The right is quick to point out that five “terrorists” aren’t worth the life of one traitor, and the left argues that no soldier should be left behind, so long as that soldier angers the right. But, when white leftists argue in favor of the Bergdahl trade, they don’t realize that they are signal-boosting the conceit that a white life is valuable enough to rescue, whereas the other five brown lives in the trade are simply property and bargaining chips.

When oppressed people of color process the Bergdahl trade, I imagine they initially feel the same as most white liberals – they’re glad that Obama made a decision that infuriates the right. But when they _ethnically_ process the trade with their minds of color, they can’t help but feel shame. They can’t help but feel betrayed and victimized by a president that is supposed to smash the white supremacist patriarchy that would make this kind of trade in the first place.