The A&G Replay Tuesday Hour Two

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand - Episode: The A&G Replay Tuesday Hour Two Release Date: December 24, 2024
Host: iHeartPodcasts - The Armstrong & Getty Show

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1. The "Bear vs. Man" Meme Debate

Timestamp: [01:00] – [10:09]

In this episode, Jack Armstrong initiates a discussion on a trending meme questioning whether women would prefer encountering an unknown man or a bear while hiking alone. The conversation quickly evolves into a broader critique of societal attitudes toward men and the concept of toxic masculinity.

Jack Armstrong presents the meme's premise:

"If you're a woman hiking alone in the woods, would you rather encounter an unknown man or an unknown bear?" ([01:21]).

Joe Getty expresses concern over the potential negative implications of the meme:

"My concern is that this might erode bear awareness, but that's just me." ([03:19]).

Katie, a recurring guest, strongly criticizes the meme, labeling it as "the dumbest thing that's hit the Internet in a while":

"I don't know why you would want to encounter a bear. I don't." ([02:22]).

The trio debates the underlying message, with Armstrong highlighting the troubling notion that men are often perceived as inherently dangerous:

"I find troubling that you just. You like this idea that men are so awful and dangerous that I'd rather be eaten by a bear." ([02:37]).

Joe Getty further elaborates on the societal impact, suggesting that such narratives contribute to self-hatred among men:

"Another aspect of this that bothers me is that... giving the message, sending the message to young men that men are dangerous, violent, misogynist beasts." ([06:04]).

Katie counters by emphasizing women's resilience and situational awareness:

"If I'm out, I'm situationally aware and all of those things." ([07:34]).

The segment concludes with a satirical take on modern identity politics, questioning the legitimacy of assumptions made about individuals' identities in such hypothetical scenarios.

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2. Taylor Swift: The Ultimate Capitalist Artist

Timestamp: [12:09] – [18:18]

Transitioning from societal memes, Armstrong and Getty delve into the business strategies of pop icon Taylor Swift, praising her as a "voracious capitalist." They examine how Swift maximizes revenue through innovative merchandising and exclusive releases.

Joe Getty highlights Swift's merchandise-driven ticket sales approach:

"One tour. Your place in line to buy tickets was determined by how much merchandise you bought." ([12:12]).

Jack Armstrong draws parallels to similar revenue strategies:

"They also made the parking lot like my niece did, making lots of money off of that parking lot tickets..." ([13:41]).

The discussion touches on the effectiveness of physical media in an increasingly digital age:

"Her new album is called Midnights. She has put out six different funky like colored vinyl albums... some deluxe editions sold through our website have trinkets like magnets, photo cards and engraved bookmarks." ([15:04]).

Armstrong celebrates Swift's inclusion in the billionaire entertainers list, noting her unique position in wealth accumulation primarily through music:

"She's the only one on there that's made the money primarily off her music." ([16:52]).

Joe Getty underscores the harsh reality for most streaming artists:

"In the world of streaming artists make nothing. You got to sell tickets and merch." ([17:43]).

The segment concludes with speculation on Swift's potential to amass significant wealth, positioning her as a model for successful artist entrepreneurship.

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3. Generational Shifts in Texting Habits

Timestamp: [10:51] – [12:42]

Armstrong and Getty explore the evolution of texting behaviors across generations, focusing on the prevalence of swipe-to-text methods among younger demographics versus voice texting favored by older generations.

Jack Armstrong challenges assumptions about texting methods:

"I think the one hand or two hands depends on the size of your phone..." ([11:21]).

Joe Getty shares a personal anecdote about his daughter's perception of his texting habits:

"My youngest who enjoys teasing me. At one point I'm voice texting and she says oh this is so boomer." ([11:41]).

The hosts debate the practicality and social perceptions of different texting methods, with Katie adding that voice texting may be seen as outdated or "a little boomer":

"Voice texting when not in the car or through your Apple watch is a little." ([12:10]).

Jack Armstrong humorously defends his voice texting preference, despite being labeled a "boomer":

"I don't care if I'm a boomer... I do." ([12:30]).

The dialogue highlights the generational divide in communication preferences and the cultural implications of labeling certain behaviors as outdated.

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4. The Crisis in American Public Schools

Timestamp: [18:50] – [31:07]

One of the most pressing topics discussed is the deteriorating state of America's public school system. Armstrong and Getty express deep concerns about increasing administrative burdens, declining teacher morale, and ineffective educational policies.

