is the king. It is Alexander the Great who said, You're going to do this. Now, most people said, I couldn't care less about conquering Persia or wherever. I don't care about that. I'm not rich. You're rich. I'm not going to. But you know what? It's, I guess, during the Civil War, people said, what was it that people fought for? Was it for slavery? Or was it for states' rights? It was neither. They fought because their brother fought. This one fought. People don't fight because they necessarily – how do we say this? Because they necessarily – were something to this avarice. I knew a guy one time in college. He was older. And his father was a German pilot. He was a Stuka dive bomber, which I thought was great. And he explained to me how the Stuka Dive Bomber, the wheels were fixed. They weren't retractable. So they would be great at diving, but they could never, there was a certain limitation of it. Anyway, his father took great pain saying, I'm not a Nazi. I'm a German. And people would say, well, what's the difference? He goes, but it was my country. And I was defending my country. Yeah, but your country, you know. So anyway, it was the same thing for him. But in conversations, were you some type of Hitlerian acolyte? He goes, no, it had nothing to do with it. Think about this. So many people in our country, normally born in, let's say, 47 was like the perfect year for this. Vietnam came along and they came, as one of our callers said, their fathers were in war, their grandfathers were in war. and it was a tradition. You fought for your country. You served your country and you applied that. Listen to what he said. You served your country. Nothing to do with how you served your country. Teaching, reading to the blind? No, no, no, no. It was war. It was ingrained. It was hereditary It was a subject of pride It was manliness And they didn even know well before I served my country can you give me an idea of what I will be involved in What this war is? No. Just do it. Okay. But give me a hint. Where am I going to be serving my country? Vietnam. Huh? Why? Communism. Okay. That'll do. Excuse me. Stop asking questions. Do you want to serve your country or not? Okay, I will. I mean, nobody ever thought to say, well, you're not going to send me, you know. And you would think after Korea, later on, afterwards, you think after. That still fascinates me, Korea. Because remember, we're still at war. That was just a ceasefire. But you see the way people think? Nobody ever thought, excuse me. If I said to you, hey, Blaze, do me a favor. My neighbors give me a hard time. I want you to go over there. Take this battle. By the way, a battle axe is what you want. This is a club. This is the greatest thing you can keep in your car. And it just splatters people. I mean, it is the most. It doesn't look like much, but it's serious. Take this battle axe. And I want you to go next door and just do this for me. Okay. Most people say, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. First of all, why am I doing this? that's the way most people act, except when it comes to war. War is different. It's romantic. It's a, it's, it's, I, I swear to you, Jocko and all these other people like Valhalla is a, is a one I listen to. He's terrific. Sean Ryan. If this isn't a, a, a PSYAP, I don't know what is. If this isn't military, if these aren't, If this isn't a CIA app to basically romanticize and laud war, I don't know what is. That's my point. 800-848-9222. What are the reasons? Explain the interstitial, the reasons why we so love war. The Other Side of Midnight with Lionel on the Red Apple Podcast Network. It's The Other Side of Midnight with Lionel. 800-848-9222. Let's go back to the phones, back to what I call fun. Let's see who has been on. We have a, oh, here we go. This is, of course, Todd of Chicago. Todd, you're on The Other Side of Midnight with Lionel. Good morning, Mr. Lionel. But you're talking about folks and war. Nothing gets by you, Todd. Nothing gets by you, my friend. War is not really created by man, but it's a planet refurbishing in itself. You seem to be in pain right now. Is there something I should know about, Todd? No, no, no, no. Okay, okay. You sound rather dyspeptic, like you're borborygmic, like you're eructating. No, sir. Okay. But if the planet refurbishing itself, because if you believe that all these people and the world was never created, how many people could this planet survive, take care of? So you're saying that war is natural, is a necessary weaning to winnow excessive population members. It gets rid of, that we would be overpopulated were it not for war. That's right. We would be overpopulated and the planet couldn't survive us. So what you're saying is war is a good thing. It's not so much good or bad. It's... is to keep the planet from being overpopulated. I thank you so much for that. That is the most painful. I don't want to ask what's wrong with this. I feel in a weird way. It's almost like he, I don't think he has a tracheotomy. It