Kamala Harris Bought an $8 Million Malibu House and Apparently We Should All Be Outraged (3 of 4)

But here’s the thing: Context matters. Point Dume isn’t exactly a random subdivision. And Harris didn’t, like, sneak past a developer’s “racial screening committee” when seeking approval to buy her home. It’s one of the most affluent coastal enclaves in freakin’ Malibu! She’s neighbors with the likes of Bob Dylan, Julia Roberts, and Barbra Streisand (whose home gave birth to the famous Streisand Effect phenomena). We aren’t suggesting demographic disparities aren’t problematic. However, there is a significant logical gap between the statement “Kamala Harris bought an expensive house in a predominantly white neighborhood” and the conclusion “Kamala Harris therefore doesn’t believe in racial equality.”

Look, people buy houses for all sorts of reasons. They like the location and its proximity to the ocean. It provides them with privacy. It’s located near their workplace (especially convenient in a state like California where people routinely commute two hours one-way). The fact that they have enough disposable income allows them to live wherever they choose. 

And there is another inconvenient detail that gets left out of this manufactured outrage: Harris is not purchasing a house in Point Dume as a government official assigning housing to other people. She is a private citizen buying a home with her husband.