I never thought I'd say this but I saw something fascinating on Dr. Phil.
This young black woman not only identifies as a white person, but also despises black people despite belonging to an all-black family, one that appears to be loving, healthy, and nurturing.
Wanna see a video where a hot transgender woman shames a transracial one? Here ya go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA7AwXC73dE
Most people would read this on the surface as simply a crazy, confused, and racist girl, but it goes far deeper than that, because this is a complementary case study to what we've seen with Rachel Dolezal, Elizabeth Warren, and the transgender community. It's a telling political moment where our values are tested along real battle lines, even when those lines are arbitrary.
This is an issue that orbits around the psychology of identity, the hypocrisy of social justice, the politics of racial differences, the complexity of genetic descent, the misuse of language, and the absurdity of the status quo.
Perhaps the first thing to say about this is that nearly everyone has a false self-perception of their own identity. I can't count how many white people have told me that they are 100% Mexican when Mexico was founded in 1818 - it's younger than the States! Unless you've taken a genetic test, odds are that you're probably at least partly wrong about where your ancestors descend from.
Identity is a potent aspect of one's life, because it actually changes behavior, for better or worse. It impacts our mindset, our motivations, our fears, and our goals. In that way, behaviors themselves can be molded at the root. One of the interesting things this girl says: "I'm not black because I'm not lazy and I'm smart." Interestingly, she is using racism to pit her identity against the stereotype of black people.
A therapist comes on the show and delivers the punchline: "She doesn't hate black people - she hates herself." Cue the applause. But I disagree. Thinking of herself as the opposite of the stereotype is actually what gives her self-esteem and confidence, even arrogance, because she knows deep down that she is white.
I found myself a little tickled when this girl's mom accused her daughter of being delusional. In the video, the mother is noticeably more light-skinned than her daughter, so in very real terms, she is more white - but also it's clear that both of their genetic makeups are not simply "black." However, the mom's identity is black.
The left has been rightly battling for trans people for some time and they have received a lot of bandwidth as of late. The issue is essentially a movement to respect identity despite the obvious, to detach identity from biology. 'She was born a male, but is a woman' - gender versus sex. Thus, despite biology, the right thing to do is to consider this person, who is 0% biologically female, a 100% woman, if she so identifies, and so on and so forth with all the other identities.
Fascinatingly, the left turned its back on all three women I mentioned, despite the biological reality that their identities were at least partly correct from a genetic perspective. Based on that black girl's mom's skin, I can say confidently that she is mixed with some white blood. Elizabeth Warren famously published that she had a tiny amount of Native American blood, according to genetic testing. Rachel Dolezal, and the rest of mankind, have at least some African genetic heritage, as that was the birthplace of our species. All of these were above 0%, yet why do trans people get a pass when the others don't? Is that intellectually consistent with the value of always honoring one's identity, however discordant from reality?
Perhaps its a function of condition. Perhaps trans people do not have the choice due to their psychology. Perhaps these three women are ancillary martyrs of political correctness.
I agree that honoring one's self-identity is the right thing to do, but I'm fascinated that this is where our culture has drawn the line in the sand during this historically absurd political moment.
