By SheelaR

Historically, African Americans who tried “passing” as white did so for survival. As they were exposed for “passing,” they faced serious consequences. Any comparisons to Rachel Dolezal’s case are an affront to black people everywhere. Many people are deeply offended by the very idea that someone whose family suffered none of the horrifying systemic racism that blacks have and continue to endure, would so gleefully immerse herself in it as if it were a game. She behaved as though simply claiming it made the black experience hers by default. Any assertion that she had good intentions doesn’t hold up.

Black women in America are still struggling to obtain the most basic aspects of respect in this country. It’s not fair for them to be marginalized in the shadow of a woman who is pretending to know their struggle through real life experiences, when she in fact fabricated them all. I’ve tried to resist the urge to label her, but she’s a sociopath. She co-opted a culture and lied about it, in addition to unfairly obtaining opportunities. I’d also like to remind folks that pretending to be Black is the least of Rachel Dolezal’s hoax. Her faked hate crimes hurt the community she served. Her behavior is borderline criminal.

The work that she “put in” on behalf of the black community while donning black face, is in fact an oxymoron. Those two things cannot reasonably co-exist. It’s all about her own agenda, pity, and attention. If the NAACP decides to keep her on, they will be consigning her unethical behavior. Instead of admitting they were duped and promptly dismissing her, they decided to save face by publicly supporting her altered identity and her pointless explanations. Going forward, I won’t be supporting any of their efforts. They will forever be mired in controversy.

Only in America can you commit such an egregious act against the black community and not only get a pass, but profit from the ignorance of your supporters. I predict Rachel Dolezal will get a TV movie, a book deal & tours on her experience as a black woman. This is the ultimate white privilege. Welcome to America! Rachel Dolezal ran a long con to get to a place where she could have higher status in a community that she fetishistizes, not fully understanding that saying you identify as black, doesn’t make you black. Instead of appropriating a black identity to support the black community, why not do that from within the skin you’re in? To surreptitiously gain control of blackness that is conditioned by centuries of oppression, in the ultimate act of a blackface performance.

*If you’re not familiar with the story, please see the links posted below 🙂

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/12/opinions/rachel-dolezal-france/

However this turns out, Rachel… Godspeed to ya!