President Donald Trump departs the lectern after talking throughout a briefing in regards to the mid-air crash between American Airways flight 5342 and a navy helicopter in Washington, within the Brady Press Briefing Room on the White Home on January 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Supply: ROBERTO SCHMIDT / Getty
On Wednesday evening, an American Airways regional jet carrying 64 folks and a U.S. Military Black Hawk helicopter collided in mid-air earlier than each crashed into the Potomac River. Restoration officers don’t anticipate finding any survivors on this tragedy that each President Donald Trump and his newly sworn-in secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, seem to agree was “preventable,” as situations within the sky had been reportedly clear and the helicopter pilot was reportedly warned by air site visitors management in regards to the airplane being within the space earlier than the crash.
Authorities officers and people on social media have engaged in numerous dialogue about failings at a number of factors and who’s responsible for what occurred, however one factor has been curiously overlooked of all of the chatter.
Nobody is being known as a “DEI rent.”
Duffy is at present getting cooked on-line for, amongst different issues, saying throughout a information convention, “It isn’t customary to have plane collide.”
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Now, Duffy could have merely been a casual comment with out giving it a lot thought, so it may not be truthful to counsel his “No sh*t, Sherlock” second signifies he’s incompetent. But it surely was only a few quick weeks in the past that “DEI FBI” was trending on social media after the New Yr incident through which a Muslim man deliberately rammed his truck right into a crowd of individuals on Bourbon Road in New Orleans, killing greater than a dozen folks. Why was “DEI” trending? Effectively, early on within the investigation — actually hours after the assault — FBI Assistant Particular Agent in Cost Alethea Duncan, a Black lady, remarked that the assault was not, on the time, thought-about a “terrorist occasion” by the FBI and that the investigation continues to be underway. And all it took was that one sentence — uttered throughout the very begin of the investigation relating to a dedication Duncan didn’t possible make unilaterally — for white folks throughout the net to start out calling Duncan a “DEI rent,” main with the idea that she’s not certified for her place based mostly on completely nothing however the truth that she’s a Black lady.
Throughout the press convention, Duffy additionally mentioned he had not but even spoken to air site visitors controllers, and he’s gotten numerous flack for that on-line — however not by individuals who counsel he was put in his place as a result of he’s white and male.
And what of the helicopter pilot? Bear in mind when white conservatives and wannabe white conservatives like Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens had been speaking about how terrified they might be in the event that they noticed a Black or feminine pilot as a result of they might assume they had been DEI staff? (As a result of, for some motive, conservatives assume DEI recruiters are simply speaking as much as random Black folks and asking, “Hey, wanna be a pilot?”) It’s virtually as if DEI isn’t developing as a result of the aviation world is overwhelmingly white and male, with fewer than 4% of pilots being Black and fewer than 5% being ladies.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks at a press convention with different authorities officers on the rescue efforts following a collision between an American Airways airplane and an Military helicopter in Washington, D.C., on January 30, 2025. | Supply: Anadolu / Getty
Truly, Trump simply alluded on Thursday morning, with out proof, to the potential of variety efforts within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a result of, actually, this man simply wakes up within the morning and instantly thinks of recent methods to make a factor racist), however that was clearly new mind fart of his — in addition to a chance to politicize the crash by taking swipes on the Biden administration — as a result of when commenting on the crash on Fact Social shortly after it was reported, DEI didn’t come up in any respect.
“The airplane was on an ideal and routine line of method to the airport,” he wrote. “The helicopter was going straight on the airplane for an prolonged time frame.”
“It’s a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the airplane had been blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or flip. Why didn’t the management tower inform the helicopter what to do as a substitute of asking in the event that they noticed the airplane,” he continued. “This can be a unhealthy state of affairs that appears prefer it ought to have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!!”
Once more, it’s virtually as if Trump had initially forgotten to be racist due to how overwhelmingly white and male pilots are, then he was like: “Oh sh*t, we gotta throw in a ‘DEI’ angle.”
Once more, the “DEI rent” assaults on Duncan had been quick, as they had been when leveled at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass following the wildfires in California. And who may neglect when a serious bridge in Baltimore collapsed final 12 months and Republicans instantly tied the tragedy to DEI just because Maryland’s port commissioner is a Black lady and Baltimore’s mayor, Brandon Scott, is a Black man? (Principally, even in case you’re an elected official, you will be labeled a “DEI rent” as a result of racists don’t let information and logic get in the best way of their seething racism.)
For “DEI” assaults to be quick, there have to be a Black individual, individual of shade or lady in a visual place of management. On the subject of white male incompetence and even the notion of it, instantly the narrative turns into colorblind. Go determine.
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