You guys, I simply cannot take this woman seriously.
Look, I get it.
The black community has it rough in America.
There's no doubt about that.
But this is just silly.
A critical race theorist and professor demanded that Black people should get special bereavement leave and counseling services in order to deal with issues relating to systemic racism.
Angel Jones is a visiting professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville whose work is grounded in critical race theory and critical race feminism...
"I am a proud educator who loves what I do. But before that, I am a Black woman," she wrote. "A Black woman who is expected to return to ‘business as usual' on Monday after seeing a member of my community murdered on Friday. Although it is customary for employees to receive support and understanding while grieving the loss of a loved one, the same care is rarely shown to the Black community when we lose someone in horrific and traumatic ways. Where's our Black bereavement leave?"
This lady really wants bereavement leave — something reserved for grandpa's funeral or Aunt Denise's final days on Earth — she wants this sort of time off when any random black person is killed by police. Doesn't matter if there was a gun in dude's hand pointed directly at law enforcement, or if he had a knife and jumped into a car full of children, all black people should have the day off when something like this happens.
Outrageous.
Like, I get it if it's your brother, or a close friend, or even a relative of a close friend. That's reasonable. But what this lady is talking about is all black people getting the day, or even the week off whenever a black man is killed.
Killed by police, I'm assuming. Cuz I'm thinking black-on-black crime doesn't count here.
More from this "educator":
"Where are our counseling services? Where is our grace for missed meetings and deadlines while we mourn? Yes, we have jobs to do and students to support, but we also have trauma to process."
In order to deal with "racial battle fatigue," the professor said funding should be allocated to the mental health of Black staff.
Racial battle fatigue refers to the "psychological and physiological consequences of experiencing racism." Jones said the proclaimed psychological phenomenon "has been well documented and can have ‘deadly' symptoms, including ‘suicidal thoughts.'"
Racial battle fatigue, the professor said, can also cause "elevated heart rate, tension headaches and stomach ulcers."
"We experience these symptoms on a regular basis as a result of our first-hand racial trauma," she said. "Free counseling services, by culturally competent counselors familiar with identifying and addressing [racial battle fatigue], should be available at all times."
This is a bit too extreme for me.
And I'm sorry to say it, but it honestly just looks like she's trying to get more time off from work. She knows she has students to support, but what good is that when she could be sitting home in her fancy apartment binging Netflix and ordering Chinese food on GrubHub?
Seriously, this seems like a joke.
Here's that full article for you. Jones claims you won't read it.
Just one more quick snippet:
Some may have thought I was joking when I mentioned Black bereavement leave, but I wasn't. We need space and time to grieve without having to explain or defend it. And since the grief process, like the Black community, is not a monolith, flexibility is required. Some may need a day off while others may just need to be able to work from home. Some may need a small extension on a deadline while others may need to have something removed from their plate completely.
Sorry Angel, I read the article and I still think it's bogus, so yeah...
Anyhow, I just saw on the news that a white kid got beat up on a school bus, so I'm taking the rest of the day off to recover.
See y'all tomorrow.
