Isn’t that what you’d expect a racist to say? Don’t be too surprised to see that as a hot take after Prince William offered a surprise response to questions from a reporter about allegations of racism from Harry and Meghan Windsor. As CBS News reporter Holly Williams informs us, William broke protocol to rebut his brother and sister-in-law, declaring the royals are “very much not a racist family.”
Does William realize that this kind of accusation is non-rebuttable in today’s media environment? If he doesn’t yet, he soon will:
BREAKING: After Harry and Meghan’s explosive interview with @Oprah, Prince William says the royal family is “very much not a racist family.”
This follows Meghan’s claim that a member of the family was concerned about the color of their son’s skin.@HollyMAWilliams reports. pic.twitter.com/5wOHTdMU6X
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 11, 2021
The New York Times adds in William’s pledge to speak with Harry soon:
Asked by a reporter whether the royal family was racist, Prince William said it was “very much not a racist family,” in remarks that were recorded and posted on social media.
He also said he had not spoken with Harry since the interview, which aired on Sunday in the United States and Monday evening in Britain. “But I will do,” he added.
Perhaps Harry will explain to William that he’s trapped by his white-supremacist context and therefore can’t know he’s a racist. That’s the construct the couple offered in their interview with Oprah Winfrey, and the construct popularly adopted these days. It’s not enough to be “very much not racist”; one has to confess one’s sins even if they don’t exist to be redeemed … marginally redeemed, in most cases. Only by admitting that you have embedded racism can you ever hope to achieve the status of “anti-racist.” It’s a bit like Soviet show trials, only conducted by the media and activists.
The royals won’t figure this out for a while, I’d guess. We’re about to get all sorts of testimonials and rebuttals attempting to prove that they’re not racists, but those will all miss the point. Given the imperial history of this family, it will likely all miss the point by a country mile, too, regardless of the current state of their psyches and souls.