Is Meghan Markle the New Rosa Parks?

Is Meghan markle the new rosa parks?

by Paola Hornbuckle

Wellington, New Zealand – October 28, 2018: The Duchess of Sussex chats with a member of the crowd at the Wellington War Memorial in New Zealand.

The entire planet has gotten to know the lovely and charming California girl known as Meghan Markle, a middle-class girl who made it to working actress, and then to royal bride. The stuff of fairy tales you would think. But Princess Meghan got trapped in a nightmare instead of a fairly-tale. The palace is full of vipers, the press is a fire-breathing dragon, and the masses are swayable. She has a large group of solid defenders and allies who were thrilled and inspired by her journey, only to watch in horror as she got symbolically lynched by the press and social media.

“How dare that biracial, American not know she is supposed to smile, be meek and keep silent? Why does she touch her hair so much, or have to hold hands with her husband? Wear black nail polish? Who does she think she is?” Such a multitude of horrifying offenses from our heroine.

The worst offence was that she would not back down from her ideas and her desire to be vocal about the causes she believed in. Like Rosa Parks who did not give up her seat, Meghan would not give up her voice. She is an American girl, after all. We don’t shut up or back down for anyone.

Rosa Parks was arrested December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger.

The Princess had a mental breakdown due to the mass mobbing and had to withdraw. Hide. Run away, to safety, security; to heal her pain and save her own life.  In the process, she saved her Prince from a fake life that perhaps was not worth the pain it caused. Together they ran off to be Prince and Princess of the USA a land who adores royalty and celebrities, but needs heroes. Harry and Meghan are our heroes, and they are here to stay. They believe in compassion and kindness, inclusivity and human rights. They are not racist. We need them to help us guide the way as we see our country go back in time and our rights being stripped away.

Is Europe more racist than America? It sure seems that way in certain circles. Is American multi-ethnicity even possible in Europe? Although there are no Jim Crow laws on the books, Europe’s attitude toward different races is reminiscent of a pre-Civil Rights Era United States.

European countries have such an acute sense of, and identification with their countries’ unique cultures, including aesthetic appearance. Does it allow for the inclusion of people that look different? In the Americas, the mix of Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans have lived together from the beginning of the creations of the countries that make up present-day North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. They were the main groups and participants that shaped and molded the New World. They have all created and shaped the countries and cultures. Although racism and discrimination are still rampant and seem to be alarmingly on the rise, in the last 60 years, from the time of the Civil Rights Movement, significant progress has been made, particularly in the United States. Federal laws outlawing discrimination, an attempt at political correctness, affirmative action, and more representation in the media and the arts, have all contributed to a people going from “segregation to the Supreme Court in one generation,” to quote Justice Kentanji Brown.

In England, there is no greater symbol of its cultural heritage and history than the monarchy.  The Scottish economist Adam Smith wrote, “The disposition to admire, and almost worship, the rich and powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition is the great and most universal cause of corruption of our moral sentiments.” The exaggerated and at times irrational reverence of the British public for this particular institution must create a lot of pressure for members of royalty to live up to a traditional ideal of royalty. Royalty is a brand, but what does it stand for in the present time? Would Meghan have been better tolerated if she had acted meek, did not say a word, toed the line, walked behind her husband, and silently with-stood derision, racism and micro-aggressions? If she had acted like someone who “knew her place”. Probably.

Meghan Markle, like Rosa Parks, would not give up her seat. A seat at the World’s Table, a seat that represents the multiculturalism and progressivism of the New World, and I, for one, am thankful for that.