David Averett, Republican

I wrote Dr. Averett a couple weeks ago and expected to be ignored. This was not the case. He agreed to meet with me and we had a long conversation about his frustration with certain factions within the political environment and what “best for Waxahachie” might look like should he be WISD Superintendent for an extended period of time. The meeting was fruitful.

We spoke briefly about Party business as the reason for my reaching out was directly related to his outburst on Twitter mischaracterizing the Party. Then we quickly moved on to speaking about local issues that should be non-partisan.

Dr. Averett has a strong commitment to the community. This, of course, is not enough to be an effective political leader. We must always remember the path to hell is paved with good intentions, so further inquiry was required and had. FWIW, I believe that Dr. Averett’s commitment is full of positive motion and can manifest in positive change for our city.

One topic that we discussed was School Choice. I explained to Dr. Averett that I believe public school choice should be afforded to every parent and school transportation should accommodate this within reason. I do not believe we should subsidize private education with public money, just allow parents to send their children to a different public school if the situation warrants the move. For example, if a student is bullied or there is a particular special needs therapist at one school not available at another school. I see no reason that a public-to-public transfer system cannot be operated, maintained, and welcomed in our city and our State. Dr. Averett expressed concerns about the potential for moving public money into the private system; I hold the same concerns and am prepared to defend my position against public-to-private funding in any forum.

We continued to speak about the district and what kinds of actionable plans there might be for growth while maintaining the same or a greater level of professionalism. Dr. Averett spoke of the tradeoff between building more, smaller schools or fewer, larger schools. Larger buildings reduce administrative overhead as more students can be served by the same administrative staff. More buildings are more convenient and students can be educated nearer to where they live. The man had clearly put some thought into things and is prepared to execute on a vision. He plans to explain what he has in store at the next school board meeting.

I think some grace is in order. Dr. Averett had a momentary lapse in decorum. He cannot be boiled down to two statements made on social media; he is a whole person. I think he is well-fit for the appointment, and I am glad I took the time to find out who the man is before rushing to judgment.

Play It Safe Viewing

In a previous post, I wrote that WISD uses a curriculum called “Play it Safe!” for instruction. The counselor was more than happy to let me view the content. I deemed it appropriate for my children. It is produced by the Women’s Center of Tarrant County.

The short film effectively teaches children how to assert themselves in uncomfortable situations and how to find help after assessing they cannot help themselves. It is a family-friendly instruction and bears no allegiance to any woke nonsense or other ideological misgiving.

David Averett, Acting Superintendent

The WISD School Board has installed David Averett as the Acting Superintendent following Dr. Hollingsworth’s departure. This is concerning. First and foremost, no one knows anything about Mr. Averett. I have asked around, the only real information is that he has connections to the School Board President. Second, he is evidently prone to emotional outbursts and ad hominem attacks against the very constituency he proclaims to serve.

As I was getting nowhere asking around about the man’s background, I decided to open direct lines of communication. I sent my first letter to Mr. Averett as a sort of olive branch, simply asking him to apologize for or explain away his remarks about us, lowly constituents.

We’ll see how it goes.

Play It Safe!

I received a notice from my children’s school asking if it was OK for them to show my children a video from a faceless group called “Play It Safe!” They teach personal safety, and their materials are behind multiple paywalls. I responded with a letter.

My concerns are many, but I am short on time, so I shall sum it all up. I do not trust Government Agencies with the care, custody, and control of my children. If a school is to show materials to children; that school should first provide an opportunity for the parents of the district to attend a screening of the very same materials. This is easy to do and would not be burdensome. Hell! The community can host it ourselves!

I shall await response from the counselor.

The “Black Vote”

There is no such thing as the “black vote”. The Leftists’ attempt to herd us all into a category and try to select words to sway the lot of us at once is a trifle, a lollygag, an an irreverence. I am offended by them and their kind; however, I do not reject them. The only path forward is the path of Thomas Jefferson and Frederick Douglass: the path of discussion, debate, and adult idea sharing.

Undoubtedly, the Democrat machine will attempt to thread the needle between racism, sexism, and myriad other isms, phobias, and other malarkey. They will thereby miss the lesson. The data is the data; and, the numbers are the numbers.

If we look at all the places where blacks are objectively doing the worse on every measure (income, death rate, fetal mortality, mother mortality, education, criminal justice, health, etc...) they all have blue city councils, blue mayors, blue commissioners, blue sheriffs, blue representatives, blue senators, blue everything. The numbers are the numbers; and, they are the same whether a blue or red is in the Presidency. This has been the case for decades. Local government should be our focus and the Democrats have left local control and local politics to the wayside for all of recent memory.

Here, in Texas, 34% of voting black men voted for Trump. There is something to be learned here that the "blue no matter who" people will miss if they continue down the same path they have been marching the last few decades. If the Democrats do not sit down and do some real introspection and a real post mortem regarding this red wave, it will never be rectified. So, rather than cherry picking the bad out of a 4-year-long political career (Trump) maybe Democrats should fix the bad out of a 60-year-long Democratic Party machine that has seen black male outcomes get worse, and worse, and worse.

