Expression comes with a Price

Ramon weatherall sr (00:01.776)

This is the Raising Carter Podcast and I am your host, Ramon Weatherall seer. The Raising Carter Podcast is a podcast dedicated to fathers with sons and men who enjoy being men. Now, if that's not for you, you in the wrong place. But first, I wanna introduce my guest or have him introduce himself, my guy, my brother.

Byron Starks, man, just introduce yourself to the Raising Carter podcast family out there.

Vernon starks (00:38.33)

Hey, how y'all doing? My name is Vernon Starks. I'm a long time friend and back court South Division Cardinal teammate of my man, Ramon Weatherall. And I'm just here to get it in, man. This is a great thing that he's doing. And I'm just happy to be a guest on this Raising karter podcast today.

Ramon weatherall sr (00:58.216)

That's what's up, man. That's what's up. And my brother, Vern, he called me, my brother V, he called me about this video that I'm about to play. And I'm gonna play the video and then I'm gonna let him, you know, give his point of view on it and we just gonna chop it up, man. Cause that's what man do, we chop it up. So let me kick to this video right here.

Ramon weatherall sr (02:53.364)

All right, that's the video. That's the video that caused the discussion. So, so my brother V, what's your, no, just what's your point on it? What's your take on it? And you know, we can just chop it up, bro.

Vernon starks (02:59.7)

Hehehehe

Vernon starks (03:15.022)

When I first heard it, I understood it based on the age situation. But when you said up to 21, that's when my eyebrows got raised because at the age of 21, one, you are officially a grown man, so you can kind of do whatever you want to do at that point, right?

Ramon weatherall sr (03:39.704)

Right, right, right.

Vernon starks (03:42.582)

But I definitely understood what you were saying as it relates to a kid from 10 to 14 or 15 or whatever. So I understood that. So the reason that I had to call you is because there's a African-American gentleman that owns and operates this behavior health group home that I currently manage out here in Phoenix, Arizona.

Um, he's a older gentleman. He's probably about 47, 48, but he was telling me that he started getting dressed when he was like 19 and he started in the corporate business at about 22. So, and this don't go for everybody because everybody can't pull the stuff off that he pulled or.

know the people that he knows or whatever. But, so I said that to say this, that in today's society, dreads, blind, tattoos, piercings, all that stuff is way more acceptable now in the corporate world versus when we were growing up, when we were in high school, et cetera. You know, like you walk in these businesses now, I mean, you got police officers, you got doctors, you got nurses, you got lawyers.

You got, everybody got dreads or tattoos or whatever. So I just wanted to add that it's age appropriate, I believe, but once you get to a certain age to make your own decisions and to make your own mind up, especially if you're out of your parents' house, you should be able to go with what kind of look, whatever look that you wanna go for. And what I have realized being on the West Coast.

And well, actually, this goes for anywhere. If you're good and you're good at what you do, no matter how you look, they're going to come for you. That's what I've learned.

Ramon weatherall sr (05:51.881)

Right, right. You right, you right, you right. And like we kind of discussed over the phone, you know, my, and the video is really based upon my seven year old son. That's why, you know, I said that, you know what I mean? Cause like I said, I got a 28 year old son and I can't tell him what to do with his hair. I mean, even though I might not like it or I might not like what he, a choice that he make, but it's his choice.

Vernon starks (06:13.794)

Mm-hmm.

Ramon weatherall sr (06:20.308)

It's his choice, but my pushback to that is that, to what you saying, and I agree, I do agree that you gotta, if you good at something.

you know, they gonna mess with you anyway. They gonna mess with you. They gonna have to mess with you anyway. Now, are all the doors gonna be open to you that they would be if you looked a certain way? No. Is a black man gonna get the same opportunity as a white man? No, you know what I mean? But I agree with you with that. But the one thing, the pushback that I got is that-

a lot of people ain't good at something. They ain't good at what they think they are. And they go out here and they do this stuff to their hair or to their body. And now they even more behind the A-ball because they don't understand what you just said that you gotta be good at what you do. They not good at it and they...

something my wife told me, she was like, sometimes people do stuff like that just to act out. You know what I mean? Cause I got one video on there, on my TikTok that was doing numbers, and it was a man, his brother worked for him, and his son wouldn't got a tattoo on his face. And the companies that his uncle owned was saying,

Vernon starks (07:43.141)

Mm-hmm.

