Recommended for you

Aziz Ansari's Perfect SNL Monologue Post-Inauguration

This is so relevant.

Jan 30, 2017

Aziz Ansari's Perfect SNL Monologue Post-Inauguration

On January 21, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th POTUS, Aziz Ansari hosted Saturday Night Live. The show, which has a recent history of upsetting said POTUS, had high stakes following inauguration day. SNL has always been left-leaning but has become decidedly more so during the past year's election cycle. To many Americans, it is comedic relief from the craziness going on in the political world around us, and one of the few things that keep us sane.

Aziz Ansari, the comedian known for his beloved Tom Haverford in "Parks and Recreation," took on the responsibility of the inauguration episode. And he did it perfectly, hitting the nail on the head and putting into words what many Americans, disgruntled by the election results and US political climate, were thinking.

Aziz started his monologue by addressing the fact that Trump watches the show, saying it's "pretty cool to know he's probably at home right now watching a brown guy make fun of him." He also poked fun at the Women's March, saying "an entire gender protested against" the President.

Aziz goes on to say that we shouldn't demonize everyone who voted for Trump, saying, "I'm sure there's a lot of people who voted for Trump the same way a lot of people listen to Chris Brown... I don't condone the extracurriculars." This was a bold but necessary statement because there are many anti-Trump citizens who do think negatively of every person that voted for Trump, which only further divides us. Chris Brown responded to the joke in an almost comically racist Instagram post in which he referred to Aziz as "Aladdin."

Aziz goes on to talk about a certain, small portion of voters who have always been racist but are no longer hiding it. He coins the term "lowercase kkk" when talking about this group of people's "casual white supremacy." Though it isn't a laughing matter at all, Aziz is able to find the right balance while still getting a very important point across.

Aziz then talks about Islamaphobia. He makes a powerful point about how many people have only heard of people of color in the news for crimes and haven't interacted with law-abiding people of color in their daily lives. Aziz even mentions President George W. Bush's speech after the 9/11 attacks about the difference between the Islam religion and terrorist groups. Aziz brings humor to the message by saying he never thought he would miss George W. Bush.

Aziz ended the monologue with a reassuring note that change comes from "large groups of angry people." Referencing the Women's Marches around the country, he says, "If day one is any indication, you are part of the largest group of angry people I have ever seen."

Report this Content

This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

Health and Wellness

5 Ways To Bring Positivity Into Your Life When All You Want To Do Is Drown In Self-Pity

It seems like life has been serving up more bad than good and in all honesty, the only thing you want to do is crawl under your covers and hide from the rest of the world.

Grand Canyon University

218

5 Ways To Bring Positivity Into Your Life When All You Want To Do Is Drown In Self-Pity

Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash

The first two weeks of classes have come to an end and they have been anything BUT easy. It seems like life has been serving up more bad than good and in all honesty, the only thing you want to do is crawl under your covers and hide from the rest of the world.

Although this seems like the best solution, it is also the easy way out. Take it from the girl who took basically a whole week off from her life because she just could not handle everything that was being thrown at her. This caused her to feel extremely lonely and even more stressed out for being behind in classes that JUST began.

Keep Reading...Show less

self-pity

Entertainment

11 Things We Learned From Brooke Davis

"What's more important? What we become or how we become it?"

St. Thomas Aquinas College

120

"She was fiercely independent, Brooke Davis. Brilliant, and beautiful, and brave. In two years she had grown more than anyone I had ever known. Brooke Davis is going to change the world someday, and I'm not sure she even knows it." - Lucas Scott, An Unkindness of Ravens

Brooke Davis of the hit show One Tree Hill was the it girl - she had it all, or so we thought. She started out as a stuck-up, shallow, spoiled, head cheerleader who didn't have her life together. She slept around a lot and loved to party - sounds like your typical high school teenager right? Wrong. B. Davis had so much more to offer. Caring, loyal, and outspoken, she has taught us some valuable lessons throughout the 9 seasons that OTH was on the air:

Keep Reading...Show less

brooke davis

Relationships

11 Signs You Have An Honorary Roommate

Make yourself at home, why don't you?

Appalachian State University

1934

Rachel Zadeits

For some of us, coming to college was the first time we ever had to share a room. It was a big change, but a fun one. As you meet more and more people over the course of your college career, it seems to be a pattern that you will at some point have that one friend that doesn't live with you, but acts like they do. We call those people, "Honorary Roommates" and here are 11 signs you have one in your life.