Joe Getty cites alarming statistics:

"Between 2000, year 2000, in the year 2022, the number of students in America's schools rose by 5%. The number of teachers rose by 10%... the number of principals and assistant principals rose by 40%." ([21:55]).

Jack Armstrong criticizes the disproportionate increase in administrative staff:

"Keeping in mind that the increase in students is 5%, the increase in administrative staff is 95%." ([22:12]).

They discuss the impact of federal and state mandates, highlighting the inefficiency and bureaucratic overload faced by educators:

"There are so many forms... I was one meeting that had, like, 15 people in it about my son." ([23:15]).

The conversation shifts to the negative effects of progressive educational policies:

"Teachers are burning out on the job... student behavior and mediocre pay are taking their toll." ([26:20]).

Joe Getty emphasizes the rise in student mental health issues and lack of disciplinary measures:

"Student behavior was the top source of teachers job stress." ([27:33]).

Jack Armstrong attributes part of the problem to restorative justice practices that undermine discipline:

"It's the recipe for no discipline and a bully's paradise." ([29:21]).

They express frustration over media neglect of these critical issues, suggesting a lack of coverage stems from progressive biases within newsrooms:

"Nobody talks about it in the media." ([29:39]).

The segment underscores the urgent need for educational reforms to address administrative bloat, teacher burnout, and declining student performance.

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5. Closing Thoughts and Cultural Observations

Timestamp: [31:39] – [37:44]

In the final segment, Armstrong and Getty share lighter anecdotes and cultural observations. They touch upon daily life scenarios, such as interactions with street vendors and generational misunderstandings related to technology use.

Jack Armstrong humorously critiques stereotypes:

"Do you know why hippies wear patchouli oil? So blind people can hate them too." ([31:39]).

The hosts also reflect on the importance of standing firm in one's convictions, referencing a listener's quote inspired by Captain America and Mark Twain:

"If you alone of all the nation side one way and that way be the right way... plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth." ([32:28]).

Joe Getty draws parallels between inspirational speeches and historical manipulations, noting the complexity of moral principles:

"Moral principle. Both are true. Isn't that a head scratcher?" ([34:53]).

They conclude with encouragement to listeners to engage with their podcast content across various platforms, emphasizing accessibility and ongoing discussions.

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Conclusion

This episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand offers a comprehensive exploration of contemporary societal issues, from internet memes reflecting deep-seated gender anxieties to the critical failures plaguing America's public education system. The hosts blend humor with incisive critique, providing listeners with both entertainment and thoughtful commentary. Notable quotes and real-life anecdotes enrich the dialogue, making the episode a valuable resource for those seeking to understand and engage with current cultural and political landscapes.

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Notable Quotes:

• Katie: "I don't know why you would want to encounter a bear. I don't." ([02:22])
• Jack Armstrong: "I find troubling that you just... men are so awful and dangerous that I'd rather be eaten by a bear." ([02:37])
• Joe Getty: "Another aspect of this that bothers me is that... sending the message to young men that men are dangerous, violent, misogynist beasts." ([06:04])
• Joe Getty: "In the world of streaming artists make nothing. You got to sell tickets and merch." ([17:43])
• Joe Getty: "Teachers are burning out on the job... student behavior and mediocre pay are taking their toll." ([26:20])
• Jack Armstrong: "It's the recipe for no discipline and a bully's paradise." ([29:21])

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Note: This summary excludes all advertisement segments and non-content sections to focus solely on the substantive discussions within the episode.

Transcript

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[Jack Armstrong]

So Katie, have you or any of your female friends been engaging in this man or bear meme that we're like a month behind on? Yes or no?

[Joe Getty]

Big eye roll. Huge eye roll.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, I'll set it up here and then you can, you can get into it.

[Joe Getty]

Eye roll followed by the head shake.

[Katie]

Of disgust because this is the dumbest thing that's hit the Internet in a while. But go ahead Jack.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, we're way behind. I apologize if you're like that's. That. That's so yesterday's news. Because from what I understand, this has been the hot topic for quite a few weeks. But we're old and slow, so it's a very simple question. If you're a woman hiking alone in the woods, would you rather encounter an unknown man or an unknown bear? Would you rather encounter a strange dude you don't know or a bear? And depending on which social media venue you're on, but it ranges from well over majority on all of them, 2/3 to 85% of the women say absolutely bare. Absolutely bare. I'd rather run into a bear than a dude out in the woods alone. First of all, what have you or your friends thought? And then I'll get into some of the higher level sociology commentary around it.

