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Dissension in the Ranks: Virginia GOP Chairman Resigns, Fueling Speculation about Corey Stewart

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John Whitbeck, the chairman of the Virginia GOP, resigned early Saturday afternoon, presumably because he didn’t want the proverbial shit storm of supporting Republican Senatorial Candidate Corey Stewart on his resume. More so, given the bigotry and charlatanism in the Republican Party has not yet returned to Reagan-era levels.

In a subliminal statement posted to the Republican Party of Virginia’s Facebook page, Whitbeck said, “I started this job with a message of party unity being the key to our success. I will end the job the same way. No matter what happens cycle after cycle, Republicans must stand together.”

Naturally, Republicans are emphatically not standing together on this one.

Bill Bolling, former Virginia lieutenant governor under Governors’ Tim Kaine and Bob McDonnell–and a Republican candidate for governor in 2013 himself–tweeted after Stewart won the primary that he was “extremely disappointed that a candidate like Corey Stewart could win the Republican nomination for US Senate.” He went on to say, “This is clearly not the Republican Party I once knew, loved and proudly served. Every time I think things can’t get worse they do, and there is no end in sight.”

John Whitbeck

Stewart will now take on incumbent Senator Tim Kaine in the November midterm elections. His refusal to renounce ties with the white supremacist organizer of Unite the Right, Jason Kessler, along with his “I was Trump before Trump was Trump” comments have earned him derision from both parties. This has led many long-time conservatives, and many other Republicans on the ticket this fall, to not touch Stewart with a ten-foot pole. He has even been eschewed by the ultra-conservative Koch Brothers and their political funding. 

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, for one, chose not to endorse Stewart after his primary win. Their chairman, Cory Gardner, said they have “no plans” to spend any money on Stewart’s campaign. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) were both eager to distance themselves from Stewart; Sen. Cornyn effectively gave the “Who’s that?” response when asked about Stewart, and Sen. Paul said he was “disappointed” in the result of the primary. 

And then there are the incumbent representatives on the Republican ticket in Virginia this fall, all of whom will assuredly stay silent on Stewart until they are forced to make a public comment.  Susan Swecker, the chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said that Stewart will bring out the true colors of his fellow Virginia Republicans. “There is no place to hide — you are either running with Corey Stewart and you condone his vile politics, or you don’t,” she said in a statement.

While party divide is the most likely reason for Whitbeck’s resignation, a dismal track record in elections since taking over as chairman in 2015 could also be a factor. Ralph Northam won the gubernatorial election last year by nine points, which was the largest winning margin by a Virginia Democrat since 1985. Democrats also flipped 15 seats in the House of Delegates, which was the biggest electoral shift towards the Democrats since 1899.

The midterm elections this fall will be in many ways a litmus test for the Republican Party in the age of Trump. Virginians will get an opportunity to show the rest of the country just how much they approve of their president with the Kool-Aid drinking Trump acolyte on the ballot this fall.

Protestors Gathered Today to Roast Congressman Dave Brat on Supporting “Zero Tolerance Immigration” Policies

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Activists in the Richmond area came together near Congressman Dave Brat’s office today to protest his support for President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies. Standing across the street from the business park that houses Brat’s office, protestors created a stir along West Broad Street close to Short Pump in Henrico. 

Organized by Together We Will Henrico, the protest boasted around 200 protesters. This protest joins many other protests planned across the Commonwealth as a response to Trump’s immigration policy and the children separated from their parents and placed in detention centers across the border. “We are encouraged to hear that Trump has a short-term solution to a problem he created — ripping children away from their families — but find it unacceptable that there is no plan to reunify already separated children with their parents,” said Melissa McKenney, a steering committee member of Together We Will Henrico. “We will be showing up [ Sunday] to demonstrate to Dave Brat that we will not be silent about these atrocities or his eagerness to use young children as political pawns.”

McKenney went on to say that she expects Brat to represent the values of his constituents and to “work across the aisle to create humane immigration policy. And we want those babies back with their families now.”

