Revealing Britain's Systemic Racism by Kimberley Ducey Joe R. Feagin

Author:Kimberley Ducey, Joe R. Feagin [Kimberley Ducey, Joe R. Feagin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Black Studies (Global), Ethnic Studies, American, African American & Black Studies, Popular Culture
ISBN: 9781000380101
Google: qR0lEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-03-31T02:18:24+00:00

4

White Men Ruling and the Problem with Meghan Markle

Introduction

In Britain, elite white men hold almost otherworldly societal rank and privilege. The top-ranked among them, a small minority, were long ago positioned at the apex of the political-economic governing system. Among them are oligarchs, who can be described as “immoral business leaders who, as Russia’s Vladimir Putin defined them in the Financial Times, use their ‘proximity to the authorities to receive super profits.’”1

The white-racist, male-sexist, and capitalist-class structures and framing of which the oligarchs and other members of the elite benefit are interlocking, codetermining, and coreproducing, as if forming an integrated triple social helix.2 In this chapter, we examine how this elite operates within the white-racist, male-sexist, and capitalist-class subsystems of an all-encompassing elite-white-male dominance system in Britain. We continue to move beyond vague descriptions of this centuries-old inegalitarian society to call out more specific oppressive realities, their foundational depth, their particular operations and several inequalities, and their occasional structural changes. These systemic concepts offer numerous critical insights into why many elite and non-elite white Britons have responded unfavorably to the Duchess of Sussex, and why she is seen as a threat to the overall governing system, as well as to powerful white individuals.

Meghan Markle’s global popularity and status as an international icon, especially among people of color, is also seen as a threat to white hegemony. To hear many white Britons tell it, by moving to the USA and making clear why she did so, she has deliberately made a supposedly post-racial Britain look racist. The gendered-racist narrative thus continues in an attempt to demean and diminish her credibility as a primary witness to Britain’s very systemic racism.

As for the monarchy’s failure to understand the need to shield Markle from gendered-racist attacks by the mainly white members of the British commentariat and polity, the Sri Lankan Canadian writer Sandi Rankaduwa explains.

[G]iven the overwhelming whiteness of the monarchy, it’s not surprising they aren’t cognizant of a crucial factor in being an active ally: stepping up and speaking out (much like Harry has done through his warnings to the press, frank interviews, and … lawsuits). … You can’t expect to benefit from the perks, PR, and fanfare of having a “biracial princess” if she isn’t given the space to feel empowered, heard, and accepted. … The racism Meghan has experienced is treated as benign, when in reality it chips away and infects. … And when royals lead pampered, sheltered lives … it’s not surprising they don’t (at least yet) understand this. The same seems true of many others, in the media and beyond.3

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