[Katie]

I have not brought this up to my circle of friends because the ones that would know about it are going to be the ones that would say bear. This is the dumbest thing on the planet. I don't know why you would want to encounter a bear. I don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Have you not heard of male toxicity?

[Katie]

Oh, give me a break. Really? You would rather encounter a wild bear while you're out on a hike than passing some dude you don't know? That's. That's where we are.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is where we are. And I think we actually are there. Obviously there would be a certain amount of jerking with people or pollsters. It's not really a poll, just a question posted on Tick Tock or whatever. Yeah, but people kind of get a kick out of saying bear. But the fact that people get a kick out of saying bear. I find troubling that you just. You like this idea that men are so awful and dangerous that I'd rather be eaten by a bear. Like a lot of the most common sort of comment is, if a bear eats me, at least it's going to be quick and easy. A man. All the horrible things a man might do to me, much worse than being eaten by a bear, is kind of the common theme among the 80% of women who feel that way.

[Joe Getty]

My concern is that this might erode bear awareness, but that's just me.

[Katie]

Just let all of the women who said bear encounter a bear. It'll be great.

[Joe Getty]

I have had a couple reactions in.

[Jack Armstrong]

The last few years, though, where women recoiled in horror from the most casual like approach or conversation that didn't used to happen.

[Joe Getty]

I feel like.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know what's being taught to.

[Joe Getty]

Young women about how afraid you should.

[Jack Armstrong]

Be of men and public or what.

[Joe Getty]

But you look like a serial killer. That's most of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

But I've always looked like a serial killer and I didn't always get this reaction.

[Katie]

Yeah, Joe stole part one of my answer. Part two is, this is the Internet. The Internet is doing this. The TikTok algorithms, the Instagram algorithms. Anytime you go on this. This bear man thing has been all over the place and it is, it's the. This is the dumbest comparison I'm. My blood pressure is going up. If you can't tell the fact that this is like the main. It was trending on every social media outlet you can imagine. And the top videos that you clicked on were all women talking about how they would much rather encounter a bear and then firing off all the lists of reasons why they wouldn't want to encounter a man, which is stupid. And then you get all the kids that echo that. I think.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah. Just the whole framework where you're. You're answering one question with an answer that's meant to express who you are and what you're concerned about and how you believe in toxic masculinity and all. I just. If you want to say something, say something. Yeah, I don't know, I just. This annoys me. It's, it's another example of if you're going to be accepted as an, as a progressive, you've got to hate the United States. You've got to be self hating, especially if you're white people. That's like your, that's your bona fide. Can you use that in singular? I don't know. That's how you prove that you're worthy of respect, self hatred. And look, I get it as a father of a couple of daughters that, you know, there's, there's some risk in encountering a man in the wild, but it's just a silly question. A bear's a freaking wild beast. This seems like a good opportunity for me to express my disapproval of toxic masculinity. That's all this is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of course, you got to flip it around. For men hiking, do you want to encounter a cougar or a cougar? Oh, God, your choice of a cougar or a cougar. I'd go with the cougar over the cougar any day. I'll tell you that. As dumb as this is, this texture, I've literally been chased and nearly attacked by a man in the woods. They let her, later caught him and arrested him, but I'd still rather run into a man than a bear.

[Katie]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Your experience, tiger?

[Katie]

I used to hike every single day and I have passed hundreds, if not thousands of random men in the woods. And I can tell you, if that number had been hundreds of thousands of bears, I probably wouldn't be here talking to you right now.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, got a lot of texts on this. For decades, the left is feminized men that strong men are toxic, et cetera, et cetera. Now women complain there are no strong men available to hook up with. We got a lot of that theme. Hey, there's no wonder nobody's having kids. I was thinking about somebody we used to work with around here talking about why he was still single and didn't date much. Just the whole women he encountered. Look at men like they're all rapists. Like that's, that's your starting point and you have to convince otherwise.

[Joe Getty]

Another aspect of this that bothers me is that whether you're a parent or a teacher or even a cop, in some situations, people tend to, they react to, they, they live up to your expectations of them. And if we are constantly giving the message, sending the message to young men that men are dangerous, violent, misogynist beasts, then the, the young man has the option of either A, being that or B, being some sort of weird reaction to that extra effeminate, passive, you know, making sure they're not a man.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

You know, I just. It's unhealthy, this meme.

[Jack Armstrong]

Go ahead, Katie.