Handmade signs, American flags, and rainbow umbrellas were among the dozens of protesters who broke out into chants over immigration or ousting Brat; passing cars honked, firing up the crowd with a supportive thumbs up or a raised fist. The occasional middle finger was given as well. One 65-year-old woman saw this and commented, “I’m 65. What’s that going to do to me?”

Nonetheless, people of all ages were in attendance, including families with children, some as young as toddlers. One child held a sign with a direct quote from the recording of children being held in detention centers: “Donde esta mi mama y mi papa?” When asked about whether he and his siblings understood what was going on, their mother, Christy, explained that after she told them about the protest they were going to, her children were worried Dave Brat was going to take them away from her.

Many parents spoke about setting an example for their children. Candace Taylor discussed the representation in the media and the impact on the nation’s children. “It doesn’t set a good example for the youth either because we want our youth to have somebody they can look up to,” she said. Aleta Strickland, a child psychologist and member of Indivisible Louisa, highlighted the irreversible trauma the detained children would receive. “These children, these families who are seeking asylum, are escaping trauma,” she said. “They’ve already been traumatized. Now you are compounding [it]. Compound or complex trauma is very difficult to treat.”

She mentioned that the very young children were the most vulnerable, especially the ones at the pre-verbal stages, since this sort of trauma affects the conscience.

Strickland had received a letter from Brat on June 8, explaining that the “children being separated from their families have been substantially misrepresented by many on the left.” He explained that this sort of practice and legislation of separating children has “been in place for over a decade.” He confirmed that the Office of Refugee Resettlement did not know the whereabouts of 1,475 children at that time. Finally, he reiterated that information has been spread falsely in order to back up his claims.

Veena Lothe, a first-generation Indian American, immigration and civil rights lawyer, and Democrat running for State Senate in the 12th District spoke comprehensively about how her job drove her to attend the protest. “I want to get Dave Brat out of office,” she said. “I think he lacks the understanding of immigration law, and he’s not willing to learn.”

She emphasized the language used by Republicans surrounding immigration is incorrect and divisive. When asked about what must change, her answer was simple: “First and foremost, the rhetoric has to change. It’s just spreading hate in the population. It’s nationalism and is designed to be hateful and to divide people. Nationalism is a cop-out.”

On Wednesday, June 20, the President signed an executive order ending the separation of immigrant families from their children through detention after they cross the border. This came as a response to the backlash surrounding the thousands of children surviving harsh conditions in detention centers, women being threatened by ICE agents for protection in exchange for sexual favors, and other human rights atrocities in relation to immigration.

Brat joined FOX @ Night’s Shannon Bream on June 19 to comment on a video of National Homeland Security Secretary Kristjien Nielsen being booed out of a Mexican restaurant by Metro D.C. Democratic Socialists of America, as well as some immigration policy after his meeting with the President.

Brat began by quoting the President saying, “I’ve got your back” in reference to an immigration bill penned by Virginia Representative Bob Goodlatte that Brat supported. The Goodlatte Bill would end chain migration and mandate the e-verify program, requiring employers to check the immigration status of future employees. Brat cited examples of House Republicans attempting to compromise with Democrats on legislation for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and, more recently, family separation bills, but said, “[Democrats] just want a political issue. What’s changed is the left have gone way left.”

Brat called the Goodlatte bill “compassionate” in another interview with FOX News on June 18. But both the Goodlatte Bill and Speaker Ryan’s compromise bill cuts the visa lottery and family-based immigration rules, and significantly affect asylum seekers, both current and future. While Brat never explicitly said he supports separating families, he does stand for beefing up America’s immigration policies, to “put an end to the chaos at the border,” and to avoid being like London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Germany.

The Friday before the protest, RVA Mag spoke with Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate who is challenging Brat in the mid-terms, about her thoughts on the situation and the thousands of children that remain separated from their families. “I think that [Brat’s] assertions do not take into account the fact that Democrats have tried in years past and made a lot of forward momentum on immigration issues [and] immigration reform.”

