Although being an outspoken conservative is increasingly difficult in today’s social media environment, one social influencer has fully embraced the challenge: Lauren Kim. Here’s what she shared in her recent interview with YAPAL.
Lauren’s Story:
Born to first generation Korean-American immigrants, Lauren was raised in a household with strong Christian values. Originally from suburban Los Angeles and currently residing in San Francisco, Lauren faces constant hostility toward her political opinions. For instance, she recalls an experience in an AP Government class, where Republicans were demonized and Democrats presented as saints. Initially, Lauren only created non-political TikToks, but transitioned over to conservative, politically-charged content following the radical BLM movement during the summer of 2020. Aside from politics, she strives for humor by “add[ing] a funny twist to political TikToks”. Soon after, she was recruited as an editor for Youth in Policy, a political bipartisan newspaper, where she was able to combine her platform and interest in politics. Besides being a social media influencer, Lauren enjoys hiking and backpacking in her free time. She has also recently started reading political theory, especially Thomas Sowell’s works, and learning more about economic libertarianism.
On Conservatism
Lauren Kim’s conservatism and patriotism are driven by her personal faith, as well as her deeply-held beliefs in individual liberty, the Constitution of the United States, and the founding philosophies of this country. Her pro-American identity has only been enhanced by her Asian American background. Lauren is adamantly against the use of violence to achieve equality in society and unsurprisingly, her “red pill” moment came when she felt compelled to speak out against the violence of the BLM movement despite much backlash. In addition to her firm stance against the weaponization of cancel culture, Lauren is proud of her pro-life, pro family, and pro-Second Amendment values.
Ever since achieving internet fame, Lauren has received a range of responses, including from her own family, who share her Christian, conservative identity. While her father has been very supportive, her mother has discouraged her from stirring up so much controversy. Many of Lauren’s friends and peers have also cut their connections to her. In more extreme circumstances, she has been accused of being a white supremacist, whitewashed, and racist. Despite these attacks, Lauren sees value in those who disagree with her and remains convicted of the importance of political tolerance and bipartisanship. She has also gained many friends by empowering those whose political opinions are typically silenced on social media.
Lauren believes that conservatives need to do a better job of communicating conservative values and appealing to minority youth populations to bridge the generational gap. Arguing that “Trumpism” is a viable asset to the Republican Party, she hopes that the GOP will be led by champions of individual liberty like Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Ron DeSantis, while maintaining high levels of bipartisanship.
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