Ramon weatherall sr (08:01.488)

the companies that his uncles, you know, service was saying, we don't want him back in here. We don't want that little boy with that tattoo on his face coming back in here. And if that's the case, then y'all fired. So that's what people need to under, you know, it's a two way street with that. It's a two way street with that. You know what I'm saying? So that's all I'm saying. What you think about that?

Vernon starks (08:29.233)

Right. Well, it's definitely a two-way street.

Also, should the person have been fired because of that? Again, that, because you are a part of someone else's business, so what people see when they first walk through the door, that's a representation of the owner and whoever is in charge or whatnot. So I...

I understand it, but what if that kid that just got that tattoo, what if he's the top seller or whatever type of business this is, what if he's the number one person that is kind of irreplaceable? Like you can't replace certain people. You can replace a person with a body, of course, but you can't replace someone that does an outstanding job. You'll go forever trying to find.

Ramon weatherall sr (09:18.576)

Right, right, right.

Vernon starks (09:31.351)

that type of purse.

Ramon weatherall sr (09:33.008)

But the problem was he wasn't. That's the problem. See, that's my point. That's my point. You gotta, you know, just like in sports, just like in sports, you know, they'll tolerate you while you getting numbers. You know, you can be a diva or you know, you can be a a-hole while you getting numbers. But once you start getting old,

Vernon starks (09:36.864)

Okay.

Vernon starks (09:40.65)

Yeah, okay, gotcha, yeah.

Ramon weatherall sr (10:01.652)

or you know, and you stop getting numbers, you stop helping them win, then they wanna ship you outta here like, oh, we don't need him no more. We don't gotta put up with his shit no more. He can go. You know what I'm saying? So that's what I want young men to understand that, you know, yeah. I'm not against you, you know, expressing yourself, but you better be able to do your thing. You better be able to do your thing. That's all, you know, that's all I, that's all.

Vernon starks (10:02.163)

I'm gonna go home.

Yeah.

Vernon starks (10:12.097)

That's true.

Vernon starks (10:18.498)

Mm-hmm.

Ramon weatherall sr (10:31.504)

My point is, is that, and I got another video cause I wanna, I got another video that I wanna show you because it...

Ramon weatherall sr (10:46.254)

It helps.

with what I'm trying to say.

Ramon weatherall sr (12:02.992)

Now, my point, my little point is, is that this young man has the kind of hair that we talking about. And.

Vernon starks (12:03.042)

Hmm.

Ramon weatherall sr (12:18.552)

A lot of people, they not gonna remember the guy you talking about, the guy that you work with. They gonna remember this little boy. This is the little boy that they gonna show on TV. So when my son or your son walks in somewhere, they gonna think about not the guy you work with, they gonna think about this little boy who's bringing a gun to school. See, that's what we have to go against. That's what-

the people who look like us, white America or the media, they don't talk about the gentleman. I didn't even know, you know what I'm saying? Until you told me about the gentleman, we don't know about him. But they got a video of this little boy on here. So that's what we have to, that's what we have to go up against, these stereotypes and things like that. So yeah, it's cool to express yourself, but.

Vernon starks (13:01.492)

Right.

Ramon weatherall sr (13:17.212)

The cat that's doing his thing don't get the shine. It's this little knucklehead who brought the damn gun to school. You know what I'm saying? You know?

Vernon starks (13:27.314)

Yeah. So I think that I think that people put themselves in situations, right? Like very bad situations, obviously, for this young kid. Right. So. And I don't think that his issue was his hair. His issue was with the damn mass shootings all across the U.S.

Ramon weatherall sr (13:44.29)

Mm-hmm.

