Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was accused of pandering to those engaged in identity politics, after she declared racism a “public health crisis” and said that everyone is plagued by unconscious bias.
The executive order signed by Whitmer on Wednesday mandates implicit bias training for all state employees. The ultimate goal is to build “a more inclusive and unbiased state that works for everyone,” the Democrat governor said.
Implicit, unconscious bias exists within each of us, and, as public servants, we have a duty to understand how our bias can impact the lives of others.
Another measure rolled out by Whitmer is to set up the Black Leadership Advisory Council to advise the state government.
The order drew mixed response online. Some Twitterati thought that the move was the right call and thanked the governor.
“I truly hope this helps people to not be racist/sexist on any side of the fence. We are all human. We shouldn’t be judging someone on race or sex or orientation,” one approving person wrote.
Others were skeptical that the order will make any actual difference, accusing Whitmer of “pandering and virtue signaling her way to reelection.”
“She can sign an executive directive declaring the moon is made of cheese, it obviously doesn’t make it so. She is clearly pandering to her base,” one Twitter warrior argued. People pointed out that implicit bias training is “ineffective” and a “waste of funding.”
An angry commenter wrote that Whitmer’s “white privilege” will “stop her from stepping down and turning the governor’s office over to a Woman of Color as is prescribed by the BLM leadership.”
People online also took offense with the governor claiming that all state employees are presumed to be biased in some way or the other. “Absolutely sickening. Does she really think so little of our health care workers that she believes they’re a gang of racists who mistreated black patients?” one Twitter user wrote.
Commenters argued that the Michigan governor should focus on other matters, such as fixing the state infrastructure or dealing with closed schools amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Whitmer’s “top priority should be getting us teachers back in the classroom”, one person stated.
Implicit bias training and its effectiveness have been a hot topic of debate in recent years. The city of Seattle, Washington caused a stir online last month after its white staffers were invited to undergo a training session to overcome their “internalized racial superiority.”
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