Identity, Doppelgängers, and the Limits of Visual Politics

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

  • People routinely confuse Wall Street Journal columnist Jason L. Riley with fellow journalist Robert George, reflecting how often Black professionals get visually collapsed into a single identity.
  • Riley has dealt with look-alike comparisons since childhood, from being likened to TV actor Gary Coleman to being misidentified at professional events.
  • The story illustrates how identity politics can flatten individuality, even among people with distinct views, careers, and personalities.
  • Readers are invited to reflect on how they perceive others—beyond race, profession, or surface resemblance—and to be more intentional in recognizing individual stories.

Table of Contents

Childhood Look-Alikes: The Gary Coleman Comparison

As a child, Jason L. Riley regularly heard that he looked like Gary Coleman, the beloved child actor from the sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes.” Coleman was short, with round cheeks, and instantly recognizable to television audiences.

Riley, however, never enjoyed the comparison. Even as a boy, he felt an instinctive pushback: he believed he was “much better looking” than the character people saw on screen. That humorous but telling reaction introduces a deeper theme: the tension between how others see us and how we see ourselves.

A Professional Doppelgänger in Opinion Journalism

In adulthood, Riley’s supposed look-alike shifted from a television star to another Black opinion journalist: Robert George. The two became friends after Riley moved to New York in the mid-1990s, but their friendship also came with a recurring social oddity—people constantly confused them for one another.

For roughly a quarter century, this mix-up has been a year-round phenomenon, amplified during the holidays when they attend more receptions, panels, and parties. In professional settings where guests are expected to recognize public figures, Riley and George often find themselves correcting mistaken greetings, misdirected compliments, or misapplied criticisms.

This isn’t merely about a funny case of mistaken identity. It shows how, even in elite media and policy circles, visual impressions can override details like name, byline, or specific body of work.

What This Reveals About Identity and Perception

Riley’s anecdote—of being mistaken for both a TV star and a fellow columnist—sits squarely in the broader debate over identity politics. When people see two Black male columnists and assume they are interchangeable, it mirrors how public discourse sometimes treats racial or political groups as monolithic.

Even though Riley and George are distinct individuals—with different backgrounds, experiences, and arguments—their individuality can get lost in a quick visual scan of the room. That’s a small but sharp example of how identity politics, when overemphasized, can:

  • Flatten individuality into broad categories like race or profession.
  • Overlook nuance in viewpoints, especially in opinion journalism where personal perspective is central.
  • Encourage shortcuts in perception—who someone appears to be, instead of who they actually are.

In a column franchise titled “Upward Mobility”—which focuses on race, policy, and opportunity—it’s no accident that Riley uses a personal story to highlight how surface-level identity markers can overshadow deeper realities.

How Readers Can Reflect on Their Own Assumptions

Riley’s story invites readers to ask themselves:

  • When I meet someone, do I rely too quickly on visual shortcuts or stereotypes?
  • Do I treat public figures—from journalists to politicians—as interchangeable “types” instead of individuals?
  • How often do I double-check names, roles, or viewpoints before assuming I know who someone is?

One practical way to respond is to slow down our first impressions. That can be as simple as:

  • Reading an entire column instead of reacting to the headline.
  • Noticing the byline and learning more about the author’s background.
  • Treating people we meet—especially in professional or social settings—as individuals with distinct stories, not just representatives of a group.

Ideas for Further Reading and Exploration

If Riley’s experience resonates with you, you may want to explore:

  • Other essays in his “Upward Mobility” column series, which tackle topics like schools, crime, unions, race relations, and policing.
  • Books by Jason L. Riley that expand on these themes, including “Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed” and “False Black Power?”
  • Public conversations and panels featuring both Jason L. Riley and Robert George, which highlight their differences in style and perspective, despite surface similarities.

As you explore more, consider keeping a simple challenge in mind: identify and name the individual, not just the identity category. That small shift in attention is one way to push back, personally, against the flattening tendencies of identity politics.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/identity-politics-my-professional-look-alikes-beb56ea4