A DEI Weakened And Weaponized FEMA Has Decisions To Answer For
This is a story that should never need to be written. It has a personal aspect for my better half and I, and we find it deeply disturbing.
We are fortunate to live directly on the beach in a beautiful area of Florida. Over the years, hurricanes have made landfall in different regions of the state, but none have struck with any real ferocity in our area for over 100 years. That ended on September 26th when Helene roared through. The storm “brushed” our area on its way to making landfall in the Big Bend Area of the state. However, the “brush” was much closer than anticipated, and since we were on the right or eastern side of the storm, it brought intense winds and a much higher storm surge than expected.
The damage was extreme. In our garage, 39 out of 40 cars were tossed around like pixie sticks and destroyed by the salt water. The lobby of our building was destroyed and required weeks of gutting. That story was duplicated up and down our entire boulevard, resulting in mounds of debris and displaced sand dunes lining every main and side road. Like every beach community, there are older one-story houses. Many of those were destroyed, and unfortunately, some must be demolished.
Helene was a Cat 3 storm, and for us, it was an extreme water event. While recuperating from Helene, much of the time without electricity or the internet, Another Cat 3 storm, Milton, struck just 13 days later. Milton made landfall slightly south of us, placing us on the left side of the storm. Because of the counterclockwise rotation of hurricanes, we were not affected by a significant storm surge but were blasted with extreme winds and rain. This one caused roof damage, downed trees and power lines, and the scattering of debris that could not be cleared before it made landfall. Once again, there was no power or internet for days, and the cleanup continued.
As I wrote in a previous column, we consider ourselves fortunate. Many people in our state and other states have lost everything. Some have lost either their own life or the lives of a loved one. This makes what has been discovered about FEMA’s response in certain areas very disturbing.
In a small town in North Carolina named Bat Cave, residents have had to fend for themselves because FEMA will not drive around a road-closed sign. Chelsea Atkins, one of the locals, told the New York Post:
“FEMA called me and told me they wanted to inspect my house, then called me back to say they couldn’t drive around the ‘Road Closed’ sign. They weren’t allowed. You can drive it by car for sure, it’s not that bad you just have to drive around the ‘Road Closed’ sign. I explained that to them. “They said they couldn’t,”
So, in a town torn apart by Hurricane Helene, a simple road sign is all it takes to deter necessary help from reaching people who desperately need it even though the road can be navigated.
FEMA has been under fire for their slow response to Helene as well as accusations of the misappropriation of funds favoring illegals over American citizens. This was compounded when a FEMA disaster preparedness meeting about “focusing efforts on LGBTQIA+’ victims” resurfaced following the agency’s response to Hurricane Helene.
In the virtual meeting from March 2023, FEMA Emergency Management Specialist Tyler Atkins, who uses the pronouns he/they, alarmingly said the agency was prioritizing LGBTQ people because they are “already disadvantaged.”
“They already have their own things to deal with. So, you add a disaster on top of that, it’s just compounding on itself. That is the ‘why’ for why we’re having these discussions. It isn’t being talked about and it isn’t being socialized, we’re not paying attention to this community.”
He then passed the conversation to Maggie Jarry, a senior emergency management specialist at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
She claimed that instead of helping as many people as possible, FEMA should adopt a policy of “disaster equity” one that prioritizes people from minority communities.
“There are a couple of things intersecting in my mind here. One is the culture of emergency management as an organization, as an industry in the United States specifically, not abroad.”
“The shift that we’re seeing right now is a shift in emergency management from utilitarian principles, where everything is designed for the greatest good, for the greatest amount of people, to disaster equity.”
This DEI motivated stance can be found in statements on FEMA’s website, where it states its “Goal 1” as: “Instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management.”
“Underserved communities, as well as specific identity groups, often suffer disproportionately from disasters. As a result, disasters worsen inequities already present in society.”
“This cycle compounds the challenges faced by these communities and increases their risk to future disasters. By instilling equity as a foundation of emergency management and striving to meet the unique needs of underserved communities, the emergency management community can work to break this cycle and build a more resilient nation.”
While stating that it is illegal to deliver assistance “on the grounds of race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, language accessibility, or economic status,” it goes on to say that this “cannot be done through a one-size-fits-all approach.”
“Instead, FEMA must be aware of, and responsive to, the needs of different individuals and communities to ensure that the benefits of FEMA programs are available.”
Later in the year, FEMA director Deanne Criswell posted on X her praise for Atkins saying that he:
“brings our equity mission to life. He provides valuable opportunities for our workforce to learn how to best support and prepare communities, especially the LGBTQ+ community for disaster.”
Here is a typical example of yet another rogue department operating in a lawless manner within the Biden-Harris administration. They know that it is illegal to assist people “on the grounds of race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, language accessibility, or economic status,” they do it anyway while walking around patting each other on the back and praising those who are doing it.
The abuse of power by FEMA doesn’t end there. FEMA has now confirmed that an agency official named Marn’i Washington, instructed relief workers in Florida to “avoid homes” with signs or flags supporting Donald Trump.
According to the Dailey Wire, Washington conveyed her orders verbally and in a Microsoft Teams, chat used by relief workers canvassing homes in Lake Placid that were ravaged by Hurricane Milton.
“Avoid homes advertising Trump,” Washington wrote in a “best practices” memo to employees.
FEMA employees told the Dailey Wire that at least 20 homes displaying Trump signs or flags were passed over between the end of October and into November because of the order.
“Trump sign no entry per leadership,” read messages left by workers in FEMA’s tracking system when homes were skipped because of the signs or flags.
A FEMA spokesperson confirmed that orders to bypass the homes of Trump supporters were given and said that the agency was “deeply disturbed by this employee’s actions.”
The spokesperson told the New York Post:
“FEMA helps all survivors regardless of their political preference or affiliation and we are deeply disturbed by this employee’s actions.”
“While we believe this is an isolated incident, we have taken measures to remove the employee from their role and are investigating the matter to prevent this from happening ever again.”
“The employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes, and we are reaching out to the people who may have not been reached as a result of this incident.”
“We are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme actions to correct this situation and have ensured that the matter was addressed at all levels.”
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was outraged over these actions stating that it was emblematic of the Biden-Harris administration’s “weaponization” of government.
“The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis, posted on X.
“At my direction, the Division of Emergency Management is launching an investigation into the federal government’s targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump.”
“New leadership is on the way in DC, and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.”
FEMA employees confided to the Daily Wire that Washington has not been punished for the guidance, and was just relocated to a different Florida county. However, a FEMA spokesperson told The Post that Washington is “no longer working in the state of Florida or in any FEMA operations at this moment,” pending the outcome of an investigation.
We can now add FEMA to the list of government departments that need to be torn down and rebuilt, along with the FBI, DOJ and the CIA to name a few others. Using cheap excuses to avoid offering help, illegally prioritizing minorities based on gender and punishing supporters of Donald Trump are reprehensible actions for anyone, but for a taxpayer funded organization it is criminal.
Washington needs to be removed ASAP, and criminal prosecution should be considered. Atkins and Jarry need to be investigated and at a minimum suspended for a substantial period of time without pay, and the FEMA director Deanne Criswell needs to be fired for condoning and encouraging their illegal actions.
It’s obvious that FEMA has misplaced priorities and rogue individuals that are punishing American citizens based on their personal beliefs and objectives. This has to end and I’m sure it will when Trump-Vance administration is in place.