sounds like he's in a lot of pain. And I don't want to ask too much questions. I don't want to ask him a lot of questions about why are you doing that? So the best thing to do is just cut him off. this way we're not in any way unsettled or ruffled by his apparent agony that he is in see i don't want to ask him i would just rather go see and i know because because you wanted me to do this because you were wondering just now what's wrong with him so that's a good theory so here's the story so right now all of a sudden somebody says you know i think it's about time to have a war why i don't know it's like it's almost like crop season you know it's that time i think we need to thin the herd i don't know how that would work like hey general what you know this crazy idea that we have to invade that country yeah you don't think we're doing because of the population do you know we could be do well so all these people are duped they just happen to have a legitimate beef. What if there's a long period of time when there's no, there's no war or when the wars are rather de minimis? Just a thought. Jim in Chicago, you're on the other side of midnight with Lionel. Lionel. Yes, sir. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like victory. You think that's funny? Yes, I do. You must be a very demented man. And I like that. I like that in you. Back to the subject, though. What goes wrong comes around. And like everybody's complaining about what was said by our president of what was going to happen to that country and this and that, you can't baby talk them or get a hold of Dr. Phil and figure it out. you got to tell them in a way that they understand and mean it's like hey we mean business now let me ask you something jim let me ask you a question jim yeah i know in your own heart of hearts you're saying i think i'm going to make a good point on this call i know you thought when you said i'm going to make a good point i'm going to i've i've got i've i'm going to say something that really nails it. Number one, I don't think it's a matter of clarity. I don't think it's, listen, if you're going to, you're going to have to say it clearly. I think people understand what war means. You don't have to say anything. You really don't. I mean, there's a couple of things about it. I think it'd be a good idea. Sometimes underselling it, I think is important, But I don't want to argue the framework. The question is, is there something about humans that enjoys, that needs war? We love it. Yeah, it's in our DNA. Ah, why is that, sir? I'm not sure, but... You'll make something up? No, I think it's trying to change it. our friends from another planet or whatever it is. Ah, here we go. Here we go. Here we go. Yeah, yeah. Get ready. Kids now, young kids, five years old, something like that, not only here but all over the world are finding that the kids are highly intelligent. They've got weird, they call it weird, what they're doing is like they can blindfold them, hand them a book, and they can read the book. Blindfold it. They can, yeah, blindfolded. How is that done? I don't know. Where is this done, sir? It's happening with the next generation that's coming up. Kids are being able to read while blindfolded? They can do that. Where did you hear of this, sir? I'm just curious. Where did you hear of this? This was on the History Channel on Monday nights. Well, you know what? Say no more, my friend. 800-848-9222. They can read it blindfolded. Okay. I'm sure they can. Jay in Cincinnati. Jay, you're on the other side of midnight with Lionel. Hey, Lionel. Great show. Thank you, sir. There's a couple of Daredevil brothers north of me up here in Dayton that invented flight airplanes. And what do we do? We weaponize the airplane that they invented. They were looking to market it. And their first, who's going to buy a $5,000 toy? You know, so I guess the army was. I think that there is something. For example, somebody along the way, I don't know what his name was. But he said, hey, I just came up with this thing. What? Well, I took a took a piece of metal and I forged it and I made one edge real sharp. And, you know, we can do we can we can skin animals with it. We can cut meat. We can cut the vines for housing. Hey, this is pretty good. Can I see it? Yeah. And as soon as he handed it over to somebody, it was like, you stabbed me. Yeah, I know. It's like we will find things no matter what. We will find means of hurting people, but it only makes sense. But aside from the planes and all that, what is this idea of ours that says, remember, it's only the countries that can do this. You will never see Peru say, okay, I've had it. We're going into Canada. It just doesn't happen. It's only people who have the means and the power to perform war. If you don't have it, you're very peaceful. And somehow, you know what? The Peruvians are like, you know, I guess we can do better, but we're doing all right. Swiss. Yes, we have a museum up in Dayton, the Air Force Museum. And it's basically a museum