Odd news for the day: transracialism

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 9:54 am by Jane the Actuary

Odd news for the day: transracialism 2015-06-12T09:54:14-06:00 Jane the Actuary

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Yes, that’s the way people are tossing around this story, about a woman, Rachel Dolezal, not just white but blonde, who dyed and permed her hair and has been, for the better part of a decade at least, claiming to be black, reporting hate crimes (presumably hoaxes), teaching Africana Studies from the perspective of being one of “the group”, etc. “If transgenderism means that you can claim to be a woman because you feel like one, then transracialism must be the equivalent for your racial identity — ha, ha!”

This is clearly wrong, and yet also symptomatic of a society in which claiming victim status confers benefits, and in which “identity” is all-important.

As I write this, the most recent news popping up in google is this CNN article, in which it is, not surprisingly, reported that Dolezal has refused to comment. But in addition to the “transracial” jokes, CNN reports the reaction from black tweeters, such as this:

“It’s not just her appropriation. It’s that she claimed an oppression that wasn’t hers,” wrote user Charles Clymer.

and said this:

But many users, particularly African-Americans, bemoaned that switching race doesn’t work like switching gender, noting that black people can’t pretend to be white to avoid discrimination.

Now, do I have anything in particular to add to this? No, not really. It’s just sad. And yet — was Dolezal doing this solely to gain from affirmative action and a career in racial advocacy? She was, for a time, married to a black man. Her adopted siblings were black. I would guess that she started with caring deeply about the cause of, well, the “advancement of colored people” (per the NAACP) and wanting to fit in with the community she associated with, and took a wrong turn, because she couldn’t fit in and wasn’t welcomed, otherwise.

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