Jon Stewart Leaves Republican Senator Speechless In Debate on Drag Shows
By Rebecca Hernandez
As the anti-drag shows and anti-LGBTQI attitudes rise in the United States, comedian Jon Stewart has exposed the hypocrisy of the right-wing political approach.
In a scathing interview with Republican senator Nathan Dahm, the comedian called into question the politician’s paradoxical desire to prohibit children from seeing drag performances while simultaneously campaigning for looser gun regulations.
This comes only days after the Republican Governor in Tennessee signed a bill banning drag shows, described as “adult cabaret performances” on “public property”, or where they can be seen by children.
Gun Violence Vs Drag Shows
Pointing to child-focused events such as drag library readings, Stewart questioned Dahm on why he felt compelled to legislate against such performances rather than issues of genuine importance.
“Because the Government does have a responsibility in certain instances to protect children,” says Dahm, before being interrupted by Stewart.
“Uh huh,” responds Stewart, “and what’s the leading cause of death amongst children in this country? And I’m gonna give you a hint– it’s not drag show readings to children.”
Stewart goes on to explain that firearms are the leading cause of death among children in the United States, “more than cancer, more than car accidents.”
Hypocrisy At Its Highest Order
Indeed, gun-related deaths account for 19% of all child deaths in the United States, more than double that of Cancer (8%), and surpassing Motor-vehicle crashes (18%).
Leaving the politician speechless, the comedian continued, “What you’re telling me is, you don’t mind infringing free speech to protect children from this amorphous thing that you think of. But when it comes to children that have died, you don’t give a flying fuck to stop that because that shall not be infringed”.
“That is hypocrisy at its highest order,” Stewart concludes.
Well done, Mr Stewart !!!