of warplanes, pretty much. Well, what do you think the Air Force would, seriously? Right. Well, you know, I mean, the whole thing was weaponized from the beginning. You know, the first airplanes were made out of wood and cloth. Yes. And they were more deadly flying. We're buying them. But what do we do? We weaponize things. You're right. But does that surprise you? Right. I mean, who else is going to buy one? No, no, no. It's not about buying it. Right. It's the idea that if I've got something, if I've got a delivery system. Remember the old days, somebody said, you know, this may sound crazy, but we can drop mail. We can do a lot of things. and I've got this crazy idea. Let me see if I can drop a bomb. And that, by the way, that was the fight between aircraft carrier folks and airplane folks. But the thing is, is that why is it, this is the most of, this is the biggest question. Why, when countries cannot resolve something, do they kill each other? You don't kill your neighbor. We don't kill each other. We figure we do a lot of stuff. We are not allowed to kill unless there's a threat. But countries have this idea that says, think about this. We can go in and we can attack your country All we have to do with this country and our country is to have somebody declare war We go to Congress and ask them to declare war And nobody ever says is it right Is it wrong Is it correct? No. It is presumed to be correct. I'm fascinated by that. And when we do that, we say, let's go in. And imagine what it's like if you were, let's say, in Vietnam. And you were in a village and you're, you know, you have a rice paddy and you've got a water buffalo and you're not bothering anybody. And all of a sudden you hear these helicopters and they start attacking you. And you're thinking, why are you doing this? And the answer is communism. What? This is a domino effect. You're going to spread communism. What's communism? You know, Ho Chi Minh. I know him. He's our hero. There you go. See, he's a bad guy. What do you mean he's a bad guy? He is a bad, bad guy. Okay. By the way, just now I want to let you know in New York City there's a freeze warning. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that, but they love it. I've got this weather app, and it just loves to go off all the time. Pollen warning, wind, anything hot, sun, tanning index, UV rays. They just don't want you to go outside. They're constantly saying there's a freeze warning. There's a wind. Be careful. Watch the UV ray. Be careful. Don't go outside. Rip tides. Okay. Just stay home. Why? To imprison you. They don't want you perambulating. Let's go to Joanne. By the way, Joanne, I think, is our first female caller, our first distaff caller. I don't know if it seems like it. Joanne, you're on the other side of midnight with Lionel. Hi. Well, I think the nature of this planet is predatory. Everything on the planet is predatory. Well, what do you mean? And we kill each other and eat each other, with the exception of, I'd say, trees and other plant life. You mean trees don't kill each other and eat each other, or we don't eat trees? No, they're self-sustaining. That's it. Well, let me ask you something. That's my type. But you've said something rather a matter of fact, the young lady, and I think we ought to get to the bottom of this. First and foremost, does that in any way surprise you? For example, in the animal kingdom, do you think it would be likely to have a non-predatory biosphere or a group of animals that don't prey on anything? They just self-sustaining, maybe they're vegetarians, I don't know. But do you think that predator and prey is something that is inherently evil, wrong, or is that just part of the cycle of life? Part of this planet. Well, aside from this planet, do you think there's something, do you think that there's something impaired with that? Impaired? That is an impaired existence on our part, to have people do that. Do you think? Well, in my opinion, yeah. I mean, oh, great. I like that. So, for example, if you are a lion and you are looking for your protein, that's what you eat. You eat it because you're programmed. You don't want to do it. You're not a bad person. Where should an animal that needs protein go to satisfy for satiety of that particular need? Where, pray tell? Well, okay, but I'm just saying in general, we are predatory, whether it be a lion, a tiger, a person. But is there anything wrong with that? What I'm saying is, is there something wrong with that? Good question. Because God, God, one would say God, made us in a way sort of predatory. You know, it's interesting. if somebody were to catch us, some species did not know how to communicate with us and wanted to keep us in captivity, the first thing they would want to do is to know what we ate. So it would probably look at our teeth to start with, to start with. And it would say, huh, that's interesting. Obviously grain, this thing eats grain. Why? Look at the molars, a lot of molars. Our canines are rather