Trevor Noah opened his Daily Show monologue Thursday with, “First up, did you guys see the shooting that happened two days ago? Because don’t worry, if you missed it, there was another one yesterday.”
He went on to explain, through the trademark Comedy Central mix of humor, facts, and incredulous news clips, that it is possible to be both pro-black and pro-cop in the wake of recent murders at the hands of police. It was the monologue people have been waiting for since Noah took over for longstanding host Jon Stewart last fall.
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Because Noah is a native of South Africa, it was expected that he’d have an outsider’s perspective that would color his observations on American society. On Thursday (July 7), he delivered. “And you know the hardest part of having a conversation surrounding police shootings in America, it always feels like in America, if you take a stand for something you automatically are against something else. Such a strange world to be in,” he said. “It’s either one or the other. With police shootings it shouldn’t have to work that way. … You shouldn’t have to choose between the police and the citizens that they are sworn to protect.”
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Noah has gotten flak for taking a softball approach to some of the cultural happenings since his run began. But he displayed passion and boldness as he broke down what is just common sense to many people. He questioned why video footage never seems to be enough evidence for skeptics, as well as the frequent excuse by police that their body cameras stopped working. “Really? The camera became dislodged? I call bulls–t. I call bulls–t. Because I’ve seen white people cameras — those things never come off,” Noah said, while footage played of a BMX jump being filmed by the rider.
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People hailed Jon Stewart when he made blunt, impassioned declarations on race in his monologues. Of course, it’s worth noting that Stewart was not saying anything different from what black people have been saying for years, but the benefit of white privilege in those instances made him appear “woke.” Since his exit, _Daily Show _ratings have not been the same. Yes Noah is not American, but he is still biracial, and we can only wait to see if he receives the same praise as Stewart or takes a hit due to his honest, stirring words.
Watch the video in its entirety below: