The pen is more violent than the sword

Maggie Buckley, Staff Writer

Meghan Markle was born in the United States of America in a less than perfect neighborhood. She has a complicated relationship with many of her family members. She proudly speaks of her heritage, having both African-American and European roots. She attended the prestigious Northwestern University for her undergraduate degree. She created a life for herself when she worked hard to become a professional actress. She was married in 2011 and divorced in 2013. She wears what she wants and speaks for what she believes in. She fell in love with an Englishman named Harry. And now all of these things, everything about her past, as well as her present, are being dragged into the spotlight. Meghan Markle is slowly and violently being torn apart.

Ever since Meghan was first spotted alongside Prince Harry in 2016, she has been under constant scrutiny of the British tabloids. They attack her based on things she simply has no control over, such as the color of her skin or where she grew up as a child. In fact, Harry began to worry about her safety, stating that Meghan “has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment.” The statement continues by highlighting “the outright sexism and racism” of comments made by both “social media trolls” and, perhaps even more shockingly, the national press.

In the United States, everyone was excited by the fact that such a strong, successful and outspoken African-American woman would be joining the Royal Family. The British tabloids, on the other hand, vulgarized the woman who defied harmful stereotypes, something which has left many Americans in shock.

However, it appears that we should not have been as surprised as we were. I have seen many interviews in which Meghan Markle speaks of how she was warned about the vicious ways of the British tabloids. She was used to being under the public eye, but never before under so much scrutiny.

The claims the British tabloids have made about Meghan Markle are appalling. It is blatantly apparent that these writers place a prejudiced spin on every article they put into circulation, whether they intend to do so or they are blinded by their biases. I recently uncovered an article that compared how the press treated both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle when they reacted to certain situations in the same manner.

The piece was astounding as it shone a light on the discrepancies otherwise overlooked.  For example, one article referred to the magnificent flowers at William and Kate’s wedding, the same that were used at Meghan and Harry’s wedding. However, instead of praising her for being “well-versed in the language of flowers,” as they claimed Kate was, Express writers accused her of picking flowers that were detrimental to the lives of her bridesmaids. Simply stated, Meghan has been villainized by the press.

Yet when she and Harry announced their parting of ways with the royal lifestyle, many were shocked. Why would they want to become financially independent? Why would they want to abandon the life of being a royal? Why would they want to give up the royal titles? Why would they want to leave England?

The answer is simple: why wouldn’t they? Meghan was constantly harassed for no other reason than the complete ignorance of tabloid writers. Because she is a woman. Because she is a feminist. Because she is an American. Because she is a rule-breaker. Because she is black. Because she is strong. Meghan and Harry were both strong enough to make a decision that caused immense backlash but ultimately is best for them and their family. They decided that enough was enough. They fought back against the tabloids in such a dignified manner the writers might not even understand it. Meghan and Harry refused to allow them to continue the constant degradation, a decision that is not only acceptable, but rather, commendable.