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Rob Schneider Thinks He Knows MLK Better Than Rep. John Lewis

Photo: William A. Smith/AP Photo
I know what you've been thinking: "Hey, Rob Schneider's been pretty quiet. What does he think about the current state of American politics?" Well, wonder no more, since the 53-year-old actor just took a moment away from promoting his Netflix series Real Rob to give some truly bogus input on Rep. John Lewis and civil rights. Rep. John Lewis has been in the news recently after he revealed that he won't be attending Donald Trump's inauguration, saying that he doesn't see the president-elect as a "legitimate president." "It will be the first one that I miss since I've been in Congress," he said on Meet The Press. "You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong, is not right." Trump then responded on Twitter.
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Trump's criticism of a bonafide civil rights hero (who marched with Martin Luther King Jr, is the last living member of the Civil Rights movements Big Six, and was one of the original Freedom Riders) caused a slew of representatives to also boycott the ceremony. Enter Rob Schneider, who for some reason felt this dialogue was missing his input.
"Rep. Lewis. You are a great person," the tweet begins. "But Dr. King didn't give in to his anger or his hurt. That is how he accomplished & won Civil Rights." This statement is not just patronizing, but it's also a purposeful misunderstanding of Dr. King's work. It's further proof that much of MLK's legacy has been shaped and twisted by white people into a symbol of anti-racism that makes them feel comfortable, rather than the truth. Just look at King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" or his 1968 speech "The Other America" and you'll see that King didn't just give into his anger, but he used it as a tool to make change, much like what Rep. John Lewis is doing today. Schneider was immediately hit with some well-deserved backlash.
As of now, Schneider hasn't addressed the anger, but he still has a few more hours of MLK day to at least attempt to patch this up. We're not holding our breath.

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