Not sure if you can see this as it’s on Twitter:
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Thanks, Wow. That resignation statement of hers is also quite a piece of work.
One of my favourite lines from the film “Dancing With Wolves” was when Dunbar met with Ten Bears. Ten Bears remarked to Dunbar that he was the only white man he ever knew…but the man that the cavalry was looking for no longer existed–that in his place was a Lakota warrior named “Dances With Wolves”.
That is fictive kinship and it is quite at odds with this culture, which demands “proof” of things that are ultimately meaningless, like “race”.
My difficulty with this young lady is the manner in which she approached the concept of “fictive kinship” with African Americans. The stumbling, the dissembling, the false “truths” and other things served to cast doubt on her character.
Americans do not mention very much concepts quite common in Latin America, like Transnationalism and Panethnicity. Either of those concepts, if applied, could have sufficed to give Dolezal a rational and compassionate basis for her membership in any of the groups the Tribalists of the United States seem to delight in pitting against one another.
“I can see that a separation of family and organizational outcomes is in the best interest of the NAACP.”
Is that supposed to be English?
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Doubt it. I think they just didn’t have all the facts at first and may have been in denial. After all, she must have developed personal relationships with those in the organization. She eventually was forced to resign when the depth of her lies came to light – but really, I think they should not have allowed her the dignity of resigning. She should have be terminated. Her resignation statement is shameless — just a word salad of jargon and bullshit.
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I don’t think it will be forgotten. This case will find its way into psychiatric journals. She will no doubt be the subject of articles, books and films – just as other notorious impostors and con artists have been profiled and analyzed. Oprah will interview her! And she will attempt to reinvent herself and profit from her story. Personally, she reminds me of the term “hathos” that Andrew Sullivan coined. Hathos is defined as something that you are repulsed or horrified by, but which is nonetheless fascinating and you cannot look away.
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Clearly, she’s a talented artist to make such a studied approximation of a masters well known piece of art. But it appears she fails to give attribution to the real artist or what she has so deliberately copied beyond just a study for her artistic talents. She gives no credit to her inspiration as far as I can see and its just one more weird development. And, she is deliberately trying to profit off of that in this case as well.
Good advice from her attorney. Can this be the last we hear of her, please?
This goes to show that you just can’t trust Whitey.
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Ha, I just noticed that she’s the head of the Spokane NAACP, is that a big shop up there? This has to be the most publicity Spokane has gotten in a long long time.
I looked up her brother’s memoir online (his name: Joshua). Amazingly enough, being born in a tipi and having the name Jesus Christ as witness on birth certificate are 2 totally legit facts that apply to both the elder 30-something Dolezal offspring.
edited to add: Search in book for sister, birth certificate, born and tipi. I did similar search yesterday on Amazon, but it looks as tho the “Look Inside!” functionality has been disabled.
By all accounts of those who have surveyed her accomplishments, the sentiments in her letter are sincere, even if her claims of identity were not.
Not being African American, I have no basis on which to weigh in on the matter. That being said, I will just offer that we as a society need all the help we can get. I can only wonder whether if she presented as white, her impact may have been even more substantial.
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The best art forgers are technically talented, but have no real ideas or innovations of their own. So they copy. I think this is Dolezal’s problem – not just with her art, but with her entire life. She’s a mimic. The real self is gone. Even her resignation statement is a jargon-laden mishmash that takes no responsibility for her deceit and provides no clues about who she really is. Maybe she really doesn’t know.
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She’s got a malady of some mentally delusional proportions…that I have no doubt. I even think at this point, if she were to face it head on without some professional help, it might come crashing down all around her, by being unable to justify all her lies, and with the possibility of resulting in a psychotic break from all of reality. I kid you not.
Agreed. I wonder what is going to happen to her kid. His father needs to step up. She also accused him of spousal abuse - and who knows if that is another gigantic lie. Its kind of amazing how many people did not recognize what was in front of their own eyes. I think another phenomenon is how many people find ways to excuse her actions by saying she did a good job representing the african american community and so she should be forgiven. Are they still just seduced by her appearance and not absorbing the facts – or are they really not able to grasp not only the ethical and moral implications of her deception, but the very real damage she has done to NAACPs reputation and credibility as well as the reputations of every other academic institution and civil rights organization she worked with or claims affiliation with. She is truly a mental case – fascinating as she is repugnant. And I am wondering if that resignation statement isn’t already a compete psychotic break, or is it just deflection?
How can we know if her sentiments are sincere? From what I read, her resignation letter is either a further expression of mental illness or more calculated deflection from responsibility for her terrible behavior. Its impossible to tell at this point. Even if she is sincere – its still creepy.
Miss Dolezal’s mental quirks aside, I have found there are many who have problems living in the white…er, I mean Light —