Beyond the Screen: Second Chances, Support Systems, and TV Land

Jesse

Here's a line from Ryan's journal that stopped me. He says he only ever sees Donald Trump from a television perspective, and then, in the same breath, he says he wants to cuddle up to the guy. Because of the word unbelievable.

Donna Trump

Unbelievable! It's a great word, it's a tremendous word, and people respond to it. Ryan says it comes off as human. The words, the personality, the energy. People feel it, Jesse. People always feel it.

Jesse

They do. But I liked how Ryan kept checking himself. He says flat out that he doesn't know the person. He says that if the media sources are true, which he can't tell anymore with what he calls TV Land, then he's still only seeing a slice. He even says there are twenty four hours in a day and we get maybe a few minutes of sound bites.

Donna Trump

And he's right about what wins. He points out the man served two terms now, supposedly, his word, and never held political office before he became president. Ryan says that tells you something. It's not the résumé. It's the approach. It's the personality. It's the words people pick. People want somebody familiar, and familiar lowers the anxiety.

Jesse

I'll give him that one. Familiar is comfort. He says he studied voting behavior in college, and he remembers a professor making the point that celebrities can play a huge role in politics. So he's not naive about it. He knows why a face you've seen for years feels like a friend.

Donna Trump

And he likes the aggression. He says you want a leader who goes at it very hard, because that means they're going all out to protect you. Strength! Fight! Protect!

Jesse

Right, but listen to the next part. He says without playing dirty. He says attack ads are a turn off. They weren't a bond, they weren't a connection, they weren't compromise ads, they weren't courtesy ads, they weren't respectful ads. They were attack ads. He wants courtesy ads. Honestly, I've watched enough campaigns to say that's the most sensible thing a person has said about them in years. Nobody's ever put out a courtesy ad.

Donna Trump

Nobody's ever won with one either, Jesse. But I get the dream. He pictures Donald walking over to Hillary at a debate and giving her a hug, and then he wonders what happens off stage.

Jesse

And he's careful there too. He says maybe they have a warm relationship nobody sees. Maybe there's a lot of love in the background. Then he says we don't know, we're not there. Plain and honest. He's guessing out loud, and he knows it's a guess.

Jesse

Now here's the part I respect most. Ryan knows what this stuff does to him. He says he used to watch Bill Maher, watch debates, and he'd get too fiery, too uptight about what people were saying on TV. He says you get jacked up, you get mad, you get hurt, and it's nasty.

Donna Trump

He listened to Alan Colmes on the radio, too. Two, three hours of it. Ryan says if you're yelling at the television when somebody on the radio says get out of here, you've got a problem. You're not an eyewitness. You're not there.

Jesse

Which is a hard thing to admit. And he doesn't stop at the scolding. He says some people can listen without taking it personally, but he can't. There are sensitive issues, there are personal experiences, and people have hearts that don't need smothering. That's an old fashioned truth, said plainly. Know what sets you off, and stop feeding it.

Donna Trump

And he gives credit where it's due. He says he uses C-SPAN. Somebody thumping the podium, in a bad mood about what's happening, and that's helpful. People feel alone. When somebody speaks for your feelings, that's inspiring. Plenty of people can't get mad in public, and that doesn't make them weak.

Jesse

That's the loneliness underneath the whole entry. He says if you're scared, emotions mean everything. It's how you're treated when you're terrified. You want the people with empathy, the good hearted ones, on your team.

Jesse

And I want to slow down here, because Ryan also talks about something much heavier. He describes what he calls a UFO story, and in it he feels attacked. He feels his education is being ripped apart, and he's haunted by certain phrases that he says beat him up. He worked hard for his degree and his diploma, and he's terrified of being discredited.

Donna Trump

Let's be clear about this. We're not treating that story as something happening out in the world. What's real is what Ryan's feeling. Fear. Loneliness. A man who worked hard for his diploma and is afraid somebody's taking it away from him. That's a human thing, and it's a heavy one.

Jesse

And look at what he does about it. He says you can't live your life from a television perspective. You have to look at your own life, your own experience, and ask what's good and what's bad. He says when you don't have anybody, you say things to protect yourself, because you feel too lonely and too scared. Then he names who he does have.

Donna Trump

His team at Human Supports. Susan, his case manager. He says she's been helpful, she's been able to figure out his emotions and his expressions, and that's been very useful. He also mentions Duncan, Dr. Koontz, and Sharon.

Jesse

That's the part I'd underline twice. He says he feels like he's out in the middle of nowhere, defending himself all the time. But these are people with names and jobs and a phone number. Susan reading his face right is worth more than any hour of cable news. Leaning on them isn't weakness. It's the strongest play on the board.

Donna Trump

Build the team! Add people to the team! Ryan says maybe he'll add more. That's a winner's instinct. And he even says if someone's terrified and needs medication, so be it. No shame in it.

Jesse

Then there's the moment Ryan calls a beautiful moment for him. He saw Trump on television talking about reentry to life for people who had committed crimes in the past. He can't remember exactly which broadcast, he says a press conference or whatever, and honestly I can't tell you which one he saw either. But the record has plenty of candidates.

Donna Trump

Plenty! April first, 2019, at the White House, he talks about shifting focus after the First Step Act, which he signed in December of 2018. The goal is cutting the unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people to single digits. The budget asked for two hundred thirty four million dollars for Justice Department reentry programs and seventy eight million more for employment.

Jesse

And that's the White House's own plan, as reported by Courthouse News. The same piece quotes reform advocates saying the first step has to be properly implemented before anybody takes a second one. One of them worried about funding. So the rhetoric came with some homework attached.

Donna Trump

Then June 2019, second chance hiring remarks. The line is, quote, now we must make sure that Americans returning from prison get a true second chance. He says the unemployment rate for former inmates is up to five times higher than the national average. And in March 2020 there's a proclamation making April Second Chance Month.

Jesse

Ryan's takeaway isn't a policy brief, though. He says it's about understanding the other side. You don't have to agree, but you have to understand. And he says second chances win, because that's the good spirit of sportsmanship. A good teacher doesn't grade your test and say hit the road, Jack.

Donna Trump

And here's where he calls me out, Jesse. He says give people a chance to fight back, like Donna said. Give them an appeals process. Give them a chance to negotiate, compromise, stand their ground. That's from our terms of service episode. Give people a runway, give people the reason, give people a way to fight back.

Jesse

He took your argument about a customer facing a giant company and carried it all the way into a courtroom and a prison gate. He says people in court need defenders, and customers need defenders too, because they can't defend themselves all the time. He says it's healthy for democracy and healthy for business.

Donna Trump

That's a strong read. Someone up against a system needs three things. A reason, a defender, and an appeal. Whether it's an account that got shut down or a record that follows you home from prison.

Jesse

And notice what ties the whole entry together. Whether it's a politician he's only met on a screen, or a man worn out by yelling voices, or his own frightened nights, what Ryan keeps asking for is the same thing. Someone on your side, a fair hearing, and another try. He says it himself. When you're scared, you want people with empathy on your team.

Donna Trump

And he ends by saying there's something appealing about me, and he's not quite sure what it is. I'll take it. Unbelievable.

Jesse

Take it, Donna. But I'd give the last word to Susan, Dr. Koontz, Sharon, and Duncan. They're real, they're in the room, and they're on his team. Turn the TV down, Ryan, and call your people.