[Katie]

I'm just thinking from, from a woman's standpoint too. It also says something about our growing women's security because I'm, I'm secure enough in myself. Like if I'm out, I'm situationally aware and all of those things. So I think that if I were to encounter the bad man on the trail, I, I would be able to know at least how to start to protect myself and handle it. We just have a bunch of really weak, scared women right now, too.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, we just, we. It's the same thing that has been going on for decades now around child abduction. We've got to acting like every child gets abducted, every woman gets raped. These are extraordinary instances. That's why they make the news the way they do. They're not common.

[Joe Getty]

Right. What's the exceptionality bias or rarity bias? The point is, you're probably familiar with this, but it's worth keeping in mind that things make the news because they're rare, and then everybody sees them and becomes convinced they're common.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

It's the very rarest of things that you hear about the most, because man goes to work without incident, hugs wife who he loves afterward. It's not going to make the news. Yeah. And that happens millions and millions of times every single day.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you're lost in the woods and you encountered a man 99% of the time, maybe more, the guy's gonna say, yeah, you go that way and that'll be the end of it, Right? Yep.

[Joe Getty]

Encounter a bear, you're gonna wet your pants. It's scary.

[Katie]

I had a guy get a coyote away from me one time on a hike. Didn't know him for anything.

[Jack Armstrong]

There you go.

[Katie]

Help me out.

[Jack Armstrong]

It didn't. This meme didn't start with a woman in the woods. It started with, would you rather have your child wandering in the woods and come across a bear or a man? Well, in that case, definitely a man. I mean, are you kidding me?

[Joe Getty]

That's just idiotic. Yeah, but again, that is the, the knee jerk need of the progressive is to hate men. Hate white people, hate the United States, whatever. Self hatred. I've got another great example of that coming up.

[Jack Armstrong]

One more text on this. And this is the good closing text. Bear a man on a hiking trail. How did you know it was a man? If you haven't confirmed his self identities, his pronouns, etc, the idea that you just assumed it was a man, bad on you boy.

[Katie]

What if it's a man that identifies as a bear?

[Jack Armstrong]

Then you're.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, wait a minute.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, guy in a bear suit. I don't even know what you do.

[Joe Getty]

What do you say? Bear? Or would you say what do bears do?

[Jack Armstrong]

Mess in the woods.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, a person who S's in the woods like a birthing person or. You know what I'm saying. Come up with some elaborate woke term.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

Jackasses.

[Jack Armstrong]

A woods essing beast.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. Ignore them completely and DEI programs where they exist immediately. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty the Armstrong.

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[Unknown]

Anyone that's using swipe to text, most likely millennial, possibly Gen Z. Typing fast and accurately with two thumbs. Again, probably mid 20s, mid 30s even. You'll kind of stay at this thumb tapping age until probably about, I'd say 50s. Then you're going to start adding in your your index finger unnecessarily. Each 65 plus is where you start doing the one finger tap holding with your left hand or your right hand. You're getting up there when you're doing that.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just don't think that's true. I think, I think the one hand or two hands depends on the size of your phone because I've had the smaller phone where I can reach everything with my thumb and then I've had the bigger phone where I got to use both thumbs. Yeah, I see young people. I've sat next to lots of young people on planes or whatever and they're using both thumbs.

[Joe Getty]

Go.

[Jack Armstrong]

They go. They can go faster than me. Definitely.

[Joe Getty]

My youngest who enjoys teasing me. At one point I'm voice texting and she says oh this is so boomer.

[Jack Armstrong]

Really?

[Joe Getty]

I'm like, honey, it's saving me time. Really.

[Jack Armstrong]

So young people don't voice text. I almost exclusively voice text.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. I don't. I've not had that substantiated by like a committee of youthful people.

[Jack Armstrong]

But she's, you know, she probably knows. But yeah, that's interesting to me that they don't voice text. They see it as faster to use your thumbs, Katie.

[Joe Getty]

Or cooler.

[Katie]

Voice texting when not in the car or through your Apple watch is a little.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's boomer. Huh?

[Katie]

It's a little.

[Joe Getty]

Little Boomer if you're among people. Is that what you mean? Or.

[Katie]

Yeah, I mean, if you're standing in a group of people and you pull out your phone and you start firing off a text, you know, text to voice.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Oh, you.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't care if I'm a boomer.

[Joe Getty]

All right?

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not actually. I'm a Gen Z, but as a Gen X. Gen X. But as a friend. I'm not Gen Z, a Gen X, but as a friend said to me, but you present Boomer. And I do.