I wish these discussions could air themselves in public view. We likely have reached a point in Democrat Party mechanics that wouldn’t allow for such conversations. It would appear that no one on the Left is willing to discuss things honestly, openly, and without vilifying their opposition. Everyone has much to learn and everyone has much to teach. Bill Nye is credited with saying, “everyone you will ever meet knows something you do not know.” Let’s all take a step back, bring the temperature down, and listen to one another. Last I checked, we were still a Federation of independent states, let’s be helpful to one another rather than obstructive.

The Dust Settles

People I know who share with me a bond of mutual respect have been asking me why I would vote for Trump. (Well… Those who have the common sense and decency to debate like adults.) The reasons are long and complex; however, I attempt to give some idea of my thinking nontheless. The first thing one must understand is my life is long and storied although I may not be much advanced in age. All of these experiences have shaped me into what I am today, and I quite enjoy myself, so there is little chance for change. Without an understanding of what pathways have driven me to my current sociopolitical location, it will be impossible to understand my choices - vice versa would also apply.

In response to a friend, I wrote the following:

Trump is predictable. We already had 4 years of him and I was not killed, lynched, or battered. Trans people still roam about freely (one is a manager at a local store here, I live in a deep red city, county, state). Women still exist outside the kitchen. Poor people still have housing and food. The list goes on... I am not buying the media hype.

He passed dozens of laws that affected me positively. He gave sweeping healthcare reforms. He cut taxes for everyone (not just the rich). He bolstered care for recovering addicts. He gave HBCUs the largest endowment of all time AND made that endowment permanent (Obama's HBCU money had an expiry). Most importantly many of the people I trust trust him (Candace Owens, Maj Toure, Larry Elder, Brandon Tatum, RFKJr, Kari Lake, Lily Tang Williams, Scott Pressler, Hotep Jesus, Royce White, some family members, etc...). Of course it is not all good news: he did warp speed which I think was a total disaster. Also, some people I trust do not trust him (some family members). I grew up in NJ in the 90s: I do not trust him, but he did get my vote.

He is the Unity Candidate. RFKJr, Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswamy, the Hoteps, etc... all support him.

Kamala was offensive. Megan Thee Stallion has a degree in Health Management, instead of calling on her to speak about the state of healthcare in this nation, Kamala called upon her to shake her ass and act like a whore on stage. Trump, the very same day, spoke with black executives in the same city to discuss black business leadership.

While Harris was talking about collard greens, Trump talked about taxes and regulation rollbacks. When Harris went on interviews she discussed her middle class upbringing and what her mother did, Trump talked about policy, what he had done, what he will do.

Harris is a prosecutor and DA. With my history under the system, you must know I could never back a prosecutor or DA.

Trump won his primary. Biden won Harris' primary. Harris was installed like an oligarch. Which is less Democratic?

So many more reasons. I might write a post on my site about it soon. No one is perfect, Trump included, myself included. Based on what I know, I believe Trump was the better pick this election.

To another I responded:

I am always up for conversation and will never vilify anyone. I genuinely believe in the Jeffersonian vision that was furthered by Douglass and still further by Malcolm X which currently takes us to my politics: Hotep. I was a never-Trumper then voted as a bloc with Hotep Nation.

We have huge problems with Trump (police, project warp speed, shitty on 2A, etc); however, we are diametrically opposed to the Democrat party. I was considering voting for RFKJr., then he dropped out and endorsed Trump too. Candace Owens, Vivek Ramaswamy, and a host of other characters I trust have all gotten behind one man.

I am also a paper Republican. The Republican party is dead. It has been replaced by a coalition of MAGA, MAHA, Libertarian, Hotep, and others. I do take pause with the morality but none of the candidates are moral characters. They cannot be moral characters. Only an amoral person would take a billion dollars and spend it on a campaign rather than feeding impoverished families. No one moral could become President. It is a position reserved for our most megalomaniacal.

Elections are hard choices. All of them. Bar none. I cannot agree 100% with anyone; I have also found that I cannot disagree 100% with anyone. So, I have to narrow the scope to the 3-5 issues I care the most about and choose thereby. Simple as that.

The thing that strikes me the most is that no one can refute the facts. Sure, they have their own facts regarding the Democrat Party, but they cannot refute the positive work done by Republicans. It is clear that everyone has their reasons for voting the way they vote. It is even more clear that, when we all act as adults would act, we can debate ideas and come to a mutual understanding. The goal is not to agree with one another, the goal is to understand one another. Screaming into one’s phone in selfie mode is not the way (this is the modern-day Narcissus story); the way is discussion, respect, learning, and dignity.

What strikes me the most is how easy it is to be civil with one another. All it takes is a willingness to listen and a willingness to speak. I do admit, that it is easier for people with a dark complexion to forge this path. Liberals at least allow us space to speak; they would never allow a white person to say some of the things I say. It is a step in the right direction. Another notable development is that 34% of voting Texas black males went Trump. Democrats have to take a long, hard look at why that might be; the facts are the facts, and they have to make sense of them - same as everyone else.

Things have been a lot less hectic regarding the election today than the 3 days just thereafter. This is a great sign for national unity. We don’t know what will shake out of this administration; let’s all give it a chance before condemning it wholesale.