by Phyllis McCrossin
King had a good laugh at my expense today.
Seems I have a huge aversion to finger pointing, the blame game and gaslighting. So when President Donald Trump was on television for a press conference explaining how Diversion Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives for a deadly crash in Washington D.C., I slapped on some headphones and listened to music – at 500 million decibels to drown out the babble of… whatever that was.
I’m already partially deaf so I guess it doesn’t matter if I become more so.
King thought it funny that I chose to ignore the world and listen to music. Apparently King had been talking to me for quite some time and I, obviously, did not respond. So he stood in front of me and mouthed nonsense, much like the man on television was doing, except King’s nonsense was humorous. The man on television was not.
At the time of the press conference it had been less than 12 hours since the crash. They were still looking for bodies, they were still looking for the jet’s black box. No one knew how the accident happened.
How can an individual blame, without any shred of evidence, previous administrations and DEI for a horrendous plane crash? Where is the compassion? Where are the words of our “leader” coming over the air assuring us that an investigation was under way? That is what a normal leader would do.
But then Mr. Trump will never be able to follow protocol will he? Instead he politicized a national tragedy.
Those who can’t see that are probably a part of the problem.
It should come as no surprise that the military is a deep source for the FAA, as qualified folks separate and/or retire from the military and move to a civilian career. To publicly announce that the terrible accident was caused by some sort of DEI hiring practices is disgusting.
There is nothing like maligning every air traffic controller in the country. Now the eyes of the nation are on the person in the control tower last night. In addition, didn’t the president imply that people with disabilities are incapable of doing jobs? Didn’t he just imply that the FAA is hiring unqualified people?
Placing blame on non-white people is disgusting on its face. As is placing blame on people with disabilities. Can we please, for the love of all that is good, use a little common sense?
When I tune in to watch a press conference after a catastrophe, I want compassion, not campaigning and speculative blaming. I want assurances that investigations are under way. I want to hear condolences to those who lost family members.
To place blame on former administrations is unconscionable. Or perhaps he was deflecting blame because of the firings he had recently enacted. I’ve heard many suggest that is what happened. But that would be what those with the mentality of the president would do – blame him. when, in fact, many of Mr. Trump’s policies – most notably the firing of some top aviation officials and the end of diversity equity and inclusion programs — had little to do with the deadly crash.
The investigation will take months. It’s probably best to avoid speculation – on both sides of the aisle. That is what an adult would do.
Mr. President, if you can’t act like a decent human being I weep for the future of our country.
I’ll try not to be political next week. Let the hate begin.
