White civil rights leader has pretended to be black for years

[MochaSoul]

Another funny



https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CHTMRl4UMAEQpaF.mp4

 

[Lurdan]

Couple of new stories touching on the background and the ongoing fall out in Spokane itself.

In this piece by a local journalist about how he was insufficiently sceptical about Dolezal's claims about the hate mail she claimed to have received, there is an interesting reference to how the story of her 'black identity' got picked up in the first place :

As Rachel Dolezal played her game, many of us played along - Spokesman-Review (Spokane)

These questions were bubbling up among more than one journalist in the region; they were being driven, at least in part, by information unearthed by a private investigator. I spoke to him on the condition that I not reveal his identity, and I know that he has done so with other reporters in the region. He would not say who he’s working for, though Dolezal has suggested that it’s connected to a criminal case against her brother in Colorado in which she may figure as a witness, and that’s why her parents have come forward at this point.

In any case, it was his probing into Dolezal’s background, and what he says he found, that motivated me to reconsider the question of her racial identity. That has presumably been a factor in the interest of other reporters, as well.

On the entirely idle speculation front I wonder why this private detective would need to conceal his employer, or indeed do much investigating, if he was working for her family. After all her parents and her brother were entirely happy to go on record and feed her to the media at the first opportunity they got (a public relations strategy almost as stupid as Dolezal's, which has helped raise the profile of the abuse charges against her brother to international level, and made them look like a bunch of arseholes). However I guess there's not a lot of point expecting them to act sensibly given their actions so far.

Another possibility is that the investigator might have been working for someone else who Dolezal had pissed off, or indeed was himself pissed off. One obvious area of possibility lies in the local police (a natural recruitment pool for 'private investigators') and Dolezal's involvement with the Spokane Office of Police Ombudsman Commission. She was thrown off this last night

Dolezal ousted from ombudsman commission - Spokesman-Review (Spokane)

Although the exposure of her lies and stupidity undoubtedly factored into the Council decision to remove her this all started some months ago. Spokane has (or rather had - the post is currently vacant) a Police Ombudsman. The role was established after the 2006 murder of Otto Zehm, a man with a developmental disability who was beaten, tasered and restrained in a manner which suffocated him after he had been reported as acting suspiciously while taking his own money out of a ATM machine.



The case generated calls for stronger police oversight. An Ombudsman was appointed in 2008 and given independent investigative powers in 2010. Police successfully argued that these powers breached their labor contract (effective trade unionism in action) and a stalemate followed until voters overwhelmingly passed a proposition in 2013 which gave the Ombudsman some rather circumscribed powers, and set up a five person Oversight Commission. Dolezal was appointed to that Commission in August last year. In December the Ombudsmen resigned followed shortly afterwards by his assistant. Both have cited difficulties with members of the Oversight Commission, including Dolezal, as a factor in their decision to go. In April the administrative assistant who is dealing with day to day matters while a new Ombudsman is being appointed, made a complaint of harrassment against the same Commission members. An investigation was carried out which produced a highly critical report (PDF here). Dolezal has now been removed by the City Council, a second Commissioner who was leaving the area in any case has resigned, and a third will apparently be seeking to clear his name but will also probably resign.

Drawing conclusions from a distance about the local politics of this is a mugs game. However it seems obvious that some of the local support for her relates to this political background.

It would be tempting to conclude that this situation, seen by many as a successful attempt to sabotage attempts to hold the Police to account, was another direct consequence of Dolezal's lies and claims about her identity, and illustrates the damage they have caused. I'm not sure I'm entirely convinced on either score. As regards damage, even without deploying any advanced insights into the bourgeois nature of Ombudspersons and oversight committees, one has to be sceptical about institutions whose function at the end of the day is to shore up confidence in the Police. (The fact the Spokane Police seem ungrateful about this is neither here nor there). Either way I very much doubt that this will be the end of the matter as regards local dissatisfaction with them.

