All the world's a stage...but is that a mocha-colored chip on your shoulder?

This has been a big story for a few days and it still has a way to go. 

Rachel Dolezal is a senior administrator with the NAACP in Spokane, WA. The NAACP, as many people know, is a long-established civil rights organization. Over the decades, it has had many white people as benefactors, and probably a number of white people on staff. 

Rachel Dolezal has been one of those white staffers, except she has identified herself -- perhaps on her application papers, and definitely in her hairstyle -- as black. Recently, however, her parents, who are white, stated that Rachel is also white, and therefore has been other than honest. It's worth noting that the parents have four adopted black children, so they're probably not racists. They just claim to be puzzled by their daughter's behavior, and are uncomfortable with it. 

As an aside, Rachel Dolezal has claimed to be the victim of several "hate crimes" in the form of letters and a noose seen hanging from a tree near her home. The police have found no basis for her claims, and have strongly suggested that she herself planted the evidence. 

There are several angles to this story that have generated interest. Is race something that we "choose"? Can we legitimately self-identify as black or white, just as it's become the consensus that people can self-identify their gender, as in the case of Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner? Is Rachel Dolezal guilty of "cultural appropriation" if she has as Afro haircut? Is she raising important societal questions, or is she merely a head case?

This story puts me in mind of something I learned during my experience as an actor and a standup comedian. Certain people -- and yes, this may be a pathology -- can't function, or connect, or communicate effectively unless there's an element of deception involved. 

From this perspective, an actor who evokes laughter and tears from an audience isn't a "phony" because he's playing a role. Instead, he's accomplishing something he couldn't do in his everyday identity precisely because he's using a false identity to accomplish it. But from a creative (and financial) standpoint, the important thing is that he gets it done. 

No one has said Rachel Dolezal is not effective in her work, which I imagine involves mostly fund raising and event planning. It's possible that presenting herself as a black person has made her more effective, and her organization has benefited. From a business perspective, if she chooses to identify as a black person, should she be allowed to go on doing so? I don't believe it's a crime. Can I go on saying I'm the Easter Bunny if it gets me clients? Even though I'm not really the Easter Bunny?

What do you think?

Here's a link for more on Rachel Dolezal:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/13/us/washington-rachel-dolezal-adopted-brother/