BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

ADD 2 SATURDAY 8:06 p.m. — Here is the first mayoral debate in its entirety. Enjoy.

ADD 1 FRIDAY 3:05 p.m. — Today’s debate between Peter Marchetti and John Krol took place as slated, and we hope to have it available sometime tomorrow. We shall announce when as soon as we finish with post-production. Meanwhile, here are some photos to give you a taste of the setting. You can read about the debate in Brittany Polito’s exclusive coverage at iBerkshires.com. On behalf of the citizens of Pittsfield, THE PLANET thanks Brittany and iBerkshires for the coverage.

Krol responds to a question. (Photo by Lisa Valenti)

THE PLANET listens as Marchetti makes his point. (Photo by Lisa Valenti)

Left to right: Peter Marchetti, THE PLANET, and John Krol during taping. (Photo by Lisa Valenti).

A ROOM WITH A VIEW: Brittany Polito from iBerkshires, foreground, takes notes during the debate. While iBerkshires rose to the occasion, the Berkshire Eagle, ignoring its obligation to citizens, failed to cover the event.(Photo by Lisa Valenti).

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION JUNE 9-11, 2023) — Today, THE PLANET tapes the first mayoral debate of Campaign ’23, pitting city council president Peter Marchetti against Ward 6 councilor John Krol. It will air in its entirety on our YouTube channel, PLANET VALENTI VIDEO. We will have it ready for viewing ASAP, and when it is up, we will announce that information here.

Essentially, THE PLANET views these debates as job interviews. Our role is that of “HR rep for We The People, Owners of Government.” Marchetti and Krol are merely job applicants. Our job is not to make anyone uncomfortable, but job interviews should be antsy for the applicants, a crucible of sorts.

THE PLANET has hosted countless radio, TV, and broadcast debates over the years, and we have NEVER provided questions in advance. We did not do so this time, but we will ask both fellows about the city’s Department of Diversion, Inclusion, Equity (DIE).

We shall ask if they will keep or abolish this carbon-paper office, which wastes precious taxpayer dollars to “achieve” results in direct opposition to its stated mission.

DIE promotes what it calls “Structural Inequality,” which defines as Systemic disadvantage(s) of one social group compared to other groups, rooted and perpetuated through discriminatory practices, conscious or unconscious, that are reinforced through institutions, ideologies, representations, policies/laws and practices. When this kind of inequality is related to racial/ethnic discrimination, it is referred to as systemic or structural racism.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

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The supreme irony is that, usual its own definition, the Picklefield DIE office dishes out 90% of all the “structural inequality” associated with municipal government. What else can you call  identity politics, which favors the so-called “protected classes.” How is that not discriminatory?

Here is how DIE opens its web page:

The City of Pittsfield recognizes its position of power and privilege and the influence of its actions on the community. The City is committed to recognizing, valuing, and responding to the needs of a wide range of individuals who look to us for assistance, such as language, sexual orientation, race, class, gender, ability, etc. In order to provide effective service, every City employee must understand how to respectfully interact with every community member.

By constantly learning about our community, evaluating our work, and adapting our approach to ensure that we continue to deliver quality services, we will create an inclusive and safe community where all people are empowered to live, work, and play—where individuals are respected and valued for their unique contributions.

Welcome to the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Our office, established in 2021, reflects the City of Pittsfield’s core values and ongoing commitment to equity and inclusion. We foster a welcoming community by encouraging respectful dialogue among all city employees and those with our community partners. Our work includes advocacy for human and civil rights by eradicating barriers that perpetuate inequality and injustice. Additionally, through our initiatives, we promote community awareness, understanding, and the celebration of cultural differences.

Notice that the DIE logo features seven people. Not one white person. How is that not racist?

Achieving these objectives with an equity lens requires leadership, collaboration, time, resources, and a commitment to unlearning biases and creating space to learn from others who are different. We help city departments build and support an environment that continually reflects the diversity of the people the city serves.

In conjunction with the Office of Human Resources, we prioritize recruitment of marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds through intentional planning and retention in city departments. The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will also deepen community engagement to further strengthen and build new relationships throughout the city.

