Interview with the Waffle House Shooting Hero
VAN JONES, CNN HOST: Good evening and welcome. I'm Van Jones. It's THE VAN JONES SHOW. We have another amazing show for you tonight. A couple of highlights. We are with the star of a hit TV show "Black- ish" and she is a fierce advocate for women. She is a daughter of the iconic Diana Ross. Tracee Ellis Ross is with us tonight. That is going to be amazing to hear from her.</s>JAMES SHAW JR., TACKLED WAFFLE HOUSE GUNMAN: My brother. Thank you.</s>JONES: Good to see you, man. I tell you what, first of all you're making us Tennessee boys look good. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. The question that I think most people have when they think about you, the gunman was killing people. He stopped firing and he is trying to reload, trying to do something else. You were hidden. He didn't know you were there. Why didn't you run? Why didn't you hide? Why would you confront somebody with a weapon like that?</s>SHAW JR.: So at the time I was behind a door in the bathroom. The door actually didn't lock or anything like that. Behind me there was nothing but a brick wall. So I felt like he might find me. And -- so I was just looking for my opportunity and I took it and I'm glad it worked out for me.</s>JONES: I'm glad it worked out for you, too. It's beautiful to see you here. You know, but your heroism, and we will talk about that word and I know you don't like that word.</s>SHAW JR.: Right.</s>JONES: But your heroism helped didn't stop that night. You setup a GoFundMe, not for yourself, not for your family, not for your fame, not for your fortune, but to help all the other people who were there. Why -- how was your raised? How did you come out of a tracking like that, thinking about everybody but yourself?</s>SHAW JR.: Well, I was raised and I pledge a fraternity outside for we are servants of all. So, I wanted to help out and I know that the money is not going to do anything for the actual loss of life, the actual loss of life, but it can be something like a gesture just to help that family to try to get through this tough time.</s>JONES: You know, you touched the whole world. I mean all you have to say it Waffle House hero. Everybody knows who you are. Have you heard yet from President Trump?</s>SHAW JR.: At this time I haven't heard anything, but that is not to say he didn't try to contact me or not.</s>JONES: So he hasn't successfully contacted you, you know, but he gave a shout out to, you know, gave a shout out to Kanye today. No shout out to you. How do feel when the President of the United States misses an opportunity, to hold up, you know, somebody who is trying to do good stuff like you?</s>SHAW JR.: I know he is a busy agenda, busy schedule. Maybe he just hasn't gotten around to me and maybe my time is coming. It's not for me to judge whether what he does is just, you know, I did what I did. I didn't really do for working this, I did it just to save my life, honestly.</s>JONES: Wow. That is amazing. You know, a lot of people who are survivors of these attacks like the Parkland kids, they're very, very strong on gun control. What's your view about gun control?</s>SHAW JR.: The underlying problem of it before you even get to the gun problem is the mental illness or it's some kind of public health problem. And if you can try to focus on that person and you can try to make that person mentally better then you won't get to that. It won't be that kind of violence.</s>JONES: Yes. Now, we had a conversation of intimacy and you were talking about cars, how different cars are appropriate in different circumstances and maybe race cars are appropriate on a racetrack, but not in a neighborhood. Would you apply that to some different types of weapons?</s>SHAW JR.: I don't have any type of problem with any kind of handgun or anything like that. Shotgun or, you know, your hunting rifle, but a formula one race car is for a racer. An AR-15, M-16's, .223s, are those special specific guns are meant for people that have some kind of training. If you do want to shoot that gun, I understand, you know, that is your, god given right if you want to shoot that gun. Let them go to a target range and let the target range handle it and you can shoot there. But for you to just simply want to own that and you don't have any kind of training and you're reliable for that, that is just a lot to be reliable for and it's possible that, you know, deaths could happen.</s>JONES: You know, in that moment, I just think about that. Do you wish that you had a gun? I mean you're in a situation that somebody has a gun and you are unarmed. I'm just always curious, in that moment don't you wish you had like a bazooka or flamethrower or something.</s>SHAW JR.: You know, it's going to sound weird. No, because when people see me even though they call me a hero, I want you to emulate that fire that I have inside of myself, and if I had a gun it would be just good guy took bad guy down with a gun. But since I didn't have a gun it seems like it's more touching the people. So I'm really happy how I can touch people throughout the world.</s>JONES: And you are touching people throughout the world. We were together and people were coming up to us and they wanted me to take your picture with them.</s>SHAW JR.: It's definitely a whirl wind. It is definitely not something I'm used to. So I am just an engineer and I am an electrician right before this, and then now I can't really walk to far down the street or especially in the airport, but -- you know, it does not really bother me, I will take pictures with you, and the that doesn't bother me. The problem -- the only thing that bothers me is when people know who I am and then look at me and they all say I am just like come on over and just talk to me -- let us break the ice, you know that is fine, but -- yes I am getting used to it. Accustomed to it.</s>JONES: How is your daughter? You have a 4 year-old daughter?</s>SHAW JR.: So, my 4-year-old daughter, she is good. She is with the school. Her classmates and her, they all made me cards, they all call me hero. Now, for little kids, I don't care if they call me hero. Because that is a really big thing for them, heroes. But for adults, I just want you to see if you're ever in that situation that a regular guy did it, that you can do it too.</s>JONES: Wow. That is beautiful. So I'm glad you didn't run away from the gunman. But I would be even more glad if you were to run for higher office.</s>SHAW JR.: President.</s>JONES: Mayor. What about mayor?</s>SHAW JR.: Honestly, I haven't really thought about it. It's just been joked about with some of me and my colleagues and close friends, but maybe, we will see what the future had.</s>JONES: Hey, listen. It makes me happy to hear that even an opportunity, because we need people with integrity in high office. And you're right. They always say it takes a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun. But sometimes it takes a good man with a good heart to stop a bad guy with a gun. And that is who you are. So, thank you so much. Really, really good heart.</s>SHAW JR.: Thank you.</s>JONES: Thank you. This child is unbelievable. Now, coming up, everybody's been talking about Kanye West all week. Whether you love him or hate him, he is just sparking a ton of debate about free speech. And whether black voters should give Trump a chance, we're going to talk about all of that coming up with two young black activist, one is a liberal, and one is a conservative. Now before we hear from them, I want to hear from you and your opinions about the Kanye controversy. Here is what you have to say.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For him to say that slavery was a choice, I don't think that was right. Because if slavery was a choice Martin Luther King, Jr. would simply like, it will not have happened at all because they would not have to go through all these discrimination and all the hurt that they have long for many years.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the Democratic Party knows that they could have our vote easily they could just easily talk around this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this current state, however, the Republican Party is not a viable choice for the black community.