UFC fighter Jean Silva wasn’t in the friendliest environment for his MMA fight against his opponent Bryce Mitchell. The Miami, Florida crowd was loudly chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” against the Brazilian Silva. Prior to the fight, Mitchell made some pro-Hitler remarks and denied the Holocaust on a podcast. Mitchell even refused to touch gloves with Silva, a sign of respect, prior to the referee starting the contest. This fight was no longer just a sporting contest.
Silva went to work in the first round, taking Mitchell down and nearly ending the fight with a guillotine choke before Mitchell escaped. As the second round began, Mitchell still refused to touch gloves. Silva put him away with a hard strike and won the bout after a chokehold ended the fight. Silva had every right to condemn Mitchell. Instead, he asked the crowd to get him help.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
"I was surprised because I really thought it was part of the game, part of the promotion, but apparently, it's part of him,” Silva told Joe Rogan through a translator in a post-match interview. “I'm sad for him, and you know what? I hope we all hope and pray and help out Bryce Mitchell, because I don't think he's right in the head. It's part of him and there's something wrong with him for him to be like that."
People were concerned about Mitchell earlier in the year when he made vile comments on his ArkanSanity Podcast. Mitchell called Adolf Hitler a “good guy” that he’d go fishing with, went on about anti-Semitic and homophobic conspiracy theories, and said “the Holocaust ain't real." He chalked up all facts to the contrary being “public school indoctrination.”
Upon hearing this, UFC President Dana White publicly lambasted the fighter in an interview with reporters.
"I've heard a lot of dumb and ignorant shit said over the years, but this is probably the worst," White said in a statement to ESPN. "First of all, when you talk about Hitler, he was responsible for the death of 6 million Jews and it was his intent to completely eliminate Jewish people. And that's a guy you would want to go fishing with?"
When asked if Mitchell would be officially reprimanded and disciplined by the UFC for his comments, White cited “freedom of speech” and said that those who hated him could “see him hopefully get his ass whooped on global television."
Mitchell apologized for his comments but many still questioned his sincerity.
But that was all before the fight, before Silva’s win, and before Silva’s comments about Mitchell needing help. Should Mitchell want it, there have been ways for folks to unlearn racist views, and educate themselves on their homophobia and its harms. There are people that could help address any internalized fear, antagonism, or social relationships that contribute to the belief of conspiracy theories. Along with the support, hope, and prayer from true friends, family, fight fans, and even Silva, that’s all available to Mitchell—if he wants it.
If you’re dealing with a friend or a family member that believes in a harmful conspiracy theory, it’s best to approach them with patience, and ask them questions about it that would hopefully point out holes in the logic. Being dismissive or combative will only strengthen their resolve. It will take time, but that appears to be the most effective method a non-professional can do to help their loved one part ways with harmful conspiracies. As Silva already demonstrated, such things cannot be removed through a knockout or a chokehold.
@pet.earthling How to convince conspiracy theorists. 🤦♂️😡 #psychology #covid19 #vaccine #biglie #debunk
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You may have missed the actual meaning behind these 5 popular songs.
'Every breath you ...' what? 5 classic songs where people totally missed the meaning
I’ve never been a "lyrics guy"—as long as the words sound pleasing to the ear, are relatively interesting, and aren’t evil or distractingly dumb, I don’t care all that much what the singer is going on about. I’m focused on the dynamics, the color of the arrangements, the rhythms, and harmonies. It’s only natural that I’d misinterpret some songs over the years, including ones that I’ve heard a thousand times while walking around malls and supermarkets.
I know I’m not alone. And I’d argue there are plenty of factors behind this phenomenon: Some people take lyrics too literally, while others only focus on hooky choruses and fail to notice nuance in the verses. Context can also blind us—if the music is danceable and upbeat, you might fail to catch darker elements in the words. Still, it can be hilarious and/or shocking when hugely popular tunes are misinterpreted on a mass scale.
Speaking of which: Let’s consult a viral Reddit thread titled "Any songs that are (or were) misunderstood by the public?" There's a mountain of suggestions—everything from '90s Latin-pop hits to '80s heartland-rock epics. But five of them felt especially perfect, so let’s dig a little deeper below.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The Police - "Every Breath You Take" (1983)
As someone argues in the comments, "Pointing out the real meaning behind 'Every Breath You Take' has to have become so commonplace that it can't really be misunderstood anymore." Point taken. But still…this eerie Police track continues to be used in pop culture and everyday life as a signifier of romance—appearing as the soundtrack to TV slow dances and being arranged for weddings by string quartets. It’s easy to assume, at first glance anyway, that the song's protagonist is pledging their devotion—sticking around for "every breath" their partner takes. Instead, the atmosphere is more disturbing, given the whole "I’ll be watching you" thing. "I didn't realize at the time [I wrote it] how sinister it is," Sting told The Independent in 1993. "I think I was thinking of Big Brother, surveillance, and control."