Vernon starks (13:57.558)

You bring a gun to school, like that's the issue. Now, did they just single him out because of his hair? I highly doubt that, right? But then again, I don't know, you know?

Ramon weatherall sr (14:02.693)

Right.

Ramon weatherall sr (14:11.376)

But I'm talking about like the people from the outside, the people from the outside, the outside looking in, all they gonna see is if my son, and you know what I'm saying? They gonna remember that, that's what I mean. They gonna remember his hair. I know, we know, no, it wasn't his hair. He was probably trying to go to school and he might've had beef with somebody or just trying to show off to his friends or whatever his issue was.

Vernon starks (14:15.106)

The outside looking in.

Ramon weatherall sr (14:39.216)

but the people from the outside, the white people that never see a black person except when they might go to work, they gonna be like, oh, they gonna think we all like that. Or all the boys with dreads are like that. That's my thing that you gotta know when we express, you know what I'm saying? I mean, I had a tattoo on, I got a tattoo on my arm and-

Vernon starks (14:53.399)

What?

Vernon starks (14:58.902)

Mm hmm. Yeah.

Ramon weatherall sr (15:10.472)

Some white dude asked me, he's like, oh, he asked me was I in the gang or something, something crazy like that just cause he seen a tattoo on my, you know, because that's what they think. That's what people, you know, that's what people think who don't see, you know, black people all the time or whatever, so, and you gonna run into that. So that's all, that's what I mean.

Vernon starks (15:32.63)

Right. Yeah. I agree. I agree with that, because people that don't look like us, that's the first thing that they see is, oh, here's another little thug, black kid, with dreads or braids or whatever. However, however, those are the same parents whose kids got tattoos and want to get cornrows and want to get...

Ramon weatherall sr (15:45.928)

Thanks for watching!

Ramon weatherall sr (15:49.796)

Right.

Vernon starks (16:00.618)

because they see all these rappers and all that type of stuff. So, yeah, it's a eye-opening situation, especially when you just trying to express yourself, like you said earlier, and just trying to be a kid, then you got to get looked at some type of way because of the choices that you choose. Yeah, it's unfortunate, for sure.

Ramon weatherall sr (16:15.696)

Alright.

Right, that's what I mean.

Ramon weatherall sr (16:24.528)

There, yeah, that's all I mean. That's all I'm saying. I mean, you know, I ain't some, you know, like they say, the mad rapper or the old dude who don't want, you know, young kids, you know, youngsters to shine. I ain't like that. You know, I just want them to be aware of what's going on, you know, just like you said, make the right choices, make the right choices.

Ramon weatherall sr (16:55.929)

He wouldn't have been in that situation if he wouldn't have bought a gun to school. You know what I'm saying?

Vernon starks (17:00.558)

Absolutely. So now, so now people ain't got nothing to look at because you not in the spotlight.

Ramon weatherall sr (17:05.164)

Yeah, right. You know what I mean? And even if they do try to do some shady shit, you straight, you don't got no weapon, you not on that, you just going to school. But when you make bad decisions and you fit these stereotypes, this what happen to you. You just about to get off probation and now you finna go to jail for a minute. You going to jail for a minute, bruh.

Lil' bruh, you finna go to jail for a minute and then, you know, talk about can you call your mama? Ain't nothing she can do for you. Ain't nothing she can do for you, bruh. Real, you know what I'm saying?

Vernon starks (17:41.741)

Nothing.

Vernon starks (17:45.246)

Nothing. So let me ask you this. So me being out here on the West Coast approaching year seven, I see more of that than not. And when I say more of that, I mean like kids that don't look like me, they sag in their pants. They got the Louis Belts. They got the dreads.

the red tips on they dreads and cornrows and X, Y, and Z. I'm not sure if that's more of a where you live type of issue or thing or not. Because when I was still back home in Milwaukee, I didn't see it as much as I do while I'm out here. Out here, man, these little Caucasian and Asian kids, they doing, and they look just like us as it relates to.

how we dress and how we wear our hair in X, Y, and Z. So do you think that it's more of a way you, like a demographic type of thing, or is it just the kid himself or herself?