Spanberger asserted that supporting legislation that separates families at the border is a conscious choice and a policy that was implemented under Trump. According to her, using children as a bargaining chip in order to pass legislation is “just inappropriate.” Brat, along with other Republicans, have claimed that Democrats are pursuing a globalist agenda at the expense of an American first policy. Spanberger responded to this messaging by saying, “Democrats are Americans and Democrats are working to pursue policies that will positively impact American workers, American citizens, people who someday dream of being Americans. Doing that in the global economy is absolutely among the most American things you can do.”

Some other photos from today’s protest can be found below:

John Donegan contributed to this report. Photos by Landon Shroder.

Republican Candidate Corey Stewart Tweets He’s Going to Kick Tim Kaine’s Teeth In

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Fresh off a disastrous appearance on CNN, GOP Senate candidate Corey Stewart took to Twitter to claim his primary win as a mandate to “kick @timkaine’s teeth in.”

Stewart is the current chair of the Prince William Board of Supervisors, but has struggled to win office outside of his county. He notably lost the Republican primary for the office of Governor to Ed Gillespie in 2017 by a slim margin, which Gillespie supporters ascribed to Stewart’s caustic, aggressive tone. After his narrow victory in the Tuesday primary over Nick Freitas, Stewart seems to have doubled-down on the often violent rhetoric he employs on the campaign trail.

On a CNN appearance last night with Chris Cuomo, the candidate struggled to answer questions about his support for and from anti-semites and white supremacists. In 2017, he received an endorsement from Paul Nehlen, an anti-semite who Stewart described as “one of my personal heroes.” Although he tried to deflect when Cuomo asked him about Nehlen and other white supremacist supporters, Stewart eventually said, “I take support from whoever wants to give it to me. That doesn’t mean I support their views.”

After his failed GOP primary run for Governor last year, Stewart was singled out for praise by Steve Bannon, a one-time President Donald Trump advisor who associates with white supremacists under the title the “alt-right.” Bannon described Stewart as the “titular head of the Trump movement” in an interview with the Washington Post, where he maintained Stewart would have prevailed over Northam, and predicted he’d bring national attention to the race for Kaine’s Senate seat.

Northam had a different take on his victory that invoked both Michelle Obama’s “We go high” mantra and “The Virginia Way,” the idea that elections in the Commonwealth are won by candidates who maintain a positive image and platform. While Bannon’s prediction about national attention has come true, ultimately, it will be up to Virginia voters to decide between two candidates who for many exemplify opposite ends of the spectrum: Tim Kaine for Democrats and “The Virginia Way,” and Corey Stewart as a bellicose, Trumpian member of the GOP.

Photo from Corey Stewart FB

Abigail Spanberger Wins Huge Primary Victory, Becoming Democratic Nominee for VA’s 7th District

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“We’ve taken a massive step closer to bringing new representation to our district,” said Abigail Spanberger after accepting the Democratic nomination for Virginia’s 7th District. 

Winning handily in a lopsided Democratic primary election against former Marine Corps Colonel Dan Ward, Spanberger will now go on to challenge Republican Congressman Dave Brat in a race that will be watched nationally.

While this is Spanberger’s first foray into elected politics, she is no stranger to government service, having begun her career as a federal law enforcement officer with the US Postal Inspection Service before becoming an operations officer with the CIA.  

Spanberger has been clear about why she is running for elected office, telling MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt only last month that it was about cutting through the toxic politics. 

“I think a major motivator for a lot of us as first time candidates is just changing the conversation completely, bringing civility back to the discourse that’s happening in Washington, and ensuring that we’re working for the people.”  

After her victory today, she spoke in front of a crowd of about 200 supporters at the Westin Hotel in Henrico, saying, “Democracy is not a spectator support. Together, we are standing up for what is right.” 

Many high-profile members of Virginia’s Democratic Party were also at the event, including Richmond’s Mayor Levar Stoney. Stoney told us he was optimistic about Spanberger’s odds in the general, saying, “Abigail will be a formidable opponent for Congressman Brat and I look forward to her success in November. She has a profile and she has a heart, and that goes a long way in elections.”

