Oh, hello, and welcome to Two Therapists on the Microphone. I am
doctor Harrison Davis and I'm doctor Asia Dickerson. Two Therapists on the Microphone is
a radio show about mental health relationships and social issues that personally affect you.
We broadcast live every Monday evening at seven o'clock PM on the our Black Media
Network. We are two licensed psychotherapists with decades of experience, and we want
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You can also send us direct messages so we'll get them that way too,
Absolutely, because it seems like everybody's in a really good mood, because
we haven't received any man in a while, and I'm going to take that
as a great sign. Yeah. I think it might be the summer,
like people aren't coming to therapy and stuff as much anymore. But that's okay,
you know, just know that when when the stars getting dark and cold
again, we'll still be here. I think school starts up and everybody gets
back into the routing, but the kids and everything, Oh, we're gonna
get hit up again. So yeah, I'm not too worried about that.
You know. I also realized earlier today that's not just a lot of clinical
experience we have. At this point in my life, I may have a
little more life experience than I thought I did. I think I'm getting to
that age where here younger cousins and um kids of friends talk about stuff and
I'm like, I don't do that. I already made that mistake for you.
Yeah, a number you just started giving people advice based on yours,
not professional. I don't know what that number is, but I can do
that too. So I understand you have a topic for us. I do.
I do, And so I know that this topic has been talked about
a lot on social media and of course on the news as well. And
that topic is there's a young woman by the name of Carly Russell and she
was in I say, the Birmingham area. I know that it was what
its a suburb of Birmingham called Hoover because that's where I used to live.
And this young woman was getting off of the exit, actually the exit where
my home was when I used to live over there, and she called the
police saying that she saw a toddler that was walking down the interstate. I
guess, I don't know she looked back around or what happened, but she
apparently pulled off the interstate to see about the child, trying to find the
child, and then she disappeared. So she was gone for I believe three
days, I guess and find out, but about three days, and she
returned home not too long ago, which I was really excited about. They
said she returned home alive and say on Saturday night by herself. And I'm
going to back up and say that I was really touched like reading it,
I got I got emotional because you're not having a child. I'm about to
sitting off to college, and you know, she drops around coming back from
work at nighttime. And this was right there by the exit we used to
get off of to go home, and and she's she's in my sorority.
So there were just so many things that made me feel connected to her and
the story, and it also upset me to the point where you I,
it's like another text message. You have to send them to your kids.
You think you go through all the list of things to do and don't doing
this like and oh yeah, never stop on the interstate for anyone that you
don't know. Yeah, for any reason, I too was touched by the
story, you know. And I was amazed, um pleasantly amazed by how
people were willing to help learned about the story through social media and people sharing
the posts, and you know, you see it and here's a young woman,
I believe a college graduate or she was earning her degree. And you
know, she wasn't out there, you know, popping it like it's high.
You know. She she was going to work, she got off work,
she was getting her mom a meal, and she called nine point one
and told them that they she saw a child on the side of the highway
walking a toddler. It's a term that they were using. And then she
called her family while she was still out there. And then that's where the
family said the phone went dead. And when the police showed up about three
minutes later, the door was opened. I believe the engine was still running.
Her wig was all phone was on the ground, and so it looked
very mysterious. You know. So when I thought about it, I just
thought about a thousands of young black women out there who are doing the right
thing, you know, and they're going to college and they're working, and
somehow this one got targeted by someone. And I'm still that's still my belief,
you know, she got targeted by someone. And it also made me
start thinking about when my daughter starts striving, you know, and it's so
easy for someone to see a child on the side of the road and pull
over and wonder what's going on. But it looked like it was a setup,
you know, throughout throughout the weekend when I heard the stories. Is
that the impression that you got, Yes, it was. And I know
that there are a lot of things that are done to lure lure young women
and to sex trade into a number of things. And I also know that,
you know, children have been used for a lot of things. Children
were used during the Vietnam War to get so just to come over there and
get killed. So I mean she came like a clever I think, yeah.
