It’s a stretch

Sue Lani Madsen’s “silly Liberals” condescension is on full display in her November 20th op-ed (“Seattle, convince us ‘backward-thinking people’”), in which she takes King County to task for the Seattle Times’ hiring of a diversity editor.

I agree with Madsen that Seattleites generally look down their noses at eastern Washington. I grew up in Seattle and plead guilty to such behavior. I now live in Spokane and am annoyed by criticism from friends and family who have never spent time here. Her conflation of the Times’ hiring of a diversity editor with attempts by King County to flip eastern Washington blue, however, is a stretch and dismissive of the existential threat that people of color have experienced under the Trump administration, which has supported and been supported by many with racist and xenophobic ideologies. That has a huge impact on cities like Seattle, with its large racially and ethnically diverse population. I suspect that not being notified of turkey raffle results impacts the lives of Lincoln County residents significantly less than the racism and xenophobia championed by the Trump administration has had on those of people of color. It is shameful to use that analogy.

King County is not Lincoln County, and the former exposes its ignorance in not understanding the latter; however, failure to understand the lack of political, social and economic inclusion for people of color and its impact on their lives, both inside Lincoln County and out, is likewise ignorant.

Gregory J. Cunningham

Spokane