Mayor Levar Stoney

Event attendees were also buzzing with excitement. Carrie Pruett, a volunteer for Spanberger, was quick to talk about how she was motivated by Donald Trump’s victory in November 2016. “You could tell she wasn’t doing this for a photo op,” Pruett said, adding, “She’s found a way to stay true to her principles as a Democrat and also speak in a broad way to people looking for answers.” 

Another supporter of Spanberger, David Parsons, said he was supporting the former CIA agent because of her stance on health care. 

“Three weeks after retirement my wife was diagnosed with cancer,” he said. He described the current state of the health care system as causing him “continuous anxiety,” and expressed confidence that Spanberger would “stay true to her promise of proposing legislation to reform health care.”  

In her victory speech, Spanberger told supporters that a change is coming to the 7th District.  “I commit to carrying our message into the halls of Congress next year,” she said, adding that it was time for politicians to prioritize people over special interests.  “With everything that’s at stake right now we cannot let up.”

She now faces the formidable task of toppling Republican incumbent and tea-party darling Dave Brat in November. Brat, a former economics professor at Randolph Macon College, won in a historic upset against then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014.

Landon Shroder contributed to this report. 

Former CIA Agent Abigail Spanberger is on a Mission for Virginia’s 7th District

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When asked about making the jump from intelligence professional to civilian politics, former CIA agent and Democratic primary candidate for Virginia’s 7th District, Abigail Spanberger, had a very distinct answer. “My whole role was to become a subject matter expert on a variety of different topics at a variety of different times.” As an intelligence professional, Spanberger had to use her analytical skills to cover issues like nuclear mitigation, science, technology, and narco-trafficking. 

While these skills on the surface might seem to apply only to the world of a professional spy, Spanberger explains how they have prepared her for life on the campaign trail. “What is the most transferable of these skill-sets is understanding really complicated topics that have inter-related challenges and then communicating them back to other people.” And as a legislator, this is how she would assess the most critical issues that her district and the US faces; as a series of policy initiatives that connect across issues.  

Campaign Mural

Spanberger, like her primary opponent Dan Ward, stands out in this election cycle because of the vast foreign policy credentials she gained while working abroad. A former law enforcement officer for the US Postal Inspection Service, Spanberger went on to become a core collector with the CIA, responsible for enlisting sources and gathering intelligence that informed national security policy. To obtain this position, recruitment can take anywhere between 12-18 months and includes extensive background checks and polygraph testing, along with medical and mental evaluations. 

RVA Mag caught up with Spanberger at her campaign office in Henrico to take the temperature on what is happening around the globe and how her experience abroad is playing out on the campaign trail. 

“My experience in foreign policy and in the intelligence world would be incredibly unique,” said Spanberger, when asked if she would tackle foreign policy in Congress. Indeed, her experience is unique and she is only one of two other women with these spooky credentials running for Congress this cycle. The other being Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat running in Michigan who was also in the CIA. Despite this, she was quick to clarify that her passion for serving was not only her commitment to country, but also helping people understanding complex things. 

My interests can easily pivot from North Korea nuclear policy to Latin American leadership issues to health care, tax policy, and mental illness,” said Spanberger.  

Nonetheless, a lot is happening in the world, and it is not often that one hears directly from a former CIA agent running for Congress about the dangers lurking in the shadows.

“We are at a point of strange instability,” commented Spanberger, expanding on her worldview and the challenges the US faces. “In particular for other countries, you could always generally always guess where the US was going to go as it related to foreign policy. You could always generally understand the ribbon that tied all of our actions together.” Like most, she was quick to comment on the President Trump’s Twitter feed, acknowledging that US strategy now varies “tweet to tweet”. She summed up this kind of foreign policy as “wholly phrenetic” and lacking the continuity that foreign countries need to “engage with us diplomatically.”

Because of the frenzied inconsistency of this strategy, foreign policy professionals have been at a loss for how to conduct business. Yet from a certain perspective, gains have also been made, such as the announcement that North and South Korea will officially end hostilities after 65 years. This presents a problem for Democrats running on foreign policy credentials, something Spanberger was pressed on in terms of how the administration should be credited. 

