Mayor Brandon Scott has come to expect overt and not-so-overt racism.

The latest example came in the aftermath of Tuesday night’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Within hours, Scott said he started to notice social media posts labeling him as a “DEI Mayor.”

Scott immediately bristled at the dog whistle.

“We know what these folks really want to say when they say DEI mayor,” he told The Banner. “Whether it is DEI or clown. They really want to say the N-word. But there is nothing they can do and say to me that is worse than the treatment of my ancestors. I am proud of who I am and where I come from.”

  • ZeroCool@slrpnk.net
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    8 months ago

    We know what these folks really want to say when they say DEI mayor,” he told The Banner. “Whether it is DEI or clown. They really want to say the N-word.

    Yeah, this is typical chicken-shit conservative cowardice. Back in the day they wore hoods and robes, these days they hide behind avatars on social media, but they’re still playing the same games.

    It’s important to call them out on these dog whistles every time though, no matter how childish or ridiculous their name calling may seem. Because there will always be bad faith actors, pathological contrarians, and useful idiots waiting in the wings to defend them by denying the implicit or explicit racism at the heart of these incidents. So it’s the responsibility of every decent person not to give up a god damn inch of wiggle room on the subject.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      They really want to say the N-word.

      Exactly right. And honestly, I’m amazed that Trump hasn’t used it in a rally yet considering he can’t shut the fuck up or stop saying anything in his head.

      • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
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        8 months ago

        Everyone remember the country holding its breath that time he talked about the conflict in Niger?

        (Then he just laughed about 4 US soldiers dying in an ambush instead, whew!)

      • myusernameis@lemmy.ca
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        8 months ago

        Honestly, I probably only know the acronym because of the right wing hatred against it. I vote we say “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” instead of “DEI” to make them spell out why they are against these things.

        Edit, its equity not equality… Fixed that.

      • AlDente@sh.itjust.works
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        8 months ago

        I’ve never heard it before. It sounds like something people would only use on social media and not in the real world. I’m glad Lemmy is the extent of my social media exposure.

    • hailsatan
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      8 months ago

      From wiki: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (usually abbreviated DEI) are organizational frameworks which seek to promote “the fair treatment and full participation of all people”, particularly groups “who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination” on the basis of identity or disability.