Yeah. And what really upset me besides what happened, was the some
of the comments that I saw on social media. People were saying things like
the math thing math and then the story's not making sense and why would you
pull over on the interstate, Uh, if you saw a child. I
mean, I can't say that I wouldn't pull over if I saw a child.
Now I'm not. I've again had enough life experience and enough clinical experience
that I may just follow behind the child with my door locked and my lights
on, and if somebody comes up to me with a gun and something,
I'm gonna roll over that person. Then that child, child's gonna get run
over. But unless you know, or if you're unless you're hyper vigilant,
it's like, be for real. Most of y'all would have pulled over.
And there were plenty of cars driving down the interstate. That's a very busy
place, and you're thinking, if I get out, you know, other
people will see. Yeah. I didn't see those comments as I was scrolling
through social media. Uh. It was mostly from people who I'm friends with,
and they were posting it and I was watching what other people were saying.
So so I need some better Facebook friends. That they were reasonable,
you know people. Everybody was concerned, and it's like you, you know,
I thought it was reasonable to think that she saw and not a talking
like a toddler and diapers is what she reported to the police, and um,
and she pulled over to see what was going on, you know.
But but it goes to show you the state we're in right now, where
anything can be suspicious. Okay, I wouldn't recommend to particularly young woman driving
alone at night to even stop, you know, call the police if you
have to. You know, I've learned from the young folks to a live
stream. That's an idea. Okay, yeah, because those babies will live
stream anything. Yeah. Yeah, So I didn't. I didn't see those
comments. Unfortunate that people were suspicious early on, and so I found myself,
you know, looking on it and let me see if there are any
updates, right, anything happened because they showed her parents. I felt bad
for her parents and everything. They were concerned. But now there appears to
be a lot of questions about okay, and I hear that, and it
still obsessed me. Why do you people have these quis I can just be
happy that the woman is home. Tell me what are some of the questions
you're seeing here? So I'm happy to When I saw a little headline on
my phone, I didn't even look through it, like, okay, great,
I'm glad she's home. I'll figure it out later, you know,
when I get off work and everything. And so she just walked home and
the family called the police and she was taken to a local hospital for an
evaluation. And so, but there are still no details about any of that.
And you know, some folks, I don't know who they are,
they were pointing that little details, you know, why I was hurt,
because everybody's a detective, right, yeah, stood out that I can remember.
There were a lot of questions that I just thought were ridiculous. One
of them was, you know, okay, if somebody snatched or whatever,
why was her apple watching her hair purse? Because that would be an easy
way to locate someone's figure out the location. And so too some people they
got the impression that was staged. But there are a number of reasons why
people wouldn't wear right. I can tell you plenty of times my Apple Watch
ends up in my purse. I got my nails done, she worked out
a spot. She could have been doing something that involved a lot of hand
stuff. And with me working in a clinic, depending on what all your
hands are going to be doing, you're going to remove your Apple Watch when
you're cleaning certain things. Even if it's waterproof, you don't want chemicals on
it. If it's dead. Sometimes to just take it if you forgot to
charge it the night before, is dead, you just put it in your
purse, nap. But why my purse? Plenty of times. Yeah,
but people just looking for anything, right, just look at reason suspicious.
I'm exactly home. I am curious about what happened, but they haven't released
any details. And her boyfriend did a Instagram video or something. Did you
see that one? No, I didn't tell me about that one Sunday or
so um. Yeah, that he's happy that she's home and that she fought
for her life. I wish I could have pulled it up. She fought
for her life from the a kidnapper man. They're happy that she's home and
she's at the hospital. So it was brief. He thanked everybody, but
his details were very important, and I thought, oh great, okay,
oh my god, somebody did try to kidnapper, you know, But there
were there were no other details associated with the mom released something on Facebook.
