Leigh Anne Tuohy, Racism, White Saviourism

[AJL]

I don't remember seeing this posted but I found it via a blog I read. I think it's very interesting and I agree with the author's observations. Thoughts?

bellejar.ca/2014/12/15/leigh-anne-tuohy-racism-and-the-white-saviour-complex/


Leigh Anne “That Nice Woman Sandra Bullock Played In The Blind Side” Tuohy recently posted the following picture and caption on her Facebook and Instagram accounts:




“We see what we want! It’s the gospel truth! These two were literally huddled over in a corner table nose to nose and the person with me said “I bet they are up to no good” well you know me… I walked over, told them to scoot over. After 10 seconds of dead silence I said so whats happening at this table? I get nothing.. I then explained it was my store and they should spill it… They showed me their phones and they were texting friends trying to scrape up $3.00 each for the high school basketball game! Well they left with smiles, money for popcorn and bus fare. We have to STOP judging people and assuming and pigeon holing people! Don’t judge a book by its cover or however you’d like to express the sentiment! Accept others and stoping seeing what you want to see!!!“



The comments on both posts are full of people praising her – telling her how awesome she is, how open-minded, how kind. Reading these responses is completely baffling – like, did these people and I all read the same words?

Let’s break down what happened here:

1. Two teenagers were sitting alone and completely minding their own business.

2. A white woman decides that based on the fact that they are “huddled” in corner “nose to nose,” they must be “up to no good.” Because obviously whenever Black people (especially Black men) gather in public, it’s bad news for the rest of us!

3. Another white woman, one Leigh Anne “I Adopted A Black Boy So I Can’t Possibly Be Racist” Tuohy, decides that White Lady #1 is wrong. Which is actually the correct assumption for Ms. Tuohy to make, so I guess this is where some people are getting confused because we see that her intent is good, and that makes us want to believe that the action that follows will also be good. She’s at a crossroad here – two roads diverged, etc. Had she taken the road less travelled, Ms. Tuohy might have said to her friend, “Wow, you’re being really racist right now! I’m not comfortable with how this conversation is going.” Instead, she decided to confront the teenagers who, as a reminder, have done absolutely nothing wrong.

4. Leigh Anne Tuohy walks over to the two boys and sits there in silence. I’m sure that wasn’t scary for two Black teenagers at all, especially given recent events.

5. After what was certainly the most awkward ten seconds of those boys’ lives, Ms. Tuohy asks what’s “happening” at the table. Like, other than two teenagers sitting there talking like anyone sitting at a table might do? Some kids are hanging out and chatting. That is what’s happening.

Unsure of the correct answer to this question – other than “we are two friends sitting together and not causing any trouble,” which probably seemed too obvious for them to point out – the boys remain silent.

6. Leigh Anne tells them that this is her store and they need to “spill.” Again, these kids have done nothing except be in public and be Black.

7. After being interrogated by this woman, and probably afraid that at the very least she’s about the call the cops, the boys show her their phones. This part just breaks my brain, like, these two kids had to show this woman evidence that they are doing exactly what they seem to be doing: sitting at a table and having a conversation.

8. Apparently satisfied with the evidence the boys have presented her with, Leigh Anne Tuohy gives them bus fare and money for popcorn, but not before she has White Lady #1 take her picture with them.

9. Ms. Tuohy then posts this picture to social media and receives thousands of responses lauding her for being such a good person.

Leigh Anne Tuohy profiled two Black kids, invaded their privacy and interrogated them, but somehow people are behaving as if this is some kind of wonderful social justice moment. No. Not even a little. This is some fucked up racial profiling combined with white saviourism, and it is racist as hell. Assuming that those kids were doing something bad was racist. Assuming that she could take up space at their table was racist. Insisting that they talk to her was disrespectful and racist. Wanting evidence that they weren’t up to no good was racist. Treating those boys as props to make her look good and then posting this picture publicly (and honestly, I wonder if the boys consented to that) is incredibly racist.

Also, can we talk about how problematic using the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” is when it comes to talking about race? First of all, it begins with the assumption that the “cover” (or in this case, skin) tells you something unappealing about the contents of the book or person. It also implies that there is something unattractive or bad about the “cover” (or, again, skin). I can’t believe that I have to say this, but: there is nothing wrong or bad about Black skin. Black skin is not unpleasant or ugly, and to imply that dark skin might devalue someone is really, really fucked up.