“This is more complicated than it outwardly looks,” she replied, before admitting, “It is to strange of a turn of events. There is a play somewhere and a variety of options as to what it can be, maybe that is a little too pessimistic. Normally I am an optimist.” 

Campaign HQ

One of the defining features of this political age is the way in which fringe messaging which borders on the conspiratorial has become mainstream, and this year’s election cycle in Virginia is no exception.  

In fact, the sitting incumbent for the 7th District, Congressman Dave Brat, has been called out more than once for re-tweeting conspiracy theories, most notably after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Spanberger has not been immune to this messaging either, being pinged by publications like The Gateway Pundit as being part of a “deep-state conspiracy” due to her CIA background. 

“So I have gotten the deep state narrative,” she said. “I would write something on Facebook about healthcare and they would write ‘you’re deep-state we shouldn’t listen to you’.” This messaging has only been emboldened by a roster of up and coming Democrats who have foreign policy and intelligence credentials, along with Trump’s attacks on the Justice Department claiming they are engaged in a deep-state conspiracy against his presidency.

Goals

“There are a couple of us running and the Washington Post ran an article about Elissa and me, and that got a lot of play and that’s when it picked up.” In an age of foreign-based social media campaigns, Spanberger was quick to point out that these were not Russia bots, but people living in Virginia’s 7th District. 

While foreign policy is built into the DNA of the Spanberger campaign, her focus still remains local.

Asking about her priorities if she makes it to Congress, she was quick to name three: financial stability, gun-violence prevention, and healthcare; something she spoke enthusiastically about, “We find ourselves in a place where premiums are continuing to rise, estimates are thousands of people in the 7th District are going to lose their healthcare.” Explaining how healthcare can be addressed, she commented on the need to bring back the individual mandate as a way of strengthening the Affordable Care Act, along with allowing Medicare to negotiate its own prescription drug prices. “There is a variety of things we can do to positively impact someone’s life as it relates to healthcare, and we need to be doing all of it.”  

Before closing out, Spanberger was asked what her message is to young people and her answer was reflective of 2018. “Everything is political. Whatever it is you care about it is linked to politics..nothing will change until the people who want it to change get involved.”

Photos by Landon Shroder

Opinion: Michelle Wolf’s Performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is White Lady Goals

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I don’t know much about Michelle Wolf, but I know a lot of white ladies could learn from what she did Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. 

With a smile, she stood in front of the political and media elite and gave it to the Republicans straight -no chaser. Wolf wasted no time and within the first minute noted the President’s absence for the second year in a row, “Of course, Trump isn’t here, if you haven’t noticed. He’s not here,” she said, before closing the joke with, “And I know, I know, I would drag him here myself. But it turns out the President of the United States is the one pussy you’re not allowed to grab.”

As her aim of attack scanned the room, Wolf targeted the women of the administration who have taken their privilege and morphed it into what I refer to as white lady toxicity. 

She summed up this feeling with another burner: “And I’m never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders. You know, is it Sarah Sanders? Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Is it Cousin Huckabee? Is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what’s Uncle Tom, but for white women who disappoint other white women? Oh, I know, Aunt Coulter.”

Let’s remember that this is what comedians at this dinner are sent to do, but last night we witnessed something critical for all women watching, especially white women. 

The comedic obliteration of the token privileged white ladies of the Trump administration: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne Conway, and even Republican pundit Ann Coulter, officially makes Michelle Wolf my Woman Crush of the Week (#WCW). 

Why is it so important that she demolished Sarah Huckabee Sanders in particular? Because Sanders and Wolf are both presumably white ladies. And to see Sanders be called out by one of her own gave me and the rest of spectating America all the thrills. Besides the entertainment value, this was important for white women to see, especially those who are leading the movement for gender equality. For them to see how white lady toxicity can be challenged at the highest levels of where government and media meet should provide examples as to how white ladies can confront one another at home. 

