Condemn the Selective Outrage of Virtue-Signaling Progressives | Opinion

There is near-unanimous agreement: George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. No matter their race, gender, religion or ideology, Americans across the country came together after they watched the brutal and shocking video of Floyd's murder.

But then came the mob of privileged white progressives to exploit this moment and declare themselves brave for speaking up. Spending less time talking about Floyd, and more about why they personally have experienced an awakening, these upscale urbanites turned a tragic death into an opportunity to pat themselves on the backs. And though you didn't ask, they are quick to tell you that they proudly fight bigotry.

Except, they don't. They only talk about fighting bigotry when it's part of a bigger movement they can attach themselves to.

Between posting selfies of themselves sporting their new Lululemon zip hoodie, many privileged white women spent the last week posting on social media about how woke they are. And the woke white dudes now post "Say his name!" memes on Instagram.

I can't tell you how many of these posts I've seen over the last week. I saw it from random people on Instagram, media members on Facebook and the blue checkmark crowd on Twitter. And the trend was less about Floyd and more about their own very, very brave speaking up.

On the surface, there's obviously nothing wrong with speaking out against an injustice; and what happened to Floyd was, to be clear, a gross injustice. But I couldn't help but wonder, for people who proclaim their wokeness and anti-racism so passionately, why they don't ever seem to talk about the issues until there's a mass movement.

And for the folks who claim the mantle of bravery in the name of fighting bigotry, where were they several months ago when Jews were being viciously and repeatedly beaten in New York and New Jersey? Did they post powerful memes condemning the assaults? They weren't so woke then, were they?

We now have Antifa, anarchists and professional activists on our streets declaring themselves anti-racist for fighting against white supremacy—while simultaneously supporting the anti-Semitic BDS movement against Israel and siding with an actual radical Islamic terrorist organization in Hamas. You can't be anti-racism when you're an anti-Semite.

Oftentimes, these same folks then offer disingenuous lectures about white fragility that they learned in some online seminar about micro-aggressions. They only took it to brag to their insulated, groupthink-addled friend group about their new progressive bona fides. But that's just about it. Everything they do is, fundamentally, about themselves—not the people they proclaim to support. They come out against hate when they think it's popular and earns them social media currency. Meanwhile, they stay silent when there isn't a movement to exploit for "likes" and retweets. They're hypocrites, and selfish to boot—but they think they're somehow brave for speaking up.

And heaven forbid they condemn looting and riots. Instead of calling out the violence, they justify it. Not because they actually believe it's the right thing to do, but because they're scared they might offend someone in Black Lives Matter. But these beliefs aren't just condescending; they're, rather ironically, racist insofar as they assume all looters are black and that, by calling it out, they may offend a person of color.

Most people, regardless of their race, can see the dangers of burning American cities. That some white progressives don't realize that is itself offensive.

If you actually want honest conversations or meaningful policy changes on this—or any issues—you must call out these fraudsters. Their obnoxious self-preening does not conduce to improve societal outcomes for anyone.

I'll call George Floyd the victim of a murder not because it gets me points, but because he's the victim of a murder. I'll also call out attacks on Jews because it's the right thing to do—not just because it's my own community being attacked.

As a Seattle-based talk show host and writer, I cover these issues daily. When there's a big movement, I'll analyze it. Where there's an issue not getting much community attention, I'll shine a spotlight on it.

But seeing too many progressives lecturing folks to be more like them is maddening. These progressives don't care about any of this; they just care about themselves. And that's the problem. Rather than offering solutions, these social media activists only offer self-praise.

Jason Rantz is a frequent guest on FOX News and is the host of the "Jason Rantz Show" on KTTH Seattle, heard weekday afternoons. You can subscribe to his podcast here and follow him on Twitter @jasonrantz.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.