Black people aren’t things. They don’t exist just so that white people can make a point about themselves. These are two real kids who not only had to endure this woman’s microaggressions but have now had their image splashed all over social media – the Facebook picture alone has 150,000 likes and over 12,000 shares. Step away for a hot second from this white woman’s narrative, and think about how those teenagers must feel – having their privacy invaded, having assumptions made about them based on their race, and now having a white woman use their images to get praise for herself.

Now tell me again about how Leigh Anne Tuohy did a good thing.

UPDATE:
One of the two teens involved has responded on Instagram (his name has been blurred out for privacy):

Person One aka Teen Leigh Anne Tuohy approached at KFC: Yeah people don’t know what really happened because I actually had money I have a job and have had one for over a year I was gonna pay for my brother the other guy in the picture but he was insisting on waiting on his uncle but his phone was dying so we were charging it which is the reason we were in KFC in the first place.and the game was only a 3 min walk up the street I don’t see why she said bus fare that kinda ticked me off a little but the way she worded it is making us sound less fortunate and that isn’t the case at all & when she came over to us she never mentioned her initial reason was because of her friends comment im just now finding that out

Person Two: May I ask how she asked for the photo?

Person One: Yeah she never actually asked for it as she was handing us the money she was like “hey you know what I think this would be a great picture” and everyone with her was yeah totally so we just kinda went along with the situation like sure why not your Michael Oher’s mom but the whole time I was thinking you know why’d she come up to us in the first place I was still clueless up until she posted the picture on social media and stated “the person with me said I bet they’re up to no good.”

[pixy0stix]

This makes my brain hurt. Those poor kids being exploited.

[AJL]

Of course the comments on the piece seem to be heavy on the "But she had the best intentions!" and "Why do you have to make everything about race!?" Oh... and "She has a black son!"

[noodleskooze]

Gross.

[ttt]

I feel justified in hating that movie despite never actually seeing it.

[heyjude]

Dec 19, 2014 18:26:43 GMT -5 ttt said:

I feel justified in hating that movie despite never actually seeing it.

Same. See also: The Help.

[blink]

I know it's useless at this point but there was nothing to spill. THEY WERE DOING NOTHING WRONG!

[ECB]

I get it that she was trying to prove something to her friend, but..... SO many better ways to go about it than this. And to hear from one of the kids involved - it was as confusing and odd to them too. And belitteling.

She's taking being who she is WAY too far.

[pixy0stix]

I love that movie. I can't help it. I'm sorry.

[ttt]

Okay, so what if these two kids actually were up to no good? Or what if they were talking about sex or something embarrassing? What if they were talking about something super personal? What if they had been discussing their recent admissions to Harvard and their family's tennis club memberships? Or pretty much anything that would have ruined her "these poor black boys are so misunderstood by everyone except AMAZING ME"?

I feel so embarrassed for her looking at that picture. And embarrassed for those kids. That kid on the right looks like he's about two seconds from bolting the hell away from the whole situation. What's that German word again??? 

[josieposy]

Well I am glad she took to FB to tell us all how understanding she is.

[elleblue]

Ugh. I knew there was a "savior complex" component to The Blind Side (why I've never had an interest in seeing it) but this incident shows that this woman is out of control. Infuriating. I really hope Leigh Anne reads this piece and subsequently evaluates herself. :/


ttt - fremdschamen

[AJL]

The day after her "act of kindness" was posted to FB, she posted this:

"This pretty much sums it up! I hope you will join me in not letting your positive actions be deterred because of what others might say. #NeverGiveUp #NeverGiveIn" and this picture:

[ttt]

Dec 19, 2014 18:52:32 GMT -5 AJL said:

The day after her "act of kindness" was posted to FB, she posted this:

"This pretty much sums it up! I hope you will join me in not letting your positive actions be deterred because of what others might say. #NeverGiveUp #NeverGiveIn" and this picture:

omfg your actions weren't positive. Leave random kids alone. They don't want to hang out with some middle aged lady who demands to see their phones. 

ETA: that quote is bogus too en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aristotle#Misattributed  

[iammalcolmx]

I liked the movie, can't we just send her to a class? I don't think she meant harm but OMG@her forcing those kids to tell her what they were doing. This seems to be an education issue.

[msmerymac]

Yeah, I have no doubt that this woman is the stereotype of a white savior personified. But I do have a friend who is a black woman whose said she really can't get that worked up about it. This reads like white people trying to prove how un-racist they are by judging the racist intent of other people. But I will read the responses here and be open to other views!

