2017 has been a highly dysfunctional year in terms of politics. Since Donald Trump took office, we have seen an absurd amount of bigoted politicians saying and doing bigoted things as well as a myriad of high profile celebrities poking fun at Trump and his supporters. Some Hollywood elites have openly discussed their dislike for Trump and have decided to stand up against him, while others choose to simply make fun of him.
The problem, however, is not that some celebrities have chosen to make fun of Trump. The problem is that many of them do not know the difference between making fun of him as resistance and joking about him solely for entertainment purposes.
The people who bring out Sean Spicer, the former press secretary for Trump, out on stage at an award show to give a few jokes only see it as harmless entertainment. The people who bring Trump on their talk show and talk to him like he is a decent human being are thinking about the few extra views.
For most celebrities, Trump is merely a joke; someone they can make fun of and create mocking skits about for the next 3 years until he is out of office. What they fail to realize is that, for many people, Trump is a real and valid threat to their lives and well being.
Many of us cannot just stand and mock Trump while letting him get away with taking away the rights and freedoms of thousands of people.
Also, many celebrities make the decision to never talk about Trump or the current political atmosphere. While keeping up to date with politics can be exhausting (especially today), celebrities have platforms that the rest of us do not. They have voices that are big enough to be heard by the public. Even though you are not impacted by Trump’s administration yourself, it is important to let those who are know that you support them and will stand up for them.
It is completely okay to joke about Trump – after all, most people cope with humour. But, if you are not doing anything to resist him and his policies, you are not helping anybody. It is as simple as contacting your senators or posting a tweet to your followers.
So many celebrities love to call themselves Liberals, but refuse to actually take a stand against Trump and stick to what they seem to believe it. It is time for Hollywood, having the impact it has, to actually take a stand.
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