Please read the following article which contains several, strong and valid points about the American Left. "Yes, Rachel Dolezal Is Black Jun. 17, 2015 This week, Rachel Dolezal, the former local head of the Spokane NAACP, a lecturer in Africana studies at Eastern Washington University, and a proud black woman, was revealed to be a non-proud white woman. She lied about her personal history: She said her parents whipped her when they lived in South Africa, that she underwent **** and physical abuse, that the KKK targeted her with swastikas and nooses. No evidence exists to support any of this. Her parents point out that Dolezal has no black ancestry, and grew up in a Montana home as the child of two white parents. Nonetheless, Dolezal insists she is black. "I was drawing self-portraits with the brown crayon instead of the peach crayon, and black curly hair," she said to Today. "It's a little more complex than me identifying as black or answering a question of, are you black or white?" Just two weeks ago, the world went gaga over Bruce Jenner's transformation into Caitlyn Jenner; the left passionately insisted that Jenner's genetics, hormones and ***** did not mean he could not be a woman. The president of the United States felt the need to tweet out his support for Jenner, stating, "It takes courage to share your story." Anyone who abided by the antiquated notion that biological sex exists was treated as a Neanderthal holdover. Now, however, the left insists that Rachel Dolezal is not black. On June 9, The Daily Beast headlined, "Caitlyn Jenner Is Pissing Off Feminists and Bigots -- Good for Her." Three days later, The Daily Beast headlined, "BREAKING: NAACP 'Stands Behind' Fake Black Woman." The left insists on preserving non-biological, illegitimate racial barriers because they exploit those racial barriers for political gain; the left insists on destroying biologically based sexual differences because they wish to overthrow all established sexual mores. So what distinguishes Jenner from Dolezal? On what basis can we reject Dolezal's blackness, given that the left has now redefined objective reality as self-definition? If you want to be a woman, you are a woman. If you want to be black, why can't you be black? Nick Gillespie of Reason magazine makes the odd argument that Jenner had transformed into a woman because Jenner sincerely believes that he has transformed into a woman, whereas Dolezal had fraudulently lied about her race for gain. Now that Dolezal has averred her sincerity, presumably she is black. Or perhaps there is some objective measure of race? But that, too, fails on the merits: Sex is significantly more biological than race, and it is significantly more significant than race. Skin color is surely biological, but the relevance of race is purely sociological, as even those on the left acknowledge. As Ian Haney Lopez of U.C. Berkeley writes, biology "refutes the supposition that racial divisions reflect fundamental genetic differences." Black people have black skin, but how black must your skin be for you to be legitimately black? In the Old South, one drop of black blood made you black, and therefore fit for discrimination. But that was a racist societal distinction, not a biologically based one. As Rachel Dolezal puts it, if you go far back enough, "we're all from the African continent." Perhaps race is a societal construct and can change, but society must uphold racial differences for some greater goal? But that would be pure racism: The goal of fighting racism would be to alleviate racial distinctions, which have no behavioral basis, despite the musings of the would-be comedians at #AskRachelDolezal. And so we come to this inescapable conclusion: By the left's standards, Rachel Dolezal is black. She can choose her race, just as Bruce Jenner can choose his sex. And she didn't choose. She always felt that way. After all, no one would choose to be black, just as no one would choose to be gay -- blacks are so put upon in American society that no one would fake being black for, say, the benefits of employment or mainstream leftist celebration. Perhaps we can all learn from Rachel Dolezal: Race doesn't matter. Except that it does for people like Rachel Dolezal, which is why she went black. Rachel Dolezal is a poster child for the deconstructionist, victim-manufacturing left. But now she's learning: Once you go black, the left will make you go back." Ben Shapiro, http://m.townhall.com/columnists/bensha ... k-n2013404 So I have a simple question for the KaWmunity; if the Left in America says you can be a woman simple because one's feelings dictate it, throwing out all previous scientific standards (no longer are biological males and females recognized), then why can't someone self-identify as another race and be completely accepted? Please post your thoughts and let's have a discussion.
