Michael Che Takes His Sincere Political Statement to the ‘Weekend Update’ Desk
Michael Che is not often a sincere poster. Most of his Instagram stories are quippy jokes. Sometimes, he does share something serious, but in a post that’s been liked nearly 100,000 times, Che posted on the platform to share his thoughts on the lack of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The program that provides food assistance to millions of Americans is shuttered as the government shutdown drags on north of a month.
And Michael Che had some thoughts not only about cutting food from hungry families, but also the racist reaction of some to it. “this snap freeze is really fucked up,” Che wrote. “and i keep seeing a lotta racist videos celebrating (mostly black) families not being able to buy groceries.”
The post has been shared and commented on by current and former SNL cast members. Ego Nwodim shared it. “What he said!!!!” Kenan Thompson commented. Veteran comedian Wanda Sykes commented: “Thank you for peeling the onion.”
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“theres this weird idea that since some people have taken advantage of welfare benefits in the hood, NOBODY should recieve help, at all.? this country is built on greedy motherfuckers taking shortcuts and gaming the system to their benefit, but for some reason, when poor people find a way to turn nickel into a dime, theyre judged more severely,” Che’s post continued.
Che concluded by sharing a few details about his own upbringing.
“i kno the whole hustle is to hate each other here so we can fight in the comments and up our engagements,” he wrote. “but lets draw the line at feeding the poor. i grew up on free cheese and powdered milk and waiting for your friends to leave the store so they wont see me pay with stamps.. that shit aint as glamorous as it sounds. i promise.”
On Weekend Update, he kept his thoughts about what millions of families are going through much more succinct. But, even though he dedicated far fewer words, I think he got his point across.
“Due to the government shutdown, SNAP food benefits ran out of funds today, but the government still provides needy families with free food through the Second Amendment,” Che said, before cutting to a gun onscreen.
