It’s likely that if you have a child under the age of five, you’re familiar with Ms. Rachel. This internet persona, adopted by preschool teacher Rachel Accurso, is beloved by young children for her engaging songs, vibrant visuals, and enthusiasm for learning. Many parents refer to her, lovingly, as their “co-parent” because her videos help them get a few moments to clean, cook, or even relax while their child(ren) sings along to “Icky Sticky Bubble Gum.”
A few days ago, Ms. Rachel posted a 31-second-long video to each of her social media platforms. She’s sitting in the dark, devoid of her usual cheery demeanor and pink headband. However, it’s immediately apparent that she’s crying. Rachel says, “The bullying is so bad. It’s so bad. But I can handle this.”
You must be wondering: Ms. Rachel must have done something awful for her to be experiencing such intense bullying from hundreds of strangers online, right? Wrong.
Ms. Rachel and the Fundraiser
Ms. Rachel posted a video to her TikTok on May 12, 2024, asking her followers for help. She had an idea to raise money for the international charity Save the Children. Her idea, which was quickly turned into a reality, was to join the video platform Cameo and make “Messages of Love to Children for Children.”
The proceeds from these videos would go directly to the Save the Children Emergency Fund to help children living in conflict in Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Sudan, and more.
In the first few hours of her Cameo profile going up, she had raised $50,000. The excitement was quickly brought to a halt as angry and hate-filled comments began popping up on her videos and in her inbox . . .
The Bullying of Ms. Rachel
The backlash, allegedly, began with online groups posting about their outrage that Ms. Rachel did not mention raising money for Israeli children.
Many of the people bullying Ms. Rachel failed to recognize that she cannot be everything, all the time, for every single person. Despite her often Wonder Woman-like feats, she is only one person.
People are finding themselves a bit too deep into a parasocial relationship with Ms. Rachel, believing she owes them something because they consume her content. Just last year, Ms. Rachel had to step back from social media after “fans” became enraged after finding out that co-star Jules Hoffman goes by they/them pronouns.
Complexity and Truth
We’ve come to a troubling point where people tend to perceive the conflict in Gaza in black-and-white terms. It’s seen as a choice between being pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, with no room for supporting both Palestinians and Jews. This mindset, seen by people worldwide, is disheartening because it overlooks the situation’s complexity.
Ms. Rachel’s working with Save the Children to provide aid to children in Gaza and other crisis zones is undoubtedly an incredible thing. It’s important to also recognize that children in Israel are not exempt from facing profound challenges. Many of them, due to the October attacks, are experiencing displacement, trauma, and the devastating loss of loved ones. Two Israeli children — Ariel and Kfir Bibas, four and one — are still being held hostage in Gaza.
The reality is that multiple things can be true at the same time.
We can acknowledge the suffering of both Palestinian and Israeli children without diminishing the significance of either. We can raise money for children who are facing inhumane and terrifying circumstances without it meaning that we do not care about all children. We can acknowledge that children in Israel deserve to be safe, fed, and loved without it meaning that we have stopped caring about Palestinian children. We can raise our voices about the Gaza conflict and its effect on mothers and children without it meaning that we’ve turned a blind eye to Ukraine, Sudan, or the democratic republic of Congo.
We as a people have to remember that we are capable of so much good — so much love. We can care for more than one issue at a time. We can provide our voices for many who have had theirs taken away.
