The conversation between Joe Rogan and Tony Hinchcliffe on JRE #2522 veered into territory that Rogan clearly finds unresolved: the uneven cultural standards around racial pride as a public identity.
The topic emerged during a discussion about what is and isn’t considered acceptable in comedy and public life. Rogan pointed to former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, whose family immigrated from Mexico, as an example of someone who openly displayed ethnic pride without sparking widespread backlash.
“Cain Velasquez when he competed in the UFC, he used to have brown pride tattooed on his chest,” Rogan said. Referring to Velasquez’s background, he added, “Whose family came over from Mexico. They literally walked here.”
Rogan then contrasted that example with a hypothetical.
“White pride not so popular…” he said.
Expanding on the idea, Rogan brought up UFC middleweight Sean Strickland, who is known for his outspoken and often controversial public comments. He imagined how people might react if Strickland posted a championship photo of himself with “White Pride” tattooed across his chest alongside an image of Velasquez wearing “Brown Pride.”
“White pride on your chest. You know, imagine Sean Strickland just decided to get white pride and he posted a picture on Instagram,” he noted. “People would lose their minds.”
Rogan then explained the hypothetical, noting that Strickland wouldn’t actually do it. Hinchcliffe, however, pushed back.
“I follow him on Twitter,” Hinchcliffe said. “He would. Trust me.”
Rogan emphasized that his issue wasn’t with Velasquez displaying “Brown Pride.” Instead, he argued that the differing public reactions to similar expressions of racial or ethnic pride were what stood out to him.
“It’s just weird what we accept,” he said.
The discussion then flowed towards UFC middleweight Sean Strickland being removed from the UFC’s White House event. Rogan theorized that Strickland was kicked out from the event due to his comments on Israel and Epstein.