[Joe Getty]

Fair enough. Okay, Boomer. Okay, Boomer. Anyway, different consumer issue. I found this so interest. Taylor Swift is among. She is, yes. Skinny blond headed, dating a football guy. Yes, Taylor Swift. She is a talented songstress, no doubt. Whether you like her music or not, there's no denying that people really dig her tunes. But she is also an absolutely savage and effective capitalist in ways that I think are underappreciated because everybody's busy swooning over her legs in her concerts. I've got a friend who's in the concert business. I can't get too specific, but he's pointed out to me that she is a voracious capitalist. She. One tour. Your place in line to buy tickets was determined by how much merchandise you bought. You spend a hundred bucks on merch, you're like fourth in line. You spend 300 bucks on merch, step right up, buy your concert ticket.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, then that whole selling tickets to just being the parking lot like my niece did, making lots of money off of that parking lot tickets or opening the. The T shirt shops and everything like they did in San Francisco three days before the concert and having lines around the block.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Yeah. And a lot of the talk of, hey, man, they're selling out in the 60s and 70s was idiotic. As Pete Townsend of the who once put it. And I thought this was pretty persuasive. He said, no, if I let Chevy use my song for their trucks for Six months that allows me to finance all these projects I want to do that are not going to make money, but I really enjoy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, that's a perfect. That's if you need to make that reason. I don't care if your reason is I want to buy a yacht. Who freaking cares? It's my song. The way Warbler can do whatever she wants with her songs.

[Joe Getty]

Back to the Wayfish Warbler herself, so. Oh, that's right. The whole selling out thing. She has so much money and employs so many people. It's just interesting to see that she is obviously as motivated as the guy who, you know, came up as Steve Jobs was with Apple to build a giant conglomerate because she doesn't need the money. I mean it's not even close. But for instance, she. Her new album.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, that is true, she does not.

[Joe Getty]

Need the money, but so why would she. For instance, her new album is called Midnights. She has put out six different funky like colored vinyl albums, discs, records. She puts out these collectible vinyl editions in a bunch of weird funky colors and people are buying all of them.

[Jack Armstrong]

There are do so a physical album. Do people have record players? All these people?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, a lot of people do. I don't. How would I know?

[Jack Armstrong]

I haven't asked them Collectibles, you hang them on your wall or they actually spin them.

[Joe Getty]

That's an interesting question. But this one dude who's. And he's a dude who's a big Taylor Swift fan has spent about $1,000 in the process of buying all six of the different colored vinyls. Although streaming remains the dominant musical format, physical media has been a growing niche where the industry can cater to so called super fans who express their dedication by shelling out big bucks for collectible versions of new releases, sometimes in multiple quantities. A lot of your K pop bands are like this too. They have elaborate CD packages offering often featuring goodies like postcards and photo booklets which help the boy band repeatedly go to number one. Taylor Swift has put out special edition like CD packages, even cassettes with bonus tracks. Certain deluxe editions sold through our website have trinkets like magnets, photo cards and engraved bookmarks. And my favorite Swift site offered a limited run of autographed LPs for $50. And then she had one special edition thing which featured entries from her journal or her diary or something like that that the completest fan would have to collect.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you weren't here the day we talked about the leggy la la la and her making the billionaire list for the first time. She is so the billionaire entertainers. She just made the list this year. There are 14 billionaire entertainers. She's the only one on there including Jay Z, Rihanna, bunch of different people. She's the only one on there that's made the money primarily off her music. The other ones have makeup or Jay Z's got tequila or whatever. He's got brand, he's got some sort of boost. She's the only one that. That has done it music wise. But she's found a whole bunch of different avenues for the music avenue of it.

[Joe Getty]

Well right. Music and music adjacent like merch but. Yeah, but I understand the distinction.

[Jack Armstrong]

Music T shirts is closer to your music than you got a booze now.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, 100%. Yeah. Especially because you can't make money on the music. Really. In the world of streaming artists make nothing. You got to sell tickets and merch. As I've heard said many times, you want to support an artist, buy merch.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the blonde bellower is only 34. She's got a long.

[Joe Getty]

Apparently. Apparently your trove of these phrases is unending.

[Jack Armstrong]

She's got a long way to go. She could end up with many, many billions of dollars.

[Joe Getty]

I can't go on with this discussion.

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[Joe Getty]

It's funny, I've wanted to bring this up for a while. The real crisis in America's government school. And I don't want to be the cliched everything is going to hell all the time person like me.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what I am. Because that's my brand.