[iammalcolmx]

Dec 19, 2014 19:21:55 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

Dec 19, 2014 19:08:14 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

I liked the movie, can't we just send her to a class? I don't think she meant harm but OMG@her forcing those kids to tell her what they were doing. This seems to be an education issue.

Which class? The "stop it" and "no bitch just no" classes?

Yes!!! I went to a class that helped me not be such a bitch. There is hope for all.

[cookiemdough]

I can't wait for the sequel based on rescuing black boys from KFC

[jeaniebueller]

I hated that movie so much. I feel vindicated.

[NitaX]

Dec 19, 2014 19:25:45 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Yeah, I have no doubt that this woman is the stereotype of a white savior personified. But I do have a friend who is a black woman whose said she really can't get that worked up about it. This reads like white people trying to prove how un-racist they are by judging the racist intent of other people. But I will read the responses here and be open to other views!

This is where I was when I read it. I am pretty certain she was just trying to prove a point to her misguided friend and then realized these kids were just scraping up some change. Because she's got money coming out her ass, she decided to use this as a SEE, y'all ain't shit and it backfired. 

[msmerymac]

I apologize for basically using the term "my black friend." Lol. I just wanted to point out that there could be some diversity of opinion here, and not the kind that comes from clueless white people?

[gottadobe]

Dec 19, 2014 19:44:57 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Dec 19, 2014 19:25:45 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Yeah, I have no doubt that this woman is the stereotype of a white savior personified. But I do have a friend who is a black woman whose said she really can't get that worked up about it. This reads like white people trying to prove how un-racist they are by judging the racist intent of other people. But I will read the responses here and be open to other views!

This is where I was when I read it. I am pretty certain she was just trying to prove a point to her misguided friend and then realized these kids were just scraping up some change. Because she's got money coming out her ass, she decided to use this as a SEE, y'all ain't shit and it backfired. 

This is how I read it as well.

[gottadobe]

For those that didn't like the movie/story, did you not like that she adopted Michael Oher (the entire story) or that a movie was made about it?

Also, The Help.

I'm just curious to know what I'm missing.

[LoveTrains]

I saw that woman (Leigh Ann) as a keynote speaker at a conference in Boston last year. She was SO grating and annoying. I never saw the movie, and after seeing her speak, I have no intention of EVER seeing it.

She was shocked when she asked people to raise hands if they had never seen the movie. I would say well over half the room raised their hands. She just seemed so full of herself that people wouldn't be falling all over themselves over how generous she was. I found her to be condescending and insulting. The OP leaves me feeling vindicated at my gut reaction to her.

[gpw]

I'm not gonna lie. I love that movie. But I never had any doubt that she was extremely self congratulatory. This confirms it. Lots of dick moves in this story.

[ttt]

Dec 19, 2014 20:15:14 GMT -5 gottadobe said:

For those that didn't like the movie/story, did you not like that she adopted Michael Oher (the entire story) or that a movie was made about it?

Also, The Help.

I'm just curious to know what I'm missing.

It's the self-congratulatory aspect of it that turns me off. Also that a black kid's story has to be told with the white lady being the main character (see also The Good Lie). 

[gottadobe]

Nevermind, I think I got it (bolded).



A White Savior Film (WSF) is a movie that features a white person coming into the lives of a person or people of color (POCs) who are often low-income, troubled, and/or severely oppressed. The troubled times that the people of color are in can be a product of oppression from other white folks, or their own doing. Either way, the White Savior comes in, quickly sympathizes with the problems of the people of color, learning what needs to happen to solve their problems, and in doing so, wins their favor and becomes their hero.

Here is a list of some of these films:

Gran Torino

Avatar (Jake Sully literally becomes the Messiah of the Na’vi)

The Blind Side*

Hardball

The Ghosts of Mississippi*

Glory Road*

Dances With Wolves

Finding Forrester

The Principal*

Music of the Heart*

To Kill a Mockingbird (slightly on the fence with this one because the savior Atticus Finch does not save Tom Robinson from being convicted)

Radio*

Cool Runnings*

Dangerous Minds* (This film was based on the true story of a Latina teacher, yet Michelle Pfiffer played the teacher, thereby turning this into a WSF)

The Last Samurai

Wildcats

Freedom Writers*

Amistad*

Black Rain

Sunset Park

District 9 (Also slightly on the fence with this one since the white protagonist mainly follows the plan of the oppressed alien that stands for a POC, and he is more of an anti-hero)

