by Tyler Fransen
If you’ve ever been on Facebook, you’ve probably seen one of her videos. Oops, my mistake, I meant to say “If you’ve ever been on Facebook you’ve probably seen one of her loud, ignorant, outrageous, temperamental, misinformed, misguided, combative, right wing nut-job, poor excuse for a soundstage, no good very bad tirades.”
Tomi Lahren is her name, right wing propaganda in the form a five-minute rant against liberals is her game.
She is the millennial equivalent of Ann Coulter, and if you don’t know who that is, congratulations, you have lived a much happier and more fulfilling life than I ever have.
The 24-year-old Lahren’s, “Final Thoughts” against PC culture, the Obamas, Colin Kaepernick and her praise of Donald Trump have at some point probably appeared on your Facebook or Twitter feed. Why? Because the universe hates us, that’s why.
I would like to believe I have a mixed bag of political opinions when it comes to my friends on Facebook. But I cannot deny that I have tailored my newsfeed to see mostly political posts that are left leaning. Or puppy videos, those are always good to have at your disposal.
So, if I ever see a video of Lahren pop up on my Facebook feed, I know that the rest of the day is going to be insufferable and I should have just stayed in bed.
Now the obvious question is, “Well, how about you just not watch it? Obviously, you’re not subscribed to her or like her page, so why bother?”
More often than not the people on my newsfeed watching Lahren are doing what is called, “hate-watching.” Think about this; have you ever seen something that you absolutely despise but you keep looking at it or watching it because you can’t look away?
Or better yet, have you ever stumbled upon a car crash or train wreck, knowing that people are probably dead or injured, but you just can’t look away from the disaster spectacle right in front of you? Well, that’s what Lahren is to some of us; a train wreck we watch not because she creates informative or insightful content, but because some of us are masochists and/or sadists.
But don’t just take my word for it, take it from the word of someone who actually has experience as a journalist since he’s been doing it for over 25 years. Baltimore Sun writer David Zurawik went on a CNN panel with Lahren to discuss her statements about ‘Black Lives Matter.’
Oh, you didn’t know what her statements about the black lives matter movement were? Well, brace yourself because it’s a doozy. In a tweet that has since been deleted, Lahren wrote, “Meet the new KKK, they call themselves ‘Black Lives Matter’ but make no mistake their goals are far from equality. #Dallas #bluelivesmatter.”
Now we can argue in a civilized manner about the needs of law enforcement, versus the seemingly never ending list of black men and women being shot at or beaten by police for reasons that are never quite air tight.
But calling the movement that wants to hold police accountable for their actions in the hopes of seeing less police shootings against people of color, “the new KKK” is irresponsible and contributes virtually nothing to the conversation.
So when Zurawik went on CNN to confront Lahren about her tweet, he said she went too far and, “that’s really reckless, that kind of tweet at the situation we’re in. As a journalist, what you did appalls me.”
And just to add irony to injury, she calls the black lives matter movement the “new KKK” not realizing that the actual KKK endorsed Donald Trump for president, a man whom Lahren also believes should be president. Nice going, Tomi.
I hope Lahren understands that her viral internet tirades, while profitable, make for a dangerous and disheartening discussion fueled not by facts, but by rage and ignorance. I also hope that Lahren recognizes that she needs to be careful about her word choice, not just because it’s misguided and seen as racist, but because it could be seen as a lapse in ethics.
So, to everyone who enjoys Lahren’s videos; make a concerted effort to double check, do some research, and do some cross referencing, and come to your own conclusions without letting her loudness trick you into thinking she’s insightful.
Those are my “final thoughts” on Tomi Lahren.
