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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIt's shocking so many people including NAACP are defending Dolezal
I can only surmise that her defenders have never been involved with a compulsive liar and are totally unaware how much havoc and pain they leave in their wake. Her parents know as she has made them out to be liars and abusers. True to form this compulsive liar ends up looking like the victim and having her lies taken as the truth.
Given that lots of white people have worked for civil rights, she didn't have to be black to so. Of course, being a white civil rights activist probably would not have got her to the position of president of any branch of the NAACP but she still could have been effective However it clearly wasn't enough for her to be any old foot soldier but like all compulsive liars she had no qualms about manipulating events to suit herself.
What she needs is therapy not defenders and those around her should run for the hills until she gets serious therapy.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)I understand wanting to fit in somewhere.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)She apparently revived the NAACP chapter in Spokane. This is not a bad thing.
Boudica the Lyoness
(2,899 posts)And so are her false reports to the police about racial/hate crimes.
http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_385adfeb-76f3-5050-98b4-d4bf021c423f.html
She is a sick person in my opinion.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)We only have their version of things so far.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)a scholarship which meant that someone who didn't have the options she had didn't. To ingratiate herself into the black community she concocted lies about her family which have made them appear to liars. She accused them of whipping her like a slave because of her skin color. She said they have lied about her real father; she maintains that the man who says he is her father is only her step-father.
She may have revived that chapter of the NAACP but at what cost? Does the end justify the means?
How does it help the NAACP now that her lies have surfaced? They look like they have been played as fools.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)Apparently the local chapter was dead, and now it is active.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)In both cases, they claimed to be members of a minority group they weren't in order to advance their careers. This feeds the "white people don't get the advantages other races do" line, which we don't need any more of right now.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)this has more to do with her real psychological identity, to me, rather than a calculated career move.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Hell, if anything that's more intuitively understandable than the transgender position, since race is much more clearly a social and political artifact than gender is.
I've seen a few people argue "why would she step away from white privilege?" Well, she found a purpose, which is worth that to some people.
mythology
(9,527 posts)The leader of an organization having such a high profile fall will have an impact.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)And considering it was her parents who "outed" her and created a media circus, clearly there's blame on their part for her emotional and mental state.
Boudica the Lyoness
(2,899 posts)A person from the CDA Press did.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)Either way, appearing on CNN was sure to help their daughter's fragile state.
MADem
(135,425 posts)I don't know a thing about the woman. Has she been effective in her job, otherwise?
Some people might care more about results, and how she's treated them. I've seen two POC speak up for her, and a few against, as well. All of the white people I've seen opine on this subject have either a torch or a pitchfork.
Like I say, I wasn't even aware this woman existed until yesterday. I'd say that her issues have more to do with the way her brain is processing information than simple mendacity. The fact that she has defenders might give my lousy opinion a bit more weight.
I'm not invested in any outcome, here--my mind could easily be changed with more information.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Of course, I don't know enough to have any real opinion.
These are two facts:
1. She was the biological child of parents who adopted several African American children.
2. She seems to have ongoing legal and personal issues with her parents.
I would imagine that it is difficult to be the "real" child of parents who also adopt, and she may have not adapted well to the family dynamics.
MADem
(135,425 posts)her parents, for whatever reasons.
Sometimes weird things go on behind closed doors...who knows what the family dynamic was.
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)I thought I heard she was a good advocate. If she committed no crime or fraud, I don't see what the big deal is. We live in time where people can identify as either gender and we respect their wishes, I don't see a difference or a problem.
woolldog
(8,791 posts)If she prefers to be black, why not? Kudos to her.
If it really upsets you then you probably think race is something other than a socially defined and meaningless convention.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)other people in her lies, notably her parents. She also under false pretenses got a full scholarship at a mainly black college. Would they have awarded her it had they known she was white? I doubt it as the university is there to nurture black scholars who don't have the same opportunities as whites. She also fabricated the story of receiving hate mail which has taken up police resources. The list goes on.
Your opinion seems to be tough luck that others have been hurt, only her needs matter and that lying all the way to get her needs met is of no significance.
Do you really think that if she didn't wear fake tan and create this elaborate web of lies, she would hold high office in the NAACP even though she deeply and sincerely identifies as black?