Whitewashing
March 28, 2024
Another in a series of observations of life as I know it.
Lyman’s assertions were not only irresponsible, anti-Black and anti-woman but also profoundly misguided. By linking Port of Baltimore Commissioner Karenthia Barber’s background to the accident solely because of her involvement with DEI efforts, conservatives like Lyman reveal their bias, ignorance, and willingness to say anything for votes.
-Nika White, DEI consultant
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It is a bridge too far. Put another way, equating DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion with the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore is lunacy. What does one have to do with another? Well it doesn’t. It’s not “woke”, it’s dope.
Human beings died as the bridge collapsed the other night. People who have families. A container ship crashed into the structure as it rang the May Day alarm. The 50 year old bridge fell like so many broken Legos. It’s a tragedy on many levels. The state of Maryland is still searching for bodies. The federal government, under orders from President Biden, has promised to rebuild and reopen the important shipping port of Baltimore. All this while loved ones grieve. And the Port of Baltimore is paralyzed, impacting the economy from top to bottom. But, please say it with me, skin color is not the reason for this dire calamity.
Here’s where lunacy meets intentionality. Or the proverbial bridge too far. Some feeble minded state representative from Utah, which I might add still included sanctioned bigamy in the 20th century, played the race card. And blamed the bridge collapse on DEI. It’s the new code word for race baiting. In their skewed parlance, DEI stands for “ Didn’t Earn It”. It’s the new N word. All because the Commissioner for the Port of Baltimore, Karenthia A. Barber, is —wait for it— a black woman. In Utah, I’m not sure which pejorative is more damning. Woman or black. Put the two together and, well, there’s that bridge too far again. According to the dimwit in Utah, DEI=DIE. Too cute by half, buster. Please explain to me what one has to do with the other. Does the color of one’s skin cause ships to crash into bridges? Is Ms Barber akin to the ancient Sirens who lured sailors to their deaths? Does her blackness imply that this crash was intentional? Her professional bona fides are on par, or even slightly elevated above the rest on her commission. Again, how in fact does DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion, factor into the loss of life in Baltimore? Well, in fact, it does not.
I find it interesting that the fool from Utah is now blaming his words on his “social media staff”. Mind you, he is blameless. Pure as the driven snow. He claims he had nothing to do with pairing death and destruction with the color of a woman’s skin. Heck no, not me. No sir. Well, hell buddy, as Harry Truman said, “the buck stops here “. The blame lands in your lap, even if you claim otherwise. Your staff? They report to you, don’t they? Surely they intuit a teensy smidge of rancid bias in your ideology. Yes? I don’t know what they call “owning up and taking responsibility “ in Utah, but where I come from, the blame just plain falls squarely on your shoulders, Mr Representative. I am quite sure your legislative staffers are all lily white Caucasians. Hired expressly for their LACK of diversity. As a result, you get what you and the people of Utah pay for. Unvarnished stupidity. Well curated bigotry. Until you can explain how diversity equates to the collapse of an urban bridge, I suggest you take ownership of your vapid words and make amends. Now before it’s too late. Words matter. They may infect your voters, especially your 2nd Amendment adherents. DEI deterrence has become the new cause celeb. The newly refashioned Klan cloak and dagger. Fools names, like fools faces, almost always appear in public places. Yours among them, prominently displayed for all to see.