Ramon weatherall sr (18:59.224)

I think you're right. I think it is a demographic type of thing. I think it is because out there, I know for a fact it ain't as many black people in Arizona as there is in Milwaukee. So you probably won't be able to get away with that here because the black kids here, they gonna probably check you. Like what you want, you know what I mean?

Vernon starks (19:14.412)

Oh no no.

Ramon weatherall sr (19:25.016)

They gonna make fun at you, make fun of you. They gonna get at you like, oh, you trying to be like us, you know? So we not out there like that. So they gonna be, you know, they gonna imitate us. But man, check this story out though. Check this story out. I work with this white dude, right? I don't care, he can hear it. I don't give a shit. But he was telling me that his daughter and his son go to this school.

Vernon starks (19:38.167)

of the

Ramon weatherall sr (19:53.252)

Like maybe like in this, they live in like this little ritzy area, you know, I guess in the...

Vernon starks (19:59.138)

Thank you.

Ramon weatherall sr (20:03.1)

The daughter said that another little girl approached her and was like, you and your brother are the niggas of this school. They white!

Vernon starks (20:08.206)

this board here.

Vernon starks (20:14.914)

Hahaha

Ramon weatherall sr (20:15.676)

They white, these white people. She said, you and your brother are the niggas of this school. She went home and told her father, he tried, you know, he went back to school, raised in hell, but my point is this. If there ain't no niggas around, they gonna make them some niggas. White folks gonna make them some niggas. Say, y'all, okay, y'all, we think y'all ain't got no money. We think y'all kind of beneath us. So y'all gonna be the niggas. You know what I mean? Y'all, y'all the niggas. So.

That's what I see. That's what might be happening out there. That you know what I'm saying? That's what might be happening out there. Oh, okay. There ain't no, oh, there ain't no real niggas around. Okay. Y'all, we gonna make y'all the niggas. Y'all the niggas. Yep. That's what, so I was like, man, dude, I could believe he told me that, but he told me that.

Vernon starks (21:08.098)

So did they label them that because it's not a lot of white people there or because they, could they dress the part or try to dress the part or look the part?

Ramon weatherall sr (21:14.94)

They like the-

Ramon weatherall sr (21:19.744)

I think they just labeled them that because of the way they, I guess maybe the way they looked, or maybe the way they thought their father looked, or they might've thought, well, you guys, your parents don't do what we do or what, just people judge people. So they just was like, you guys don't really

You know, we know you just barely out here. You know, you kind of living above your means. So yeah, we're gonna, yeah. And they didn't, those kids didn't hear that from nothing but their parents. They parents, they overheard their parents saying that. Like, oh yeah, those, they heard, that child overheard her parents talking about those other people and calling them that. So that's, you know what I mean? So.

Yeah, a lot of times that's what happens. There ain't no real niggas around. Okay, well, y'all, somebody gotta be the less fortunate. Somebody gotta be on the bottom. So yeah, y'all, we gonna call y'all the niggas. This in Wisconsin, this is in Wisconsin. This is in Wisconsin at my job. This man told me this.

Vernon starks (22:38.552)

This is in Wisconsin?

Vernon starks (22:48.302)

Where they living, like McWinley or some shit?

Ramon weatherall sr (22:51.372)

I don't know, I have no idea. I have this, and this was like a couple years ago that, you know, he told me this, but yeah. So this is what, you know, this is what, this is what goes on behind closed doors, stuff that we don't even know about. Shit that we don't even know about.

Vernon starks (22:55.57)

Oh.

Vernon starks (23:00.246)

Wow.

Vernon starks (23:11.642)

Yeah, man, but you know, this shit been happening forever. This shit was happening back when, before we even got to high school and all that. Like, for instance, we was the damn, kind of the minority at South Division. It wasn't a lot of us, it was more Hispanics and Asians and that type of shit, you know what I'm saying? So I'm sure that they look at us the same way as what you.

