Piers Morgan's valiant stand

Even I have noticed that possibly no subject I write about — and to be fair, I write about a fair few hot topics — garners as much backlash as criticism of Meghan Markle. “Now why is this?” I ask myself. I, of course, like to hope that I am a self-reflective sort, open to criticism, honing my craft, being fairer and more charitable, and aiming only to criticize someone personally when it is truly warranted. Why, then, do I think it necessary to put it to you that Markle behaves as someone who is manipulative, self-aggrandizing, and an all-round bad egg? In short, because she is a person who wields enormous and destructive cultural influence that is only going to get worse. And also, because she is attempting to do this while shielding herself from all criticism, and by silencing all those who disagree with her antics and agenda in the most dastardly and ruthless of ways, crying “racist!” and by weaponizing suicide. (To be clear, it is not for me to say whether Meghan Markle really did want to end her own life or whether she was unable to get access to the help that she needed. But still, to use suicidal ideation as a personal and political cover while leveling grave and unsubstantiated accusations of wrongdoing is not indicative of strong moral leadership.) You might say that the Meghan Markle way of behaving is not a trend that I want to see catch on.

Here’s another reason why I don’t have much time for Markle: In Britain, where I come from, the vast majority of us don’t pay any attention (or at least we didn’t use to) to what race you are or what color your skin is. That is not our foundational cultural malaise in the same way that it is in America. Rather, to us, the original sin of privilege is all bound up in class. Thus, Meghan Markle found herself to be a fair target for the British press because she revealed herself to be unacknowledging of and ungrateful for her massive privilege (she literally occupies the highest level of class possible) and, worse, she was self-aggrandizing and transparently insincere, which does not endear one to the British public.