On Wednesday night’s edition of “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah interviewed Tomi Lahren, who has spoken out against Colin Kaepernick’s anthem protests. In a Facebook video widely circulated on the internet Lahren recognizes Kaepernick’s right to protest, yet takes strong exception with the manner in which he has elected to protest.
Noah obviously disagrees with Lahren’s stance and took her to task. Though the entire debate runs nearly 30 minutes, the relevant portion on Kaepernick can be seen here:
Noah’s opening argument constitutes either a really bad joke, or a monument to colossal ignorance: “You say Colin Kaepernick is exercising his First Amendment rights and you are exercising your First Amendment rights in criticizing him. So, what you are saying is, ‘You have the right to say anything you want. So shut up.’”
His understanding of free speech sounds essentially the same as Fidel Castro’s understanding of free speech, which states “free speech for me, but not for thee.” If that speech doesn’t agree with the approval of people like Trevor Noah, then free speech is immediately suspended, and any view to the contrary must be stopped. Noah cut Lahren off before she had a chance to respond to his question of how a black man in America can peaceably get his message across in “the right way” without being called a thug or instigating a riot.
Of course, one peaceful way in which a person of any color could get their message across without getting accused of thuggery, or starting a riot, is voting. Colin Kaepernick not only neglected to vote, he has never even registered to vote. Not to mention the fact that voting amounts to a far more effective tool of change, than…well…whatever it is Kaepernick thinks he’s accomplishing by kneeling on the sidelines.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn