RIP Normalizes Institutional Racism

We know. The headline above is a heck of a statement.

In the video below, PSC commissioner Andre Baugh clearly and calmly explains why this is true.

Watch the rest of the Planning & Sustainability Commission ignore the one commissioner who is trying to stop our Portland from repeating the disastrous mistakes of the past – or that we thought was the past.

Here’s some of Commissioner Baugh’s statement:

“RIP is agreeing to displace minorities as part of a policy for creation of additional ‘opportunities’. So we’re saying we’re gonna create all these new units, they may not be affordable, but they’re new units. And for the ‘general good’ of more units – it’s OK to displace a few for this general ‘good’.”  

“You can make an argument for displacing the whole population of Portland of minorities because of this policy today, because there’s ‘a greater good’ and a few are going to bee displaced.”  

“Institutional racism is defined as racial discrimination that has become established as a normal behaviour of society. This is becoming normal behaviour for us as this bureau to say ‘we’re ok with displacement’.”

“The ‘greater good’ is not good if there’s a loss. We have just taken this RIP and made it an arrow of displacement for minorities in the single family dwelling homes. You look at the experience in North/Northeast Portland and the discrimination and the racism – and now you’re going to go out, society hasn’t changed that much and you’re gonna try to do it again.” 

“To me, we’ve taken the equity lens and blindfolded that ‘person’, that idea… so that they can’t see this displacement. We’ve gagged her so she can’t cry out and say ‘This is wrong!’ and we’ve covered her ears so she can’t hear the pleas of the epeople we’re gonna displace. We really have just gagged and covered up equity and we’re gonna move forward with the policy of ‘there’s a greater good’. It just is uncomfortable to say ‘There’s a greater good and people will get hurt’.”

“I can’t sit here and say we can’t do anything but mitigation because mitigation today is underfunded and overwhelmed … and to say we’re going to take 96% of the land of Portland and put this on and hope for mitigation to save major swaths of the city … that’s not good.”

Posted in: RIP