On the call, before the bookclub for white women to confess their inner racism and vow to do better launched into high gear, Rao and Jackson spoke to their paying guests about their appearance in the film. Turns out they weren’t happy about it. The details were revealed to The Post Millennial by a whistleblower on the call.
“By the way, we should tell you,” Rao told book-clubbing Karens, “We haven’t even talked about this. We are the subjects–we are part subjects of an upcoming Matt Walsh, Ben Shapiro film, which comes out–all the big cinemas are carrying this Nazi shit. Regal, AMC. I think the movie comes out in September.”
The August 14 call was part of the Race 2 Reading series White Women: The Bookclub. It was hosted by Rao and Jackson and was an offshoot of their dinner party series called Race 2 Dinner where white women pay thousands of dollars to be told how racist they are. In the bookclub, they do all that, but on Zoom, and for the budget price of about $50, tax and fees included.
Before jumping into exploring how the white women need to stop being nice, and how their tears are weaponized against persons of color, Rao continued, saying “Don’t go see it because nobody needs to pay that dude money, but Regina and I along with a crew of maybe half a dozen other people including Robin DiAngelo were conned into being part of this fascist Nazi white supremacy film. So, anyway. You can Google it.”
Undoubtedly, the dutiful white women will not go see the film. If they did, they would see an honest account of their dinner series, where white women hang onto Rao and Jackson’s every word as tightly as they grip the stems of their wine glasses. Rao and Jackson blast a white woman at the dinner for being racist when she asks her black husband to keep his voice down in public. “That’s tone policing,” Rao tells her. The woman is, dutifully, aghast. Walsh poses as a waiter and serves the women before becoming disruptive and mansplaining anti-racism to the women, taking up the hosts’ side to criticize the white women as they eat their meal.
“Introducing Race2Reading!” Read the invite to the book club. “White Women: The Book Club, is a unique and exclusive virtual gathering hosted by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao.”
“This book club,” it goes on, in the language of self-help and self-actualization like that which would be found at any mindful meditation spa, “is a transformative space where attendees can engage in insightful discussions about the themes presented in Regina and Saira’s book White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism And How to Do Better.”
Rao and Jackson promise “an enriching experience in an intimate setting” and encourage participants “Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of the only book club that promises to challenge perspectives, and inspire us to not only deconstruct our inner ‘Karen’ but also to actively engage in the ongoing journey towards positive social change.” Karen is the latest slur in the race-based insult dictionary and it’s reserved entirely for white women who hold entitled, privileged, world views. By Rao and Jackson’s standards, that would mean all of them. Rao claims she used to be white due to having been raised by perfectionist, Indian immigrant parents. She hates perfectionism and thinks it is racist.
The book under discussion was “White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How To Do Better.” At a mere $16, the book was apparently “an instant New York Times bestseller” and is described as “A no-holds-barred guidebook aimed at white women who want to stop being nice and start dismantling white supremacy from the team behind Race2Dinner and the documentary film, Deconstructing Karen.”
“It’s no secret that white women are conditioned to be ‘nice,’ but did you know that the desire to be perfect and to avoid conflict at all costs are characteristics of white supremacy culture?”
“White Women,” the description goes, “is a call to action to those of you who are looking to take the next steps in dismantling white supremacy. Your white supremacy. If you are in fact doing real anti-racism work, you will find few reasons to be nice, as other white people want to limit your membership in the club. If you are not ticking white people off on a regular basis, you are not doing it right.”