https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/black...211534969.html
The gist: A White Jewish woman, history professor and political activist, pretended to be black and has now revealed the falsehood and apologized. Reactions are ... not good.
There are a few things to unpack here:
- While (I think) it's undeniable there's systemic racism in USA when it comes to the police, in academia it's a bonus to be black. That's why Jessica A. Krug lied about it. Much easier to succeed as professor of African American History if you pretend to be black. There would be fewer voices that you didn't put enough work in your published papers and research if you're black and a woman (whether it is true or not there are always naysayers) because some on the other side would be afraid to make such allegations in order to not be labeled racists or misogynists. Etc.
- Sure, she was a fraud. So... not that big of a deal really. I can understand academics being pissed off because she cut the line taking advantage of the flawed system that rewards someone for being born with black skin and female genitals. I can understand people that knew her and trusted her being shocked and dismayed by that deception.
I don't understand why it is considered that bad by ordinary black people she probably never even met, let alone sideline.
I don't understand her own words of "doing so is the very epitome of violence, of thievery and appropriation, of the myriad ways in which non-Black people continue to use and abuse Black identities and cultures"
No, it's not. Shooting a black man on the street because he's running is violence, not the epitome of what black people had to suffer, but it is. Taking every natural resource you can grab from the Caribbean is thievery.
Pretending to be black? It's just cutting the line more or less like Elizabeth Warren did.
How does a professor pretending to be black harm a random black person that never met her?
- I don't understand why it is politically correct to accept that person's gender is a social construct, that someone born with male genitalia and XY chromosomes should be treated as a woman if that person says so... but lo and behold! If you say you're black while you're white, then you're a monster. Especially towards black people.
The woman has mental issues but somehow, when it comes to race, that's not enough to give her a pass.
And yet, "Caribbean Black culture" is a social construct by definition of being a specific culture!
- According to someone proclaiming to be a friends of her in twitter, she didn't speak up because her guilt became unbearable, but because she was found out and would soon be exposed.
I am not sure whether this is the case but it seems the most plausible explanation.
- "I don’t believe that any anti-Black life has inherent value."
Give me a break... Aside of "this sounds like BS crap that progressives shout, especially white ones" and "Doesn't that sound like black supremacy? Try changing black with white and see how it sounds" there's also the issue that the "inherent value" of a life cannot be distilled to any single issue and you cannot say that any sentient life is devoid of value else you enable the killing of perceived racists.
- She was an associate professor with three publications! No, seriously, RG also has just those 3 papers!
Her ratings with the students are a bit iffy too...