Celebration Parallax in Holly Springs race | diversity and inclusion cancels bluegrass festival? | Who is downtown Raleigh designed for?
Celebration Parallax in Holly Springs race | diversity and inclusion cancels bluegrass festival? | Who is downtown Raleigh designed for?
No. 39 — Sep. 24-Sep. 30, 2023
“We should not be led by the children” - Wake mom’s school board comment goes viral
A video of a public comment given by Wake County mother and activist Michelle Morrow before the Wake County Board of Education has been going viral this week. Although Morrow homeschools her own children, she has taken a lead in fighting against the left-wing activism in the Wake County school system, including an unsuccessful run for school board district 9 in 2022.
Although not recent, Morrow's speech resonated with many when shared this week on the 𝕏/Twitter platform:
Here's a snippet, as transcribed by Not the Bee:
Let me just say, there's one goal for the educational system, it should be to prepare children to enter careers, to be productive members of society. It is not a counseling session, it is not a self-help area, it is not somewhere to find yourself, and we should not be led by the children, for goodness' sake.
The children are called "dependents" for a reason. They depend on us who have fully developed brains. You cannot "feel" your way through life.
Celebration Parallax evident in Holly Springs Town Council race
“Jack” Turnwald is a radical LGBTQ and leftist activist running for the Holly Springs Town Council. According to Turnwald’s campaign website, she is a “trans non-binary” “they/them” currently working as a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) consultant who is seeking to bring that ideology as a “community organizer” in Holly Springs. Even Turnwald’s platform name “They for Them” is an explicit reference to the candidate’s sexuality.
However, when the Wake GOP pointed out the very same ideology and platform points, Turnwald refers to it as “say[ing] the quiet part out loud” in an article by the News & Observer:
“All of us live in a town where we share needs, and those needs should be things that we should be able to talk about, but instead, people are wanting to turn this into a culture wars issue,” Turnwald said. “It’s not a culture wars issue for me. It’s my humanity, and I get to exist just as anyone else in the world does.”
This is an example of the celebration parallax: where a set of facts which is celebrated when proclaimed by one individual becomes “bigotry” when stated by someone with an opposing ideology.
Annual bluegrass festival cancelled: diversity and inclusion to blame?
IBMA’s bluegrass festival to end in Raleigh after 2024. Group seeks a new host city. - N&O
IBMA World of Bluegrass to leave Raleigh after 2024 festival; new event will replace it - ABC11
When I first saw the news that the popular International Bluegrass Music Association festival in Raleigh was being cancelled, the topic of diversity and inclusion did not immediately leap to mind as a possible factor. That's why I was surprised to see it included in the statement by Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin on the situation:
While it is always sad to see a wonderful era end, we eagerly anticipate what our great city has planned for 2025 and beyond. We’re grateful to our friends at the IBMA for expanding the roots and branches of bluegrass in Raleigh, and I look forward to a reimagined festival run by PineCone, with a continued focus on diversity and inclusion
Does that seem odd to anyone else?
“Who are we designing downtown for?”
Moore Square’s got problems. Are police, permits to feed homeless the answer? - N&O
‘This is not normal. This is not Raleigh.’ Businesses plead for help on downtown crime. - N&O
4 Raleigh businesses on New Bern Avenue broken into within minutes of each other - ABC11
In response to the announcement that Raleigh would be supplementing the police in downtown with private security, City Council Member Mary Black made a point which I believe is worth considering:
When Council member Mary Black learned about the private security from media reports, she said she told her fellow council members that an “increased police state downtown” made her uncomfortable.
“No one has ever really meaningfully addressed the safety that Black, brown, people of color feel in a heightened police state,” she said.
“Who are we designing downtown for? And who do we want to feel safe there?” she asked. “If we are not looking at other options besides just police presence without also looking at policy or police protocols then I think we are doing a disservice, specifically to our Black and brown downtown goers.”
Brown is correct in one sense, that “Black, brown, people of color” are responsible for a disproportionate amount of criminal activity in Raleigh, and are hence most at risk of increased policing measures.
Compare Brown’s attitude to that of a business owner speaking at a meeting on downtown safety:
“My staff has been spit on. My staff has been thrown up against glass windows. My staff has been sexually groped. My staff has been threatened with bricks, and they have had their lives threatened on a regular basis,” Hammer told city leaders. “This is a daily thing. It’s incredible stressful. We can’t take it any more.”
This is the decision Raleigh citizens will make in upcoming elections: “Who are we designing downtown for?”
Will the city be designed to protect law-abiding citizens, or will it be designed to protect “equity” at the expense of allowing criminals to run rampant?
Want to get in touch? I appreciate to getting your tips, thoughts, feedback, etc: thisweekinthetriangle@substack.com