Opinion: We're Not All Grieving the Queen's Death
There are certain world events that occur, and you just know that you'll always remember where you were when you first heard the news. Sept. 8, 2022, the day Queen Elizabeth II died, will certainly be one of those moments in time for many of us. And yet nothing has exposed the deep fissures in our global community quite like this. As announcements of her death hit social media and interrupted broadcast television, a range of opinions and emotions exploded onto the scene.
Many (mostly white) people (minus the Irish, who haven't forgotten the brutal 30-year conflict fought in Northern Ireland during the Queen's tenure) began to eulogize the Queen with sanitized recollections of her life and legacy. Meanwhile, people of color and commonwealth nations around the world have expressed anger at the 70-year reign that only existed on our backs. As Fred T. Joseph said in a recent Instagram Reel, "there's never a bad time ever to talk about oppression… Someone passing away doesn't suddenly absolve them of the things that they've done, especially if they didn't do anything to correct the ways they've harmed people or benefitted from harm unaddressed while they were living.