Of Heroism And Rice Cookers

So Claudine Gay, that prose-larcenous, racist mediocrity, has resigned as president of Harvard. She still works there, receiving 900,000 smackeroos per annum for helping the white patriarchy oppress people of color, so let's not get too teary-eyed for her.

What's been instructive to me have been the responses. What if we took people at their word when they tell us whey they are upset? Of particular note is a bit-player by the name of Koritha Mitchell. Here's her bio from Twitter.

Author of LIVING WITH LYNCHING and FROM SLAVE CABINS TO THE WHITE HOUSE. Editor of IOLA LEROY and INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL. Feminist/Wannabe runner

From her website comes this post about the departure of the execrable anti-semite, Claudine Gay.

Once Dr. Claudine Gay became Harvard University’s first African American and first woman president, her tumultuous experiences have led many people to mention my work. For my entire career, I have been framing violence (whether physical or discursive) as a response to success.

Here's a graphic that summarizes that kind of violence.

Instead of mocking it, how about if we take her at her word? What if we take her world view seriously?

"Any progress by those who are not straight, white and male is answered by ... violence - both literal and symbolic"

My goodness. What a difficult life she leads! They are out to get her, they are out to stop her, a black woman, from progressing. Fear not, she is strong and she speaks her mind!

I can't remember where I heard this, I think it was on a Jordan Peterson podcast, but this kind of world view where you see yourself as a member of an oppressed class is intensely self-gratifying. Every one of your achievements, even performing the most menial of tasks, is a huge triumph over adversity. Just think of the powers arrayed against you, trying to keep you from progressing! Whenever you succeed at anything, anything at all, it's heroic.

Every one of your failures is not your fault, it's because they stopped you. You did your best, but you couldn't over come the irresistible force that is straight, white men.

It's awesome. You get credit way out of proportion to your actual achievements when you succeed, but none of the blame when you fail. How could you not love that sort of arrangement?

Heck, just cooking rice in a rice cooker is an act of bravery and strength worthy of an epic poem on the order of Beowulf.

A body-wound suffered
The direful white supremacist, damage incurable
Was seen on his shoulder, his sinews were shivered,
His body did burst. To the diversity professor was given
Glory in rice cooking; the white supremacist from thenceward
Must flee and hide him in the fen-cliffs and marshes,
Sick unto death, his dwelling must look for
Unwinsome and woful; he wist the more fully
The rice cooked by the strong, black woman

Hmm. Maybe I chose the wrong art as my basis, Beowulf having been written by whites and all. Maybe I should have started with an African poem. You know, one of those written by the African tribes who conquered, enslaved and sold Koritha Mitchell's ancestors to the honkies.