(Newsworthy.news) – A report released on February 13 says that a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program in King County, Washington, meant to help firemen and nurses, was stopped after workers complained.
An investigation from radio host Jason Rantz said that some people who didn’t like the training, including King County firemen, said it had political undertones and could have violated people’s rights, especially regarding gender. Failure of the training could put EMT certifications at risk, which would require staff to recognize that there are many genders and that white staff members are naturally biased against people of color.
The investigation went into great depth about how white firemen and doctors were taught in DEI training to temper their racist attitudes. Rantz said the training was called ‘Stronger Together’ and was meant to teach understanding and respect in patient care. It said that white employees had racist and sexist views and caused racial trauma at some point.
The Jason Rantz Show offered a recording of the training that talked about the anti-racism practice made popular by Ibram X. Kendi, who supports critical race theory (CRT).
In an email to The Jason Rantz Show, Fire Chief Steve Heitman said that after receiving feedback from many members about the test and consulting with several fire chiefs who shared these concerns from their teams, they all chose to discontinue the training.
Heitman stated that all of the chiefs agreed on the value of DEI training, but the training wasn’t meant to be divisive. It needed some changes to be more welcoming. He had concerns that many employees would feel like they had to say something they didn’t believe.
An unnamed firefighter from King County who spoke to The Jason Rantz Show commented that the training had been one instance of how the county makes training about politics that local workers have to go through. It has been going on in King County before Kendi.
He said that, in an emergency, they’ve never had any trouble caring for people from different backgrounds. If someone calls 911, they get the same attention based on the reason they called.
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