After Jon Stewart left, I stopped watching the Daily Show. Yes, I was sad that he left and knew the show would never be the same, but I didn’t stop watching out of some blind prejudice against someone I saw as trying to fill Stewart’s shoes. Trevor Noah was going to do his own thing, and that was more than fine: that was preferred.

Be yourself. Do your own thing.

In fact, I really tried to watch it afterward, but I had to be honest with myself — and so I must honest to whoever might be reading my blather presently: I just felt that the show declined. I couldn’t pinpoint why.

After watching a video, presumably sent from his home, regarding the recent protests over the blatant murder of George Floyd, however, I realized what the problem was, at least from my perspective.

I simply don’t find Trevor Noah funny.

And I can see him trying to be funny whenever I try to watch a clip of the Daily Show and I simply find it too damned uncomfortable to take in. I’ve watched at least one of his stand-ups, too, and it was, at best, kind of okay.

So I tried. And I know I sound like an epic douche-bag, and I realize that, but I’m being honest. And I’m more than just a douche-bag. For reals.

So anyway, I generally don’t find him giggle-worthy. After having watched an in-depth interview with him about his life and worldview some time ago, however, I can’t help but have a deep, profound respect for the guy. He knows multiple languages, he is clearly incredibly intelligent and analytical, and he articulates himself amazingly well.

He’s had his foot in more than one world in more than one way, from the circumstances of his birth onward. He has an outsider’s perspective, an intelligent and analytical mind, and a great amount of empathy. And his insights, particularly in the aforementioned video regarding Floyd, are ones I find unspeakably invaluable and enlightening.

For instance, when he enlightened me to the fact, now clearly evident to me, that Amy Cooper “blatantly knew how to use the power of her whiteness to threaten another man and his blackness.” I feel he framed what transpired in that video accurately, and in such a way that I fear I would have failed to consider on my own.

And in the midst of it, he actually manages to make me laugh — without overtly attempting to do so, either. It was natural.

And then there was the framework he graciously offered for those truly seeking to understand the protests and riots that followed George Floyd’s murder:

Society, but what is society? And fundamentally, when you boil it down, society is a contract. Its a contract that we sign as human beings amongst each other. We sign a contract with each other as people, whether its spoken or unspoken, and we say, “Amongst this group of us, we agree on common rules, common ideals, and common practices that are going to define us as a group.” That’s what I think a society is, its a contract. And, as with most contracts, the contract is only as strong as the people who are abiding by it.

… think about how many people who don’t have, the have-nots, say, “You know what? I’m still gonna play by the rules, even though I have nothing, because I still wish for the society to work and exist.”

And then, some members of that society, namely black American people, watch time and time again how the contract they have signed with society is not being honored by the society that has forced them to sign it with them. … the only reason you weren’t looting Target before was because you were upholding society’s contract. There is no contract if law and people in power don’t uphold their end of it. … we understand in society that if you lead by example, there is a good chance that people will follow that example that you have set. And so, if the example law enforcement is setting is that they do not adhere to the laws, then why should the citizens of that society …?

In my humble opinion, he needs to do more commentary like this where he doesn’t feel the pressure to crack a joke but can express himself freely through his heart and mind, as I think he has a lot to offer — and given enough people take the time to listen, his impact could be substantial.