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Thread: anyone watching The Rachel Divide?

  1. #11
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JaneV2.0 View Post
    Yeah--I can understand her identifying with a community to the extent that she immersed herself in it, but I can't understand--or excuse--the lying and exploitation part.
    After listening to the filmmaker on NPR, I kinda/sorta understand little Rachel. Essentially she is living out a teenager’s temper tantrum in rebelling against her parents. In little Rachel’s mind, if she think of herself as “white” she becomes one of “them” i.e. her parents and her birth family. Because they are bad people, she cant be one of them and still maintan her integrity.

    Anyway, this is Rachel Logic which is, of course, silly. It has far less to do with embracing a culture she admires than fleeing a “culture” she thinks of as abusive and mean. She is running AWAy from something, not running TOWARD something.

    I did not watch the documentary or read her book and probably will not. But I have a question...did the incident at the college she attended get covered in book or film? I mean the incident where she was said to have accused that historically black college with some kind of discrimination charge?

  2. #12
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
    After listening to the filmmaker on NPR, I kinda/sorta understand little Rachel. Essentially she is living out a teenager’s temper tantrum in rebelling against her parents. In little Rachel’s mind, if she think of herself as “white” she becomes one of “them” i.e. her parents and her birth family. Because they are bad people, she cant be one of them and still maintan her integrity.

    Anyway, this is Rachel Logic which is, of course, silly. It has far less to do with embracing a culture she admires than fleeing a “culture” she thinks of as abusive and mean. She is running AWAy from something, not running TOWARD something.

    I did not watch the documentary or read her book and probably will not. But I have a question...did the incident at the college she attended get covered in book or film? I mean the incident where she was said to have accused that historically black college with some kind of discrimination charge?
    I don't remember her addressing that issue--or if she did she mischaracterized it. Creative Memoir Writing 101...

  3. #13
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    I felt bad for her and her siblings. Her sister had scars from where one of the parents hit her with a bullwhip. It was a sick family culture, and I think Rachel tried to save them from the parents.

    I did not see her actions as living out a teenaged temper tantrum, not at all. She seemed sad and lost. I was surprised, since I had always thought she was just an opportunist.

    After viewing the film, I have no idea what she was.

  4. #14
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Do any of her siblings corroborate the sordid details she relates? Bullwhip? Really?

    I came away from the book not thinking any more highly of her than i did before I read it. I found it self-serving and it glossed over questions that begged to be answered.

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by JaneV2.0 View Post
    Do any of her siblings corroborate the sordid details she relates? Bullwhip? Really?

    I came away from the book not thinking any more highly of her than i did before I read it. I found it self-serving and it glossed over questions that begged to be answered.
    Jane I did not read the book. My post was about the film. Her sister Esther was the one who showed the scar on her leg, not rachel. Her sister Esther described her abuse by the parents.

  6. #16
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tybee View Post
    Jane I did not read the book. My post was about the film. Her sister Esther was the one who showed the scar on her leg, not rachel. Her sister Esther described her abuse by the parents.
    There seems to be a divide among the siblings as to how bad their upbringing was--which is typical of siblings, I think. Certainly if you have an abusive family of origin, "divorcing" it is perfectly reasonable. I gather the film doesn't address the reinvention part, either.

  7. #17
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    The way Rachel Dolezal has dealt with her trauma is not the reaction of a fully actualized adult, it is the reaction of a child. She probably is, as you say Tybee, sad and lost, but I think of that as childlike behavior.

    I completely understand someone wanting to distance themselves from abusive parents. That is healthy.

    It is NOT healthy to engage in the behaviors she has engaged in—lying about who she is, creating false scenarios where she is the victim of racial hate crimes, using her lies to get jobs. These are not the actions of a fully functional adult. It reminds me of what therapists call “acting out” which seems to be applied most often to children.

    She is probably mentally ill but that doesnt mean she isnt annoying.

  8. #18
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    I think it is an attention getting mental illness. She will continue so long as she gets the attention she wants. The 911 fake survivor continued her attention getting behavior until it turned seriously dangerous and she was hounded out of the US (she was Spanish).

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