‘Being black is not a matter of pigmentation – being black is a reflection of a mental attitude.’
Steven Biko
You know, I want to write George Floyd has a lot to answer for – and I, obviously, just have – but I am wary of doing so. Of course, his death was appalling, unacceptable and everything in between and it heralded the Black Lives Matter movement but, in doing so, it also opened the floodgates to more hatred, anger and deep-seated bitterness … about everything! Yes, black lives matter but not more than any other and the potential for abuse has been proven in this movement for justice.
Take ‘woke’, for example. I can hardly bear to type the word, so worthy of derision! However, this lot have taken flight courtesy of Black Lives Matter. A green light to pull down statues, re-name buildings and streets, obliterating history at a whim, all in the name of racism. For ‘racism’, read ‘prejudice’; read ‘discrimination’. So, someone please explain why it is that Black Lives Matter has spawned groups such as Black Girls Hike and the Black Swimming Association – to great applause, I might add? It makes a mockery. Seems the term ‘discrimination’ may only be applied to the exclusion of a black person. Groups, meanwhile, which overtly prohibit white membership are allowed – and welcomed – under the guise of providing a safe, less-intimidating environment for the black community. Of course. That’s alright, then, and dare anyone call the exclusion of a white person racism!
George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement have enabled a MeToo movement with a difference (MeToo should have a comma after Me, by the way). Not MeToo with regard to sexual abuse but MeToo as in the victim of racism card; the Get Out of Jail Free card; the card which absolves all blame …
I steeled myself to watch the Oprah interview, last night but, rather than be shocked, it was all so rehearsed and predictable. Meghan played the victim, of course, but her performance was one borne of the Bit Too Obvious School of Acting.
‘Life is about storytelling, right?’ Well, that’s a romantic little notion, Meghan, right? Your storytelling is through a ‘truthful lens’, though, right? Not so sure. Perhaps, more accurately, a lens through which only Meghan sees. Oh, help. Permit me to list some of the quotes I scribbled down: ‘We did everything we could’, ‘This was never the intention’. ‘Greater than any fairytale you’ve ever read’, ‘I remember how he just cradled me …’ and ‘Please keep my husband safe!’. The stuff of which movies are made. Well, let’s face it, they’ve done the book, the interview with Oprah, surely the big screen is inevitable? Some stories just have to be told, particularly ‘truthful’ ones …
What did I take away from that interview? More importantly, what was I supposed to take away from that interview? Well, racism, of course. I’m not sure how to begin to convey my anger; my frustration, particularly as the fallout starts to unfold. On the news tonight, Piers Morgan has quit Good Morning, Britain. In other words, Piers Morgan has been forced to step down following the alleged 41,000 complaints to Ofcom apropos his expressing his disbelief with regard to Meghan’s suicidal thoughts – for which he refused to apologise. The thing is, I’m with him on that. I, too, believe – as I stated yesterday – that, first and foremost, she is manipulative, exaggerating to court sympathy and, if that is so, she is making a mockery of all those who are, genuinely, desperate. A bold statement and only she knows the truth but look at the bigger picture. Her ownership of victimhood is second to none. Following her £32million wedding, the reality of royal life obviously didn’t pan out as she had hoped. After all, she had married ‘the spare’ (if only she had done that research) and would forever have to play second fiddle to Wills and Kate. Or would she? There had been stories of tantrums over tiaras and flower girls in the lead-up to the wedding – oh, and make no mistake, contrary to belief and press sources, it was Kate who left Meghan in tears, not the other way round! This, then, was her chance to set the record straight but she didn’t want to be disparaging – banish the thought. Who could possibly apportion such a charge against someone so compassionate? The same compassionate Meg who is, to date, being investigated by the Palace with regard to several serious allegations of bullying …
So much to be said. An impossible task and, thus – as in my last post – I must take an overview, only grappling with the points inciting most outrage … Well, how about the revelation that, on joining the Royal family, she had to hand over her passport, her driving licence and her car keys? Really? So she didn’t need a passport to fly to New York for her reported 330K baby shower in February 2019? Private jet – a nod to global warming about which she is so passionate – and a penthouse suite in the five-star luxury Mark Hotel for five nights … Amazingly, she managed to retrieve said document in a bid to escape her gilded cage and the barrage of undeserved abuse courtesy of her colour. A blessing!
Archie’s lack of title and the insinuation that it was, as ever, race-related? As in my last post, I repeat that my recollection is such that Harry and Meghan chose not to have a title for their son, preferring that he lead as normal a life as possible. Meghan, however, has, now, changed the narrative but, of course, it is not the lack of title which irks but the subsequent lack of security. How utterly ridiculous! So, just because he is without a title, one is expected to believe that the Queen’s great grandchild is not worthy of protection? Put bluntly, Meghan is declaring that Her Majesty, fearful as to the colour of her future great grandchild’s skin, denied him/her a title and, thus, protection. Headline, the Queen is racist and the rest of us are brain dead!
‘Oh my gosh, it’s amazing how they can use Meg for everything!’
No, Meghan, far more amazing is how you can make everything about colour …
Make no mistake, this is a compassionate woman who chooses to put herself last. After all, on hearing the news that the Duke of Edinburgh had been taken into hospital, she immediately picked up the phone to the Queen. Well, she could now that the shackles have been removed! Moreover, with regards to security, she has no thought for herself but, rather, penned letters to her in-laws begging them to ‘Please keep my husband safe!’. For all that, her chosen portrayal is at odds with the woman who, reportedly, likes to ‘move on’, something her own father knows only too well. Oprah never addressed the subject of her own family, despite the fact that it was made clear, beforehand, that nothing was off limits. Funny that.
Any regrets, then? She has one, selfless to the end … ‘believing them when they said I would be protected.’ Is that it?
‘Without question, she saved me’. From what, Harry? Your family? Your friends? Your country of birth? Your life?!
My lasting image of Harry in this media circus? Resigned. Pale, tired, stressed and sad, actually. Yes, sad. Devoid of sparkle, his eyes were, instead, filled with worry, conscious – obviously – of the wounds he was inflicting on his family. Wounds which may never heal. Hurt which will never be forgotten. Cradling her stomach, as ever, Meghan kept a firm grip of his hand. He could as well have been a ventriloquist’s dummy …
Harry was so damaged by Diana’s untimely death and he was, and is so vulnerable. As though intent on avenging her death, however, he is consumed with anger and Meghan has, cleverly, given that anger direction. Sadly, if his mother were still alive today, nothing would break her heart more than the estrangement of her two beloved boys.
‘While some recollections may vary … ‘ Arguably, the most important words in the anticipated Palace statement. Those of this bombshell interview, however, will be cemented in time, the scars testament to a missile aimed both with accuracy and, most definitely, the intention to wound.
‘When you are happy, you can forgive a great deal.’
Princess Diana
There’s the rub …
This is Trish, signing off.