More to the point it seems a little more likely to me that Dolezal created difficulties for herself because she doesn't just have the hide of a white rhino, she also has all the political skills of one. (Unfavourable local comments about how she made no attempt to address the complaints in the report but flew off to give national TV interviews were interesting in this regard). The exposure of her lies and bullshit has just been icing on the cake, making it easier to boot her off.

Meantime the Spokesman-Review has received another piece of mail seemingly from the same source as that Dolezal claimed to receive

Spokesman-Review gets letter from writer who threatened Dolezal

Spokane police Officer Teresa Fuller said the investigation into Dolezal’s hate-crime complaints remains suspended and that the new mailing from “War Pig/Sgt. X” is unlikely to restart the inquiry.

One might conclude that the fearless defenders of justice in the Spokane Police department are genuinely convinced the letter is bogus. Or one might not. Either way it seems unlikely that we will ever know for sure.

 

[8ball]

oddly, many people (including, surprisingly some people here) contend that bahar mustafa is white.

I'm not sure I'd seen a picture but on looking that seems reasonable to me.
Not that I see that as a necessary qualifier for racism, just in terms of what she looks like*.

* - only chose daily mail link cos it has a selection of pics - Google image search obviously available if you don't want to give them hits.

 

[Pickman's model]

oddly, many people (including, surprisingly some people here) contend that bahar mustafa is white.

what colour would you say she is, orang utan?

 

[8ball]

what colour would you say she is, orang utan?

To be fair, OU is ginger, which is super-white.

 

[Pickman's model]

To be fair, OU is ginger, which is super-white.

what, the master master race?

 

[Orang Utan]

what colour would you say she is, orang utan?

I don't know

 

[Belushi]

I know Turks were the only Muslims allowed into Australia under the 'White Australia' policy (my parents went out there as '£10 Poms' at the tail end of those days)

 

[Treacle Toes]

So this thread has moved on to a game of guess someone's ethnic identity by the colour/tone of their skin?

Do you even realise the 'colourism' and 'other' making you are indulging in?

 

[MochaSoul]

"The Arrogance of Rachel Doležal"

http://uprisingradio.org/home/2015/06/16/the-arrogance-of-rachel-dolezal/

 

[Pickman's model]

I don't know

so you're walking down the street and see someone not her but who looks like her. the next minute she mugs someone. the police arrive, the shocked victim never saw her having been jumped from behind. it's up to you to provide a description of the assailant. what do you say to the police?

 

[Orang Utan]

so you're walking down the street and see someone not her but who looks like her. the next minute she mugs someone. the police arrive, the shocked victim never saw her having been jumped from behind. it's up to you to provide a description of the assailant. what do you say to the police?

IC9

 

[8ball]

So this thread has moved on to a game of guess someone's ethnic identity by the colour/tone of their skin?

Surely we crossed that bridge with the pics of Rachel Donezal as a teen.

I just questioned whether it was self-evidently silly for some people to say Bahar Mustafa is white - I don't think it is, which is relevant to the point of whether people saying so are being disingenuous in order to make her controversial statements fit in with their preconceptions of who can be 'racist' .

If we didn't make these judgments on arbitrary phenotypic patterns we'd need to get to know people before deciding whether to hate them or not, and then where would we be?

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I know Turks were the only Muslims allowed into Australia under the 'White Australia' policy (my parents went out there as '£10 Poms' at the tail end of those days)

A few years ago I worked on a charity project working with restaurants. The Turkish (and also quite a few North African) places kept ticking 'White British' on the monitoring forms, much to the frustration of my boss who had to report on what a great number of BME businesses we were working with.

 

[Pickman's model]

A few years ago I worked on a charity project working with restaurants. The Turkish (and also quite a few North African) places kept ticking 'White British' on the monitoring forms, much to the frustration of my boss who had to report on what a great number of BME businesses we were working with.

i'm frequently asked if i'm turkish, by turks

 

[8ball]

A few years ago I worked on a charity project working with restaurants. The Turkish (and also quite a few North African) places kept ticking 'White British' on the monitoring forms, much to the frustration of my boss who had to report on what a great number of BME businesses we were working with.

