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Racial segregation before breakfast, a snapshot of municipal democracy

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“In writing this message, Jesse Christopherson displays just the kind of cronyism that has led to the developmental and racial segregation (gentrification) that he is actually promoting. … Perhaps it is his own inferiority or a sense of cronyism that has led him down the destructive and divisive tone that his endorsement of my opponent takes.”
-- Charnette Robinson, candidate for Mount Rainier City Council 2015 writing to the Mount Rainier community listserv in response to this (pretty innocuous) endorsement of Tracy Loh, candidate for the same seat

A previously-unforeseen downside of having my husband called a promoter of "racial segregation" on the community listserv is that it thoroughly enraged my very petite Indian American neighbor, a woman in her 60s who can nevertheless be absolutely terrifying (per her seasoned career as an educator) and who was extremely passionate this morning in Jesse’s defense.  Very, very early this morning. I shared her disgust and appreciated her support. But mostly I find the whole thing exhausting.

On my walk to school this morning, I sighed slightly at the allegation of promoting segregation as I took my white child to the door of his school where he is one of ten white children out of 750 students. (I joke that when he's out sick, the school's white population falls by 10%.)

Call Jesse a racist, sure, I’ve written extensively about why everyone is. But a "segregationist"? 

That seems like a bit of a stretch for a man whose actions in office have been to organize a bilingual community services fair for non-English speaking residents, to reach out to the manager of a local rental property so that a minority family in the city could have rental forbearance following the death of a breadwinner, to organize a fundraiser for another family of color facing the same — all to keep people in our city, not drive them out.

That seems like a bit of a stretch for a man adored by both the black grandmother next door on the east and the Latino father next door on the west.

Maybe I just don’t know what segregation means.  Maybe "segregation" means moving into a diverse community, getting to know your neighbors, sending your kid to the neighborhood school, inviting people who don’t look like you to your parties and going to theirs, having your children play together.

Maybe it means sitting through five-hour-long city council meetings and volunteering your time and energy and personal resources toward retaining the quirky character and culturally diverse nature of your adopted city.

If that's what promoting "racial segregation" means, well hell, then what is the opposite?


Our son and his classmates, pictured here promoting racial segregation.
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