{"id":1492834,"date":"2022-05-26T09:14:51","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T13:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1492834"},"modified":"2022-05-26T09:15:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T13:15:00","slug":"tacoma-parks-hosts-white-staff-only-meeting-to-fight-white-supremacy-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tacoma-parks-hosts-white-staff-only-meeting-to-fight-white-supremacy-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Tacoma Parks Hosts \u201cWhite Staff Only\u201d Meeting to Fight \u201cWhite Supremacy Violence\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftacoma-parks-hosts-white-staff-only-meeting-to-fight-white-supremacy-violence%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1492834&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>Metro Parks Tacoma hosted a whites-only staff meeting to discuss white supremacy and how \u201cwhite people can move from being allies to advocates.\u201d The meeting was in response to the May 14 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.<\/p>\n<p>The department\u2019s chief equity officer Norinda Rosario sent an all-staff email this week to alert white staff members of the upcoming one-hour meeting. It\u2019s not required.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am holding space for White staff to connect and share their thoughts and feelings around the Buffalo Supermarket massacre that took the lives of 10 innocent Black people in Buffalo, NY, on Saturday, May 14. This is an invitation, not an expectation,\u201d the email invite read.<\/p>\n<p>When a staff member complained that this is divisive, Rosario shamed him publicly, saying she was glad it made him \u201ccringe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mynorthwest.com\/3487169\/rantz-nick-hanauer-painful-deaths-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Rantz: Prominent Seattle progressive Nick Hanauer wishes \u2018terminal cancer\u2019 on Republicans<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>This meeting demonized white staff<\/h3>\n<p>A spokesperson with Tacoma Parks explained to the Jason Rantz Show that these kinds of \u201caffinity\u201d group meetings \u2014 segregated get-togethers with people who share an identity \u2014 are common. And this one was to get white staff to become activists.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe conversation for white folks was also intended to help grieve and process and heal, but also to share thoughts about racial violence and how white people can move from being allies to advocates \u2013 in a conversation space without risk of further traumatizing BIPOC colleagues,\u201d the spokesperson emailed the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear how a conversation meant to grieve, process, and heal would traumatize non-white staff. But the implication is that, in this case, black employees are not able to handle conversations with white people, which the department is effectively demonizing here for not being \u201cadvocates.\u201d It\u2019s as if Tacoma Parks thinks its white employees support racially-motivated shootings.<\/p>\n<p>They also held other meetings for non-white staff, but it included the demonization of white colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were several conversation times for black\/BIPOC folks, and others for white folks,\u201d the spokesperson emailed. \u201cThe intent behind the conversations for BIPOC folks was to create a process for healing, a space where people can talk freely, for black and brown staff to grieve and process this incident and the toll of racism as a whole without the risk of the conversation diverting to console white people and serve their needs instead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The meeting received immediate pushback as the staff was concerned that this was a partisan attempt to pit whites against blacks.<\/p>\n<h3>Workers were outraged<\/h3>\n<p>The email invite didn\u2019t sit well with staff members. Some, according to a source, felt uncomfortable speaking out publicly. But one hit reply-all to the email.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhite staff? This doesn\u2019t sit well with me separating fellow coworkers by skin color. It was a tragic event that took place, but I\u2019d like to think we all fit under the same umbrella as Americans. Our hearts go out to those affected,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Equity director Rosario responded two days later to address the concern raised. She said she did not have time to put more details into the intent of her email, which she said she wished she had done. But she also scolded the man for expressing his concern.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Buffalo Massacre occurred on Saturday, May 14, and from that moment on, my focus was centered on the health and welfare of MPT\u2019s Black staff, and not the comfort or needs of White people,\u201d she wrote. \u201cMy choice to include other People of Color was based on the likelihood that they too have experienced racial violence and that this incident has likely activated their anguish, anger, fear, and frustration as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She then unloaded on the staff member, which she sent to all staff. She complained that she is \u201cnot a counselor or a therapist\u201d but a \u201cfacilitator, advisor, guide, and coach.\u201d But, she said she was glad she upset the staff member.