Identity politics is bound to contain racist assumptions of various kinds. If you are white and set out to help people of various identities, you have made an assumption that they need help. That is subtly racist in itself. But if you are of the named identity group and claim a special status as a result, that is racist in that it implies a certain superior status. A “color blind” citizenship would dismiss these identities as irrelevant. In the far distant future there may come a time when the general attitude towards a claim of Cherokee ancestry is met with a chorus of yawns. I suspect that day has already arrived on the right side of the political spectrum. People are tired of fighting all the old battles that cannot have winners, just groups of losers on both sides. I take it a step further, I don’t really care much about my ancestry, I care more about where I’m going.
I’ll add this — I find it interesting that so far the main response to her claim is skepticism rather than laughter. In other words, people are saying, “bet you aren’t really 3% Cherokee.” But so what if she is 3% Cherokee? Does that make her a better person than if she was 0% Cherokee? Why am I supposed to care what percentage of some misguided liberal white lady from Boston is Cherokee?
That's only because you're Irish.
Just kidding....I love the Irish. Oops, more identity politics and subtle racism.