Her mom, you know, just happy that she's home. But we haven't
gotten anything else from the police officers. Well, the family did say that
they would give more details in the near future. You know, just as
most people say, just respect our privacy at this time. And it's more
than likely said. And so here's where I put my clinical hat back on.
Stay out of their business, to stay out of her face. And
when she gets ready to tell you all what happened, she will tell you.
You don't know what this woman has gone through. If she was kidnapped,
you might not hear about it for some weeks. She's got to get
it, she's got to make a statement, she'll need some therapy, she's
got to go to a doctor. If she wasn't kidnapped. I'm still happy
she's home. That means there is another issue that needs to be addressed.
And I hope that whatever that is, it's addressed as well. So I'm
with you, I'm with him, glad she's home. But you you point
to another issue that I've noticed, you know, like over the last two
years or so, I've been a little bit more active on social media.
I created that Instagram account. It did I have TikTok? You know,
just the moment from my daughter feels like I didn't know even had TikTok.
Yeah, it's it's secret. I don't want nobody to know trying to follow
you and I get some crazy stuff out there, but I haven't noticed how
cynical some people are, particularly on Twitter, and I think some people refer
to as black Twitter, you know, when things happen, you know,
and sometimes we're all in the uproar and we're all in the same mental space
with the same thoughts. You know, just go back to George Floyd murder
and were I believe we're all on the same page. But now it's just
there there are some outliers who are not on the same page, and they
have different views about things, and it seems as though they're willing to attach
black folks who a year to be targeted for things. And you know,
the initial thought was, oh my gosh, she was kidding, now,
you know, and you know, young black woman doing her thing, working
with the college. But there there's an element out there who appeared to be
black, I don't know, a black and white, you know, who
immediately started attacking her and the situation with some awful accusations and that that has
that that they've rapped up those thoughts. I think that's unfortunate. Um,
that we now are in a society where people are so cynical. I don't
know society made them this way. I have a little bit more faith in
people, and it's difficult for me to believe that she would stage this whole
thing. Um. But but there are people who thought that from the beginning.
Now that's something that I think about that is a little bit disappointing.
I mean, and they were talking, I mean talking so much junk.
You wouldn't pull over on the interstate. You probably would what you would do
if you were kidnapped, really like you think you could fight off as a
well. And most of the people I saw, unfortunately, and I hate
this, the most were black women attacking this black woman. I say that
there weren't other people. I'm just saying, maybe it's just on Facebook,
as if you could have fought back, as if any of you who are
mothers would not have stopped on the interstate for a toddler, for um,
for a five, six seven year old. And I know that, And
I've been told by my friends I'm possibly hyper vigilant because of the work that
I've done, but also, like we that hyper vigilist lets me know that
sometimes toddlers who wander off. We've seen that on the internet. The toddlers
wander off, and you know, they're found with diapers and neighbor even trees
and stuff and state alive. So we know that's a possibility. We know
that there can be six, six, seven, eight, nine year olds
who get mad and call themselves running away from home. It might be on
the interstate, trying to walk somewhere. It happens. Yeah, and if
you have any sort of maternal instinct, you call no one one, But
you probably don't just go riding right on home and just make dinner for your
kids. Like, let me tell y'all, I just saw a tyler on
the interstate to drive by that at night, you know, after nine pm
at night, and um not do anything. Now, some of the comments
that I did see, and people were endorsing them that she did it for
some attention from whom something about the boyfriend. Oh all right, So so
those are the theories that people are presenting, and that she was with another
guy. She didn't want to get calls, so she made up this whole
story. You know, we could be creative, okay, please, you
know, and write some scripts, you know, but I saw those things,
and I think it's unfortunate people are so comfortable, you know, sharing
some of those starts that that's that's that, those are the ones the comments
I remember people you know, jumping on you know, she did it for
attention, to make to get back to her boyfriend, or she was with
another dude and she want to get caught. I'm like, oh my god,
So she called the police. I don't want to get caught with another
dude. So I called the police. Yeah and so and then there's a
video camera on the highway. It's it's it's it's a little unclear. I
mean to me, I'm up there. I've watched all four minutes, like,
okay, I didn see something. I'm gonna see something. I couldn't
see. I couldn't see anything either. And then I watched them give him
my glasses on and I tried to lighten up. It doesn't matter. It's
you know, they can be. It's an outdoor security camera. I believe
it owned by the State Highway Patrol and it's the car is far away,
and you can see her stop and the flashing hazard lights and what looks like
an image as soon as her out of the car the driver's side and walk
around to the back. But after there's no evidence that another car pulled up
or anything like that. So but I know the area like it can be
walked through. It's got like a little dip, okay, And of course
I probably know it better than the average bear. But it's got a little
deep in some trees, and kids can get in and out of there.
