Lauren Boebert used Martin Luther King Jr to call for end of ‘woke’ America. It didn’t go well
Lauren Boebert’s attempt to use Martin Luther King Jr Day to attack the “woke” movement didn’t go to plan. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Republican Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert tried to use Martin Luther King Jr Day to call for an end to the “woke” movement in the US – but people were simply not buying it.
After being schooled on how global warming works, following a previous clueless tweet, Boebert took to X/Twitter again the same day (15 January), writing: “This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we celebrate the life of a man who led a movement for freedom and prosperity for all. The fight was for equality, not equity. His dream is the American Dream.”
Those who knew and loved the Sixties civil rights leader have previously said his dream undoubtedly included LGBTQ+ people.
Boebert went on to claim equity had no part in King’s dream, adding: “It was about equality. Let’s end the woke movement in America in honour of MLK Jr.”
Equality means everyone is given the same opportunities, while equity means each person is given the resources and opposites needed to reach an equal outcome.
Boebert’s post has resulted in a number of people calling her out for continually stoking the right-wing culture war, with one person pointing out: “Without achieving equity first, you can’t have equality. Offering all students free wi-fi would not be an example of equality unless you first made sure that they all had the same computers in order to access the free wi-fi.”
Another asked: “Equity means to treat people with fair and impartial treatment, so what is your problem with that?”
And a third commented: “You stand for nothing Dr. King stood for. His family doesn’t support MAGA [Trump supporters]. Shut up.”
Yet another was rather less kind. “In the grand tapestry of understanding, your expertise on matters related to MLK is as elusive as finding penguins in the Sahara desert,” they said.
Others highlighted that the Republican Party “tramples on civil rights” daily, working in totally the opposite way to how King did.
Boebert, who earlier this month blamed superstar Barbra Streisand for forcing her to run for office in a different district of Colorado next year, has routinely targeted LGBTQ+ people during her time in the spotlight.
In October 2021, she described Dr Rachel Levine’s continued visibility and appointment as proof the US is heading towards “woke medicine”.
Levine is the first openly trans federal official approved by the senate and the first openly trans four-star admiral in US history.
Eleven month later, Boebert accused pro-LGBTQ+ Democrats of “delusion” in a debate about the annual National Defense Authorisation Act.
“Our military needs to be lethal and able to defend our national security, not pander to the woke extremist left and made-up fairy tales,” said the representative, who also deliberately misgendered a trans veteran and deputy under-secretary at the Defense Department.
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