[Joe Getty]

Because we already have one of them. No, but I was thinking about it and it goes back to our discussion of the natural state of things is chaos and poverty and violence. And if you have a civilization, the challenge of preserving that civilization never ends. And everything isn't necessarily going to hell, but everything will go to hell if you don't stop it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Going to hell needs to be maintained.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. In short. So anyway, I think one of the things. And another principle before we get into specifics, you've quoted George Will as saying, one of the essential elements of being a conservative is you have to deal.

[Jack Armstrong]

With reality, recognize what is right.

[Joe Getty]

You can't be a utopian unicorn riding wisher of fond wishes and call yourself a conservative. It just, it doesn't fit. So anyway, I think we have an enormous crisis with America's government schools right now. I don't think there's any doubt of that. I think it would be a four alarm panic going on in America right now if it were not for two things. Number one, a lot of parents think schools are still what they went to, what they grew up with, and the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Distraction of the Golden Bachelor.

[Joe Getty]

And the Golden Bachelor. And there are three things, now that I think about it. And the other one is that there are some schools. It's actually four things, including the golden Bachelor. There are some schools that are still doing a good job. They're fighting hard, they're in conservative areas. The teachers and administrators are not fully woke. So people think our schools seem to be fine. And maybe they are. But the fourth thing obviously is that the dominant media do not talk about this much at all because it's extremely uncomfortable for them because they are progressive, they are woke, they are pro union.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the heavyweights have their kids in private school, so they wouldn't know anyway.

[Joe Getty]

That's a good point. That is a good point. And the middleweights too. Anyway, so a couple of exhibits in the prosecution of America's government schools. One that you've probably heard similar fare before, but this is a bit of an update. Between 2000, year 2000, in the year 2022, the number of students in America's schools rose by 5%. 5%. The number of teachers rose by 10%, which is interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

The number of principals and assistant principals rose by 40%. Whoa. What?

[Jack Armstrong]

Who had their kid in school in the year 2000? Thought, you know, this is going well. It'd be a lot better though if we had like eight more principals.

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, who the hell fought that?

[Joe Getty]

Right? And then again, keeping in mind that the increase in students is 5%, the increase in administrative staff is 95%.

[Jack Armstrong]

There you go. Same as with universities.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Now some, we've talked about this in the past and some folks have said, yeah, the government mandates on schools is so cumbersome. Now the federal and state mandates, you have to have compliance staff.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh my God.

[Joe Getty]

That spend their whole days issuing reports and filling out forms that say you've conformed to all of the demands of the centralized government.

[Jack Armstrong]

There are so many forms. So I have been Through a lot of this and super nice people. I'm not complaining about any of these people, but I was one meeting that had, like, 15 people in it about my son, and. And they kept using the word rubric. Well, this. This fits the rubric, and it doesn't fit the rubric. And we've looked at the rubric. Everything. Like I said. I think I said out loud. I think I cannot hear the word rubric. Another time.

[Joe Getty]

Just. We got to.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't even know what that is. We got to stop saying the word rubric, please.

[Joe Getty]

We do nothing else here. Refrain from saying rubric.

[Jack Armstrong]

So it was a paperwork thing. It was just all kinds of different layers of paperwork.

[Joe Getty]

So you have this from Jason Riley, who's a great writer and thinker. Biden and Harris work to crush school competition. He is more opposed to charter schools than any president in recent history. And Kamala has spoken enthusiastically about how wonderful teachers unions are and that everything that tends to take money and influence away from the teachers unions is an attack on public schools. That would be bad enough were it not for the numbers involved. Again, this is fairly. Oh, you know, the National Review actually touched on the fact that the left is now trying to promote. Or, I'm sorry, to indict school choice movements as an effort, a secret plot to promote Christian nationalism. All right, that's one of the attacks.

[Jack Armstrong]

I assume you're about to get to some of the results we're getting out of the schools.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. But even without that, even if it had maintained what public schools were from the past, why would you need to increase administration by 90% and think that that was a good idea even if we had maintained the same quality? It's like, why are we spending all this money? It was working fine before, right?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And I'm looking at the clock. I think maybe we take a break and then come back with some of the results stuff. But the other thing I wanted to get to. And we have a lot of great teachers who listen to the show and communicate to us and blow the whistle on some of the more insane, progressive things that are taking the place of math and reading in our schools. The genderbred person, which I'm always hammering about, because California's of particular interest because that's where the show is based. And the perversity in California schools is just. It's heartbreaking. But anyway, Wall Street Journal with a big piece. Teachers are burning out on the job. And the subhead is, student behavior and mediocre pay are taking their toll from the Lefty media. It's always about the pay. It's always about the money, right? And there's such a lack of understanding and wisdom. Maybe it's that progressives so fill the newsrooms, that that's the only point of view. And a lot of journalists are young these days because it doesn't pay very well. But there is such a lack of wisdom. If I have a fun, rewarding, joyful job and I get the summer off, I would accept that rate of pay at X. If I have a miserable, discouraging, heartbreaking job, I'm not going to work for that low level of pay. I'm going to want a hell of a lot more to keep showing up.

