It’s safe to say that politics, especially in the last few months, have been in shambles. Wading through the cesspool that is mainstream media can be quite the endeavor. Have no fear, The Young Turks are here! The Young Turks (TYT) is a media organization with a group of hosts that break down events as they occur in the political sphere. Hasan Piker, a member of TYT, has been deemed “woke bae” not only for his alarmingly good looks but also his poignant political commentary. Piker, armed with his sharp wit, is about to rock your world.
Piker is somewhat famous for the ways in which he dispels narratives that are constructed by his political opposites. You might recognize Piker from his popular videos, titled “The Breakdown,” in which he deconstructs the arguments posed by a political opposite, Tomi Lahren. Piker frames his political commentary in regards to the largely conservative talking points that Lahren raises. In his responses to Lahren’s statements, Piker address prominent issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement, women’s rights and other significant social issues.
The appeal behind Piker’s videos is twofold; not only is Piker visually appealing, but he also explains the issues occurring in the political world in a way that makes sense to many people. By way of video responses, Piker raises awareness for issues that, for too long, have had a blind eye turned on them.
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It’s also safe to say that Piker knows what he’s talking about since he received a degree in Political Science/Communication from Rutgers University. His good looks are a total perk, but what’s more important about Piker’s role as a political commentator are the ways he utilizes social media to encourage people to participate in politics.
Piker is extremely active on Twitter (@hasanthehun) and Instagram (@hasandpiker). He educates and informs over two hundred thousand people on these platforms alone. Piker also makes it a point to address comments made by other political figures that are just flat out wrong. For example, in “The Breakdown” videos, Piker highlights Lahren’s own blatant hypocrisy about displaying forms of patriotism in American society.
Piker takes issue with the notion that certain displays of protest, such as NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem, are divisive and impede progress toward social change (meanwhile, various forms of protest are what literally founded America but that’s a whole other can of worms.) Piker differs from someone like Lahren because his arguments are based on facts, whereas Lahren leans heavily on emotion to sway her viewers. It’s necessary to have people like Piker challenging political figures to be more forthcoming about their actual agendas, especially in today’s political landscape of Fake News and scare tactics.
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What makes Piker’s videos so appealing is the upfront, straight-to-the-point delivery that the political guru has mastered. He, unlike many other political figures, streamlines his arguments for those viewing so that they understand and absorb the information that he’s trying to spread. In “The Breakdown” videos, Piker will go from crumbling Lahren’s poorly constructed, ultra-conservative arguments to then pondering why she still refuses to slide into The Young Turk’s DMs (we’re still waiting, Tomi). Piker is funny as hell and has some amazing genes, but the coolest part about him is that he genuinely cares about other groups of people.
Piker devotes a lot of time to address the racism and bigotry that still prevail in American society today. For example, Piker recently designed some pretty sweet shirts that summed up some of his basic principles that he values (truthfully, we all should). Piker is doing important work by standing up for groups of people that have been rendered voiceless in our current political climate. The videos created by Piker are crazy popular because it’s apparent that his desire to help disenfranchised people is a genuine one. He is a breath of fresh air that deviates from the typical self-serving social media icon that tends to be plastered all over various forms of social media.
Even if your own political alignments don’t entirely match up with Piker’s, his videos are still worth checking out because he presents his opinions and beliefs in a way that could potentially spark thought and conversation. Piker is always open to speaking to others with opposing political beliefs because he likes to see the way the other end of the political spectrum views things. His ability to thrive in a setting that challenges his own personal ideologies is something we all can aspire to. Love it or hate it, “woke bae” has taken ahold of major social media outlets and he’s here to stay.