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Bruce Springsteen - "Born in the U.S.A." (1984)
"Born in the U.S.A." is one of Bruce Springsteen's signature songs—but also likely his most misinterpreted. As an official explainer video notes, the words "center around America's industrial decline and loss of innocence during the Vietnam War"—a message that became somewhat diluted as politicians began using the stadium-sized track for their campaigns. "Conservative commenters praised the song, and it earned the approval of both candidates in the 1984 presidential election," the clip's narrator adds. "Despite being adopted as a patriotic anthem, 'Born in the U.S.A.' is far from nationalistic." In a deep-dive piece, NPR quotes Springsteen talking about the song on stage: "'After it came out, I read all over the place that nobody knew what it was about,' he said before performing 'Born in the U.S.A' to a crowd in 1995. 'I'm sure that everybody here tonight understood it."
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Los Del Rio - "Macarena" (Bayside Boys remix) (1995)
Most Americans probably know the bubbly Bayside Boys remix of Los Del Rio's Spanish-language hit—it became the marquee moment of many a mid-'90s wedding reception and middle-school dance, thanks to its once-ubiquitous choreography. Maybe it's because people were too distracted by remembering the dance moves, but lots of us didn’t notice the lyrics. Of course, the chorus is in Spanish, which could have been a barrier for some, but the remix features English lines like the following: "Now don't you worry about my boyfriend / The boy whose name is Vitorino / Ha! I don't want him, can't stand him / He was no good so I, ha ha ha / Now come on, what was I supposed to do? / He was out of town, and his two friends were so fine."
"My little teenage mind was blown when I learned 'Macarena' was about cheating on a boyfriend with his friends," one Redditor wrote. "[Thank you] for the correction, it was 2 friends! Was sleep deprived writing this. I just did the moves, never questioned the lyrics." Yeah, gotta admit—this legitimately never crossed my mind either. Same with some of the people who took part in a reaction video for Distracify: "It’s definitely about dancing," one person said, before learning the truth. Another added, "I have no idea what it’s about still to this day. Please tell me it’s not something really dark."
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Baha Men - "Who Let the Dogs Out" (2000)
The party was nice. The party was pumpin'.' Until, that is, some "flea-infested mongrels" got involved. Back in 2000, you couldn't escape Baha Men's booming cover of "Who Let the Dogs Out"—it became a staple of sporting events everywhere, a kind of bookend for the Jock Jams era. "I know I definitely misunderstood 'Who Let the Dogs Out' to be about actual dogs," one Redditor wrote, likely speaking for most of the listening public. There's probably a good chance most of those people chanting the chorus weren't thinking about the song's real meaning, crafted by Trinidadian artist Anslem Douglas for his 1998 original. But if you pay attention to the lyrics, "Who Let the Dogs Out" has a feminist theme, telling the story of women who stand up against crass catcalling. "This is going to be a revenge song where a woman tells men, 'Get away from me—you're a dog,'" Douglas told Vice in a 2021 video history of the track. "[Offensive] slang was everywhere. It was just degrading women and calling them all sorts of derogatory names. I tried to do a social commentary as a party song, but the party song overshadowed the social commentary aspect of it."
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Hozier - "Take Me to Church" (2013)
One section of the Reddit thread is devoted to songs interpreted as pro-religion, when the truth is... well, more complicated. "'Take Me to Church' by Hozier is often used by Churches for things, and I’m like 'Oh, that’s not…,'" wrote one user. The bluesy, slow-burning ballad may use religious imagery. Still, it's about something more human—"[It's] this idea that powerful organizations use people’s sexuality in order to mobilize people against women, against gay people," the Irish songwriter told Genius in 2023. "And the justification behind that is often religious in nature." Hozier even isolated one particular lyric that highlights this misconception: "'She tells me, ‘Worship in the bedroom' [is] something tongue-and-cheek, a bit of humor to it, also revealing that this is not necessarily a traditional worship song," he said. "I think I still see my name put into playlists for Christian music, and I’m not averse to that—I don’t think the two are necessarily mutually exclusive. But that line I would’ve thought would’ve disqualified it from something like that."