[Jack Armstrong]

Very good point.

[Joe Getty]

Student behavior problems, cell phones in class, anemic pay. That's not really true. And artificial intelligence powered cheating are taking their toll on America's roughly 3.8 million teachers. On top of the bruising pandemic years, the share of teachers who say the stress and disappointments of the job are worth it has fallen 21 points in the last couple of years.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't doubt that.

[Joe Getty]

As recently as 2018, over 70% of teachers said the stress was worth it. Now it's 42. In surveys and interviews, teachers are most.

[Jack Armstrong]

Any place you work. As they layered in more administration to wherever you work. Did that make things more enjoyable or less enjoyable where you work well and.

[Joe Getty]

We'Re going to get to the. You know, it's more than frustration, it's it's being physically at risk. In surveys and interviews, teachers are most often pointing to a startling rise in students mental health challenges and misbehavior as the biggest drivers of burnout. In the RAND Corporation survey, student behavior was the top source of teachers job stress.

[Jack Armstrong]

A lot of that I guarantee you is that whole restorative justice thing where they have no, no ability to deal with it.

[Joe Getty]

That's the next sentence. You're absolutely right to quote a high school math teacher who says he saw student behavior deteriorate seriously. Yet his school grew more lenient in administrating cons administering consequences.

[Jack Armstrong]

How is the country not aware of what a failure this restorative justice thing is?

[Joe Getty]

I know because nobody talks about it in the media. And this, this poor son of a gun. So he's dealing with all this frustration and then his district, Kansas City Public schools shout out Kansas City. The great cities were a privilege to be on. They rolled out a new policy last year. Teachers could not give students a zero for an assignment even if they didn't Turn it in and didn't make any effort to.

[Jack Armstrong]

It is to laugh.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, that is so funny. It is funny. It is hilarious.

[Jack Armstrong]

So say that again. You can't get a zero even if.

[Joe Getty]

Even if you. You say, not only did I not do the assignment, Mr. Gerald, you should shove it up your arms. He cannot give you a zero for that assignment. You've got to get at least like, a C. One of the things I got when I got into teaching, my one thing was about learning and love of learning. He says in the end it was less about the learning and more about babysitting. He left teaching this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And they go into a great deal of detail with many, many examples of classroom stress and violence, lack of consequences for bad behavior, restorative justice.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, look it up. Well, don't look it up because their description of it won't be accurate as to what actually happens. It is. It is the recipe for no discipline and a bully's paradise.

[Joe Getty]

It is, it is. It is tragic for the children and the teachers. And it's part of. Oh, yeah, absolutely true. And it's 100% part of. Of the neo Marxist. We're going to break the system. We're going to call everything racist until we control it. And they do control the schools to a large extent now. And anybody who stands in our way will call them a racist until we have imposed our philosophy on whatever institution you're talking about. From public schools to corporations to the United States government to the military, for.

[Jack Armstrong]

Instance, by the way, in Kansas City, we're on fm so people can really enjoy our pipes.

[Joe Getty]

I have nothing to add to that. You know, and I don't know. I'm looking at the clock. I came across another account. A number of school districts in, oh, it was Virginia and one other state in which far fewer than half of the children were at the minimum level in English, and it was less than a third in district after district were not at the minimum level for math. We sometimes talk about proficiency. This was. This was the. Well, the minimum. And the vast majority of kids are nowhere near it. And if you say, I gotta get my kid out of this school, the forces of the left from Joe Biden, Kamala Harris on down will tell you you are a racist for some reason. B, you're attacking public schools, trying to take resources away. You're a bad person and a bad parent.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's crazier that this isn't a bigger issue.

[Joe Getty]

It is. It absolutely is.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Apply we got this text out of nowhere. Do you know why hippies wear patchouli oil? So blind people can hate them too.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, that's. That's beautiful. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day. One of our beloved listeners sent this to us next to a big picture of Captain America. And. And it was Captain America saying this. And I understand this is a speech he gives to buck up Spider man at one point during the movies and I thought boy, this is really eloquent for one of your. One of your comic book movies. Did the scriptwriter write write this? And I did a little digging and no, it's actually a very very close paraphrase of something Mark Twain said.

