GOVERNOR BAKER, WHITE PRIVILEGE, AND THE OTHER SHOE

GOVERNOR BAKER, WHITE PRIVILEGE, AND THE OTHER SHOE

 

Governor Baker has shown that he cannot run the state government of Massachusetts. There has been steady failures of State agencies in the performance of their responsibilities. Latest failure has been the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ (RMV) failure to review drivers’ violations committed in other states. This lack of review possibly is a factor in the death of seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire.

All of the victims of the RMV failure and that of Governor Baker were White and related to veteran military. Of course this would cause an uproar. However the uproar did not seems as great as when Governor Patrick bought curtains for his office.

Other failures by the Baker administration has been the criminal stealing of time by some State Police Troopers and what seems to be suspicious cluster of children death who were wards of the State. Governor Baker has not been transparent in either situation and it seems that many do not care. Could this be due to the fact in the case of the State Trooper thefts the perpetrator were almost all White? In the children’s deaths the children were almost all with dark skin?

The clearest example of Governor Baker’s White privilege has been the worsening service of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Every week something goes wrong at the MBTA. Governor Baker has not been transparent about the problems. He hired the management company that should have anticipated and prevent the problems at the MBTA. The Governor has not assumed responsibility and does not seem to have a plan to resolve the problems at the MBTA. This is White privilege.

In 2015 Governor Baker viciously attacked the competence of Beverley Scott, General Manager of the MBTA at the time. Governor Baker said that she should have had the trains run on time despite record amounts snow. He did this through the media without ever once speaking to Ms. Scott. Ms. Scott is Black and she had previously ran a large transit system in the South. Baker owes her an apology.

The Governor’s bias toward Black women continued with the attack on District Attorney Rawlings for her end the mass incarceration programs. It was a surprise that District Attorney Rawlings called out the Governor Baker’s White privilege and racism when she mentioned that the Governor’s son who was alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman on an airplane was never charged by the State.

It has been my experience that when people admit to something it is sometimes done to hide something worse.  The scandals surrounding Gov.Baker and Lt. Gov. Polito could be a harbinger of worse to come.