Ugh, that Rachel. So infuriating! This post is likely incoherent but so it goes with sagas like this one! Here is my second attempt at concluding my remarks:
In previous posts on the matter, I wished Rachel no harm at the impending storm headed her way. Wishing someone no harm is usually my go to with anyone who has done wrong. I now realize that the subtext of this is the assumption that judgement and strife will be byproducts of their actions, that they will suffer. Messed up though it may be, I also wonder about the possibility that such a statement gives the benefit of the doubt to the wrongdoer once more. Either way, compassion is the sentiment that is likely misplaced when it is clear that white privilege is doing a pretty good job of protecting them from harm that anyone of a darker shade, and of an oppressed legacy would not even be considered a contender for.
The fact that mainstream media bypasses the harm that is done to the black community, and black women in particular, let alone other communities of color, along with other oppressed groups should speak volumes to how this matter continues to be handled. This woman fully expects and appears to be receiving the benefit of the doubt because of the work she has done. She fully expects to be believed in as a black woman. She does not see that she has done anything wrong at all. I'm familiar with such logic. It goes something along the lines of "The only thing I did wrong was be born to white parents!" No sense of accountability, or responsibility for her actions whatsoever! That is how privilege works, and it appears she has yet to consider any of this about her current position, which is a huge part of the fight for equality, equity, and social justice--acknowledging one's privilege ever aware of the possibility of perpetuating associated oppressive acts and vigilant to prevent such things from happening!
Alas, as the money starts pouring in, will she refuse it out of principle? Based on her current acts, of course not! No remorse whatsoever for the damage she is causing to the very social justice she claims to be in favor of. Just reading responses to the mainstream stories out there should point to the damage being done as far as people of color, and the multitude of other oppressed communities being taken seriously when it comes to calls for equity, equality, and justice are concerned. Not to mention the right to their dignity and lives, the right to have their painful legacies fully acknowledged and appreciated, the audacity to mention that racism is about to make as fierce a comeback as ever because of this.
Based on the logic before us, all anyone white has to do is have an anthropologically encyclopedic knowledge of fill-in-the-blank group, embrace and identify as the group, in order to be the diverse representative for that group in any given social setting, but especially in institutions. Worse yet, they can claim to be fighting on our behalf, just like the men fighting for women's reproductive rights, or at least their version of it. The subaltern will no longer have a ghost of a chance of speaking for themselves, working for themselves, which is the ultimate doom and gloom of possible outcomes. But wait it gets worse; some of us will take that broom and sweep our own selves under the rug because that's what the mastery of the master's tools prepared us for! Those that do so forget that the same goes for them too.
No one seems willing to acknowledge that this would not work the other way around. No person of color of a browner hue and nonwhite characteristics could ever mistake themselves for white and expect to live as such. Those that do are readily put in their place by not only whites, but the very people of color they attempted to differentiate themselves from.
I for one get anxious at the thought of having to explain why Rachel is wrong for what she continues to do regardless of her contributions. No one in white mainstream media, and even black mainstream media, seems willing to think about the implications of this for the people of color she claims to represent, their life chances, their future opportunities. No one seems willing to believe the pervasiveness of whitewashing and how it minimizes the continued struggles of people of color. No one seems to consider the continued harm as far as internalizing inferiority goes, especially when it is possible to be us without ever having lived or died as us: hated, feared, considered worthless, ugly, untrustworthy, amoral, oftentimes on-site at first glance. How could the deeply entrenched desire for domination through erasure be ignored when it comes to those that colonized, enslaved, and now appropriate only the attractive aspects of the otherwise oppressed? Yet the oppressed have no problem putting her on their pedestal.
Of course I am over-exaggerating, but sometimes I wonder if I really am. As I mentioned previously, I am suspect, and readily ignored simply because of how I speak, and how I refuse to fall in line with any one majority. What can I say, past experiences have taught me to be careful about who I consider my friends and allies. Based on this turn of events, I wonder if it even matters how hard I work to achieve my goals and dreams when, standing next to someone of a fairer, more attractive appearance (I know my beauty isn't the standard one after all), I will be heavily scrutinized and passed over accordingly. It's a feeling, not an excuse not to try. But now it will be harder to tell why my dreams were deferred (should that happen), especially if I continue to work my buns off for them. I am sure the politics behind this b.s. will have something to do with it given the location.
Women of color--especially black women should be allowed free therapy for life for shit like this. I know it has done a number on my psyche and my soul.
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