[Jack Armstrong]

Interesting.

[Joe Getty]

But I liked it so much I posted it up in the studio so I could glance at it now and again. I will give you the Twain version which only is only subtly different as.

[Jack Armstrong]

Opposed to Captain America. Okay, does lend it a little more gravitas.

[Joe Getty]

Well, unless you're fighting off a mob, then I'd rather have the captain on my side than than the scribe.

[Jack Armstrong]

Honestly love Captain America kicks ass.

[Joe Getty]

Twain incredibly eloquent. Captain America definitely stronger on the whoop ass front.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you're fighting the Winter Soldier, you want Captain America, not Mark Twain.

[Joe Getty]

I agree completely. Anyway, here's what Twain said. It's a little long, but I love it so much. Maybe we can work in a little email later on. Let men label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation side one way and that way be the right way. By your convictions of the right, you've done your duty by yourself and by your country. Hold up your head, for you have nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn't matter what the press says. It doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. It doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. Republics are founded on one principle above all else. The requirement that we stand up for what we believe in, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth and tell the whole world. No, you move Mark effing Twain. A few people understand that's his middle name.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's really good stuff. If it's the right cause or thing. Interestingly enough, and maybe I'll explain later why this happened. I was listening to a speech last night. FBI recordings of Jim Jones down in Guyana before he had all those people kill themselves. The Jim Jones cult, that whole thing. He gave a very similar speech there as he had convinced all those numb nuts that the world was out to get them and they were doing the right thing. Very similar speech.

[Joe Getty]

I had no idea you'd heard that. I. I knew in my heart of hearts you would come up with some counter argument against that thought.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not against the knew it. It's just. You just have to have. You just have to just. You know. It works when the cause is right.

[Joe Getty]

Right. But that's irrelevant. I mean as an. As an observation of society, it's 100% correct. As a principle that some people employ it wrongly is irrelevant.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're right.

[Joe Getty]

I think moral principle. Both are true. Isn't that a head scratcher?

[Jack Armstrong]

It is.

[Joe Getty]

Anyway. Mailbag drop us know what's your mailbag at Armstrong&getty.com. oh man. Honolulu with a really interesting note about the Honolulu getaway pad that those Chinese spies who'd infiltrated New York's government had. Right. But his sign off is he says are One More thing yesterday on price controls and gouging should be mandatory listening to graduate from high school.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would agree.

[Joe Getty]

Thank you for the kind words. You can grab that wherever you like to get podcasts Armstrong and Getty. One More thing. You know. Listen to it now and again.

[Jack Armstrong]

Speaking of counterintuitive, price gouging is a good thing. And that and it makes perfect economic sense. Listen to the One More Thing podcast.

[Joe Getty]

And it's the best thing that can happen for poor people. Yeah. Let's see. Wow, what a contrast, writes Joe. And Ventura, California. Notice this. On my local freeway off ramp. Winner, winner and loser. There is a young man, appears to be of immigrant stock selling bouquets of flowers to cars. Whoever wants some flowers on the way home. And there's a scumbag junkie begging.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, right. That's a. That's a good one. That's a good one. You got people there on the corner. This happens driving out to the farm when I go home sometimes you got people on the corner selling strawberries. Usually a whole family in the hot sun, set up their table, got their, you know, station wagon there selling strawberries. You got people just begging on the street.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, that's the people that are.

[Jack Armstrong]

Working their ass off, sitting there in the sun, selling the strawberries. Can't have much respect for the beggar on the street, he says.

[Joe Getty]

Wouldn't it by It'd be ironic if this was a planned social science experiment to see what kind of reactions could be elicited from the drivers. I admit I was guilty of making my opinion known. A big thumbs up to the the winner and down to the loser. Care to put your own caption on this photo? Well, thanks, Joe.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's interesting. It's also interesting that if you ask Alexa about Kamala Harris, you get a much different answer than when you ask about Donald Trump. Quick question for you. What if you happen to miss this unbelievable radio program?

[Joe Getty]

The answer is easy, friends. Just download our podcast. Armstrong and Getty on Demand. It's the podcast version of the broadcast show available anytime, any day. Every single podcast platform known to man.

[Jack Armstrong]

Download it now. Armstrong and Getty on demand.

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