A Moment of Agreement Between The BEC and Davante Lewis... This is Important
We wish to be very clear...
All of you who regularly read these pages are fully aware of our mistrust of Davante Lewis: we oppose his agenda, entirely so. We have gone on record many times now airing our differences with him; we see him as a Trojan Horse that Big Renewables drafted to sit inside the state government structure with the explicit intention to do harm to Louisiana’s oil and gas industry.
As a candidate who described himself as “Entergy’s worst nightmare,” we suspect even Davante wouldn’t mind many of the characterizations we’ve drawn of him. Indeed, he should be proud of himself to have drawn the ire of conservatives. (We would be if roles were reversed.)
At times, we’ve taken personal pot shots. We called him childish when he posted photos of himself in pajamas; he possesses a glaring style of narcissism that is all-too-common for everyone of his generation. We again appeal to him to refine this.
Criticisms come with the political territory, and to his credit Mr. Lewis has not blocked us on Twitter. (And we haven’t blocked him, either, even when he described us as a troll.)
In other words, we acknowledge our differences with him, we take pretty much nothing back, we aren’t wishing for any “do-overs,” and we will continue to engage with Mr. Lewis on all the issues that matter to the people of Louisiana.
That said, two things can be true at once. We can object to his substance and style as a commissioner on the Public Service Commission, and we can empathize with him when he reacts to an injustice that he finds offensive.
In this regard, we agree with Davante Lewis that the Tennessee legislature should not have expelled any members who participated in a passionate response to the shootings that happened last week in Nashville.
We believe the Tennessee legislature has erred in expelling members who responded with emotion to a very emotionally-charged event.
At the same time - again, two things can be true at once - it is wrong to presume that the only motivation in the expulsion is “racism” and “fascism,” as Mr. Lewis has charged.
Indeed, to cite an example, many on our side of the “culture wars” feel offense that people who peacefully walked into the Capitol on January 6th are being treated as violent offenders who wanted to take down democracy. So, we get it. Mischaracterizations are wrong on all sides, no matter who participates in them. No matter the skin color of anyone who participates in all this.
It is wrong to misrepresent people’s intentions, and we believe the Tennessee legislature is wrong in expelling their members, in misrepresenting their intentions.
Also, if and when a wrong occurs involving black people and white people, racism cannot be presumed to be the only active motivation. Everything isn’t “whiteness” or “white racism” or “black oppression.” In an equal world, people can both offend and be offended no matter what color they are.
The human condition of sinfulness characterizes all of us and we all need saving redemption from it.
At the same time, members of the Tennessee legislature need to show grace and decorum of their own in how they respond to the passionate responses of their members, no matter what color they are.
These issues are very difficult to discuss. Surely, about everyone will find something wrong with our statement; fair enough. These are very tough waters to navigate. Please show us some grace, too, as we do our best with all this.
While we call on the Tennessee legislature to pull back from the expulsion of their members, we also call on Davante Lewis to pull back from overly-applied and broad accusations of racism and fascism he’s made against conservatives and Republicans this week.
We know you’re angry, Mr. Lewis. But white people are not your enemy: black people who feel legitimate offence must be heard and respected.
Everyone has to calm down a bit. Everyone. The shooting is too fresh an event to come to conclusions about it.
Two things can be true at once. Always.