Interesting quotes on claiming space that isn't yours

[RJnomore1]

Referring to the born again African actor accepting grants for BME actors but hey sauce for the goose etc...

It's a daily fail link so I've screenshot it

It is clear to most people that this is true. TRAs though have portrayed wmainly white men, many middle class as an oppressed minority to garner sympathy and blinded peopl to the truth training women due n the process.

In a diverse world someone who is not indigenous to a country can identify with that culture. A white person born in Asia for example. I have also often heard white South Africans talking deeply about loving Africa. But claiming BME grants is just wrong as you haven’t experienced the disadvantage in the first place!

Sometimes these things can get distorted in other ways. I know someone who was put forward for a BME scholarship at university. He was BME, had been raised by a single parent and was the first person in the family to go to university. The university awarded the prize to an overseas student from a very wealthy family in Pakistan, who was paying full overseas fees and was not remotely disadvantaged in any way.

‘Identifying with’ (or indeed, ‘identifying as’) says it all really.

I’m sure there are instances where people genuinely feel like they belong to a particular oppressed or minority group (a child raised by adoptive or formal/informal foster parents for example) but nonetheless, awards and grants like this are designed to compensate for structural oppression.

Sometimes these things can get distorted in other ways. I know someone who was put forward for a BME scholarship at university. He was BME, had been raised by a single parent and was the first person in the family to go to university. The university awarded the prize to an overseas student from a very wealthy family in Pakistan, who was paying full overseas fees and was not remotely disadvantaged in any way.
its not sometimes, its way too often. Things which are meant to give a leg up to disadvantaged groups, get abused by people who aren't disadvantaged but can tick the box, while somebody who has more merit loses out.

Lines have to go somewhere.

If there are resources put aside to meet particular needs of particular groups in society, people cannot merely identify in and out of groups they like the look of. Pensions cannot be paid to anyone who identifies as pensionable age. Disability benefit cannot be paid to anyone who feels disabled enough. Children's resources cannot be commandeered by grownups who want to embrace their inner child. BME resources cannot be appropriated by people who enjoy living out a romantic ideal of an ethnicity they don't actually have. And women's spaces and resources cannot be taken over by men who want to be women.

Dealing with boundaries and reality and not being able to have exactly what you want is a fundamental part of being a functional adult. The ability to hold lines and boundaries is a fundamental part of being a successful society.