so-and-so. No, no, no, no, probably grain. And we say, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, we are carnivores. And they look at you and say, you sure about that? Yes, we are carnivores. Okay, well, if you're a carnivore, you are a predator. By your very nature, you either go after them on the Serengeti, on the savannah, and you catch them, or you set a trap, or you domesticate them and then slaughter them. but you're going to be a predator if you're a canine. I mean, that's it. Not a canine, but a carnivore. But it is what it is. Okay, thank you. I like when I try somehow to pull something. That's the way it is. If I sat there with God and said, listen, God, I'm always asking God all the time, hate to bother you. What is it now? Here's my question. Did you have to do this? did you have to do this? You know, do you ever watch, remember when you were a kid and you saw the little gazelle, the gazelle, David Attenborough, and on the savannah, the little gazelle is drinking its water. You know, a couple of things you'll see, oh, he's getting a little too close to that riverbank, and this crocodile comes out of nowhere, takes it, pulls it in, spins it around, breaks his neck, come on. or you'll see the little baby seal and you'll see the big, and I still have a problem with this. The orcas, the killer whales are vicious. I always thought they were nice. They're at SeaWorld, but they're vicious. Do you have to do that? And then you see the poor little fawn out on the savannah and here comes the lion. And the lion's got little babies. The lion says, that one there, that one looks slow. that one's got a bit of a limp that one looks a little little pacho a little destarura I'm going to go after that one why? survival of the fittest? Darwin? no he's slower because he's lame and lame gazelles taste as good as fat maybe better because they're not they don't run a lot and the meat's juicier God what? did you have to do that? can't we just be Can't we just all into plants? Why? Well, what about the thinning the herd? There you go with that thinning the herd. Is this your idea of a system? Seriously. When you have fish in a bowl, do they start eating it? No. What is what? And so we just accept it. My question is, I think there is something, not only we're not killing people because we're consuming them, we're into something a little bit different. And when you get into the mindset of the serial killer, ask yourself this question. What's really the difference? Rick in Arizona, you're on the other side of midnight with Lionel. Yes, Lionel. You triggered an old memory of a quote that it's not possible to make an anti-war movie. And I did a search and the origin of it apparently in my mind comes from Roger Ebert and it's mentioned this is his review of Platoon. And I'll quote real quick. It was Francois Truffaut who said it's not possible to make an anti-war movie because all war movies with their energy and sense of adventure end up making combat look like fun. And that's my statement. So you're saying, oh, no, no. So what you're saying is it is impossible to make an anti-war movie showing the horrors of war. Right? Well, I don't know. Francois Truffaut said it in Roger Lee. No, no, no. Forget, I'm asking you to interpret what Truffaut said. Okay, well, I agree with it 100%. Well, explain to me what he meant. Well, if you watch Black Hawk Down, which is horrible. I mean, pulling veins out of your leg and putting a... Well, isn't that an anti-war movie? Well, I don't know. Let me go back. Let me take it in another direction. Rick, do me a favor. I know this is our phones. We can't talk at the same time. Rick, I want to go back. Tell me Truffauts explained his idea that you cannot make an anti-war movie. Is that what the quote? Say the quote again. You can't make an anti-war movie? Right. That was, I have no opinion. No, no, no, wait, wait. No, no, no. I'm asking you to explain what he said. Finish the line. You can't make an anti-war movie because of what? Okay, it says here, I'll repeat it, because all war movies with their energy and sense of adventure end up making combat look like fun. Good. Do you agree with that? Uh, I don't know. I'm asking your opinion. I haven't seen Black Hawk Down for a long time. Forget Black Hawk Down. Forget Black Hawk Down. Put it out of your mind. You quoted something. I like this. I love you, though, Rick. You quote a true foe and you're not even sure if you agree with it. I think I understand a little bit of what he's talking about, a little bit. But I think it's an overgeneralization. There is a movie, and I do not know what it is. It is a, I saw it one time. It is known, how do I say this? It is known in the business as one of the most, oh my God, the most horrible examples. And it's a little boy or a boy soldier who is so terrified in this one scene. It says it's one of the most incredible acting anybody's ever seen. And I think it's awful. I think that sometimes certain war movies, war itself, I don't necessarily, well, put