To say woke progressive activists view society through a racial lens would be an understatement. To paraphrase Vince Lombardi, when it comes to how the woke Left approaches policy and politics, race “isn’t everything – it’s the only thing.” Who one is as an individual is subordinate to one’s racial/ethnic/gender identity.
Case in point: a July 15, 2021 tweet from Karen Romero Estrada, a left-wing political activist who is one of Councilman Jose F. Moreno’s council aides:
The Housing Element Update Committee (HEUC) to which Estrada refers advised city staff and its consulting team while they drew up Anaheim’s 2021-2029 Housing Element Update. Here is the roster of the 15- member committee.
which was made up of:
- An affordable housing advocate (Kennedy Commission President Cesar Covarrubias)
- A Building Industry Association representative
- One for-profit housing developer
- One non-profit housing developer
- And emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing and services representative
- A senior housing development representative
- A disabled community representative
- A “housing advocate”
- Seven Anaheim residents
In other words, HUEC membership was directly relevant to its mission.
Let’s unpack Estrada judgment: “It’s mostly white people except for a person or two. This group of recommending the type of housing Anaheim should have for the next 8 yrs. Anaheim is mostly people of color & renters. This is not what Anaheim looks like.”
What she is really saying is racial identity is dispositive, the source of political legitimacy. The cumulative and individual expertise of HUEC members is less important than a physical characteristic like their pigmentation. She assigns more more legitimacy to an externality than knowledge and agency. It annuls individuality and embraces the retrograde belief that only people of color can make decisions for people of color.
IN her last comment, Estrada seems to be saying that if an area of Anaheim has less affordable housing than other areas, it’s evidence “segregation” is at work. And the affluent character of Anaheim Hills residents – regardless of their actual diversity – makes them doubly suspect.
Estrada, however, is mirroring her boss’ views. A constant of Moreno’s politics has been a fixation on racial and ethnic identity as an organizing political principle.
I don’t know how to respond to her…sadly this must be what was being taught in school or home during her youth. Happy I grew up during the Civil Rights fight and we were taught to see a persons character, not color or race…to work for all.
PS: District 5 was the wealthiest not too long ago…little to no debt, not that many “moved up”, houses paid off …they tend to be worth more than those in the Hills of Anaheim
Moreno and his cronies are all a bunch of corrupt opportunists who use race and demagoguery to further one thing … their thirdt for power. How else do you explain Anaheim Union being run by the most unqualified superintendent in the county whose only qualification was he is Moreno’s BFF who in very nepotistic fashion then apointed Mrs. Moreno (who Long Beach would not promote) principal of Dale. This after Moreno failed miserably as a AESD board member while abandoning the families (his natural constituency) of Palm Lane because they didn’t do what he wanted. Moreno and following sheep use accusing others of racism as a weapon to get their way. But they are the bigots and they are what is turning this city into the worst version of itself. Moreno doesn’t care about Anaheim. He cares about his power. He could care less about la raza. He’s a coward who has others do his dirty work.
While it is easy to define Dr. Moreno as a “poverty pimp”, I prefer to Judge him by the company he keeps: Vern and Donna Nelson, Brian Kaye, the late William Dennis Fitzgerald and Mike and Jeanie Robbins.
Perhaps he (Doctor Moreno) can “translate” these vile peoples council comments.