We are truly excited to be a part of this amazing and meaningful journey that will serve, benefit, and uplift the City of Pittsfield.

To learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion, we’ve provided a host of information and resources for your reference. Please feel free to contact our office if you need additional assistance.

“Independent authority to effectuate change.”

In Solidarity,

Michael Obasohan
Chief Diversity Officer

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Notice how this statement is full of politically charged words. Our favorite is the closing: “In Solidarity.”

Solidarity.

Seems like the DIE office has been asleep. On its website, the most recent “monthly” newsletter is April 2023, advertising upcoming events slated for April 19 and May 5.

This year.

Then go to the link: “DEI Engagement.” You find two words: “Under Construction.”

Since 2021.

For this outstanding performance, the DIE director received a raise of $8,000.00 this year in the FY24 Picklefield budget. He’ll pull down $96,000.00 plus bennies. No heavy lifting required.

It’s grueling work, but hey, somebody’s got to do it.

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Don’t take our word for it, though. Here are other recent media evaluations:

FORBES

According to research, diversity programs are failing.

They fail because of poor implementation, or in other words, no one knows what to do with the new chief diversity officer. Droves of people of color are hired, then isolated or left alone to do the work as many have reported here and here.  They feel like isolated props, not active changemakers.

Thousands of dollars are spent on campaigns, consultants, and training to fix the “lack of diversity” problem.  The “inclusion” solution is also wrought with challenges, as more differences and fragmentation get served.

If diversity and inclusion programs are failing at work, is work the place to be suddenly enlightened by race?  It is likely that if you are having problems with microaggressions at work, you have experienced them in the supermarket and other parts of your life. It just doesn’t magically appear at work and no place else.

“The workplace is no place to address phantom race and sex issues,” says Heather Mac Donald, a Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and New York Times bestselling author of The Diversity Delusion.

“It is about work, not therapy or alleged social justice. But corporate HR departments have been hijacked by the identitarian Left. Their members seek to use the resources of corporate America to implement the ideology of academic identity politics regarding America’s endemic biases. Corporate CEOs do not have the backbone to forswear the costly, unnecessary diversity scam, however.”

THE ATLANTIC

The diversity, equity, and inclusion industry exploded in 2020 and 2021, but it is undergoing a reckoning of late, and not just in states controlled by Republicans, where officials are dismantling DEI bureaucracies in public institutions. Corporations are cutting back on DEI spending and personnel. News outlets such as The New York Times and New York magazine are publishing more articles that cover the industry with skepticism. And DEI practitioners themselves are raising concerns about how their competitors operate.

The scrutiny is overdue. This growing multibillion-dollar industry was embedded into so many powerful public and private institutions so quickly that due diligence was skipped and costly failures guaranteed.

[T]he DEI industry is expensive and runs from useless to counterproductive.

NY POST

• Faculty at the University of California/San Francisco’s medical school recently produced a journal article endorsing racial segregation in education as “part of a broader antiracism and anti-oppression curriculum.”
• In its official glossary, the University of Central Florida designates “male, white, heterosexual, financially stable, young-middle adult, able-bodied, Christian” as oppressors.
• A student house near Berkeley forbid white people from common spaces to allegedly provide a “safe environment for people who identify as People of Color.”
• In Arizona, DEI statements — in which applicants swear fealty to the movement’s principles — are required for between 28% and 81% of job openings at public universities.
• The State University of New York has instituted a requirement that all students (no matter their majors) pass a racial-equity course on “power, privilege, oppression and opportunity.”
• A survey by the nonprofit Speech First found a shocking 91% of schools push far left ideas on “microaggressions, anti-racism, trigger warnings, bias, racial equity” in their freshman orientation material. No wonder more than 80% of college kids, per speech-rights outfit FIRE, “report self-censoring their viewpoints at their colleges at least some of the time.”

Had enough? Yeah, thought so. Now, let’s hope our next mayor has the common sense and spine to put an end this this discriminatory, racist office. Mabe we’ll find out today at the debate.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

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“ALL lives matter, not just some” — Sir Donald Turpentine, Knight of the Bath.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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