Tom Lahren has become the voice of racist White millennials. The alt-right TV host of “Tomi” on TheBlaze has used her platform to spew racism and hate. Along with being a racist, Lahren isn’t well-informed. She speaks without conducting proper research or taking the time understand how racism continues to affect society.
For instance, when discussing Black Lives Matter, Lahren compared the organization to the KKK. “Meet the new KKK, they call themselves ‘Black Lives Matter’ but make no mistake their goals are far from equality.” Apparently, she purposefully ignored the fact that the KKK lynched thousands of Blacks and made it a point to terrorize a group of people based solely on color. Black Lives Matter, on the other hand, seeks to bring attention to the lack of justice given to Blacks and other minority groups. Lahren’s irrational comparison of the KKK to Black Lives Matter proved that she is severely ignorant and racist.
But her position as an ignorant racist is often overlooked because of her looks. Lahren is a young, 24-year-old, blonde White woman who could probably be a Hollywood darling if she could act. She is easier to look at than other right-wing pundits such as Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, or Glenn Beck. However, she spews the same racial rhetoric.
So it was appalling to see how Trevor Noah and Charlamagne tha God allowed themselves to be played by Lauren. On Nov. 30, Noah invited Lahren to the “The Daily Show” where she got a chance to reveal her views to a wider audience. Noah rarely challenged Lahren’s ignorance and simply allowed her to share her views. Some viewed his passive interviewing style as a way for Lahren to make herself appear foolish due to her lack of knowledge. Others saw it is an opportunity for Lahren to spread her hateful messages to a wider audience. Trevor, and his producers, would later have dinner with Lahren and they sent her cupcakes.
Several days later, Charlamagne tha God was caught on the street walking with Lahren in New York. She made a joke saying, “See, I hang out with Black people, I bet you’re surprised.” Charlamagne was blasted on Twitter on social media and responded by tweeting, “If you don’t like the narratives people are painting of you, create your own platforms to control your own narratives. Would be dope if a young Black or Hispanic ‘WOKE’ woman used social media to create a platform to be a voice like Tomi Lahren did.”
As a journalist, you have the opportunity to speak with people who come from different cultures and backgrounds and it does allow for more understanding. But in the case of someone like Lahren, she represents a small part of how racism is often legitimized by Americans. Many Whites believe that if they have a few Black friends that they can’t be racist in action. Also, some Blacks believe that if they can sit down and understand a racist person, it can somehow help to solve bigger issues in the community.
Allowing a racist to be comfortable with their actions is the worst decision that Trevor Noah and Charlamagne tha God could have made. A racist person should always be made to feel uncomfortable with how they view the world. Because their views often lead to systematic oppression. If you can believe that Black Lives Matter is the new KKK, you can believe that it’s okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed Black person in the back five times. You can believe that there is no such thing as inequality when it comes to education, housing, the job market, and earning potential.
Noah appeared on “The Breakfast Club” and said, “Racism is a disease that’s passed down through generation.” He presented it as something that can be treated with a hospital visit or medicine. But racism is far from a disease. Racism is the sociopathic need for power that one group wants to hold and maintain over another group. And to maintain power, that group will do whatever it takes to make life difficult for millions. Racism isn’t something that can be fixed with smiles, interviews, and cup cakes. That’s why it was appalling to see Trevor Noah and Charlamagne tha God allow themselves to be played by a young, blonde, and bona fide racist.
