While the opponents of Harriet Tubman’s inclusion as the portrait on the $20 bill have quieted since it was first announced in April 2016, that has not stopped a group of Affirmative Action enemies from propping up a new option to replace her.
Fueled by Abigail Fisher’s bid to end Affirmative Action practices at the University of Texas, where she was denied entry for not being as brilliant as she apparently thinks she is, a small but annoyingly vocal group wants to put Mark Watson on the 20 spot. While Mark Watson may not be a household name, they argue that he embodies their plight, wholeheartedly.
“He embodies everything we’ve been fighting for,” said Charles M. McCoola, head of the National American Association for Victimized Whites. The NAAVW has been a long-fighting opponent of Affirmative Action, saying it gives too many advantages to minorities that were once reserved for just white people.
“Mark Watson embodies everything that the white man struggles for every day. He had to accept a scholarship opportunity that was meant for only blacks to participate in just so he could go to school for free. What kind of country is this where that is okay? Why can’t there be white only scholarships? Once we start doing that we all of a sudden are being racist or bigoted. It doesn’t matter that the majority of the scholarships in the USA go to white students, I don’t care about that. I care that we can’t have the same rights as blacks or other minorities where we can just call things out as they are, you know? This scholarship is for whites only, this water fountain is for whites only. Why can’t we do that?” McCoola went on to assert his point.
I then had to remind him that Mark Watson isn’t a real person, and is in fact a character played by actor C.Thomas Howell in the movie “Soul Man,” which would have a hard time coming out now, thanks to the use of what would be considered “black face.”
“Well, who cares if he’s real or not? THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. Look at Rachel Dolezal! She can’t even be black if she wants to! People are accusing her of not knowing the black man’s struggle and that she shouldn’t be a lead in the NAACP because of it. Well, of course she doesn’t know the black man’s struggle, but how about the black woman’s struggle? Did anyone think of that? I bet you they didn’t. You mean to tell me that people can swap genders, sexuality, change their names, own both cats AND dogs, have no preference over Coke or Pepsi but this poor white woman can’t be black? Well, if we did away with Affirmative Action, white people wouldn’t have to act like they were black to get ahead. Who wants to do that, really? Do you know how hard it is to be black in this country?”