jeff the question was **specifically about racial and economic diversity**. the answer was about DC’s program to create racial and economic diversity. the only thing apparently acceptable to you is a taboo about discussing the shortfalls of government programs designed to create economic & racial diversity. can you explain why you think nobody should be able to talk about it? |
Jeez, Jeff, you are just a flat out liar. You are wildly, wildly misconstruing what Goulet said. Let's post the link here again so no one has to rely on your bizarre interpretation. https://twitter.com/ejgoulet/status/1526981806859223040 |
what goulet is discussing is a fairly common issue in cities. if you drop poor people in rich neighborhoods, there's a lot of issues you have to deal with. for example, has anyone noticed that grocery stores in ward 3 are really expensive? don't you think that *might* be a problem for someone receiving housing assistance? |
Here is the gist of the question:
Goulet's only answer was to suggest that programs that increased diversity had failed and led to increased crime. That can only be interpreted as an argument against trying to increase diversity. In what way did Goulet offer suggestions to balance affordable housing, increasing density while protecting current property values? What did he have to say about providing for neighborhoods that are racially, socio-economically, and generationally diverse? A discussion about crime and poverty or the failure of government programs would be appropriate in some circumstances. As a response to a question about increasing diversity, it was not. |
Even the Goulet supporter above agrees that is only part of his answer and leaves out the part that I am discussing. |
Sure, he could have given more detail, but likely he was limited to a few minutes. But how did we get from "he didn't have a proactive policy plan" to HE IS RACIST?? |
That was his error of omission. The racist part was his error of commission where his train of thought was: diversity -> vouchers -> black people -> crime. I will ask again, if there was nothing wrong with what he said, why are he and the Chamber hiding it? |
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For those defending his response, is that how you would have answered the question?
If I asked someone for ideas about how to create affordable housing and create a more diverse neighborhood and they went off on a rant about the problems associated with the black voucher recipients moving in to the area, it'd be a bit weird. To be fair, there is nothing seriously wrong with Goulet's answer if you take it as a standalone statement. But it wasn't a standalone statement. And after he was called out by the other candidates and others in the room, it would also have been easy enough to say that he misinterpreted the question or apologize. But no. He projected himself as a persecuted victim. It was all a bit ridiculous. It wasn't a responsible answer. And he certainly did not handle the fallout in a responsible way. Maybe some people like their representatives to act like immature provacateurs, but I would posit that such people aren't very good at actual government. |
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Never met the man, but could it be that that was top of his mind because he gets an earful in Foxhall on those buildings at Q? It was the #1 topic for months for the prospective constituency. Until the schools. So I’m not jumping to any conclusions
But on the schools. Why so much pushback? Who doesn’t want a school? This is like another Safeway. What’s with this neighborhood?! Don’t they have plane noise to worry about? |
Do you really want to go down that rabbit hole? But you ask an honest question and so I'll do my best to give you an honest answer. There are probably not more than a dozen or so people who are leading the charge to oppose the schools. More in thr community are opposed, but this is based on misinformation spread by those original dozen. The original dozen are largely white, elderly, and upper middle class. They have lived in the neighborhood for decades and view it as an enclave for white upper middle class people. They do not like the idea of their neighborhood changing, both because they romanticize the past and are threatened by notions of de-gentrification. That is what the opposition to the schools is about. It has nothing to do with a park. Before the current proposal was put forth, the same people very publicly opposed a campaign that would have transferred the public building back to DCPS so that it could be used as a park. They were very explicit that the reason they did this us because they were scared that the park could be used as a public high school. The original dozen could give a damn about the public elementary school. What they don't want is a public high school. They look at the Wilson / J-R high school and how rowdy they think the kids are and say they don't want that in their neighborhood. They are very explicit about that. If you ask them, what they want (and what Goulet is falsely promising them) is for the old GDS site to be used as an elementary school and the high school to be moved somewhere else other than their neighborhood. Once MacArthur HS actually opens, much of the opposition to Foxhall ES will go away because they don't really care about it or the park. It's base NIMBYism, but it's also tied in with whats going on in the apartments off Q street. They see the changes there and think that having a high school will accelerate those changes. That is, the neighborhood is being de-gentrified. To them, that's an existential threat to their way of life. |
Edits on fourth paragraph: "That is what the opposition to the schools is about. It has nothing to do with a park. Before the current proposal was put forth, the same people very publicly opposed a campaign that would have transferred the public building back to DCPS so that it could be used as a public school, presumably an elementary one. They were very explicit that the reason they opposed that was because they were scared that the building would be used instead as a public high school. The risk of it becoming a public high school outweighed for them the promise of a public elementary school, which they didn't really care about." |
It was a totally reasonable answer. He was directly addressing the question and calling for reforms to a government program intended to create economic diversity, that he does not think is working. Clearly it wasn't the politically right answer, because people want to make fake accusations of racism. It wasn't a "rant about black voucher recipients moving into the area," and the fact that you characterize it like that just makes clear you aren't operating in good faith. |
The voucher program is the PRIMARY PROGRAM INTENDED TO CREATE DIVERSITY. So basically what you're saying is that it is unacceptable to criticize the PROGRAM INTENDED TO CREATE DIVERSITY in response to a question about diversity in Ward 3. Makes sense! |
The program is designed to end chronic homelessness. If you listen to Goulet's answer, he understands that. It would increase socio-economic diversity anywhere because the voucher recipients have assets or income. The program was grounded in evidence, but very poorly implemented by the DC Government. Goulet was a senior official in that government. Was he so powerless there to be unable to do anything to improve it? And yes, it's a problem if you answer a question about increasing diversity by talking about black voucher recipients. Because it implies that there is no other way to increase diversity than to give black people vouchers. There are ample middle- and working class black people who live in DC. Would it be so hard to talk a bit about how to make it more attractive for them to move to Ward 3 also? But the point shouldn't be whether what Goulet said was racist or not because that's a stupid argument for various reasons. We elect representatives to get stuff done well. To get things done as one member of a 13 member council requires tact and efficacy. The way Goulet behaves - and what we hear from his former colleagues - suggests he has none of that. He would be ostracized on the Council and for that reason would be a terrible advocate for the things that think you and I care about. |
UTTER NONSENSE. The voucher program isn't about diversity at all. |