Mississippi Damned*

The Last Airbender (the TV series composed of all Asian characters, but the film’s three main heroes were cast as white people, while everyone else was of color)

Dune

Glory*


There are a few different kinds of WSF. The most popular kinds include the white teacher/administrator that helps the students of color realize their true potential and help them overcome their own prejudices (The Principal, Freedom Writers, Dangerous Minds, etc.), and the white sports coach leading his or her team filled with usually poor and troubled people of color to victory (Glory Road, Cool Runnings, Wildcats, Sunset Park, Hardball, etc).


The more epic, and true “savior” WSF that many sci-fi films also fit into feature a white person who is often an oppressor happening upon a culture of people of color or aliens that are POC stand-ins. The white hero eventually assimilates into their culture, and he even proves to be more skillful than them as learns the culture. He becomes their leader and savior in the battle against their enemies (Avatar, The Last Samurai, Dances With Wolves, Dune, District 9, etc.) Particularly for the “epic” WSF, the saviors are male, heterosexual, and very masculine.


So what are the problems with these films? Well, they portray people of color as too desolate, too hopeless, too overcome by their own prejudices and circumstances to help themselves, so they need someone to help them. But not just anyone, no, this helper must be a White Savior. This Savior inspires the people of color, teaches them how to be a better them, and makes their lives better when the people of color couldn’t do it themselves. These films ignore the stories of people of color helping their own communities and helping themselves.


Hollywood, and many white people, eat these WSF up because white audiences can identify wanting to be the “savior” in POC’s lives, to be the one who rescues the poor POCs from their circumstances, to be the hero in their lives. They help alleviate feelings of white guilt by projecting white people not as the oppressors, but as the heroes who can save people of color from their circumstances, and often, the oppression that whites in the past have caused. Essentially, these films capitalize on the stories of people of color, yet instead of telling the film through their eyes, they are presented as stories of the white people who help them. The people of color in these films function as catalysts for the White Savior to learn his or her lessons and reach the end of his or her own journey.


* You’ve probably noticed that many of these films are inspired by true stories. People who defend WSF often bring up the fact that several of these are “based on a true story,” however, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all WSF are valid as a group. Rather, it shows that Hollywood has a greater interest in the stories of heroic white people saving people of color than stories of people of color helping their own communities or people of color helping white people out of bad situations. WSF stories are being used to support the status quo.



Is it racist to enjoy these films? No, it’s not. You can still watch these films and like them, but they are part of a trend that chooses to ignore the perspective of people of color, and feed into the White Savior Complex that really shows what Hollywood, and unfortunately, many white people have, so choose your films well and watch them carefully.

[gottadobe]

Dec 19, 2014 20:54:17 GMT -5 ttt said:

Dec 19, 2014 20:15:14 GMT -5 gottadobe said:

For those that didn't like the movie/story, did you not like that she adopted Michael Oher (the entire story) or that a movie was made about it?

Also, The Help.

I'm just curious to know what I'm missing.

It's the self-congratulatory aspect of it that turns me off. Also that a black kid's story has to be told with the white lady being the main character (see also The Good Lie). 

I went a-googling.
I had never heard of this concept before.  Wow.

[NitaX]

Dec 19, 2014 20:15:14 GMT -5 gottadobe said:

For those that didn't like the movie/story, did you not like that she adopted Michael Oher (the entire story) or that a movie was made about it?

Also, The Help.

I'm just curious to know what I'm missing.

The thing that rubbed me the wrong way (and others that I know that actually know Oher) was that the movie portrayed him to be not as smart as he is. That bugged a lot of folks that I know. And, I think had he been any other kid and not some potential football star, I'm not sure that anyone would have cared.

[gpw]

Dec 19, 2014 20:58:23 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Dec 19, 2014 20:15:14 GMT -5 gottadobe said:

For those that didn't like the movie/story, did you not like that she adopted Michael Oher (the entire story) or that a movie was made about it?

Also, The Help.

I'm just curious to know what I'm missing.

The thing that rubbed me the wrong way (and others that I know that actually know Oher) was that the movie portrayed him to be not as smart as he is. That bugged a lot of folks that I know. And, I think had he been any other kid and not some potential football star, I'm not sure that anyone would have cared.

I read his book.  I don't understand why his story isn't compelling enough without all the embellishing.