Tomi Lahren and the Political Protest

Tomi Lahren is a conservative commentator who recently went on “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah. She has gotten a lot of attention for her extreme right-wing views as she comments on political happenings and current events, especially related to race.

In the 30-minute interview, Noah called Lahren out specifically for comments she made comparing the KKK to the Black Lives Matter movement. She says, “When there are people in the streets saying, ‘If you see a white person, beat their ass,’ does that not sound reminiscent of the KK or their motives to you?” Noah responds by arguing that there’s a difference between a movement and the people within the movement. I think he’s spot on with this. It’s not a secret that there are individuals who get more aggressive or violent than the collective majority, but it seems irresponsible to associate these individual actions or transgressions with the movement as a whole. The movement is about justice and equity, not the downfall of whites. There may be individuals calling for this, but it is not in conjunction with the purpose of the movement.

Later they move on to discussing Colin Kaepernick and the notion of political protests. Lahren says, “Why would you take your perceived oppression of black people out on the national anthem and our flag? A country that you live in, a country that you benefit from, a country that people of all races have died for.” To which Noah responds, “Maybe you realize that a lot of those people of “every color” who died for this country didn’t have the rights that their fellow servicemen had when they come back to the country after fighting for it.”

Unfortunately, I think a lot of people feel the same way that Lahren does. When it comes to political protests, there is such a lack of understanding or compassion for why it’s occurring in the first place. Her use of the word “perceived” is ridiculous. She speaks as if there is no basis for any kind of unrest when lived experiences and facts of inequity tell us otherwise. She speaks of the flag as if what it represents has done an equal and fair job at representing and fighting for everybody, but again we know this isn’t true.

With her, as well as many others, disgust for people like Colin Kaepernick and his silent, non-violent protest, I wonder what these people propose in terms of a political protest. Should there be none at all? But then how do we call attention to injustices? If violence is not the answer, why is silence not accepted? I truly just don’t see the harm in standing up (or rather sitting down) for justice, especially when it comes at no cost to others.