Two dead, but only one is being respected and eulogised.
When the killing of Osama bin Laden was announced, celebrations broke out all over America. Americans rushed to the street to hold parties. They danced and had a lot of fun.
The celebrations lasted through the night and into the early morning. When that happened, no one admonished Americans for celebrating the death of another human being. No one claimed it was in poor taste to make fun of the dead, no matter how despicable the dead person had been in life.
But, now that the figurehead of global white supremacy has died, all of a sudden, it is in poor taste to cheer death.
Today, there is a line of people online bashing Black people for refusing to mourn a dead colonizer. We’re not even out dancing on the street like happened after bin Laden’s killing. But still, we are being attacked more than any of the people who celebrated Bin Laden’s killing.
Royalists have been claiming that even if you hate the queen, you should “pause” the criticism to be sensitive to her family. But you were not saying that about bin Laden’s family. He had a family too, a bigger family than the Queen did, at that.
Where was the concern for the feelings of bin Laden’s family when Americans were out on the street popping campaigns? Why didn’t you think of bin Laden’s children and brothers and sisters while making fun of his death?
Why is it important to be sensitive to the Queen’s family but not bin Laden’s family?
Why was it ok to celebrate Bin Laden’s death but wrong to celebrate the Queen’s?
It couldn’t have been because bin Laden was a worse person. Because, objectively, he was better than the Queen. I mean, more people have been tortured, murdered, and colonized under the queen’s reign than has been under the leadership of bin Laden. If we are being honest, bin Laden has not committed a fraction of the crimes committed in the Queen’s name.
So, why is it inappropriate to celebrate when an evil white person dies but totally okay to go out and dance when a lesser evil non-white person is killed?
It is obvious it is not about respecting the dead since both people are equally dead. Of course, it is not about respecting the dead. It is about respecting Whiteness. It is about elevating whiteness. It is about viewing whiteness as pure and innocent no matter how much crime it has committed. No matter how much it has benefited from the exploitation of other people.
It is funny to me how Blue checked white people are telling us that today should be all about solemn mourning of the dead. Today is not a day to be nasty. If we had nothing good to say, we should not say anything at all
But those same people are not telling royalists on social and British media to pause their racist attack against Meghan. They are not telling them today is about mourning the Queen. They are not telling them to save the racist attack for after the Queen is buried.
And it couldn’t be because those Blue-check-mark whites are not seeing the gross racist attack against Meghan. It is hard to miss it because it is all over the British media. It is all over social media.
Right now, royalists are accusing Meghan of killing the Queen. Royalists on social media are promising to go to the funeral specifically to boo Meghan (You are distressed by the passing of your beloved Queen, but you are going to her funeral to boo her granddaughter-in-law?)
So, where is the call out for them to stop being nasty on this day of mourning? Why is it in bad taste to criticize the Queen on social media but completely fine to bully Meghan on national media?
My Lovely Suque, is a Black liberal writing about race issues and liberal politics