I am a white male.....so my opinion matters little on this subject. But I will say that every word of this womans platform appears to be a lie. I watched her interview on national television and she controverted all her own staments. She admitted to never have been in south africa, to using tanner or bronzing lotions to make herself appear black, to manipulating her hair so it curled better, to being beaten because she was black and the list goes on.....I dont believe anything other than this person has mental issues and is starving for attention. I further believe that the black community as a whole has been treated unjust by her lies and deception. I work with many african americans and I tell you this....I have seen first hand the personal abuse they sometimes receive just because the color of their skin...it makes me sick when I see it. I do all i can within my authority to make it better for them. All she has done is create another wedge in todays society because she has problems with integrity...If she wanted to be black, so be it...be black. But dont create lies. Jenner says he wants to be a woman. Ok. This day and age accepts that. This is not the "apple to apple" argument though. He did not lie to gain personal advancement. This thread will be interesting
Ummmm...... How does one crazy person in any way make a case that we have a societal issue with people wanting to be called/choose different races?
Um bruce isnt a woman and this chick isnt black. The media wants to support "transgendered" so they make believe that brucey is caitlyn and a woman ...but hes not really...so yeah ...you are what you are until you decide you are something else these days.
I find this "black" woman pathetic if she is trying to degrade the whole transgendered community with this piece of garbage defense.
Bloody American rednecks and their politics. Why does this story have anything to do with being a leftist?
I don't know why I'm bothering to post about this in forums, but anyways: A few points: 1. First, blanket statements about the "American left" are almost never apt. The left in America is far more disjointed and diverse than the right. You will find a multiplicity of views on many subjects on the left. 2. In my personal view, much academic theorizing on identity (whether it be racial or gender) is a load of hooey. While there may be genuine differences between say, sex, gender identity and gender expression, these tend not to carefully disentangled in the media. Sex refers to a biological category, whereas identity and expression are sociological and psychological categories. 3. There is a much deeper biological component to sex than there is to race. Most academics who study this understand that there is little to no biological basis to assigning racial categories (both in the humanities and the sciences). This makes the issue of race an almost wholly sociological and psychological construct, unlike sex. 4. What is puzzling about the comparison between Jenner and dolezal from this perspective is why one might feel more comfortable (as many seem to be) with the fluidity of identity for a category that does have a biological basis yet resistant to to one that doesn't. 5. Partly what seems to be upsetting people, to contrast the two cases, is that everyone knows Jenner was a man, and chose to become a woman. However, dolezal appears to have hidden and lied about her history, and that makes her a liar, rather than "brave or courageous". 6. Notwithstanding, I think the reason why the "American left" see a difference between the two cases is almost wholly in terms of the sociological differences between gender and race. The sociology of race is inherently different from the sociology of gender because race is generational, whereas gender isn't. Racism affects generations, the transmissions of racial issues does not only affect you, but it affected your parents, and will affect your children. Race is not something you can escape. Conversely, gender is not a "trap" that affects communities as a whole. Over generations, while there may be gender discrimination, the pairing of men and women within communities implies that such communities and groups can thrive even in the presence of sexism. This, I suspect that the fluidity of gender is for many less problematic than race, because in adopting a new gender, you are not trying to take on a particular historical and generational identity. Simply put, one can say that identifying as black is not just about the colour of your skin, and identifying and female is not just about what genitalia you have. What differentiates these cases is exactly what you are taking on when you choose to change identity, and in the case of race (at least in America) it is far more than a personal choice, but a decision to join a community that may not respect that choice due to the fact that you do not share the history that is considered necessary to be part of that group.
And Ty kaw censors for filtering out a certain perfectly respectable word that starts with an 's' and ends with an 'x' in what is a serious and thoughtful post. Again, makes me question why I bother posting
Golthar, you post because nuance and rational perspective and analysis is necessary, especially in the face of hate-mongering and blind bigotry. Thank you for that perspective and post.
Being ashamed of your natural self to the point of being willing to pay a doctor to cut your body parts off is, in my opinion, the ultimate submission to low self-esteem. Be proud of your natural self and the body you were born with - whether you're a white man or a black woman.
But I thought it inspirational and brave? That's what the news says, and the president, and ESPN. They can't all be wrong can they?