The finger-pointing escalated this week as some Republicans argued that a major utility company run by Democratic appointees has “woke” policies on diversity and tree-trimming that are the causes of customers’ woes.
There’s bipartisan and widespread consensus that Nashville Electric Service, which serves the city as well as surrounding counties, mishandled the storm, struggling to mobilize enough workers and equipment to quickly clear fallen trees and restore service.
54 Comments
RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world · 143 pts · 190d
He seems to be saying it's a Democrat value to do things wrong on purpose?
It's a terrible terrible sign that tree trimming is being viewed through this partisan lens.
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca · 92 pts · 190d
These people are mentally broken.
I do not understand it.
watson387@sopuli.xyz · 33 pts · 190d
They aren't. They know exactly what they're doing. They know it's bullshit, but every other MAGA will treat it like gospel.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 26 pts · 190d
They're in a cult.
Specifically, an outright death cult.
Juat think of them like a deranged hivemind.
CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works · 12 pts · 190d
They're just opportunists using any means they can to score political brownie points.
This Democratic mayor would be better served pointing out the fallacies in Republican arguments than kowtowing to Republican pressure and blaming the limited number of utility workers for not completing this monumental task fast enough. He could point out that Blackburn and Co. have been sitting on this 'DEI training' and 'tree trimming cutback' nonsense waiting for something like this to happen rather than acting upon it if they truly believed it was a risk to the grid. How else would she and her cronies have this information to pull out of their ass the instant something bad happens?
uienia@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 190d
And it most definitely is a Republican value. That is the result of tax cuts, you get worse public services.
mirshafie@europe.pub · 6 pts · 190d
Why don't you guys, you know, bury the power lines?
Hanging electric wires from wooden poles is wild to me. They do that in some rural parts of Europe.
thecaptaintrout@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 190d
Cost, because distances involved with how spread out the US is. And because Capitalism of course.
mirshafie@europe.pub · 4 pts · 189d
It's about priorities, not cost. And to an extent I suspect it's about culture, too.
I'm not talking about how to connect distant towns to each other, that's done with power lines. But in one-family home suburbia it's easy to provide underground power as a utility. You've already got your plumbing underground, just add a pipe for wires.
grue@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 190d
No, he's complaining that Democrats value trimming trees right (to maintain the long-term health of the tree) instead of indiscriminately butchering them to get them clear of the power lines as quickly and cheaply as possible.
RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 190d
Tree trimmers are not thinking to themselves "is this how a Republican or a Democrat would trim a tree?" They're cutting like they were trained to do. Politics could not be less involved.
21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com · 8 pts · 190d
I've trimmed trees on federal land, this exactly.
grue@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 190d
Yes, except that training to care about tree health instead of only cost/efficiency is a thing Democrats do.
The training isn't political, but which training gets chosen is.
Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 189d
My blue ass state is constantly trimming trees around power lines. I've worked cutting trees on state land, but the electric company itself does the power lines, the state makes certain they maintain it. They'll prep for storms like this well in advance. I've been sad for some of the trees I've seen taken (gorgeous old trees have a place in my heart), but it's for the best sometimes.
Historically blue state, We don't get power outages often, and if it occurs they are resolved quickly. "Which training gets chosen" it's the one that maintains the grid, thats the training that gets chosen.
RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world · -2 pts · 190d
Nobody does trainings on tree health. That's not how any of this works. They do apprenticeships. Once they finish they're basically free to do whatever they want.
grue@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 190d
You're the one who doesn't know how any of this works. Haven't you ever heard of an arborist? They even have a professional standards organization that offers certifications and everything.
More to the point, the article references this interview where somebody from the electric company apparently describes their pruning standards. If you think such standards don't exist, explain WTF you think is going on in the interview!
RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 190d
That's someone describing an occupation that they have no idea about. Arborist is the step above journeyman tree trimmer. There are specific rules about what an Arborist is allowed to do vs. what a regular tree trimmer is allowed to do. Mainly working within certain distances of powerlines. Kinda like how EMT Paramedic is the step above EMT Basic. There isn't anything "woke" going on in tree trimming. Just like there isn't anything "woke" happening at paramedic school.
grue@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 190d
Okay, I don't think you understand the point I was making.
I'm not saying I think there's anything "woke" about tree trimming, or that having certified arborists who know what the fuck they're doing is somehow a bad thing -- the notion is ludicrous.
What I'm doing is explaining why they (Republican morons) claim there's something "woke" about tree trimming (i.e. explaining the kernel of truth that they're twisting out of proportion to form the basis of their lie), and how they're wrong.
Going back to the beginning, you wrote...
....and I was explaining how, although that's what the Republican moron might claim, it's ass-backwards compared to factual reality.
What he's actually saying is that it's a Democrat value to do things right on purpose, and complaining about it. That's an even more insane and broken mentality than you gave him credit for.
To continue your EMT analogy, it's like if Republican morons were bitching and moaning that trained paramedics were a thing, and wanted ambulances to be staffed by quacks doing bloodletting and trying to balance bodily humours instead. (Which, with RFK Jr. in charge, probably isn't far off!)
TronBronson@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 190d
Certified arborists aren’t real? You ever got a quote from an arborist versus a redneck with a chainsaw? Guess who the cities will hire if there’s no oversight?
RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 190d
Seems like it's different in about half the country. Interesting.
TronBronson@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 189d
Yes. Based on if you value getting the job done, or getting the job done right. My mom just lost a bunch of nice trees in front of her house. The city wanted to save money and destroy the character of the neighborhood, so they did. There’s a law preventing home owners from doing their own trimming. And the city is too cheap to do it right. So you get destruction of property value and shittier neighborhoods for it. 4 Generations of kids walked to school under those trees but the city probably saved $3,000 to remove them for the next 4 generations. Great success
apftwb@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 190d
The only saving grace to that quote is it is from a Michael Lotfi, the deputy state director of Americans for Prosperity Tennessee, a conservative group. A man of no office or consequence.
TronBronson@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 190d
Who do you think finances and writes legislation for the people in power? Usually little right wing think tanks.
TronBronson@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 190d
A little statement like that will travel to Twitter, and get picked up by Fox News, where it will be adopted by a sitting president or senator
scarabic@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 189d
Why the hell would Tennessee’s electrical grid be all woke, anyway? Are these people totally powerless before the might of the treehuggers? I cannot believe their shameless victim bleating.
Ghyste@sh.itjust.works · 127 pts · 190d
FireRetardant@lemmy.world · 80 pts · 190d
The same party that blamed the texas blackout on the only sources of power that actually stayed operational.
X@piefed.world · 41 pts · 190d
Must really suck donkey ass to be infected with the broke mind virus.
My_IFAKs___gone@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 190d
You mean lead poisoning? Possibly also PFAS, alcohol and/or FAS, tobacco, broken epigenetics, etc.
Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works · 32 pts · 190d
hateisreality@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 190d
Republicans are great at avoiding blame in situations they are the direct cause .
zurohki@aussie.zone · 8 pts · 190d
If you cause the problem, it's easy to have well thought out excuses prepared in advance.
douglasg14b@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 190d
It's definitely easier to blame others than to actually fix problems.
Even more so when you are an expert at blaming others and incapable of actually solving problems.
stefenauris@pawb.social · 2 pts · 190d
They can't even manage to do that lol
Tigeroovy@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 190d
It’s like literally all they do.
letsgo2themall@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 190d
Trees are woke. Let that sink in.
Philharmonic3@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 190d
JJ902 said so himself.
Zagam@piefed.social · 21 pts · 190d
Tell 'em propane and charcoal grills are the best way to heat your home in a power outage. That also keeps money out of the woke electric companies hands.
acchariya@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 190d
Propane and charcoal are too woke. We cook our burgers with Pennsylvania coal.
Cocodapuf@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 190d
Without knowing anything about the issue, I can guarantee Tennessee energy policies are to blame. And if I had to guess, it's probably the fault of favoring "free market" over "reasonable regulation" and consumer protection type policies.
bossito@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 189d
Electricity is such a gay concept. Why would any conservative care for thar?
Oyml77@lemmy.today · 9 pts · 189d
The extreme nature of the storm is the direct result of climate change, but that's probably too "woke" for them to understand as well.
inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 189d
Fuck, when did late stage capitalism become woke?
skhayfa@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 190d
Clearly ICE is to blame here, but reality is too woke, better stay in slumber.
Tigeroovy@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 189d
Oh so Republicans are woke now?
nandeEbisu@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 189d
Clearly all those gay bars and drag shows used up too much electricity.
Flauschige_Lemmata@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 190d
Obviously DEI training isn't to blame.
But the point about a new tree-trimming policy seems logical at first glance. Does anyone know if it is valid?
grue@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 190d
The complaint about the new tree trimming practices is "valid" in the same way that bitching about renewable energy replacing coal-fired power plants is "valid." The new "species specific pruning" practices are actually better in the sense that they promote the long-term health of the trees instead of indiscriminately butchering them in a straight line with an overgrown hedge trimmer, but giving a shit about that instead of doing everything the cheapest most shortsighted way possible is the ultimate sin, according to these demented assholes.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 190d
But didn't the new tree trimming practices result in some of the trees being too close to the power lines? Doesn't seem to be all that smart of a strategy to me.
grue@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 190d
Probably not!
It's not as if the Republican dipshit actually knows anything about the subject. He's just mouthing off with a self-serving post hoc fallacy. In reality, he has no fucking clue whether the pruning was done correctly or not -- and it probably was done correctly, given that the workers hired by the utiilty were actual arborists -- because the mere fact that the power lines fell is not by itself proof of error. It's entirely possible, for example, that the storm was so extreme that no reasonable amount of pruning (i.e. anything short of clear-cutting) would've saved those wires!
And if the utility had gone "anti-woke" and clear-cut them, he would've just been bitching in bad faith about that instead.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 190d
Do they not do clear-cutting for power lines there? The high voltage lines all have a minimum distance that has to be clear of trees where I'm from. Otherwise there would be issues every single year, maybe multiple times a year.
Or is this for residential areas with regular power lines? In that case I'll agree that clear cutting isn't a necessity and we'll just have to accept the occasional freak accident for the sake of maintaining tree canopy in our cities, which is very important, especially in a hot climate where trees provide shade from the scorching sun.