Someone needs to hold my earrings, because the amount of ignorance spewed from the mouth of a single white woman has never frustrated me more. Most of us with a computer and friends have heard of good ole Tomi Lahren. If the name doesn't ring a bell, don't worry! Get on Facebook and you would surely run into one of her tyrannical and painfully oblivious rants. There are quite a few reasons why Tomi's "Final Thoughts," never cease to raise my blood pressure; the most prominent, however, is that America has been lulled into submission by a pretty face with antiquated and, frankly, racist ideals.
Thankfully, the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, and as Tomi so elegantly put in one of her most recent videos referring to Colin Kaepernik, "protects my right to shred you for it [opinion]." As much as I would love to begin the discourse of a wealthy, WHITE news anchor telling African Americans to "get over" systemic racism...I'll save it for another time. Instead, let's focus on another one of her blissfully unintelligent statements regarding race and poverty.
Bernie Sanders, at the Democratic Debate in Flint, Michigan, stated that when you are white, you do not know what it is like to be poor. A border line controversial statement when simply read as is without context. Tomi Lahren, however, appears to not only despise context...but prefers life without it. She proceeds to declare -- and I freaking quote -- "White people understand what poor is, some just don't choose to be victimized by it." Great. Well here are some of my "final thoughts." This statement in and of itself is a micro (an argument could be made for macro) aggression towards the African American populist. "Some" white people choose not be victimized by poverty? As if all people of color do...No, the point Tomi obviously misses or simply chooses to ignore, is that Bernie's statement was not made out of "white guilt," but acknowledgment of white privilege.
The pitiful fact of the matter is that I, as a white female, may fall below the poverty line but will always be one step ahead because of the color of my skin. This statement is not white guilt, it's truth. I did nothing to earn this privilege, instead, my ancestors built a capitalist empire which very inception was birthed to assure MY success. No, this fact is not pretty and acknowledging it has to change your worldview. Not only does Tomi Lahren refuse for her perfect picture of white suburbia to be destroyed (because racism doesn't really exist right?) but would rather play "Sex and the City" and continue applying fake eyelashes to blind her from seeing the America we live in.
As if her political radicalism wasn't enough to paint Tomi as an utter farce to all things activism, things only continue to get worse when realizing that every breath she takes is blatant irony. Not only did she compare the Black Lives Matter movement to the Ku Klux Klan, but speaks with authority on the matter as if she has experienced any real racism herself. Trust me, I understand the discrimination that occurs towards women in the workplace every day. I am more than sure that Tomi does too as she entered a male dominated facet of media. I do not, however, nor will I ever, understand what it is like to be judged for the color of my skin the same way equally important citizens of this country do. The fact that Tomi speaks with such vehement disgust towards a greatly needed wake up call is a joke. She states time and time again that race relations really aren't as bad as they seem. No shit. They aren't for you because you. are. white.
Tomi literally stands for everything wrong with America. She is an attractive white female from an upper-class family that has been spoon fed sentiments that her opinion is not only right, but that her shallow dollhouse life should not be disturbed by those who do not fit into it. Normally, I would applaud a woman for making such a huge impact within the media dissemination industry; instead, I am embarrassed to share the same chromosomes. America is being dosed a corrupt and one-sided view of life through Tomi Lahren's appalling views on issues she knows nothing about. I do not get to say that racism is not happening just because it doesn't affect me. I don't get to tell people to get over their problems with injustices because they are not mine. I sure as hell do not get to keep vomiting literal crap out because I'm a pretty girl from a nice family.
Racism is real. It exists. it does not look the same way it did in 1776, but it is thriving in the land of the free. Tomi Lahren's opinions are not only completely ignorant but self-centered and obnoxious. I highly suggest we all start experiencing life outside of our normal borders...if I don't ever walk down the street, I will never know what lies there.