There's a Target shopping center right over there where you could park your car if
you want to and get on through. Then get right on, drag whatever
you want right on back to the shopping center. There's some wood an area.
Just like you said, it looked like a ditch, you know.
But because that video was not clear, you know enough to back up her
story, it fueled some of those other theories that are out there. I
just wish that we could be a little bit more compassionate, like like I
saw something the so stupid as no I knew something was going on when she
turned her blinkers on before she pulled off the interstate. That's not up.
And when when did people get so comfortable that they feel like everything that comes
to your ridiculous mind has to come out through your fingers on the internet.
Here's a big question that you you've headed into this direction, you know,
and people listening to the show, you know, chime in. You know.
You can check us out on Facebook and we're also on YouTube, and
um check us out on Twitter. Yeah, Twitter, ask us any questions
joining and tell us what you think. Um, So, why is it
so hard for us to believe black women? You know, I'm not talking
about other folks, I'm talking about us. That's another conversation. Why is
it challenging for us to believe black women? I didn't doubt it. I
still don't doubt it. Something tells me otherwise. Are there some suspicious aspects
to the story. Yeah, but I'm gonna wait for the police and come
out and release their statements, you know, and things will eventually unfold for
us. But what do you think about that question? And what you see
out there in the social media atmosphere that people don't get enough attention At home,
nobody listens to you. You don't have any friends, Your spouses and
partners would rather play video games than listen to random stuff come out of your
mouth. So you're like, I'm just gonna put on social media. I
can't get somebody right right, I'm gonna put on in somebody, somebody anywhere
will respond and pay me attention because I'm so I'm thirsting for attention that I'm
not getting from my loved ones. I see, I think, I see,
I see, so this, this horrible, possible tragedy happened, and
stelling instead of having some compassion, let me see how I can capitalize on
this and get some attention from other people. I see, I didn't think
about that that that would be great. People can turn that around because what
I was thinking, and sometimes I think deep about these things. Okay,
you get deep, just a little bit, not too deep. I'm going
to get in trouble as a byproduct of centuries of racism and the horrors that
our ancestors into work. Um that the women were tormented the most. Um.
Even over the past fifty something years, black women have still been targeted
by a number of people, and sometimes there's very little justice. Uh.
And some of those attacks that happened, their movies about it, their documentaries
about it. Um. And I think it's easy for people not to believe
when a black woman says that she was attacked or victimized. It happens in
the hospitals, you know, the death rates of black women given birth,
you know, and and in other places too. And in telling the police
or the hospital that something's wrong, who was it the famous woman uh P
Diddy's former wife or or or baby mom when she kim him something. Yes,
yeah, she died and had some type of ailment and went to the
hospitals, and reports indicated that the hospital personnel didn't believe her, so they
didn't give her the attention that she should have gotten and which that could have
possibly avoided some death with her. But but I think some of us have
been socialized, trained by a larger group not to give a damn about black
women. She's come forward, she's safe, but we want to attack her,
some of us, not all of us. Yeah, that's that's my
theory. Listening to other people villainized black women, and it happens quite a
bit. And so that's that's the road I was thinking about as the thoughts
as this whole thing was unfolded, and I thought it was unfortunate that we
can't believe her as a group, exclusively believe her and her ordeal until it
becomes very evident. That's something else is going on, but right now that
evidence is not there. But I saw, I saw what you saw.