I talk to many white ladies, in fact, the day of the correspondents’ dinner, I facilitated a monthly intersectional feminism dialogue at a library in Richmond. Not to mention, I spend much of my time answering questions that white ladies have about black feminist perspectives as a professional racial equity facilitator in central Virginia. In doing so, I hear them calling out toxic masculinity and #metoo’ing predatory men without hesitation in 2018 (#RIPBillCosby, hey I’m here for it). But what we really need to bring to bear in the summer of 2018, is to use white lady privilege powers to call out toxic whiteness in our own neighborhoods. Recognizing white lady privilege, at a grassroots level, is the first step to realizing who is really at fault for what we have going on in the White House. 

Building on this, it is no secret who got us into this mess. All the women who voted for Trump were very white. Over half of y’all women voted for this guy, 52 percent of white women to be exact. It is time to take responsibility for those that look like you in a political world that now revolves around identity politics. 

So as the work week starts, think about the water cooler chats at your corporate job – or your trendy co-working spot – or as you meet up at the café for what I call “secret white lady meetings” in the middle of the day to sustain world domination – think about these teachable moments – like those given to us by Wolf this past weekend.  

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Attending many daytime meetings with women’s organizations, I hear a lot about damning the patriarchy. Together We Will – RVA and other white women’s groups organized a public shaming of Dave Brat so severe that he went into hiding. This is a perfect use of white lady powers against men, but are you calling out one another if a toxic white lady moment happens?  

Have you followed your instincts to speak out when your friend in the group makes a comment about “someone” being too “aggressive” in their perspective? “Aggressive” being a coded word for black women showing emotion. These moments are uncomfortable and must be handled with care – but this is the reality – white ladies have a secret language that only other white ladies can translate. This is a commonality amongst those that are categorized under the same social constructs of gender and race. For example, I can translate a black women’s words, looks and body language better than most white women because I, too, am a black woman. 

Democrats, progressives, whatever you want to call us also need a kick in the ass for action. “Republicans aren’t easy to make fun of you know it’s like shooting fish in a Chris Christie. But I also want to make fun of Democrats. Democrats are harder to make fun of because you guys don’t do anything.” Wolf is right, without real action we could mistake all white ladies for looking alike and falling in the category of an aunt Lydia from The Handmaid’s Tale. 

#TimesUp white ladies… GET.YOUR.PEOPLE! The Chelsea Challenge starts this week.

As you trigger the white fragility and confront white lady toxicity, be wary of the secret weapon though. The oh, so powerful white lady tears, which have trapped men of all races into submission for centuries. 

Speaking of white lady tears, last year Michelle Wolf addressed the power of her’s on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. “I know I’m white, you know how I know I’m white, I can cry myself out of a parking ticket. Hell, I can cry myself out of a murder charge.”  

Hear that pink pussy hat wearing white ladies? You must channel your inner white lady privilege and turbo boost those powers into a full takeover of American White Womanland! That might be a lot, but white ladies need a real plan about how to not only check their own racism, but the racism of other white women in their social circles and groups. 

Creatives like Wolf used her comedic talents to call out white lady toxicity. Yet the moral of the story is use whatever lane of expression you have to do your part without forgetting the simple stuff; like the power of your words, as you sit in the café of your gentrified neighborhood. 

The most important impact you can make on a daily basis is developing the muscle memory (of the mind and tongue) needed to dismantle toxic white lady privilege – this is the work of all white women claiming to fight for change in 2018. 

Just as Michelle Wolf did in a room full of Republicans: Black women, women of color, and non-binary people are watching and waiting for you to take the same brave step to disrupt white toxicity embedded in every industry from the breweries, yoga studios, and even down to your super do-gooder non-profits. Good luck, and report back. 

As I challenge white ladies, I’ll also address white ladies in journalism specifically. I encourage y’all to not only work on not being racist like the rest of the white ladies, but also add a sense of humor to your to-do list. The effort to paint Michelle Wolf’s genius as mean-spirited is another example of how Sarah Huckabee Sanders qualifies for protection under the unwritten clause of white lady privilege. No one wants a journalist invited to the party that reports on fake news AND can’t take a joke. C’mon, what are y’all good for?   

This has been an important message brought to you by a biracial, black woman whose work includes expending a great amount of emotional labor talking to white ladies about intercultural communication. Now, run off into the sunset white lady progressives… this is your work to do.