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m happy to know that reading the words White Staff Only makes some people cringe. It means that your heart is in the right place. But, I challenge you to do the work to understand why the practice of providing raced-based affinity groups is a powerful tool for healing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mynorthwest.com\/3483420\/rantz-rep-strickland-makes-evil-claim-about-justice-thomas-on-interracial-marriage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Rantz: Rep. Strickland makes evil claim about Justice Thomas on interracial marriage<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>The resources paint white people as oppressors<\/h3>\n<p>Rosario defended the idea of affinity groups in her email, noting she understands that some people are new to the concept. She offered a number of links to resources explaining the benefits of these meetings.<\/p>\n<p>One resource offers \u201canti-racist\u201d tools for white staff members to use. It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.racialequitytools.org\/resources\/act\/strategies\/caucus-and-affinity-groups\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">defines<\/a> the space thusly:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For white people, a caucus provides time and space to work explicitly and intentionally on understanding white culture and white privilege and to increase one\u2019s critical analysis around these concepts. A white caucus also puts the onus on white people to teach each other about these ideas, rather than placing a burden on people of color to teach them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Another <a href=\"https:\/\/arrow-journal.org\/why-people-of-color-need-spaces-without-white-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">resource<\/a> defended racially segregated meetings, arguing all white people judge black people to the point that black expression and authenticity are hindered:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>People of color need their own spaces. Black people need their own spaces. We need places in which we can gather and be free from the mainstream stereotypes and marginalization that permeate every other societal space we occupy. We need spaces where we can be our authentic selves without white people\u2019s judgment and insecurity muzzling that expression. We need spaces where we can simply be\u2014where we can get off the treadmill of making white people comfortable and finally realize just how tired we are.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>If this is how Rosario views white employees at Tacoma Parks, it\u2019s no wonder staff complained.<\/p>\n<h3>Don\u2019t let race-baiters guilt you<\/h3>\n<p>The email makes no mention of the May 15 racially-motivated shooting at a California church. Partisan media outlets opted against much coverage because the shooter was Chinese rather than a white supremacist. It\u2019s precisely why Tacoma Parks ignored it, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Laguna Woods shooting, while devastating, was a political hate crime (according to the Orange County Sheriff) which is a different thing, as you know,\u201d the Tacoma Parks spokesperson told me.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, I do know. The church shooting didn\u2019t fit the right kind of politics for it to matter for the equity agency Tacoma Parks. It\u2019s not a narrative they can exploit.<\/p>\n<p>Race-baiters like Rosario, and woke government agencies like Tacoma Parks, have become convinced that all white people somehow are to blame for any anti-black attack. It\u2019s a bad faith, unreasonable position, obviously. Is the Black or Latino community to blame for gang violence when gang membership is primarily Black or Latino? Of course not. Race propagandists would likely blame white supremacy for creating gangs to begin with.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s not a single white staff member at Tacoma Parks who is responsible for what happened in Buffalo. There\u2019s not a single Latino staff member responsible for what happened in Uvalde, Tex. either. And Black staff members bear no responsibility for the mass murder in Waukesha at the oft-forgotten parade massacre that didn\u2019t fit the media and left-wing narrative.<\/p>\n<p>The race of the murderer is not a reflection of the community which shares their race \u2014 or any identity.<\/p>\n<p><em>Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3\u20136 pm on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mynorthwest.com\/category\/podcast_results\/?sid=1018&#038;n=The%20Jason%20Rantz%20Show\">podcast here<\/a>. Follow\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonrantz\">@JasonRantz<\/a>\u00a0 on\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonrantz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter,<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jasonrantz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jasonrantzshow\">Facebook<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/jasonrantz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a>. Check back frequently for more news and analysis.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Metro Parks Tacoma hosted a whites-only staff meeting to discuss white supremacy and how \u201cwhite people can move from being allies to advocates.\u201d The meeting was in response to the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":1894297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1492834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1492834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1492834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1492834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1894297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1492834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1492834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1492834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}