It was when I saw those of the black women attacking her, and I
just couldn't understand that. So that's that's that's my thought. Yeah, I
was appalled to the point where I want to had an unfriend to some people.
I mean, it was just like, even if you're right, I
don't know, I still won't regret unfriended you, like sometimes just shut up.
But in line with what you're saying, we don't even have to go
to celebrities. I tell my students when I'm talking about health disparities that even
when I had surgery and I said it was difficult for me to breathe,
they were like, well, you just need to sit up. You haven't
walked around enough. And I went home and I was still in pain,
and my sister brought me back to She was like, no, we need
to go back to the hospital to find out what that my lung had collapsed
and if someone had just done a scan, done anything, but tell me
that I need to sit up. At what I was like, no,
it hurts every time I breathe. I even said, call my doctor.
And they said, well, I'm putting it in. Your father will call
the doctor. They did not call my doctor. They were like, this
woman's just she's being just complained that she's not that bad. And then we
have our young women who are assaulted. Teenagers, small children who are molested.
There say, well, her fast tail, that fast tailed girl,
right, oh, R Kelly, you know that that was the whole story.
But these young girls, you know, the mamas were not there,
you know, and so R Kelly took advantage of them. But then what
happened. People didn't believe that ye call them fast. I'm like, did
you ever imagine who made them fast? Who made them precocious? When they
were ten, nine, eleven, twelve years old? And here is R.
Kelly going to the middle school playground. Well, and all of my
friends that I know from the Chicago areas say that everybody knew Arkelly was always
walk around the mall trying to get at teenage girls. Nobody protected the teenage
girls by getting Arkell out the street. They just said, these girls need
to stop being fast. What else do they need to do? Stop walking
around the mall, not be flattered by compliments. It's I mean are their
prefrontal cortex. It is supposed to all of a sudden, girls super fast,
and then they're able to make better decisions like come on. Yeah,
So now they're they're doing the same with Carly Russell, you know, painting
a picture of her as being this fast, scorn woman who made up this
story. It's the same thing, you know, and not protecting her with
their thoughts and prayers. You know, it's just she's bad, you know,
she she's that bad black woman. You know. I just wish that
we can get out of that mindset and stop drinking a kool aid, you
know. And remember, I'm old enough to remember. I need to,
you know, the Clarence Thomas here, Yes, I remember that. And
people did not believe her all. They refuse and there was another woman who
can back up her story. They never called her up to testify. And
here we are, years of later, learning this shit about Clarence Thomas.
You know, Okay, he's still the trash. And I said, it's
recorded the trash. I thought I'm going to endorse that. But but but
it's problematic when your own community cannot believe you or refuse to believe you when
you tell a story, and that's the case with Anita hel Um, your
situation, P Diddy's former girlfriend. You know that these other women who have
these health issues, that's the story. You know, that's the issue.
And how are we going to expect other people to believe us and protect black
women if we don't do it ourselves. So I did see some want to
reached way back and pulled this story about a young fifteen year old black woman
and I want to say, was the nineties or the eighties. I have
to look up her name, and Al Sharpton was her attorney or spokesperson at
the time. I said that, see, and I've never heard of this
one. I know they made a chronicle in twenty thirteen, and um,
she lied. I'm trying to look it up now, but the pair she
said that she was raped by the KKK. She came back and said feces
in her hair and some other stuff written across her stomach, and Al Sharpton
it was back when he was a big Al that's her name. Later on
they well, they determined that she lied, especially well, especially about the
two specific people that she named. And somebody put on Facebook as this the
new to Wanda Bradley, who's like, really, look okay, it made
me look her up, but also it was like, really though, that's
far I remember Toruanda Brawley. We didn't have the internet at that time.
