Just not dark skinned black girls.
Girls like Gabby Douglas, Gabourey Sidibe and Rachel Jeantel.
Below you will find a heartbreaking video of self-hate. You will watch it and, if you are like me, you may even find yourself tearing up. You will want to know where one so young would get the idea that black represents everything bad and ugly.
I watched 19 yr Rachel Jeantel as she battled with Don West of the Zimmerman defense team. Since I was at work, I had originally intended to listen more and watch less. When it became evident that this was a clash of cultures, I decided to devote some time and watch as this played out. I heard her and I saw her. I saw a young woman who was not about to be pushed around by officers of the court. She seemed to have a lot of respect for the judge but not so much for anyone else.
At times I grinned as I recognized her sass. She was direct and forceful when she needed to be. She was honest. Seeing her friend's dead body would be just too traumatic for her so she lied to his family. She didn't want to talk to LEOs so she lied about her age hoping that they'd leave her alone. She didn't think she needed to tell every little detail to the people who first interviewed her so she told them only the bare bones of what she heard. She didn't want to offend Trayvon's mom so she edited his last words.
I heard her and I understood her. I saw her.
I saw her with all of her fabulousness decked out for the court. This was important to her. She really didn't want to be there but if she had to be, then she wanted to represent.
As the song says (Drake/Swizz Beatz) :Nails done, hair done, everything did...
More than anything else, I saw that she was a child. A child who decided to don the mask she was most comfortable with so as to hide her fear. The fear of being watched and judged and dissected by millions of Americans. The fear of being found wanting.
And that little girl in the video? She was watching, too. She watched the black doll on the stand and she waited to see how she will be treated. The doll that was black like her.
I don't do a lot of social media. I have a FB page which I only visit when I want to share some news, usually from DKos. I have a twitter a/c which I have to find some time to straighten out. I used my name to open the a/c and went to change it to my DKos moniker and...well, it has become just too complicated. And I really don't have a lot of time to spend on those sites anyway as I work full time and also have a business I am trying to nurse back to life. I miss a lot of the fun and, fortunately, a lot of the hate, too.
Examples of the hate directed at Rachel:
At first glance, she does not look like the best exhibit of our educational system.
A society that even considers putting such a creature on a witness stand in a superior courtroom is a society in serious decline.
I think donut-neck spent all that time on the phone with St. Skittles urging him to “Beat that creepy-ass cracka dead. I have a feeling that we’ll be hearing more about this freak in the years ahead”
Lessons were taught that day. Stereotypes reinforced. Many spent hours looking at Rachel and yet failed to see her. Or hear her. She remained invisible to them.
Interviewer: Which doll do you like best?
Baby Girl readily points to the white doll.
Interviewer: Which doll is the nice doll?
Baby girl readily points to the white doll.
Interviewer: Can you show me the bad doll.
Baby girl points to the black doll.
Interviewer: And why is she bad.
Baby girl in her sweet baby voice: Because it's black.
Interviewer pointing to the white doll: Why is that doll the nice one.
Baby girl: Because she's white.
Interviewer: Can you show me the doll that looks like you?
Baby girl stops. Thinks. Remembers.
She quickly points to the white doll and looks up at the interviewer with her beautiful brown eyes. Pleading.
Or, she quickly points to the black doll and then hangs her head in shame.
Because little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice but not if they are black like her.