The national news media appears to be turning into a giant conspiracy to feed me material. Yesterday, in "Flight from White -- American Indian Version," I noted the New York Times' breathless article about an academic who has made a career for himself as an American Indian despite being a redheaded white guy. Tonight, in the Washington Post:
The Post's caption:
"Heather Purser (right) and her girlfriend, Rebecca Platter, are shown near their home in Olympia, Washington, on May 7, 2103. Purser, a member of the Suquamish Tribe, got her tribal council to to vote in favor of gay marriage."
Okay, which of these two white women, the brunette or the blonde, is the American Indian? My first guess was the brunette, but it turns out to be the blonde.
By the way, Washington Post, is Princess Fauxcohontas's t-shirt racist?
The blonde's t-shirt appears to be racially stereotyping the residents of Motown (83% black) as prone to gun violence. Are blondes really allowed to do that in the Washington Post? Or is it okay because this blonde's not white?
That raises the metaphysical question: Can a blonde lesbian who claims to be an American Indian be racist against blacks? I look forward to the Washington Post's black magazine The Root debating this burning topic for several months.
Update: Okay, I've finally read the first three paragraphs in the article:
Update: Okay, I've finally read the first three paragraphs in the article:
For Heather Purser, the first pang came more than a decade ago as she gathered clams on Puget Sound’s Chico Beach, watching her cousin’s new husband assist with the digging. She figured she’d never have a legal spouse to help with the backbreaking work.
Then Purser, a member of Washington state’s Suquamish Tribe who says she knew she was gay at age 7, decided to act: She led a personal lobbying campaign that ended with her tribal council voting in 2011 to approve gay marriage.
“I realized that I do have the power to change my situation,” said Purser, 30, a commercial seafood diver from Olympia, Wash.
Hmmhmmmhmm ... So far we have a lesbian "commercial seafood diver" who is into clams and racially insensitive t-shirts and is a blonde American Indian and has gotten the Suquamish Tribe to approve gay marriage?
Is this whole story a prank? It sounds like it was made up by the kind of 8th grader who finds everything the teacher says hilariously dirty.
Well, if it is a prank it's more like a long running performance art project. Googling "Heather Purser" brings up a considerable number of you-go-girl profiles of her. Here's an article about her in Indian Country:
Diver Heather Purser Pioneers Same-Sex Marriage for Suquamish
Ms. Purser in her clamdiver suit
Kevin Taylor
January 18, 2012
Earlier last month in Seattle, as all the threads for a planned Human Rights Day banquet were being woven together, Heather Purser, Suquamish, who was to be among the honored guests, was shuffling through mud and ooze.
Under 50 feet of water. Down on the cold bottom of Puget Sound. Wrestling with giant clams.
Indeed.
 |
| Purser in New York Times, 2011 |
And here's her profile on NPR's All Things Considered.
Plus, there are a whole bunch of other news stories about her over the years in lesser venues.
For instance, in Yes! Magazine:
Same-Sex Marriage Brings Healing to Me—and My Tribe
Heather Purser set out to win gay marriage rights within the Suquamish Tribe and found herself on a personal journey toward self-acceptance.
Considering her omnipresence in the media, maybe Heather Purser is the Greg Packer of Gay Marriage?
In case you are wondering who Greg Packer is, here's Ann Coulter's 2003 column exposing the highway maintenance worker who has been quoted countless times in the MSM as the Voice of the Man on the Street. Here, for example, is a photo of Greg first in line for an iPhone at the Times Square Apple Store, ready with a media-friendly quote.
P.P.S. And what about Rebecca Platter, the non-Indian brunet in the Washington Post's romantic backlit photo above? Well, perhaps she used to be a blonde too, at least she was in this picture of a Rebecca Platter on Red Room: Where the Writers Are. That Rebecca Platter's bio says:
I am a writer who has a strong voice and a clever way with words. I make poetry with strong visual metaphors and an unexplainable emotional pull. Although I have not officially been published I know I will be at some point when the time is right. I feel strongly that the current generation needs to re-connect with their deeper thoughts as opposed to surface "shares" that have become too common. Red Room is a place where I can be surrounded by people who inspire me to continue on my journey.
According to Rebecca Platter's bio at The Seattle Lesbian:
Rebecca Platter graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Comparative History of Ideas and a minor in Russian Literature. After studying abroad in Iceland and graduating on the Dean’s List, she backpacked throughout Europe then later moved to Costa Rica volunteering to tutor locals in English. Passionate about LGBTQ rights, Rebecca is excited to serve as a contributing writer for The Seattle Lesbian while working to transition her love of writing into a career. Rebecca is obsessed with painting multiple headed naked women, traveling anywhere she can, writing about life and wearing red lipstick whenever possible. She is currently writing a set of personal comedic memoirs. Read more.
"Multiple headed naked women"
So, this is all a Portlandia sketch come to life. (Indeed, one story says Rebecca is a barista.) We have two Northwest publicity hounds who have successfully exploited the media's gay marriage obsession. And over the course of several years of media coverage, none of these crack newshounds noticed anything amusing about the story.
By the way, even though Purser grabbed national attention for getting the Suquamish Nation to approve gay marriage in the spring of 2011, the pair still aren't married, or even engaged. The Washington Post article by Rob Hotakainen ends:
Purser is optimistic that the Supreme Court will make gay marriage the law of the land, leaving religion out of the deliberations.
She’s still unmarried, but is living with 28-year-old Rebecca Platter, her partner of three years.
“We’re not engaged, but I do plan on getting married — and she’s definitely the one,” Purser said.
I'll leave you with Rebecca Platter's entire Twitter account:
Tweets
- I'm bored and anxious
- Eating strawberries waiting for my face mask to dry.
- So cold outside! I need to clean my room. How does it get this messy?
- falling asleep at work
@MarleyBlonsky This is kinda confusing- I am trying to get part of the circle now-- you are the only person I know on here- I have twitter now.
Rebecca Platter Stop snickering! Haven't you been informed often enough that gay marriage is the most serious issue in the history of the world?
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