No, DEI didn’t cause the Baltimore bridge collapse
When the Republican-led House passed a $1.2 trillion spending bill to fund the government and avoid a partial shutdown recently, it defunded and shut down the House office of diversity and inclusion.
In a linkedin post, sesha Joi moon, the now-former diversity and inclusion director, wrote, “i’ve been asked if i’m mad about what happened to the u.s. House office of diversity and inclusion at the united states Congress and the answer is that i’m more so sad — the dissolution of the country’s top office to ensure a representative workforce in the world’s most deliberative body that legislates our lives is a sad day for America.”
It’s sad, but it’s also indicative of the ongoing right-wing backlash since nationwide protests demanded racial justice and equity after the police murder of george floyd in may 2020.
Unlike the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that sprang up as a performative response to the floyd protests, the House office was launched before floyd’s killing. nancy pelosi, then House speaker, said it had “long been one of my top priorities to ensure the halls of Congress reflect the beauty and vibrancy” of the nation. According to its website, the office was “independent and nonpartisan” and “tasked with improving the recruitment, retention and development of a diverse House workforce.”
But just as Republicans railed against “woke” and critical race theory — even though many of them can’t specifically define what these terms really mean — they’ve moved to dismantle dei programs and initiatives. last July, Republican Representative Alex mooney of West Virginia introduced legislation to abolish the House dei office, not long after passage of the national defense Authorization Act, which included the elimination of the pentagon’s dei offices.
In a press release, mooney claimed that the House did not need “bureaucrats promoting this divisive ideology.” And just to make sure that he ticked every box on his “freedom Caucus” bingo card, he called dei “the latest woke liberal method of injecting cultural marxism into the workplace.” mooney is running to replace democratic senator Joe manchin of West Virginia, who is not seeking reelection.
Republican governor Kay ivey of Alabama recently signed a law that bans public schools and universities from funding dei programs. following Republican governor Ron desantis’s lead, florida’s board of governors, which oversees the state’s public universities, voted to withhold federal or state money for any program that the board determines would push “differential or preferential treatment of individuals, or classifies such individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”
And much like woke — whose linguistic origins date back more than a century as a coded reminder that black people passed among themselves to be cognizant of racism and racist violence — dei is now used as a racist slur.
That became obvious after the recent deadly collapse of the francis scott Key bridge in baltimore. on X, Anthony sabatini, a Republican congressional candidate in florida, posted a video of the bridge collapsing with the words “dei did this.”
Not condolences to families unaware of the fate of their loved ones after the bridge was struck by a massive cargo ship. not prayers for first responders then still hoping to find survivors amid the dangerous wreckage. but a mendacious and racist remark that implies that people of color are only in high-ranking jobs because of their race, not their qualifications. on social media, racists referred to baltimore mayor brandon scott, who is black, as a “dei mayor,” and claimed dei stands for “didn’t earn it.”
Phil Lyman, a Republican utah state representative, claimed in a post on X that the bridge collapse “is what happens when you have governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens.”
Maryland’s port Commission has six commissioners. but Karenthia A. barber, the sole black woman on the commission, was singled out in a post by a right-wing group that lyman retweeted. lyman, who is running to be utah’s governor, later posted “dei=die” and the hashtag #deiispoison. When he was questioned by the salt lake City tribune on tuesday, he blamed the racist posts on his social media staff. days later, the posts had not been deleted.
Republicans are branding dei as a danger to life itself. And to protect this nation’s citizens — and by citizens, they mean white people — it must be eliminated at all costs. no, there has been no racial reckoning after floyd’s murder. instead, there’s a racist retaliation this nation has experienced before, a reactionary blast by those who’ve weaponized lofty goals for diversity and inclusion into just another slur.