"Do We Really Both Have The Same Chance Of Winning": This Woman's A++ Analogy Comparing Systemic Racism To The Game Monopoly Is Going Mega Viral
by Alexa Lisitza · BuzzFeedPosted 2 minutes ago
It's no secret that older generations tend to lean more conservative, with baby boomers having twice as many conservatives as liberals, according to Gallup. It's a generational divide that either splits families across ideological and sometimes personal lines...or creates an opportunity to bridge them together.
And for mother-daughter TikTok duo Dori Rath and Castille Landon, they experienced the latter when former lifelong Republican Dori was met with the opportunity to address her own mom's misconceptions about systemic racism.
In a now-viral video viewed well over 3.5 million times, Dori addresses her off-screen, 82-year-old mother with a Monopoly metaphor. "Let's say you're playing Monopoly," she starts. "If, during the first half of the game, we said that Cas and I could buy property, but you could not, then halfway through the game, we say, 'Now the rules are even. Now the rules are the same for everybody.'"
"At this point, we already own Boardwalk and Park Place and Madison Avenue and we've got all the reds and all the yellows. You can probably pick up Baltic Avenue if you want, and you're able to go to jail just like we can," she continued.
"The question is, do you think that you're gonna have an equal chance? Now that I've just said the rules are now equal, do you feel the rules really are equal? That you really have an equal chance at winning this game?" she questions.
"No," Castille's grandmother and Dori's mother responds. "Because you've already got all the good places. You didn't leave me anything."
Dori nods. "And, more importantly, every time you land on my shit, you're paying me a lot of money. So, how are you going to get the money to buy, and if you're gonna buy land, you're buying it from me, since we kind of own most of the property... And you're not going to buy it at the same price I paid for it, right?"
"If you want Madison Avenue from me, I may have paid 260 bucks for it, but you're going to pay me $350. 'Cause why else would I sell it to you? Every time you land on it, I'm collecting rent from you."
"So what are your choices?" she concludes. "Just because halfway through the game, I said it's now— we're all now playing by the same rules. Did that really level the playing field? Do we really both have the same chance of winning? No. So, that's the idea behind systemic racism."
Dori is not the first to use this analogy — using Monopoly to simplify the effects of systemic racism was first popularized in a viral sense by author Kimberly Latrice Jones — but her video has reintroduced the concept in a way that deeply resonates with many online.
People say it's a clear example of "Equality Vs equity."
And, this breakdown helps those from economically underprivileged backgrounds understand how minorities have other compounding factors set against them.
For Dori, her message going viral has an extra layer of complexity, given her former conservatism. Speaking to BuzzFeed on the topic, she said, "For me, the journey from conservative to progressive is not a radical or overly emotional one, but one that made logical sense given the shifting economic and cultural climate... I don't think I had a full picture of how the working class was being shut out of American society, but the internet and social media — seeing the breadth of experiences — has made me open my eyes."
"I think what is really important for people to understand is that no matter where you exist on the political spectrum, you have every right to change your mind and, in fact, I would suggest you have a duty to continue learning and developing your beliefs. Changing your mind is not a weakness, it is a strength."