Comedian/Actor Rob Schneider, who apparently has a television show on Netflix that you’ve never heard of, has decided to jump into the battle between Trump and civil rights legend John Lewis - and promptly stepped on every landmine he could find.
Schneider spends much of his days bashing Democrats on his Twitter account with inane tweets like:
I haven't seen the Democrats this mad since we freed the slaves!
— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) November 18, 2016
While the Democratic Party doesn't lack diversity, it does lack graciousness, humility and now control of Congress and the White House.
— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) November 20, 2016
And most hilariously…
May God's infinite grace bestow on our new President the wisdom and kindness to move us beyond the vitriol and ugliness that divides us.
— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) November 9, 2016
Something tells me God didn’t deliver this particular miracle. Trump has spent his time since the election screaming at his critics and smearing people with the maturity of a 3-year-old.
But on MLK Day, Schneider decided the one thing the tributes to Dr. King’s legacy were missing was his take. It was a very bad take.
Rep. Lewis. You are a great person. But Dr. King didn't give in to his anger or his hurt. That is how he accomplished & won Civil Rights.
— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) January 16, 2017
A good rule of thumb is that if you are tempted to lecture a person on what Dr. King would or wouldn’t have wanted, you may want to make sure that the person you are lecturing didn’t actually know and march with Dr. King during the Civil Rights Movement.
Rep. John Lewis is in a unique position to speak on Dr. King’s legacy - because he’s a part of it. When Dr. King organized a march on Selma, a very young John Lewis marched alongside him. And was beaten by state troopers alongside him as well.
And it’s worth noting that while revered today, many white Americans found Dr. King and his message divisive and improper during his lifetime. Less than half (46%) of white Americans said they supported the Selma demonstrations at the time. In Alabama, the number was just twenty-one percent. Martin Luther King Jr. was viewed as a rabblerouser and his tactics of civil disobedience were opposed by even “moderate” white people who figured the protests were doing more harm than good.
Dr. King’s anger and hurt existed, but they were channeled through direct action against the forces pitted against him. Given the way Trump has routinely disparaged African Americans over his career and campaign, Lewis has every right to view Trump’s ascendancy as one of the greatest threats to civil rights in decades. Like Dr. King, boycotting the inauguration is one way to express that dissatisfaction.
So Rob, take a seat, shut up, and perhaps even listen to what people like John Lewis (and now two dozen more Democrats) are saying: Trump’s presidency is the most divisive in modern history. It’s terrifying for many Americans. And there will be a resistance. And if that’s too complicated, maybe this gif will help.
NEVER FORGET. #boondocks #MLK #MLKDAY pic.twitter.com/KFCJgLqyRT
— Jourdain N. Searles (@vhsfeminist) January 16, 2017
Featured image via Rochelle Brodin/Getty Images for NUVOtv
