It is commonplace for rabid left-wingers to publicly advertise their credentials on the hierarchy of oppression: gay, black, trans, Muslim, disabled — all of the above? — the list goes on. Yet modern American society also suffers from a strange social phenomenon where people making these claims are often exposed as liars. Why would anyone want to live as an “oppressed minority” if such people are treated so brutally by American society?
Everyone now knows the name Rachel Dolezal, the white lady who pretended to be black for several years as she taught African studies and headed up her local NAACP chapter. Yet the tradition goes back even further.
Sacheen Littlefeather was a Native American icon from her Oscars speech in the 1970s, but was recently accused of being a ‘Pretendian‘ — a pretend Indian — by her sisters after her death last year. In an ironic twist, the Hollywood insider who organized a tribute after her death was also later exposed as a fraud. (RELATED: REPORT: Prominent Native American Hollywood Producer Faking Her Identity, Activists Say)
A similar example emerged on Twitter earlier this month. Allison Gill — the prominent host of the “Mueller She Wrote” podcast and Twitter celebrity for those in the grips of Trump Derangement Syndrome — was accused of faking a bevy of credentials.
A now-viral Twitter thread took a deep dive into her personal and professional background, alleging she faked her military credentials to build a profitable brand around being a principled patriot standing up to the evil Donald Trump.
Documents in the thread suggest several hilariously absurd exaggerations. Gill was accused of claiming to be an expert nuclear mechanic in the Navy when she allegedly only completed minimal training in the field. She also claimed to have been a Gulf War veteran when she allegedly was only a veteran of the Gulf War Era — a similar claim to what the left has used to hit Sen. Lindsay Graham with for years.
She was also accused of bolstering sympathy for herself by allegedly stretching the truth on everything from her disability to her domestic violence abuse.
The Muellershewrote Expose – A wild, chaotic ride through a Allison Gill’s narrative world, where little is what it seems to be.
Stay to the very end if you want your jaw to hit the floor. pic.twitter.com/MEqQT0W99P
— Fraudian-Slip (@Fraude_101) June 3, 2023
What do Gill’s claims of alleged stolen valor have to do with Hollywood Pretendians and white ladies claiming to be black? (RELATED: ‘Nothing Short Of Appalling’: VA Employee Posed As Cancer-Stricken Marine For Charity Money, US Attorney Says)
At first glance, claims of stolen valor have nothing to do with minority status. Nearly all Americans agree that heroic veterans deserve respect and gratitude. Alternatively, those laying fake claims to minority status are also typically the same people trumpeting what a brutal place America is for minorities. Yet this is of course a lie — America is one of the least racist countries in the world.
The common thread is that all appropriate identities to legitimize their true agendas.
Claims of being a principled veteran can set an otherwise un-noteworthy Trump-hating lunatic apart from the rest of the crazies online. If someone wishes to build a media brand on this for ideological reasons, claiming to be a veteran who lost family and suffered a grave injury in defense of American democracy adds an extra degree of legitimacy to your position.
In other words, people will see your credentials and assume you know what you’re talking about. To people who already agree with you, it will set you apart as a special authority on the topic. You become a useful voice for them to point to when they seek to debate their friends and family and allow them to feel validated that someone so respectable bolsters their preconceptions.
For those who don’t agree with you, your credentials may help break through their doubt. If they see you fought American threats abroad, perhaps they will be open to the idea that you may just be better able to spot the threats at home as well.
Either way, you draw followers in and can build a brand around your lies. This furthers your ultimate cause of hurting Trump while also raking in personal status and wealth — a win-win. (RELATED: Trump ‘Is Toast’ ‘If Even Half’ Of Charges Stick, Bill Barr Warns)
This parallels the more obvious gains that phony minorities gain from their status. Minority identities have a privileged place in American society by nature of their historical oppression, allowing them to put forward radical policy positions virtually unchallenged.
Take for example the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement. They were able to call for the overthrow of capitalism while stoking months-long riots. Anyone who criticized the agenda was quickly neutralized with charges of racism — now the worst accusation one can face in American life.
Dolezal was likely able to further her similarly situated attitudes uncontested through her teaching and activism — all while building a comfortable and respectable career.
Ultimately, the left must appropriate identities this way because they know their ideas are unpopular. Only by attaching themselves to otherwise respectable identities can they hope to achieve their goals. If it happens to bring in some extra cash along the way, you won’t hear them complain.