it this way. An anti-war movie, if you wanted to show anti-war, what would you think? Let me ask you this. Full metal jacket. Is that anti-war or not? This is Kubrick. Is it anti-war, pro-war, or is it neither? remember that scene, the beginning of Full Metal Jacket was Arlie Ermey. Remember this? He's the Marine drill instructor. And he was the technical advisor. And he basically snaked this actor out of that role because he was the one who basically went around this guy's back and told Kubrick, I know what I'm doing. I'm really a DI. I'll show you how to do this. I've been in war. I think he had two terms. The guy was legit. I remember at the time thinking this is great I loved it I said I don want the the boot camp to end the other part was like i don want to see this stupid thing i know let go back in the boot camp and why'd you kill him anyway spoiler alert but that's now do you know how recruitment went up they couldn't get enough of that and i said what what could they put here's a sadistic guy How does that work? Why would anybody? Have you noticed, for example, the way there are ads for military? Have you ever heard about this? Listen to ads that pull you in. What do they say? Hey, join the Marines. You get three squares a day. You get to work out and save enough money for your college. That's not it. That's not it at all. think about it what do they lure you with it's brilliant and by the way this is not deception i'm telling you this is the truth they don't deserve they don't tell you that they don't say hey joy in the navy no no no no no they always have sounds of war and guns and planes and that's what it is and what do they tell you what does they do the few the proud and you know what people say all the time, and they said this during Vietnam, that what got them was when the Marine recruiter would show up with the dress blues. People went nuts. They went crazy. They went crazy. That's what I want. Remember Gober Pyle? Which is still one of the greatest Marine shows ever. But that's what they want. They're showing you the hard work. There's nothing easy about that. That's the way they lure you. because they give you this attention. Let me tell you a true story. Years ago when we had a juvenile court, they were experimenting with this thing about boot camp. And they would send, sometimes parents would send their kids, and some of these kids were really bad, bad. And nothing worked. And actually what they did was some of these, These facilities were terrible for kids. All right. So what happened was they went ahead and they would have them go. Sometimes a judge, the parents could say, well, go to these boot camps. Well, one morning we had in the courts, they had the kids from the juvenile facilities were there, you know, where they're effing this and just sloppy and chained together. And on the other end was this lone boy, no chains, no nothing, shaved head with this, not a Marine, but a DI. It was his particular accompanist, the sergeant that accompanied him to court. And this kid was ramrod stiff. and this drill instructor, whatever this was, was watching over him and he didn't, when they called his case, they didn't just say, all right, go ahead. They said, help, help, help. You know, he's doing all that, whatever he's yelling. And the kids who were in chains, their mouth dropped open. They go, who's that? Oh, he's in bootcamp. Bootcamp? How do you get to bootcamp? Oh, you don't want to go there. No, wait, wait, wait. What is it? how do we get there? How do we have that much attention and order and purpose? I'm walking around here with these stupid clothes that don't fit. I got a chain. I don't want that. Isn't that interesting? Because not only does the thought of war, forget the romanticization of war, but the military itself, it's always been something that people have loved. Uniforms. Where do you think uniforms come from? Where do you think this is? Initially, it was to make sure my guys from your guys. It's like raid jackets. Police always have a jacket that says police so they don't shoot each other. But that's not what happened. Later on, it became a sign. It became a means of identity. It's militaristic. We are human beings, and we are, as you know, replete and filled with symbology, semiotics. We love, if it's symbolic, we're there. It's my rifle, this is my gun. This is for fighting, this is for fun. It's my rifle, this is my gun. This is for fighting, this is for fun. The Other Side of Midnight with Lionel on the Red Apple Podcast Network. Listen up. Huh? That means you. Yes, you. We know you're pointing at yourself. When it comes to Paddy Power Games, we've got a place made for all sorts. From the experts to the drama queens. It's me, the GC. The finance bros. Look at those stocks, lads. We'll stick with slots. It's what we're good at. And not forgetting you. Yes, you, the one listening. Because at Paddy Power Games, we've got all sorts of games for all sorts of treacles. Eligibility rules and terms and conditions apply. Please gamble responsibly. 