Letters to the Editor 2/20/2025

Correction: “After the Inferno,” 2/13

The Oregon Journalism Project story “After the Inferno,” published in the Source Weekly on 2/13, originally misstated the frequency with which the Public Utility Commission notified PacifiCorp of vegetation management shortcomings. OJP regrets the error. The story has also been updated to include context about a lawsuit filed last year by Nik Blosser’s family’s winery.

Guest Opinion: Suspension of DEI Takes Us Backwards, Not Forward
Thanks to Commissioners Adair and DeBone, Deschutes County has taken a tragic step backwards. Outvoting Commissioner Phil Chang, they terminated the county’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program. They claim that they just want to make sure that federal funds to the county are not cut off as the result of angering Dear Leader Trump, who is blowing every right-wing dog whistle in pursuit of dictatorship.

The purpose of DEI programs in both the public and private sector is to continue the long-historic process of eliminating racism, sexism and other forms of bias from the workplace. Contrary to the right-wing rant, DEI does not lead to mediocrity; it ensures that talented and qualified people who might “seem a little different” are not overlooked in hiring and are welcomed in the workplace without having to fight a daily battle for acceptance and recognition. DEI is for the young man or woman in a wheelchair with a damaged body but a sharp mind ready to work. It is for the person of color raised in a multi-lingual home who speaks with accented English but is a whiz in math, science or English composition. It is for the Indigenous person who has a difference of opinion with a colleague and is told he or she should “go back to the reservation.” It is for the woman who learns she is being paid much less than a male colleague with similar qualifications, responsibility and time on the job. It is also for the Muslim woman who wears a hijab as a mark of her faith and has to wonder if the smirks and whispered comments have to be tolerated in order to keep a job she needs to support her two children. DEI is for all of us, because it fosters understanding, tolerance and collegiality from which we all benefit in numerous ways.

Those who oppose DEI express their disdain in a number of ways. Some think, naively, that we have eliminated workplace bias. Some are just lazy and can’t be bothered. Others suggest that DEI programs are too costly for the bottom line. The deeper, darker truth is that those who whine the loudest want to halt the march towards freedom for all for the simple reason that they feel white people (and preferably white Christian people) are intellectually superior and, therefore, should retain their social and economic advantages. It is this deeper, darker truth that is at the root of the war being waged on DEI programs by Trump and Musk, as well as the Republican Party that refuses to call them out.

So, no matter how they spin it, Adair and DeBone have struck a blow for white supremacy. Their action is bad politics and terrible policy. Federal money that comes with strings like this is blood money and should be rejected. Keep DEI, and join litigation filed by other jurisdictions to stop the Trump-Musk attack on our democracy and our federal system of government.

—Jeffrey Richardson

A Message for our Current Administration in Washington, D.C.
“Of the people, by the people, for the people” are words from the preamble to the U.S. Constitution and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. They do not read, “Of the white people, for the white people, by the white people,” yet that is what they have become. Removing language such as climate change, Black and diversity from federal agencies’ lexicons goes against everything that the United States has historically stood for. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty states: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Nowhere does it designate what color, race, gender or ethnicity these people should be.

What is happening now is a testament to the self-serving, narcissistic attitude that has become synonymous with “politicians.” No one wants to lose their golden goose while millions of people pay the price for their privilege. I am embarrassed to be an American, I am incensed at what is being allowed to take place in our country, and I will not stay silent as those with less of a voice are silenced. Shame on every single one of our elected congressional members who are allowing this to happen!

—Leila Thompson

Mayors Must Act to Protect Immigrant Families
In one of Donald Trump’s first acts in office, he stripped away protections for schools, hospitals and places of worship from immigration enforcement. These were once safe spaces where people could learn, receive health care and pray without fear. Now they have been turned into targets for ICE raids. This is unconscionable. As the world’s largest historical climate polluter, the United States has a responsibility to immigrants. Our pollution is causing the climate chaos — droughts, floods, hurricanes, rising waters — that is forcing people in Latin America, Asia, Africa and elsewhere to leave their homes. Others are fleeing violence, poverty and hunger — all of which are caused or made worse by the climate crisis.

People have the right to be able to leave their homes and migrate with dignity to find safe haven. But right now, immigrant families are facing the unimaginable: The fear that seeking education or health care could mean deportation, or that a peaceful moment of prayer might be shattered by ICE agents barging in. As municipal leaders, mayors have the power to fight this. They can protect immigrant families by ordering police not to participate in ICE raids and even to block ICE agents’ entry into schools, hospitals and places of worship. The future of so many families in our communities is on the line. We must call on local leaders to do the right thing, even as the federal government does not. I’m writing to urge mayors to hear this call and take action to protect immigrants.

—Kate Bolinger

Letter of
the Week:
Kate, we agree that our community must feel safe in our schools, hospitals and places of worship. Stop by for your gift card to Palate.

—Chris Young

This article appears in The Source Weekly February 20, 2025.