Episode Twelve - Under the Rock

Ezra pushes back against those who have criticized his recent commentary on social and political issues.  

Author's Note:  I began work on these recordings about three years ago.  The tone of the previous episode, Bats and Vaccine, and this latest episode, Under the Rock, are reflective of Ezra's mood and focus at that time, or even earlier.

Transcript

Episode Twelve:  Under the Rock
[Sound of birds chirping throughout.] 

Ezra:  Got some birds chirpin’ here this mornin’. So I thought I’d try to catch a little o’ that for ya’, I hope you enjoy that.  Also, uh, there’s a, little, uh, early Sunday morning traffic, so, uh, sorry about that, I’m not in my stu --- it’s not a studio, I'm in my livin’ room, uh…um, I wanted to, um, to talk here for a minute, um, the reaction some, some folks are havin’ --- some of ‘em --- to, to what I say sometimes in these, uh, these, these, uh…sessions, I guess you could call ‘em, I don’ --- I don’t, I don’t like to call it a show, it isn't, it isn’t a show. I'm not showin’ anything, I'm just talkin’. Uh, some of the things I’ve said, apparently, have upset people, some people, uh…which is interesting, uh…some people, uh, they think that that I'm just goin’ around lookin’ to stir up trouble. Make things harder than they, they already are, and, and they call me stuff like a, a conspiracy theory nutjob, and, uh, I think that's kind of funny, you know, I, uh…oh, people come at me with data and they come at me with science and they come, they come out with, uh, they, they come, they come at me with government reports. [Chuckle] Whoa, government reports, yeah, wow, a government, government, a government distorts, it doesn't report, okay, and, uh, and I think this all kind of funny because they’re, they’re, th-these people are insisting that I face the truth, that I look at the facts, and it seems to me that they're, they’re the ones that are ignoring the facts, for whatever reason. They, they all got their agenda, they all got their, their priority --- [sound of motorcycle passing by] most of ‘em are financial…whoa…yeah, I don't know where that guy’s goin’…doesn't sound like he's going to church…ummmm…so anyway, these peop --- they come at me with the [sound of car passing] what they call the truth, what they refer to as the facts, and this is ironic to me, because behind that facade of truth tellin’ is a real determination to avoid the truth.  Or at least to avoid the possibilities. I…I look at a situation, and I ask myself, “What's happening here? Why is this happening the way it's happening? What is causing this?” And more often than not there's, there is an obvious explanation, and more often than not, the obvious explanation is not the true explanation. I, I look at a rock, I look at a rock, and I think to myself, no, that is not the whole rock. And I roll it over, and I look at what's underneath it. And, mostly, when I turn over a rock, more often than not, when I turn over a rock, what's under there is not very pleasant. There's a lot o’ crawlin’, and feedin’, and hidin’ goin’ on, underneath that rock. It ’s not obvious, to just, you know, to people passing by, not obvious to people readin’ the headlines in The New York Times, but pretty damned obvious to someone who stops, and takes time, turns over the rock, and takes a good, hard, look. Now I don't want to get too high on my horse about what I say and what I, I do. But I will admit that, you know, talkin’ to you here, like I'm talking to you this morning…is a, is a lot like takin’ a walk together in the woods and stoppin’ from time to time, and takin’ a look under the rock. And if that ain't, uh, scientific enough for you, then…too bad. Too bleepin’ bad.

Old Red Rooster, fourth verse ---

Never go into town these days
‘Cause people there, they don’t look me in the eye
No, I never go into town these days
‘Cause people there, they don’t look me in the eye
When I say hello they just look away
So why the hell should I even try