18pluscambleraware.org Welcome to Paris Pizzeria. Your blind date is already at the table and here she is. Cousin Brenda, what are you doing here? You're married anyway Substitution brought to you by Paddy Power Cousin Brenda makes way for Beth, the office crush Oh, get in You might not always pick the right starter but your sub can still deliver because with Paddy's super sub your bet rolls over to the player coming on Paddy Power Valid on selected leagues and markets only Pre-match and in-play bets on qualifying player outcome selections only Tecencies and exclusions apply 18plus, Scammerware.org There's no one like you and there never will be People always told me From the producer of Bohemian Rhapsody. And the director of Training Day. You let your light shine. This April. You're the creators of all time. There are many legends. But there is only one. Michael in IMAX and Cinemas Wednesday, April 22. The Other Side of Midnight with Lionel. Let's go back to the phones because we're talking about the bigger picture of war and the, dare I say, the atavistic, primordial parts of it. Ron in Michigan, you're on The Other Side of Midnight with Lionel. Good morning, Lionel. Real quickly, the movie that you were talking about, it's not a Russian World War II movie named Come See, is it? Because that's about a boy who his family is slaughtered in their village by Nazis, and he is orphaned. He's picked up by a Russian partisan group. Tell me the name of it again, please, sir. Spell it. Come See. Spell it. Come See. Oh, Come See. C-O-S. Yes. Yes. Let me see if this is it. I thought you said come see. It sounds like an Asian. This is, I believe this is it. I believe. Is this the one? This is, yes, yes. Yeah, great. This is the one where the kid, oh my God, come and see. This is not for, this movie is so powerful that you will say, stop this. Stop this. It is so effective. and Lionel I'm a Vietnam veteran dying of Agent Orange and thank you for your service sir and I'm sorry about that yeah I knew going in all right I knew Agent Orange was out there and I knew going in there I had that possibility I would just like getting shot or water or blowing a leg off what I paid that's okay thank you uh but you know President Trump said he's gonna bomb all the infrastructure we did that to Vietnam and we bombed it for years and years and years and bombed everything. Schools, huts, little dams to keep the fish in. And then what else we did to Vietnam? We used napalm. We just invented napalm in World War II, and we used it on the Japanese real heavily and some on the Nazis. But we just poured napalm on Vietnam. So as far as infrastructure and war crimes, we never paid for the war crimes that we perpetrated. You know, one of the things I find interesting, And I find that I don't want to get into the semantics of it, but I find one of the most oxymoronic notion is war crimes as opposed to one would say war is a crime. I don't want to get into that. But the idea that my favorite, the rules of war, the rules of war. I like when they say the same for UCMJ purposes as well as police. You can refuse an illegal order. Good luck. One more thing, if I may. Have you ever seen the movie Hacksaw Ridge? Yes, sir. Yes, I did. This is about the conscientious objector, correct? Seventh-day Adventist, right, who becomes a war hero by saving lots and lots of Americans. Did you ever hear the story of the man who was shot so many times that the V that the Japanese stopped because they thought he was divine? And I saw him. He was deaf, might have been blind. He kept going after pulling people, saving men. And the Japanese, they stopped shooting. They said, this man is from a he's not. he's not human. What's also, I think this is a terrible thing is how war sometimes creates and unleashes some of the most incredible bravery that has nothing to do with a flag or country, but just one man looking out for another. It is. There may be one more reason the Japanese would stop shooting him. The Japanese in world war two, So there's evidence that they perpetrated cannibalism on American soldiers because they were starving to death. So maybe they were still saving a few succulent parts for later. Ron, I'll leave it at that, my friend. I thank you for your service, and I hope you get the help and the attention that you need. You don't hear that too often, don't you? Cannibalism, the succulent parts. You don't hear that on regular shows, and for good reason. The final hour coming up with a little bit more to go with also the war that will end all wars. Wait to hear what this is coming up. TikTok, Facebook, and X. See you next time for a new episode so you never have to wonder. What the heck is going on here? Inspired by jet engine silencers, the Dyson Hushjet Purify powerfully purifies the entire room, quietly, capturing pollen, allergens, and pet dander, removing odors and harmful gases such as NO2, day and night. Usjet. Powerful, compact purification that's quiet.