I do not condone what Rachel Dolezal did, but in this system, in which we are all constantly forced to prove ourselves, to struggle to get ahead, I can certainly understand the temptation. I myself have had to ask myself do I really need whatever assistance comes along with checking hispanic. I am hispanic. But I am also white. And I certainly grew up with a hell of a lot more privilege than some other hispanic people I know. So by checking that box and taking whatever extra assistance it gives me- am I not also robbing someone else who might be more deserving- of that?
The whole system seems fucked up to me, when we live in a society technologically capable of making all of this moot. It would then just be an interesting quirk or a cute fantasy like my niece, who when she was 9 and living in Oakland, CA, with mainly black children for playmates and a very close grandmother type black woman friend, in her life and so she would assert vehemently that she was black. Of course she wasn't gaining any privileges for it so it was just smiled and chuckled at. So it's not the same as what Rachel has or has not (I guess up to now it seems hearsay that she's actually done anything illegal) done. But again, it would all be moot, if we lived in a system where no one had any privileges over any other. And that is not a fantasy, that we could live in such a system. It's a very real possibility that many are talking about.
ONE WOMAN WANTED TO KNOW WHERE HER WHITE PRIVILEGES WERE " I hate arguing race and Jim Crowe laws and all that. If you go back far enough we are all black because all human ancestry began in Africa. AA students often get a leg up due to race and socioeconomic status, but there aren't any scholarships for white people from the same situations, trust me, there aren't. I think anyone who wants to go to college should be able to go and it should be free like how they do in other countries. To much importance is placed on money, race, socioeconomic status, geography, religion, many other things that just should not matter."
In one manner, your "white privilege" lie in the fact that you as a homeless white person could take a shower, put on some clean clothes -not saying you weren't clean, just that if need be you could do those things and go out in the world and and look for a job and do the things you needed to do without anyone having to know you were homeless. I'm assuming if you were clean and presentable you could also walk through a Walmart without being followed by security. I'm also assuming you could walk through a rich all white neighborhood and not have everyone assume you were up to no good so long as you were reasonably clean and well kept. I myself have been homeless, and as much as it sucked I've always known I still had more privilege than people of darker color than I. However, homeless or clean, I have to wonder if in certain situations, my name kept me from getting fair treatment. In any case, people of color cannot wash that off.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/16/if-rachel-dolezal-says-she-s-black-she-s-black-sort-of.html
David S. says:
“Dressing up” like another race, not wanting to be who you really are, usually stems from early trauma that causes one to dissociate from themselves. Aside from that, this is yet another distraction from the real issues the world faces. from Variety.com
Former basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabar wrote an article for Time Magazine Monday saying, "You can't deny Dolezal has proven herself a fierce and unrelenting champion for African Americans, politically and culturally. He also said, "The black community is better off because of her efforts." From http://www.krem.com/story/news/local/spokane-county/2015/06/16/many-still-celebrating-dolezals-successes/28845771/