Was there a decent option on the form for Turkish people to tick (often these forms don't give you a good option, esp. if you are of mixed heritage)?

 

[Pickman's model]

Was there a decent option on the form for Turkish people to tick (often these forms don't give you a good option, esp. if you are of mixed heritage)?

i tend to tick the 'fuck off and mind your own business' option

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Was there a decent option on the form for Turkish people to tick (often these forms don't give you a good option, esp. if you are of mixed heritage)?

I'm not sure to be honest, it's quite a few years ago. There were certainly quite a few options but I couldn't remember the details - at the time I did think the forms were a mess but now I'm not sure what the exact reasons for that were. There were certainly 'white - other' and general 'other' boxes but I don't think there was a specific Turkish box.

 

[8ball]

I'm not sure to be honest, it's quite a few years ago. There were certainly quite a few options but I couldn't remember the details - at the time I did think the forms were a mess but now I'm not sure what the exact reasons for that were. There were certainly 'white - other' and general 'other' boxes but I don't think there was a specific Turkish box.

I can see how if you feel very integrated in Britain, have citizenship etc. you'd go for 'British' over 'other'.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I just questioned whether it was self-evidently silly for some people to say Bahar Mustafa is white - I don't think it is, which is relevant to the point of whether people saying so are being disingenuous in order to make her controversial statements fit in with their preconceptions of who can be 'racist' .

The idea that certain classes of people can't be racist involves some pretty extreme mental contortions, and it seems to me to be an argument most usually put forward by people to excuse their own racism (as I would define it - prejudice based on race) - 'I can't be racist because I'm black' followed by some racist statement, like when people say 'I'm not racist but...'

 

[frogwoman]

I think events in israel and more recently in the dominican republic show that historically oppressed groups can indeed be racist

 

[Treacle Toes]

Surely we crossed that bridge with the pics of Rachel Donezal as a teen.

No..we did not, given the fact that RD has been using cosmetics to 'appear' Black.

Moreover, as I said very early in the thread. I have Mixed relatives that appear as 'European' as her in phenotype. Which is why phenotype is a red herring.

 

[Orang Utan]

What's been happening in the Dominican Republic?

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I can see how if you feel very integrated in Britain, have citizenship etc. you'd go for 'British' over 'other'.

Quite. Our targets were 'x% of BME owned business'. I suppose the intent was good but it forces the division into 'White British' and 'Everyone Else' which isn't a million miles from some of the dodgy attitudes discussed earlier.

 

[Belushi]

What's been happening in the Dominican Republic?

Idris has just started a thread on it

 

[Treacle Toes]

What's been happening in the Dominican Republic?

Mass cleansing/expulsion of people with Haitian heritage, regardless of whether of not they were born in the DR.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Quite. Our targets were 'x% of BME owned business'. I suppose the intent was good but it forces the division into 'White British' and 'Everyone Else' which isn't a million miles from some of the dodgy attitudes discussed earlier.

We're stuck here, aren't we? In order to combat structural inequalities that historically came about due to racist ideas of race, you yourself have to adopt those racist ideas of race as part of your methodology.

I don't have good answers to this. The alternative - the facile 'we're colourblind' argument that the tories used to put forward - clearly doesn't address the structural issues. We are stuck with some pretty rotten facts on the ground due to our history.

 

[Pickman's model]

I think events in israel and more recently in the dominican republic show that historically oppressed groups can indeed be racist

rwanda...

 

[Pickman's model]

Quite. Our targets were 'x% of BME owned business'. I suppose the intent was good but it forces the division into 'White British' and 'Everyone Else' which isn't a million miles from some of the dodgy attitudes discussed earlier.

where you're going wrong is by seeing entrepreneurs as some sort of solution.

 

[Pickman's model]

No..we did not, given the fact that RD has been using cosmetics to 'appear' Black.

Moreover, as I said very early in the thread. I have Mixed relatives that appear as 'European' as her in phenotype. Which is why phenotype is a red herring.

do you mean appearance or do you mean phenotype?