I don't remember it, but but it was all over news and black Pools
were talking about it, and there were some suspicious aspects to it. Also
because she named the white men who raped her. One of them she named
the New York City mayor um and so that that just came off odd,
you know to a lot of people. And uh, yes, yes,
that that that was a disappointing chapter. Yeah, and the history of black
women being brutalized and like, yeah, millions and millions of things that happened.
They're like, but you got this one, YEA get that one of
the discount or nullifies the other black women who are attacked and brutalized and raped
by some black men. So yeah, I hadn't seen that one. That's
disappointing. Yeah, that people are going there, especially those of us who
can remember that time. And Al Shampton I believe that's when he made a
name for himself outside of New York, outside of New York, And so
yeah, that's that's unfortunate that we're gonna hang on that, you know well,
And I remember when I've read the story. Someone asked him about it
years later and he said basically the same thing I said. Even if that
didn't happen, something happened, yea, it said, like on something that
was going on with her. So I don't regret going. And no one's
questioning her mental health and whether or not she was delusional or possibly on drugs
or something like that, all those things of possibilities, you know, And
I ain't remember believing her when I heard the stories on news, it was
all over news. And so just like I remember Carly Russell, I believe
Cary Russell. So I'm on your side. Black women, brothers, I'm
on your side. I know we're not all the same, but I do
know that we are targeted, we are brutalized, we are discriminated against.
And when someone comes forward and say that something happened to them, I'm gonna
believe you, you know, until something comes forward to suggest otherwise. I
just want to put that out there, and I wish thank you, Harrison.
And that's why we'll always be friends, don't you. You will click
off somebody in all year. Any final thoughts on Carly Russell. Protect black
women, like Magan the Stallion said, protect black women, and like doctor
Asian Dickinson said, just shut up. Sometimes it's okay to just shut up.
Sometimes we don't need to hear everything that comes through you all's minds on
Twitter, Facebook, because if it's not nice, just or until you hear
differently, just talk to and you, like I said, you might have
those family members who don't want to hear you. Talk to a journal,
talk talk to Jesus, all right. I like that. Jesus, your
therapist, and a journal. Those are the three people. Three things have
a great outlet and not Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I agree. And
so to echo all of that, you know, let's let's try to support
each other. Let's be a little bit more compassionate. Somebody comes forward with
a sad story. Uh, that's I don't know. My My initial reaction
is, oh my god, I hate that it happened. You know,
let's let's monitor ourselves. If your initial reaction is she's lying, you know,
just like it didn't need a heel, you know. So this is
not to want a brawley, you know, but if something comes forward,
you know, and they prove a wrong. You guys have free reign,
do what you want. But until then, I still don't want to do
what they want. I still want to just show them off shut. But
why would you be the munster? You know, some woman's coming forward and
saying something happened to her. Why would you be the munster and attacker during
that time. So that's all I got to say about that, because I
you know, I can get them my little soap box. Yeah, well,
me too, But instead I just look forward to her family said that
they would give more information later, and I look forward to the information because
I was praying for it, and I just want to wrap my arms around
her and her family and tell her that whatever happened, I love you without
knowing you, and I too, I also had her my thoughts. I'm
also gonna gonna pray for all the other black folks, yes, and pray
for your healing that would allow you to support other black folks who come forward
with some harsh accusations. So that's all I'm gonna say about that, because
some emails I wanta send the emails well address remind everybody I'm black too.
I want to remind you you know, there the shade on the screen and
be a little light. But I hope you guys enjoyed today show. You
have been listening to a watching two therapists on that microphone. I am doctor
Harrison Diggers and I'm doctor Asia Dickerson. See you guys next week, take
care of I like that, like that, I like that. I like
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lger like that, like that, like that, like that, like that