Ramon weatherall sr (23:18.755)

Right.

Ramon weatherall sr (23:22.5)

Yeah.

Ramon weatherall sr (23:32.464)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Ramon weatherall sr (23:39.512)

Right. Yeah. Oh yeah, for sure, man. I remember, yeah, I remember getting, you know what I mean? Almost getting, man, half in the, after school, you gotta get up out of there. You had to, we had to get up out of, we had to get, yeah, we had to get up out of that. Wasn't our neighborhood. They made that clear. And you weren't gonna be, you know, walking around, you know, trying to claim folks or nothing like that. Nah, bruh. You wasn't, yeah, they,

Vernon starks (23:40.13)

The example that you just gave.

Vernon starks (23:52.286)

Man, right, right away.

Vernon starks (24:01.506)

Right.

Ramon weatherall sr (24:09.098)

Yeah, that wasn't happening.

Vernon starks (24:11.358)

But what I did realize is the fact that I played ball, I ain't gonna say that they gave you a pass, but they be like, oh, okay, dude, dude cool, he hoot. You know what I'm saying? That type of shit.

Ramon weatherall sr (24:21.68)

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, they did. They, you know, as long as you weren't trying to, as long as they, as long as you weren't walking around with your hat to the right and stuff like that, or, you know, they got word that you was claiming that, they'll let you pass. But you know, you still, you still, after a certain time, you still need to get up out of there. Man, man, we gonna,

Vernon starks (24:39.094)

Right, right, yeah. Right, that's right. So you ain't lying. You ain't lying.

Ramon weatherall sr (24:50.008)

man, we gonna have to do this again, brother. You know what I'm saying? I wanna do this again. I wanna do this, you know, maybe at least once a month, we get on here and chop it up, man. Cause I like that you got your own pen and you out on the West Coast, you see different things and you work with kids, man. You work with kids. So you credit, you got receipts, man. You got receipts and man, you just my brother, man. And I just proud that it's happy that you support me, man.

Vernon starks (24:52.572)

I love it, I love it.

Vernon starks (25:13.514)

Mm hmm.

Vernon starks (25:19.774)

Man, for sure, for sure.

Ramon weatherall sr (25:20.956)

Anything you wanna say to the people before we get up outta here, man.

Vernon starks (25:26.126)

Man, I just want to say, you know, whoever able to tune in to these podcasts, man, tune in to the Raven Carter podcast and, you know, get some game and listen up and voice your opinion if you have an opinion. I think a lot of times people that do podcasts, the people that are trying to listen in, they tend to think that the one that runs the podcast is trying to be the voice for everybody. And

In some podcasts, you get cats that are so overly talkative and talk too damn much and wanna over talk everybody. In those instances, I can say yes, but I've heard several of yours and you just, you open, you honest, you free for constructive criticism. You wanna hear the good, the bad, the ugly and all that shit. So if I could say anything, tune in more, you know, to my brother.

Ramon weatherall sr (26:18.903)

Where for so?

Vernon starks (26:25.458)

And, you know, he's doing a great thing. He got his son on. His son is intellectual. He's smart as ever. I'd be like, damn, this little nigga is smart as a fuck. Like, damn, like for real. Like, man, like I wish I was as knowledgeable as he was at his age. That's crazy. You know what I'm saying? So, good shit fam. Man, I love what you're doing. I'm supporting the camera guy movement.

Ramon weatherall sr (26:34.408)

Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe

Ramon weatherall sr (26:45.104)

Appreciate it.

Vernon starks (26:54.078)

everything that you're doing as a brother, as a ex teammate, everything, man. I'm here for it.

Ramon weatherall sr (27:02.7)

Man, I appreciate it, brother. And we gonna do it again, man. We gonna at least try to do it at least once a month. I know you busy, so we gonna at least try to do at least once a month. So, man, that is this episode of the Raising Carter podcast. Star my brother, V Starks. We outta here, peace. Peace, brother.

Vernon starks (27:19.182)

Appreciate it. Prince Chase of love, man.